Router Boss

[Raja]

Anyone has any thoughts about the Router Boss? or have one and or would you buy one?

[Guest]

I have one and I like it very much. It's a great machine and it has nearly replaced my router table. The router table is now used almost exclusively with the PC-121 oscillating spindle sander.

[Steve N]

Anyone has any thoughts about the Router Boss? or have one and or would you buy one?

Lewis Stepp is a great guy, hope he is still doing ok, this thread made me think I haven't seen him in quite a while. I'm a simple Man. I can save your life in a bunch of circumstances, but I can't run a Router Boss, too many moving parts for my liking. I can do complex things with simple tools, but I had a hard time doing simple things with that complex tool, maybe how my mind works?

[EvilTwin]

Anyone has any thoughts about the Router Boss? or have one and or would you buy one?

My first thought, was: "What is it?", so I googled it.  This is what it looks like if you had the same first thought: 

[Guest]

Here's mine after swapping out the 420 bar and putting in the 470.


And a close up of it set up to cut tapered sliding dovetails on some oak legs for an old swivel office chair.


Set up for 1:8 dovetail pins before the long bar was installed.

[Downwindtracker2]

I built a version of this jig https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKZJyBuqYIs&t=19s . I used the same router and edge guide. Later Dewalt edge guides are now of poorer quality. I still had to much play in the edge guide. So anything that gets around edge guide problem is a good thing.

[Guest]

I'm not sure what that jig has to do with the Router Boss but it looks like a decent jig. Of course with the Router Boss you can cut mortises and the tenons to fit into those mortises.

[wrb]

I used to have a WoodRat that I had purchased from Lewis over 12 years ago. Upgraded to Router Boss. Once you understand the basic concept it is a very versatile platform that I personally enjoy using. When I first got the WoodRat I made all my lose tenon and dovetail joinery with it. Since Festool released the Domino, I have been using Router Boss for dovetails only.

I would definitely buy it again.

[PaulJohnstone]

I used to have the woodrat. I understand the Router boss is better.

But think of it this way.. The high end Router boss is about $1000.
It lets you cut 36" long and I am guessing about 4 to 8" wide (I forget what my wood rat would do).

If you already have an extra PC around, you can make a low end CNC for close to that budget.
Someone on Joe's CNC board built a 4 foot by 4 foot CNC with Mach and Cut2d software and buying a PC for about $1500 (if I recall correctly)
That includes the $100 to join the forum and get the plans.

Maybe you don't want a 4 x 4 foot CNC, but you could make a smaller version for even less. 
You can buy mach wizards to do dovetails pretty inexpensively. There is a through dovetail wizard (which also does box joints) floating around for free.
There is a half blind dovetail wizard for $15 (bought it, have not tried it)

It could just do so much more than a Router boss can do, plus no issues on flex (I understand the router boss is better than the wood rat)..
More travel.. No need to rig up a jigs to hold a small board so you can cut on the face, and honestly things are a lot more accurate and faster on a CNC.

But of course, if you are hobbyist woodworker, it may be more fun to do stuff on the router boss.. As a hobbyist, the journey of building something is as important as the final product.. I am just saying.. before investing a whole lot in a router boss or something similar, investigate homemade CNC (although it will take time to build, which you may not have or you may not have the desire to do that.. a big advantage of the router boss is that it is up and running in one afternoon).

[BloomingtonMike]

$1500 for a Joes would be VERY VERY cheap and I am betting he had more freebies around to make that cost work and the ability to cut his own carriages etc and maybe his own controller already. That or the guys BOM is not accurate


Mach is $175+ and Cut2d pro for a 4x4 would be $449 if you bought legit software licenses - just saying

Also smaller at some point is not much cheaper. Definitely a bell curve. V rail and 8020 is going to cost you no matter the length not to mention using CNCRP mechanics and the rack from Moore gear.

These assumptions are made for a 4x4 Joes Hybrid or Evolution.

Typically the salesman speech is $2500 but even that is way low for any decent build and is prob more like $3500.

What did you pay for your build. I know my first build before cast and spindle and welded base upgrades was about $3500.

Ill go look for that $1500 thread.

I have built a number of 4x4 machines now including my Hybrid Cast CNC Joes so I am just basing my knowledge on actual build experience. Maybe I am way off on new builds. I have built an evolution but 3060 8020 is not cheaper than before lol.

Also I thought Joe dropped the price of the forum to less than $100?