Using the Grizzly Palm Router

[jteneyck]

I bought the Grizzly T27139 palm router kit a week or so ago.  Today, I put it use.  Here are my first impressions.

The router motor has a solid feel.  The on/off switch is on side of the motor housing; the speed control is on top. 



Bits are installed with a single wrench.  Some like this feature, others don't.  I don't, but it works well enough. 



The collet is well machined and the bit is held securely in the arbor without difficulty.  



The lower body of the motor has both mm and inch scales machined into it. 



Note the toothed rack on the side of the motor.  A sprocket on the base meshes with that rack for vertical adjustment of the bit. 



A cam action lock secures the motor in the base.  Above, the lock is open.  Below, it's closed.



The plastic dust collector works very well, but it can be snapped off when not wanted.  I was really impressed with how effective the dust collector is.  



A clever little edge follower attachment can be added to the fixed base, and can be used for flush trimming or rabbeting, and probably other things I'm not bright enough to realize.  The base of the fixed unit does not accept bushings as far as I can tell.  



The plunge base is very nice unit.  The plunge action is nice and smooth and the lock holds securely.  The motor slides into the base easily and locks the same way as the fixed base.  The on/off, depth stops, and plunge release are all on the left side (when using it).



There is the typical 3 position depth stops common on most plunge routers.  The depth rod has a clever quick release feature and a lock, too.  The micro adjuster scale at the top is hokey to me and I don't understand how it can be used since it doesn't reference any fixed point. 



The plastic washer part way down the depth rod is supposed to be used as a means of measuring depth by referencing where it is compared to the scale cast into the base.  I didn't pay much attention to it.  There is a chip deflector that can be removed if not needed or desired.  

The base of the plunge base appears to be able to accept a bushing mounting  plate.  I don't know who's however, and I don't recall Grizzly offering one.

 

The plunge base accepts an edge guide, also included in the kit.  I used it today and it works very well.



Overall this is a very nice palm sized combo unit.  Both the fixed and plunge base work very well.  The included accessories also work well.  In use, the speed control works as it should.  I found the router to perform very well with a 1/2" mortising bit.  I could take 1/8"+ deep passes with it without problem.  But it bogged down somewhat when I tried taking a full cut with a 1/4" radius bit, and I had to slow my feed rate not to overload it.  Cut quality with both bits was very good. 

If you are looking for palm router with a plunge base, this one offers a lot of value for the money with no obvious compromises.  

John

[jteneyck]

For whatever reason a bunch of pictures probably weren't visible to you.  Hopefully, that's now resolved.

John

[Hertzd]

Thanks for the nice review. Considering getting this one.  Wish it also came with a 1/2" collet, and not crazy about the $16 shipping charge.

[frigator]

Very nice review John. I dont own a small router and rarely use a handheld router much anymore, having two in a table/TS wing and one dedicated to the Leigh MT. But I got some hinge mortises coming up and sounds like that grizzly router might be perfect for the job. Unfortunatly, I missed out on the sale but its still a bargain.

[fredhargis]

Looks like a lot of stuff for small bucks. Wasn't that $60 when you bought it?

[Wizard of Oz]

Looks very similar to my Makita but at a lower cost.

[jteneyck]

Thanks for the nice review.  Considering getting this one.  Wish it also came with a 1/2" collet, and not crazy about the $16 shipping charge.

As far as I know, no palm router has the option of a 1/2" collet; the arbors are too small to handle one and the motors don't have enough HP to turn a large bit.  The $16 shipping charge seemed high to me, too, but when you see the size of the box and the weight of everything it makes a lot more sense. 

John

[jteneyck]

Looks like a lot of stuff for small bucks. Wasn't that $60 when you bought it?

Yes, I bought it for $59 on their one day special.  It's rare when I even open those e-mails from Grizzly, but luckily that day I did.  Even at the full price of $74 IIRC it's still a bargain.  

John

[jteneyck]

Looks very similar to my Makita but at a lower cost.

A local colleague said the same thing.  I'll have to see if a Makita bushing adapter fits the plunge base.  

John

[jteneyck]

Wow, this thing looks exactly like the Makita Compact Router Kit and for a lot less money.  The only difference I noted was that the Makita is listed as 1-1/4" HP while the Grizzly is 1 HP.  The accessories shown below look just like those included with the Grizzly, plus there are additional ones including a template guide adapter.  

John