Should I get rid of my old Bosch router?

[overland]

I've become increasingly attached to my Makita battery-operated tools, in part  because I usually work outside, and they're much easier to use under such circumstances. I recently got as a gift a small Makita plunge router. Should I sell my old Bosch 1617? It's a big beautiful thing, powerful and precise, but do I really need it now? What could I do with it that my little Makita can't do. A lot, I'm sure, but I'm just a hobbyist, not a production shop. I'm trying not to hoard. 
 I'll be grateful for any thoughts, especially from people who have used the new Makita.

[srv52761]

I am not so much a hoarder as a sentimentalist.  When I look at my tools I see the projects.  "Ahhh, those chisels I used to make the dovetails on my daughter's toy box."....

I still have my dad's Craftsman router I got in '78 that I used to cut the machined dovetails when I built our kitchen cabinets, and son's cradle, and living room end tables and....
Despite having  Milwaukee, and DeWalt, and Bosch, and Porter Cable routers, that Craftsman always brings back memories of first starting out with a young family.

Seems like I'd be giving up a family member.

[Handplanesandmore]

For most woodworkers, one big (1/4" & 1/2" shanks) and one small (1/4" shank) routers are essential. But I'd sell the 1617 because it's a fixed router. If one day you do need a big router, get a plunge router.

I don't know how true it's, but some are saying this pandemic time is a good time to sell things because of supply issues everywhere.

Simon

[Arlin Eastman]

If you do not need the money keep it or sell if and get a plunge router that comes with a rigid base like my hitachi

[overland]

If you do not need the money keep it or sell if and get a plunge router that comes with a rigid base like my hitachi

The Bosch does have a plunge base. There's both: a fixed base and a plunge base.

[Handplanesandmore]

The Bosch does have a plunge base. There's both: a fixed base and a plunge base.

In that case, yours is a 1617 EVS.

I'd keep it unless I could sell it for a good price.

Simon

[Bill_de]

I've become increasingly attached to my Makita battery-operated tools, in part  because I usually work outside, and they're much easier to use under such circumstances. I recently got as a gift a small Makita plunge router. Should I sell my old Bosch 1617? It's a big beautiful thing, powerful and precise, but do I really need it now? What could I do with it that my little Makita can't do. A lot, I'm sure, but I'm just a hobbyist, not a production shop. I'm trying not to hoard. 
 I'll be grateful for any thoughts, especially from people who have used the new Makita.

If you don't already have one, the 1617 would feel right at home in a router table. A table mounted router makes some things much easier to accomplish.

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[greenacres2]

I'm a Bosch 1617 fan, so prejudiced. Most routers rely on their plunge base for table use (springs removed), in the case of the 1617 the fixed base is the one designed for table use (and can be adjusted from above the table, though the lock still needs to be latched by reaching underneath). Using the fixed base in the table leaves the plunge base available for hand-held work--so the swap is easy if you only have one router. Another nice feature is that the bases are tapped with both Bosch's 4 hole pattern and also for the Porter Cable 690 3-hole pattern--makes swapping to after-market base plates/table plates about as painless as it gets. Not a perfect machine by any stretch of the imagination, but a very well thought-out machine.
earl

[shoottmx]

What greenacres2 said. Plus there are times having two routers aet up with different bits is a real time saver.

g

[jazzgtrist]

I've become increasingly attached to my Makita battery-operated tools, in part  because I usually work outside, and they're much easier to use under such circumstances. I recently got as a gift a small Makita plunge router. Should I sell my old Bosch 1617? It's a big beautiful thing, powerful and precise, but do I really need it now? What could I do with it that my little Makita can't do. A lot, I'm sure, but I'm just a hobbyist, not a production shop. I'm trying not to hoard. 
 I'll be grateful for any thoughts, especially from people who have used the new Makita.

I have a dozen or more Makita LXT tools, 7 batteries, 2 chargers, and love them all.  I have given the Makita LXT router some serious thought.  It looks like a fine router.  I understand that it can also use a 3/8 inch shank bit which takes it to a more robust level.  Finally, it can use all the accessories from the plug-in corded version of the Makita router.
 
My current router is the Bosch 1617 – I have been using it for many years now.  Have three bases – fixed/plunge/and the fixed without wooden handles which I used with an aluminum plate in my cast iron table saw extension.  Recently, I upgraded to the Rockler Pro Lift with the snap-lock insert rings.  This upgrade has been wonderful:
- very precise and easy bit height adjustments
- fast and easy (much easier) bit changes
- haven’t lost (or vacuumed up) any more of those little insert ring screws!

The only disadvantage now comes when I want to use my Bosch 1617 away from the router table with the plunge or fixed base.  To get the router out of the Pro Lift involves taking the whole system out of the router table and then unclamping the router from the lift (manipulating three hex head screws).  I’m getting faster with this swap-out (probably 5 minutes or so), but because of this, I thought the Makita router would be a nice addition.
 
While I would still love to have the Makita, I have decided that if I do want to get a second router, my choice will likely be to simply buy another Bosch 1617.
 
If I was in your situation, I would definitely keep the 1617 for many situations that a compact router cannot do without 1/2 inch shank bits.
- for external use with ½ inch shank bits as in mortise situations with the plunge base (in a mortising jig, or with templates). 
- use with rail and stile bit sets that come in 1/2 inch shanks
- slot or dovetail or bullnose or lock miter bit cutting
- edge jointing with straight bits and offset fences on the router table

I'm just a hobbyist as well, but probably 95 percent of all my routing is done on a router table.  The Bosch is excellent there!

Cheers,
George