USA-made wood router??

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JHZR2

JHZR2

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I'm going to make some shelves and want a finished edge on the wood. That means I need a router, right?

Well... I don't have one, so I'll buy one. But I haven't been able to find anything made in the USA. Everything is Mexico and China made.

Anyone know a part number for something us made? Doesn't need to be huge, I'm only doing 1" pine boards to make some painted shelves.

Thanks!
 
Does Milwaukee make one? All of their saws I've bought were domestic made, but it's probably been fifteen years since I bought one.

I think our craftsman router is u.s. made, but its probably a decade old.
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Porter-Cable stuff is made in the USA.


Not the router I saw.
 
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: dparm
Porter-Cable stuff is made in the USA.


Not the router I saw.



Amazon shows several of their routers built in the USA. Home Depot and Lowe's don't show the origin on their website.
 
If no one here knows,
you would have to do a internet search.

Finding "Made in USA" should not have to be a chore for the American shopper.

Surposible, more Companies are (financial reasons)
moving production back to USA.

When I shop at WalMart or Home Depot and 2 or 3 items I purchase are USA made, I think to myself "SCORE".

At home, I find myself saving more of the older things because there not Foreign made.

When I was younger, if an item was Foreign made,
you would say "ohhh wow, it's imported".
That made it special.

Rant over.
Thanks for wanting Made in USA.
 
AFAIK, all wood routers if the handheld variety are no longer mde in the USA. Porter cable is made in Mexico but I doubt you can find any new router made in the USA unless it is NOS.

If you are bent in getting USA made routers, try to find NOS or used. Otherwise, Milwaukee, porter cable, dewalt, ridgid and triton are pretty good and reliable,. If you feel spendy, go festool. German engineered, German made. Top shelf product.
 
Last I heard Bosch routers were still assembled in the USA.

It is next to impossible to find power tools that are truly made in the USA. My next default is always to buy something made in Europe. Call me crazy, but I would rather buy a product made in the first world by workers who are actually compensated for their labor which is more than I can say for anything made in PRC.
 
Originally Posted By: SF0059
Last I heard Bosch routers were still assembled in the USA.

It is next to impossible to find power tools that are truly made in the USA. My next default is always to buy something made in Europe. Call me crazy, but I would rather buy a product made in the first world by workers who are actually compensated for their labor which is more than I can say for anything made in PRC.


I know i would risk being rolled in tar and feathers for saying this if I lived I the US. But in my oppinion western European made tools. Both power and handtools are in gennerel way better then American made one's. And I am not trying to hurt anybody's feelings or stomp on any toes.

Of course I haven't tried all American manufactorers. But I have tried Milwaukee,dewalt and Black&Decker. Probertly Good for hobbyuse. But as a Tool no match for a Fein Metabo or Hilti maybe even blue Bosch.

On the other hand the European made stuff are often a lot more expensive. At least here.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: dparm
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Originally Posted By: dparm
Porter-Cable stuff is made in the USA.


Not the router I saw.



Amazon shows several of their routers built in the USA. Home Depot and Lowe's don't show the origin on their website.


Which ones? I'd be pleasantly surprised if they were even "assembled in the USA."

Amazon could be right, but they could be wrong, too. Unless I could look at them in person I would email the company and see what people said in the reviews to double check.

For example, Amazon claims this router is made in the USA:
http://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-690LR..._srch_res_rtr_1

But if you read the reviews, someone says it's not made in the USA. You can also clearly see in the pics that the router says "MADE IN MEXICO" right on the sticker.


To the OP-
A lot of the claims made in threads like this are generally outdated or are generalizations based on one specific model someone looked at or bought. You pretty much have to find a place that has the router in stock and physically look at it know for sure or email the company about that specific model number.

Unless someone here can comment on an exact model you're interested in that they bought or looked at recently, then you'll need to double check most of the claims.

My guess is the best you'll be able to do is "assembled in the USA," which is stil pretty good when it comes to power tools.
 
Originally Posted By: shDK
Originally Posted By: SF0059
Last I heard Bosch routers were still assembled in the USA.

It is next to impossible to find power tools that are truly made in the USA. My next default is always to buy something made in Europe. Call me crazy, but I would rather buy a product made in the first world by workers who are actually compensated for their labor which is more than I can say for anything made in PRC.


I know i would risk being rolled in tar and feathers for saying this if I lived I the US. But in my oppinion western European made tools. Both power and handtools are in gennerel way better then American made one's. And I am not trying to hurt anybody's feelings or stomp on any toes.

Of course I haven't tried all American manufactorers. But I have tried Milwaukee,dewalt and Black&Decker. Probertly Good for hobbyuse. But as a Tool no match for a Fein Metabo or Hilti maybe even blue Bosch.

On the other hand the European made stuff are often a lot more expensive. At least here.


I agree with you. If I had the money I would have more Fein and Hilti tools. However, I do have a couple sets of blue Bosch cordless tools made in Switzerland and those are AMAZING.
 
Europe, like western Europe, is OK if I cant source something US made to my liking.

The Bosch and PC units Ive seen in person at the stores, and online are all made in Mexico. Claims are claims, viewing the stickers tells the truth...

Might as well buy HF with a 25% off sticker if Im buying Chinesium...

Maybe I can borrow one. I have a few jobs but not a ton...
 
Originally Posted By: dparm
Porter-Cable stuff is made in the USA.


Take a trip on a time machine back to the 1990s and they'll be.
 
Quote:
I'm going to make some shelves and want a finished edge on the wood. That means I need a router, right?

Depends. What shape of finished edge are you interested in? Bevel, round-over, ogee, etc. The first two you can do with a sander, tablesaw, or handplane.

I recently aquired a Porter-Cable rounter in a nice plastic case that's seen very little use. I'll check to see if it's USA made. If interested, PM me.

I have a PC690 router that was US made but it's 18 yrs old. Still works fine.
 
Originally Posted By: sleddriver
[
Depends. What shape of finished edge are you interested in? Bevel, round-over, ogee, etc. The first two you can do with a sander, tablesaw, or handplane.

I recently aquired a Porter-Cable rounter in a nice plastic case that's seen very little use. I'll check to see if it's USA made. If interested, PM me.

I have a PC690 router that was US made but it's 18 yrs old. Still works fine.


I have some shelves that I want an ogee, but a few other things that I would do either bevel or round over with. Seems to me that doing them with a sander or plane would be quite time consuming... I dont have a table saw.

Ive identified that the projects that I need to do either around the house or woodworking to make things that we want come to around 50 linear feet of wood. Probably a mix of pine and oak, though some chestnut if I can source it.

Id imagine that is minimal by any real woodworker's standards, but that's thinking real hard for me.

My biggest rush is that were redoing our dining room and want everything perfect in time for Thanksgiving. Coming along really well, except that I need to finish the shelves in the next two days and I want to put an edge on them...

(if it wasnt for the rush, I might have taken you up on the one you got).




Sooooooo....... If theyre all made overseas anyway, what does a $200 Bosch get me that the similar HP $49 one (less with coupon) from HF not? Looks similar, handles in the same spots, etc.

Im generally very much against buying HF stuff, but usually there is an alternative. Here if I go with any name brand machines, Im still buying third world stuff. I have a few Lowe's store credits from some stuff we bought LONG ago, so I need to use them... And Ill buy a Bosch or PC or Skil or DeWalt if it makes sense, but in this case, since there is no real US made option, I also have to consider HF.

... My big assumption is that the 50 feet of board, which is stretching it as far as what Ill ever make, is not a lot and thus even a cheapo machine can last for that.

...My grandfather probably has a solid old router and table that he would give me at some point.

So, suggestions???
 
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