Bosch RA1171 Cabinet Style Router Table

List Price: $329.46 Discount Price: $204.12

Features:

• Tall Aluminum Fence with Adjustable MDF Face Plates 4-7/8" x 25-1/8" supports taller work pieces and outfeed can be offset for jointing
• Rigid Aluminum Router Mounting Plate Stays flat and precise for accuracy and pre-drilled for a variety of routers
• Accessory slot accepts featherboard and 3/4? optional accessories such as miter gauge
• 2 Dust collection ports for standard 2-1/2? vacuum hoses 
• Dual Outlet Switch with 6' Power Cord - Lock helps prevent unauthorized use

Accessories:
Fine Woodworking	Woodworking Basics: Mastering the Essentials of Craftsmanship

Customer Reviews:

Bosch 1171RA Router Table [Posted on 2007-07-12]
A great router table for the money! No assembly problems at all. All holes lined up perfectly. Fit and finish of product good. Closed in cabinet keeps router quiet. If you have the 1617 router it's great for above table adjustment. In the cabinet the on/off switch and speed wheel are right up front to use. The t-track is a great feature on the table not just a mitre slot like other products have. Leveling the mounting plate was a snap, the easiest part of the whole assembly!
The only critisism of the table would be the safety/kill switch is flimsy and fragile looking.

Average at Best [Posted on 2007-08-02]
I take pride in purchasing tools that are built well but without spending inordinate amounts of money (aka Norm!)

I agree with many of the previous reviews concerning leveling of plate and the edges being higher on the exiting of the wood. I have adjusted my techniques a bit and find the table good for the average joe!

The other side of the coin was that I couldn't find a table any better than this. Many that I looked at were metal framed and past history has me balking at that design. Others had the same lipping issue on exit.

Average but I use it regularly!

Good performance at a great price. [Posted on 2007-09-09]
I purchased a Bosch RA1171 router table after looking at the Craftsman model 26608 and the Bench Dog ProTop Contractor. The Craftsman, a close cousin to the RA1171, was the same price but didn't include featherboards or a starting pin, had a plastic (instead of aluminum) router mounting plate, and its fence wasn't as tall. The Bench Dog was highly recommended by lots of users, but was more expensive and didn't include an external cabinet-mounted power switch. The Bench Dog would have cost $250 with shipping and an add-on power switch. The RA1171 was $160 with free shipping. Since I don't plan to make heavy use of the router table, I decided to keep my costs low and take a chance on the Bosch. I'm glad I did.

It took an hour and a half to assemble the table and install my Bosch 1617EVS router. Assembly was straightforward, there were no missing parts, and the instructions were easy to follow. All parts fit perfectly without the need for adjustments or fussing. The only glitch was that the vinyl edge trim around the table top was a little too tall, creating a lip. This was easily trimmed with a utility knife.

There's enough room (just barely) inside the cabinet to adjust the router speed, change router bits, adjust the router height, and change the collet, all while the router is still mounted to the table.

For dust collection, I attached 2.5" diameter reducers to the ends of 4" diameter hoses on my Delta 50-760. One of the reducers attached easily to the dust port in the cabinet. The dust port on the fence was a problem because the port is located too close to the table top; it won't allow a 2.5" reducer to be connected. Flipping the port to a vertical orientation didn't help. I had to scrounge around at a hardware store until I finally discovered a 2.5" rubber plumber's coupler that was 4" long. This was perfectly sized to move my reducer away from the table top. The designers at Bosch should have known better than to design the fence dust port this way.

I'm happy with the dust collection. On small roundover cuts with the stock pressed against the fence, there was no visible dust kicked out. On heavier roundover cuts using the guide pin (with the fence several inches away) the results were pretty good, although some wood chips escaped.

After using the RA1171 several times over a six-month period, I've noticed a design flaw that makes it difficult to properly level the router mounting plate. At each corner of the router mounting plate, there is a special fastener that does dual duty by setting the height of the mounting plate and also acting as a receptacle for the hold-down screw. While this is an ingenious way of saving money for the manufacturer, it leads to problems if the fasteners are less than perfect. To level the plate, a hex key is inserted into the leveling pads at each corner and then turned to raise or lower the plate. Once the plate is level, machine screws are dropped through a hole in each corner and driven into a threaded hole in the middle of each leveling pad. In theory, the torque to tighten the screw will be less than the torque to rotate the leveling pad. "In theory" is the key concept here. For some reason, at one corner the screw was a bit "sticky" and caused the leveling pad to rotate when the screw was driven in. So, after getting the plate perfectly level, I drove in the four corner screws and discovered that the plate was no longer level. After some trial and error, I discovered that switching the "bad" screw to another corner minimized the torque so that the leveling pad did not rotate. Now the plate is perfectly level. (Other solutions to this problem could include lubricating the hold-down machine screws, or adding a drop of Locktite to the external threads on the leveling pad.)

All things considered, I'm very happy with this table. It performs well, has plenty of features and accessories, and the price is low. It does have a few quirks that can be dealt with. Once it's adjusted properly, it works great! I highly recommend it.

Great affordable table [Posted on 2008-05-13]
Having little to no experience with router tables I relied on the reviews of others when deciding to buy the Bausch RA1171. It has so far lived up to its glowing reviews.

I found it easy to assemble. It has nearly everything you could want out of a router table...fence, featherboards, clear chip shields, vacuum attachments, and (my favorite) and easy on/off switch with safety key. The best part about the on/off is that it accommodates two three-prong plugs for both the router and shopvac.

I didn't check what routers the plate would fit before I purchased it (D'oh), but found another review before it arrived that claimed it would fit my Ridgid router (Combo kit R2930) which it did. It says nothing of the Ridgid series on the manufacturer's website or the table's manual. The only thing that doesn't seem to line up is the hole for the micro-adjustment wrench. I haven't found it cumbersome to adjust simply by opening the cabinet and reaching for the router's knob.

My router is pretty quiet as is, but the closed cabinet does a great job at curbing the noise even more.

As far as cons:

-It doesn't come with a miter gauge to fit in its miter slot, but the miter from my table saw fit fine.

-The small work surface. This is a very minor con as it's only a temporary thing. I look forward to making another bench in my workshop that will have this table set in flush to all the other surfaces. It has fit the few projects I've tackled so far.

Overall: a stellar buy. Terrific to start with and I anticipate it will last me a long time.

Bosch RA1171 Cabinet Style Router Table

I like it [Posted on 2008-07-04]
Once I put it at the right height, I really like it. It will do what I need to learn the craft.

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