Which do you prefer: Handheld router, or router table?
Which do you prefer: Handheld router, or router table?
Until fairly recently I owned just one router. I bought it, immediately installed it in the table it came with, and it has come out of the router table exactly once since then to cut a couple slots. I have since bought one of those little "trim routers" but I still do the bulk of my routing work in the table.
I'm curious, how do the rest of you prefer to work? Do you mostly use your router handheld or in a table?
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I mounted a router onto a radial arm saw chassis. It works like a router table but you can see the work. It cuts straight grooves and dados with ease, and makes accurate joinery. It can also double as a jointer or planer in a pinch. I can also use it as a pin router or pattern router with a pin that mounts in the table. Due to the extreme versatility I would very much recommend it over a router table, especially in a small shop.
I've seen overarm routers, never really considered rigging my own.