MAXIMUM Fixed/Plunge Router $99.93 (maybe YMMV)

It's on clearance and shows at $169.99 for me. So yes, YMMV.

I bought this on sale for $99.99 last year.
I kinda wish I had spent double the money on a DeWalt or similar.
The machine is fine, but the crappy template bushing is unique to this router and they don't provide any plate to use anyone else's bushings. I'm going to have to make a new plate out of Lexan. Also, the single bushing they do give, is not centered on the collet, so it's essentially useless.

Good to know, Im diving into the can of worms that woodworking looks to be and considering my first router I will aim for a higher quality router set.

raskal wrote: ↑ I bought this on sale for $99.99 last year.
I kinda wish I had spent double the money on a DeWalt or similar.
The machine is fine, but the crappy template bushing is unique to this router and they don't provide any plate to use anyone else's bushings. I'm going to have to make a new plate out of Lexan. Also, the single bushing they do give, is not centered on the collet, so it's essentially useless.

I am looking for a router. Was so close to ordering until I read ur post. Turn off.

raskal wrote: ↑ I bought this on sale for $99.99 last year.
I kinda wish I had spent double the money on a DeWalt or similar.
The machine is fine, but the crappy template bushing is unique to this router and they don't provide any plate to use anyone else's bushings. I'm going to have to make a new plate out of Lexan. Also, the single bushing they do give, is not centered on the collet, so it's essentially useless.

Thanks for the info. I did some research and conclude that I am going to change the baseplate to a universal one so that I can fit additional bushings and adapters. The baseplate is like $20 - $30.
I checked the bushing that came with the router and mine is well centred.

Mohsinahmad wrote: ↑ The baseplate is like $20 - $30.

which one did you find?

Just to offer an alternative view, I guess I would qualify as a fairly serious/long term woodworker and of the 7 routers I have, 3 are this model (each picked up for about $100). I have one permanently set up in a home made router table, another dedicated to a slab flattening sled. I'm pretty sure I have used the Kempston Brass Bushing set (https://www.amazon.ca/Kempston-99000-So ... B001A0YCOY) with this router, but it is possible I switched out the plate.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this at $100. I have three DeWalts and a Bosch and the Maximum's are by far the best value. I would not recommend them for edge work, but then that goes for any large router and I don't find the plunge base to be particularly good, but it's certainly not unusable. For someone starting out in woodworking I would say this model plus the Bosch or DeWalt "palm" router would be more than capable of most tasks and if/when you finally want to upgrade then the round body makes this a perfect form factor to build into home made machines.

solarfish wrote: ↑ Just to offer an alternative view, I guess I would qualify as a fairly serious/long term woodworker and of the 7 routers I have, 3 are this model (each picked up for about $100). I have one permanently set up in a home made router table, another dedicated to a slab flattening sled. I'm pretty sure I have used the Kempston Brass Bushing set (https://www.amazon.ca/Kempston-99000-So ... B001A0YCOY) with this router, but it is possible I switched out the plate.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this at $100. I have three DeWalts and a Bosch and the Maximum's are by far the best value. I would not recommend them for edge work, but then that goes for any large router and I don't find the plunge base to be particularly good, but it's certainly not unusable. For someone starting out in woodworking I would say this model plus the Bosch or DeWalt "palm" router would be more than capable of most tasks and if/when you finally want to upgrade then the round body makes this a perfect form factor to build into home made machines.

I have the same set up and can vouch for this. I started with the Maximum and then got the Colt. Now I find myself using the Colt much more often and my Maximum is permanently in the router table.

solarfish wrote: ↑ I'm pretty sure I have used the Kempston Brass Bushing set (https://www.amazon.ca/Kempston-99000-So ... B001A0YCOY) with this router

perhaps it's the large ring (the item with the 4 holes) that I'm missing and would make my regular bushings work with this router. On my Freud router, I don't need it

Still a few left at the st Thomas Canadian Tire at this price

I hate you OP and @solarfish.... I'm now +1 router and -$112.

Are there any good deals on router bits?

I just made one this weekend for the fixed base. I have the big Lee valley one for the plunge base. I’m willing to bet dollars to donuts that you can buy the Bosch guide bushings and they will work. Just a hunch:

https://www.amazon.ca/Bosch-8-Piece-Rou ... B071CMF8RK

solarfish wrote: ↑ I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this at $100. I have three DeWalts and a Bosch and the Maximum's are by far the best value. I would not recommend them for edge work, but then that goes for any large router and I don't find the plunge base to be particularly good, but it's certainly not unusable. For someone starting out in woodworking I would say this model plus the Bosch or DeWalt "palm" router would be more than capable of most tasks and if/when you finally want to upgrade then the round body makes this a perfect form factor to build into home made machines.

I agree with this post on many levels. The Dewalt palm routers (611) are awesome...actually my favourite routers but they are a bit small for certain tasks. The CT router represents an excellent value iMO and I'm tempted to buy another one to add to my collection.

raskal wrote: ↑ I bought this on sale for $99.99 last year.
I kinda wish I had spent double the money on a DeWalt or similar.
The machine is fine, but the crappy template bushing is unique to this router and they don't provide any plate to use anyone else's bushings. I'm going to have to make a new plate out of Lexan. Also, the single bushing they do give, is not centered on the collet, so it's essentially useless.

To be fair, I wouldn't trust that the collet is centred on *any* router baseplate. The base plate on my CT router at least uses pan head screws to allow for a bit of adjustment so that you can centre the bushing properly with a centering cone. Again, i do this for all the routers.

In terms of guide bushing compatibility, it's a trade-off. The PC guide bushings are have a 1-3/16 bore so if you plan on using any router bit bigger than this, you'll have to remove the baseplate. Of course, for larger bits, you should be using it in a router table anyway. Also, other brand routers don't necessarily guarantee PC-style compatibility either. Some Bosch routers require adapters and I believe my Milwaukee base plate also has a huge opening that is 2.5" so there's not much hope for using guide bushings but that router is dedicated to the table anyway.

Got one, thanks OP. From what I read this will also remove small amounts of material from the bottom of doors too with the right bit? I also need to round off the edges of a countertop so I figured rather than buy an electric planer and a router this might do both jobs at a pinch.

Thank you. Picked one up yesterday. I think it is a great value for an amateur like me.

Looks like they are clearing these out for a new model.

new model
Mastercraft

Looks like it's based on this Skil router:
Skil