1200W Router Kit, 55mm Depth, 6 Bits, Carry Case

This is the router bought by someone who does not already own bits and guides. A router on its own cuts nothing, and the accessories usually cost as much again, so a kit gets a workshop working on the first day. It suits a carpenter making doors, window frames, shelving or furniture, and a joinery shop that needs grooves, rebates and moulded edges done properly rather than with a plane and patience.

The 1 200 Watt motor handles soft and hard timber, and the speed is adjustable from 12 000 to 30 000 revolutions a minute so the cut can be matched to the bit. Large bits need slow speeds or they burn, small bits need high speeds or they tear the grain. The plunge action takes the bit into the middle of a board to 55mm, which is how a stopped housing or a groove that does not reach the edge is cut. The straight guide runs the machine parallel to an edge for a groove or a rebate, and the template guide follows a pattern, which is how you cut ten identical parts instead of one careful one.