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i would rather have tools that will last forever than buy something that i use for a year and buy another. as far as the warrantys hitachi and milwaukee have the same 5 year warranty. ive used hitachi grinders and they were very nice tools. its a tough call. but milwaukee is american

This kinda resembles the conversation about the dmm's. It depends on how good of a tool you want. I must say first off, Hitachi is nowhere near the quality of milwaukee, IMO of course. Working with wood is something I do almost everyday, not just stereo installs either, and a quality tool pays for itself in the long run. As far as the hole cutter mentioned, they work great, but really should be used with a plunge router. You should not cut completely through the material, when cutting the hole, on the first pass. It is hard on the equipment and you are more likely to break your bit. That is why a plunge router is better suited for the job, you can cut 1/4" at a time, and it will cut a 1/4" depth fairly quickly....so you really don't spend that much more time cutting. Porter Cable, Milwaukee, Makita...any of those three IMO will last a long long time.

Example.... We do lots and lots, and lots and lots, of bondo work. We use random orbital sanders to sand most of the wood down after bondo. Even the highly touted dewalt sander doesn't stand up to any of the brands above listed. It a way more violent sander, not as smooth, causing you to not be able to sand as evenly. This is true with lots of tools....not just sanders. Just an example of why I don't recommend anything but a proven brand.

I'm done

Dont be scared joey! I know you can add somemore to that lol...

joeyc wrote:This kinda resembles the conversation about the dmm's. It depends on how good of a tool you want. I must say first off, Hitachi is nowhere near the quality of milwaukee, IMO of course. Working with wood is something I do almost everyday, not just stereo installs either, and a quality tool pays for itself in the long run. As far as the hole cutter mentioned, they work great, but really should be used with a plunge router. You should not cut completely through the material, when cutting the hole, on the first pass. It is hard on the equipment and you are more likely to break your bit. That is why a plunge router is better suited for the job, you can cut 1/4" at a time, and it will cut a 1/4" depth fairly quickly....so you really don't spend that much more time cutting. Porter Cable, Milwaukee, Makita...any of those three IMO will last a long long time.

Example.... We do lots and lots, and lots and lots, of bondo work. We use random orbital sanders to sand most of the wood down after bondo. Even the highly touted dewalt sander doesn't stand up to any of the brands above listed. It a way more violent sander, not as smooth, causing you to not be able to sand as evenly. This is true with lots of tools....not just sanders. Just an example of why I don't recommend anything but a proven brand.

I'm done

When you say to not to cut all the way through the material, are you referring to jigsawing your circle first and then opening the size of the hole up with the router? I'm very new to the router thing, so in addition to the brands, I could also use hints and tips on using it. I just bought a brand new 1" Porter Cable flush bit.

If you try to cut all the way through the wood (depends on how thick) the first pass you will strain the motor and get the bit really hot and possibly break it. Thats why its good to make several passes a 1/4 inch at a time.

Well first of all, you can cut all the way thru with one pass. I am surprised nobody said so, but as my bro said it shouldn't be done. When using a plunge router for cutting a hole, plunge it 1/4" or so and make one pass, then repeat and continue until all the way thru. Just be careful when the cut is complete not to lose control of the router due to material becoming lose....blah blah blah

Ok, so 3/4" should theoretically take 3 passes. So anytime you're cutting, your router should never bog down at all while you're going? What speed should you being moving the router around at? Relatively slow?

I take more than 3 passes.

I dont measure, I just listen to the router. When it sounds like its down far enough I lock it in and twist her around.

Its not rocket science.

I will note I like to have a very small final cut. THen when the wood falls apart there is a small lip and I take a sanding drum over to clean up/chamfer it.

Do it like ryan said, just so long as your not bogging the router to much your fine. You get a much cleaner cut this way as well because there is less deflection in the bit.

i bought a plunge and fixed base router at sears for $100. they also had the 2 year replacement thing for only $15 more.