# Bosch Palm router vs ridgid Palm router



## APBcustoms

which is better quality? And will last and stuff


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## woodtickgreg

Bosch, imo. The colt has always gotten great reviews.


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## jmurray

I owned the larger orbital rigid slander, 6" I think. IMO don't waste your time. I bought a Makita this time and have no complaints


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## Schroedc

I've had several different brands, between those two I'd go with a Bosch. I've also had really good service from my Freud and Porter Cable routers.


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## APBcustoms

jmurray said:


> I owned the larger orbital rigid slander, 6" I think. IMO don't waste your time. I bought a Makita this time and have no complaints



I have the 5 inch ridgid sander my only conplaint is I want a thicker foam pad which I can buy. What don't you like about yours


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## Kevin

I've had great luck with every Bosch product I've ever owned. I don't buy a Bosch tool because it has that sticker on it, but that sticker definitely adds some weight to the that side of the balance if everything else is equal. But if you asked me to buy a given tool based strictly on brand alone, and you give me the choice between Bosch and Rigid I'll buy the Bosch every single time no matter what tool it is.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## barry richardson

I've been using a Ridgid ROS at work for about a year now, no complaints, I am impressed with the quality of it. It has been used hard. It seems a better quality than the Porter Cables I also use. An added bonus is they sell the replacement base pads at Home Depot cheap...

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Blueglass

I've been using the Bosch for I guess 2 years and love it. No complaints.


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## jmurray

APBcustoms said:


> I have the 5 inch ridgid sander my only conplaint is I want a thicker foam pad which I can buy. What don't you like about yours


I used it on two jobs refinishing hardwood floors. I used it along the baseboards. The thing shook itself apart. Metal on metal. Took it back to HD, month later same thing. gave up got a makita


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## APBcustoms

jmurray said:


> I used it on two jobs refinishing hardwood floors. I used it along the baseboards. The thing shook itself apart. Metal on metal. Took it back to HD, month later same thing. gave up got a makita



Dang that's a shame. Lifetime warranty though send it back and then sell it


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## Tony

I own the Porter Cable, love it. Replacement pads available at Home Depot and Lowes. Tony


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## TimR

Interesting, I hsve the Bosch PR20EVSK that I bought a year and a couple months ago. Hadn't used it much, but used it a couple times recently ( a couple weeks ago) went to start it and nothing. I figured I was screwed, I bought it reconditioned and warranty had ended about 3 months ago. I called Bosch, they gave me a UPS label on Dec 27 and I got it back this past Saturday! That's a huge testament to their service process, but hopefully I'll never need it again. Oh, they fixed it for free. 
I'm with @Kevin on generally choosing Bosch when it's an option.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## woodintyuuu

I use porter cable on my jig assemblys both the smaller laminate trimmer and the big boy 3 1/2 hp on the big jigs. no problems and I use the He!! out of um. But the on off switch
configuation played into the decision. As for any Home Depot crap---- lifes just to short for a hassel

Reactions: Agree 1


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## barry richardson

woodintyuuu said:


> I use porter cable on my jig assemblys both the smaller laminate trimmer and the big boy 3 1/2 hp on the big jigs. no problems and I use the He!! out of um. But the on off switch
> configuation played into the decision. As for any Home Depot crap---- lifes just to short for a hassel


PC routers are a different story, they are the way to go, especially the older ones made in the us, their ROS; just average IMO

Reactions: Agree 1


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## Kevin

I have 4 (maybe more) Porter Cable sanders. 2 belts and a couple of ROS. Both the ROS did not hold up very well but the belt sanders are tanks. I do also have a couple of Bosch belt sanders a 21" x 3 and their huge 24" x 4" 1276 DVS. That sander did not last long I cannot remember offhand what is wrong with it I will have to take a look to remember. 

But since I bought the 6" 1250 DEVS I almost never use belt sanders since it can hog off copious amounts of material, or it can be used almost as delicately as a small finish sander. It's a beast of a sander and versatile as well.


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## gman2431

IMO ridgid is junk. 

I've used tons of routers doing solid surface work over the years. If I was to buy a router it would be a Festool. Secondly would be the Bosch colt for a hand router. 

With some of the bases and configurations you can do with the Festool hand router is awesome. I also use the plunge router and saw of theirs setup with the track and other systems they have for it and it's awesome. But that's a whole different thing than a hand router. 

I guess it's matters if you need something super versatile or just something basic.


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## barry richardson

Somehow I got the notion this thread was about sanders, so I imagine I probably wasn't making much sense. I have a Bosch Colt. It has served me well, it is the only small router I have so I can't compare. I didn't like the square base but I made a round one out of 1/4 plexiglass easy enough, and drilled it to accept the porter cable guide bushings. I have no complaints, but I only use it occasionally. One thing I would suggest is don't spring for the variable speed model. Why? Your only turning small bits with a palm router, small roundovers, straight bits etc. they are designed for best performance at max speed. The variable speed is a sales gimick IMO. More money and more that can go wrong with the router for no good reason...

Reactions: Agree 2


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## Kevin

barry richardson said:


> Somehow I got the notion this thread was about sanders



I had to look at the title again because I didn't understand your comment. I thought it was about sanders too!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Tony

I'm still not sure


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## APBcustoms

Lol it its all @jmurray s fault he said sander first haha. It was supposed to be like trim routers also called Palm routers


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## ripjack13

I have a ridgid going on 3 years. Haven't had a problem with it. Cash was the deciding factor. But I really wanted the bosch....


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## jmurray

APBcustoms said:


> Lol it its all @jmurray s fault he said sander first haha. It was supposed to be like trim routers also called Palm routers


Wow, I musta had dust in my eye, lol. I have a dewalt Palm router though. No complaints, sorry I derailed your thread


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## APBcustoms

jmurray said:


> Wow, I musta had dust in my eye, lol. I have a dewalt Palm router though. No complaints, sorry I derailed your thread



Ha you didn't im just busting your bslls


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## Cody Killgore

Well, the only experience I have with Ridgid is my anvil. It's the ridgid peddinghaus anvil. IMO, these are just about the best anvil you can get. They are one of the only, if not the only, anvils that are still forged. They forge the top and bottom separately and weld them together. It's about as bulletproof a product as you can get 

Most of my power tools are bosch or dewalt but that is because we don't have a home depot around here. Otherwise I would likely have some Ridgid tools.

Braved the cold weather to snap a photo of my baby. The 75 means it is 75 kilograms. The perfect weight. Light enough to pick up and move and heavy enough for any work I wanna do.

Prolly doesn't tell you much about picking out a router...I am a fan of both companies!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## SENC

Kevin said:


> I had to look at the title again because I didn't understand your comment. I thought it was about sanders too!


That makes 3 of us! I gotta stop teasing Tony about his readin skilz!

Reactions: Funny 1


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## Kevin

Cody Killgore said:


> Well, the only experience I have with Ridgid is my anvil. It's the ridgid peddinghaus anvil. IMO, these are just about the best anvil you can get. They are one of the only, if not the only, anvils that are still forged. They forge the top and bottom separately and weld them together. It's about as bulletproof a product as you can get
> 
> Most of my power tools are bosch but that is because we don't have a home depot around here. Otherwise I would likely have some Ridgid tools.
> 
> Braved the cold weather to snap a photo of my baby. The 75 means it is 75 kilograms. The perfect weight. Light enough to pick up and move and heavy enough for any work I wanna do.
> 
> Prolly doesn't tell you much about picking out a router...I am a fan of both companies!
> 
> View attachment 68333



Showoff.


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## Aurora North

The cabinetry shop I work at has been using the ridged palm routers for 2 years of near daily use. No problems and not one has gone down. The micro adjustment is very nice. It has an LED to illuminate the point of cut which I really like. I bought one for myself too. Works great. I'm not a fan of ridged, but they did it right on the palm router IMO. Can't say much for their other stuff. The sliding miter box they make was pretty solid too, but I would only use that as a dedicated shop set up.


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## barry richardson

Aurora North said:


> The cabinetry shop I work at has been using the ridged palm routers for 2 years of near daily use. No problems and not one has gone down. The micro adjustment is very nice. It has an LED to illuminate the point of cut which I really like. I bought one for myself too. Works great. I'm not a fan of ridged, but they did it right on the palm router IMO. Can't say much for their other stuff. The sliding miter box they make was pretty solid too, but I would only use that as a dedicated shop set up.


That LED light would be a huge plus in my book, My Colt is a few years old, and doesn't have one, maybe the new ones do. To do detail work I have to set up a clamp light nearby, An LED light would probably fix that...

Reactions: Like 1


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## APBcustoms

well i asked my school teacher which router he prefers because he has about 20 routers and in two classes he said its router day and he will let me play with each one and show me the advantages and disadvantages of each one

Reactions: Like 1


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## Aurora North

I think my buddy at the shop has a Bosch. I'll check it out tomorrow and see how I like it. I was originally going to go for makita but I felt the adjustment on it was too sloppy for precise set up.


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