Datasheet

shop-proven
products
Arrssie rorrter
great
for
dornnr rrnder the
table
What would
you
call a3V+hp
plunge
router
with a removable
plunge-post
spring,
rack-
and-pinion
depth setting, and one-handed
bit changing through
the base? I'd call it the
ideal
router-table router,
but the
folks
at
Australia-based Triton Workshop
Systems
call it
simply
"Vz"
hecision Router."
Cutting-depth changes, whether large
or
small, arc abreeze with the
Vz"
Precision
Router.
Squeezing
the ring
on one
handle
i
Yz"
Precision
Router
(TRC001)
Performance
*****
Price
$330
Value
*****
Call
Triton Workshoo
Svstems toll{ree at
888/874-8661, or
visit wunrr.tritonwoodworking.com.
activates the
"winder,"
an internal rack-
and-pinion mechanism controlled
by the
handle. Rotating the handle
a
little more
than
half
a turn
plunges
the motor through
its full 2Vz" range.
A microadjuster
then
lets
you
fine-tune the depth.
An
extra
quarter-turn
of the winder
moves
the Vz"
Precision
Router into bir
changing mode. Now
the collet
protrudes
through the base far enough
to
get
a
wrench on it, even when mounted
to a
rl"-thick
router-table insert.
At the same
time, a
pin
automatically locks
the spin-
dle, and the
power
switch's sliding cover
engages to
prevent
accidental
startup.
After
changing bits, a slight
backward turn
of the winder returns the tool
to
readv-to-
rout mode.
I found the winder
worked best under
the
table.
For handheld
operations, such as
plunging
into
a mortise,
turning the
handle
caused the router
to tip back and forth on
the edge of my workpiece. For
such occa-
sions, a switch in the handle
defeats the
winder, so
you
can free-plunge
the bit,
then lock the cutting
depth
with
a
lever
as
on a more typical
plunge
router.
All of these features would
be meaning-
less on an ill-fitted, underpowered router,
but the %"
Precision
Router is neither. I
routed
%" mortises 1" deep with one
pass
in white
oak and couldn't bog down the
I 5-amp, soft-start, variable-speed
motor.
And,
with the winder engaged, I
detected
no play
between
the
plunge posts
and the
body's bronze
bushings, even without the
plunge
lock
activated.
Before
you
balk at the
$330
price-near
the top for a router in
this category-you
should
know
that the tool comes with
an
easy-to-attach
edge
guide/circle-routing
trammel, and a
Vz" carbidetipped straight
bit. Those items cost
$50-$70
if
vou
buv
them
separately.
-Tested
by Garry Smith
Continued on
page
102
WOOD magazine November 2002