How are the Ryobl routers? Thoughts??

[Fred K]

Has anyone purchased a Ryobl router? Are they good? If so what is the best? I just want a "simple" one.

[dbhost]

My first router was a Ryobi R161K, a friend of mine from college bought it off of me a few years ago and is still using it. I would say it is probably 10 years old now... It works great, has some nice features like a spindle lock etc... But it did not have a 1/2" collet, which is why I got rid of it... Other than that, I was exceedingly happy with it...

I needed a beefier router, and I wanted both fixed and plunge bases... I opted for the Hitachi KM12VC. It works great, very reliable, super smooth, and not a horrid price tag...

[twistsol]

I have an R175 that was my first router. It's 12 years old and is still used frequently. I have the same comments, it's a great little router, the spindle lock is great for bit changes, plunge is smooth but a little bit stiff and the only drawback is the 1/4 inch collet. I keep 2" a flush trim bit with top and bottom bearings in it and use it to follow patterns.

My brother in law has one that he bought a couple of years ago in a router / table kit and he loves it. I don't know what the model is.

[herb fellows]

I used to think of them as "good for the money' (a good value), but given the way that prices have come down on quality routers, I don't think you need to go there any more.
You can catch a good sale and come up with a really good router in the $120 range. A bit more than the 60-100 for a Ryobi, but I think the quality is there to merit the price difference.
just my 2 cents, as they say.

[dbhost]

I have to agree with Herb that excellent routers can be had for dirt cheap prices IF you shop right, and get lucky...

I have 2 of the Hitachi routers I mentioned. The first I paid $120.00 for, the second I paid $99.00 for. Both on Amazon...

The difference in price, compared to the ability to run bigger bits, makes spending a little bit more to get a better router a no brainer for me... And I am notoriously cheap...

[Cochese]

I skipped the Ryobi and went for the Craftsman 17543 at about the same price.

[RAFlorida]

I've got 2 Ryobi routers (R161 and the R165U)

and they've been doing great for the past 10 or so years. The only hold-back is that they are both 1/4 inch collets. Because of that I spent very cheap and bought the HD brand FireStorm 1/2 inch with soft start. But the Ryobi brand is good and solid and recommend them as a starter router.

[cwsmith]

I have the R161, single-speed, 1/4" collet router with table and it works quite well. I don't use it a lot anymore, but it's a nice back-up. For the price paid, it has served it's purpose quite well.

I also have the 3-base RE8103M which features softstart EVS and a 1/2" collet with a 1/4" adapter. I actually like that quite well and use it with it's plunge base for all my hand-held applications. It's only problem is, IMHO, very poor material selection for the motor housing, which seems to swell over time because of either humidity or whatever (nobody really seems to know why).

This "swelled" housing is well noted with this particular model. Ryobi tech service sent me a replacement, but again there seemed to be some QC problems in the same regard, as the new housing doesn't come close to fitting. Still, I love this router and the plunge base doesn't display the problem at all. In the five or so years that I've had this model, it has performed well in all other regards. Unfortunately that one issue gives them a "black-eye" of sorts.

Both the Ryobi R161 and the RE1803 were made in the U.S.A, I'm not sure where the current models are being manufactured.

I would have to agree that if you can afford just a few more $$ you would probably be better off with one of the many recommended brands that come with a 1/2" collet and for which a 1/4" collet or adapter is available. But that said, if you're really looking to go Ryobi, I don't think you'll be buying a "bad" router. Just look at whatever brand and see if it offers the features you would like, at the price you can afford.

(NOTE: I've been told that Ryobi is upgrading it's warranty from 2 years to 3 years, effective December 1, 2010. The new Home Depot catalog states this, but I haven't seen it elsewhere.)

I hope this helps,

CWS

[LCHIEN]

most of the Craftsman low end routers were Ryobi - you can tell if the part number on them is 315.xxxxxxx its Ryobi sourced.

I think they are good basic routers but in the past they have lacked variable speed and 1/2 inch collets making up for it with fancy handles with fingertip switches.

[Fred K]

Thanks for the info on a Ryobi routers.

I currently have a BT3000 Ryobi table saw with the accessory table. This is why I was interested in the Ryobi router because I hope it fits this table. I know I need an attachment kit which I do have I don't know anything about routing so thought it would be a good way to start.

[vaking]

Current generation of craftsman routers have some good models. I would suggest to look at either fixed/plunge basic kit like
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...2&blockType=G2
or a professional model of fixed base router like this
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...3&blockType=G3

I believe all Craftsman routers fit BT3000 accessory table.

[LCHIEN]

I currently have a BT3000 Ryobi table saw with the accessory table. This is why I was interested in the Ryobi router because I hope it fits this table. I know I need an attachment kit which I do have I don't know anything about routing so thought it would be a good way to start.

ask me for my FAQ (see sig line below) whcih tells you how to mount a "foreign" router to the access. table.

[dbhost]

and they've been doing great for the past 10 or so years. The only hold-back is that they are both 1/4 inch collets. Because of that I spent very cheap and bought the HD brand FireStorm 1/2 inch with soft start. But the Ryobi brand is good and solid and recommend them as a starter router.

You want another Firestorm router? I would love to get rid of mine...

[Knottscott]

My first router was a Ryobi made Craftsman, it was fine, but there are so many better choices from Makita, Bosch, Freud, Hitachi, Milwaukee, PC, DeWalt, Triton, Ridgid, and even the newer Craftsman, that I really don't see the point of not upgrading. I bought my refurbished Hitachi M12VC for $67 to my door, my Milwaukee 5615 kit for $99 shipped, the PC690 with a PC343K sander for $91 shipped, the Bosch 1617 kit for $138 shipped, and the Freud FT1700 for ~ $85 shipped. Keep your eyes peeled, there are router blowout sales every year on excellent routers.