Makita RT0701C 1-1/4 HP Compact Router

At 30 I've only recently discovered the existence of the amazing tool that is the wood router. I'm a musician that has recently got into customizing/upgrading my own guitars, and watched luthiers on youtube build their own instruments out of a router. I'm also a DIY'er in general around the house. And finding out about the router was like pandoras box of creation for me! Last month I bought a Dremel 4300 which I partly bought for doing some light routing. I gave it the task of making some custom drawer/cabinet faces for my bathroom. Well, the Dremel was not up to the task (it sucks for any serious routing). So I decided I was gonna bite the bullet and buy a proper wood router. I educated myself on this tool, and decided that I wanted to get a combination fixed base/plunge router.I went to every avenue and excessively researched these things for the best bang for my buck. Home Depot, Lowes, Harbor Freight, eBay, and here, comparing models. I was shocked to see the brick and mortar stores (especially HD and Lowes) have a pretty limited selection of wood routers and accessories. The cheapest in-store deal I could find was Lowes Dewalt combination fixed and plunge base router at $200, not including tax. That was a little too high of a price of an entry point for me.Then I ran across this Makita. I love Makita products. The price almost sounded too good to be true for a combination fixed base/plunge router. I ordered it. I quickly learned how to use setup the tool and I absolutely love it! I made my first cut doing some trim on scrap wood and was blown away. This thing is a wood-cutting beast. Using some cheap project lumbar from HD, I started crafting my own bathroom cabinetry. This thing just effortlessly cuts through wood. It's very easy to control, it doesn't violently start up (which I heard some are bad for). I love that it has a speed control. I leave it on the highest setting (which I heard is best to do), but the fact that it even has that is pretty awesome for the price. And my first set of router bits, I bought a nice kit in Harbor Freight (with coupon) for $30 bucks. They work exceptionally well with this Makita. I used for the plunge attachment and fixed based for doing trim.Honestly, I just love this thing, it's my new favorite tool! It's so fun and amazing the stuff you can make with this. It just takes a little patience and creativity. The tool came with a straight-edge guide for the fixed base which I found kinda useless. Some of the pictures of it in-action show a straight edge guide for the plunge base. I wish it came with this, but it's hard for me to balk for the price. The last thing, it would have been nice if it came with a case like other Makita products, too, but that's also not something to balk at.This is a great tool. I think it's an excellent buy for both entry-level woodworkers like me and more experienced users. And I see it being something that could actually save you money over time if you're into home remodeling as well. I'm definitely going to be using this to craft my own trim, railings, doors, and other things around the house. Highly recommend this router, definitely one of the coolest tools I've bought in my adult life!

Needed a small router when my other brand let smoke out of it after just a few uses, decided to pick this one up, glad I did, it is nice, small, easy to handle and functional. Seems to be built good and solid. Looking forward to using it.

Ive been a wood worker for about 15 years. I chose this router after researching and using various other brands of routers. I went with the makita kit because it came with more bases then the other kits i was looking at and it fit within my budget.the router is great i have used it muitiple times with most of the bases besides the offset base. The angle base is quit handy for flush triming angles and does a real nice job once set up which is very easy. The plunge base is awesome it has very nice depth stops that can each be ajusted to different hights. Just like the large routers . The only thing i dont like is the way the lock lever works on the plunge base u have to hold the locking lever down with you finger once u plunge cut or it seems to poop back up which cause the plunge base to move up and down. It is not a big deal i was able to use slight presure to hold the lever down with my finger while holding the handles and was still able to control the router easily. Im sure this was designed this way so it is easier to unlock to raise the router out of the hole . The case the kit comes with is really nice it has muiltiple pockets and compartment for storage. Ther is enough room to put a secound router in it. This is a small router with big router options. I am very happy with this purchase. And it arrived in perfect condition and a few days early with a large snow storm between the time of order and arrival. I will use amazon for future power toolpurchases

I've been an amateur woodworker for several years and somehow functioned without a router. "Pffft, amateur" you may be thinking to yourself, and you'd be right to think so.I don't know why it took me so long to get this. I finally went for it after an endorsement from 'The Samurai Carpenter' on Youtube; he spoke highly of this compact router. Now it's my turn to speak highly of it.The kit I got comes with an edge guide, plunge base, and the standard adjustable height base with the groove for attaching the edge guide.Setup is super easy. The latch lock makes changing the base a breeze, and allows for a lot of options during your projects. I was switching in and out of the plunge base for a recent project I did; it takes no time at all.The body is not bulky so it's very easy to maneuver. It basically feels like you're using a really fat pencil, which is great for more complicated routing endeavors. I was able to easily trace over some Chinese Calligraphy for a sign, just as if I was the one writing it. I used it to make a Chinese Chess/Go game board, which, (if you've never seen one or either) involves a lot of intersecting lines. Using the edge guide for the perimeter made that a whole lot easier (I used a straight edge for the innermost areas of the grid.) Then switched to the plunge base to do the dots where your pieces go. Just set the depth and drop it where you want it.Having this router made all of that possible for this project, and I shudder to think of how cheesy it would look if I had to find other methods to accomplish that. I had been contemplating drawing it on with a sharpie after a coat of poly. That's just terrible.The motor spins up nice and fast for clean cuts, without moving the whole thing around, so you don't end up on the wrong side of your guide line.I'm extremely happy with this router and I know I'll be using it for many future projects. I definitely recommend it if you are considering it. I still recommend it if you're not considering it. I wish I had bought it sooner.