Customer Reviews

Bosch RA1200 Extra Large Portable Router Table

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I just bought this table a few days ago and am generally happy with the sturdiness of the table itself. However, the left fence did not line up with the right fence. I think the fence is made out of cast aluminum not iron as it is pretty lite. I set the fence on the table and it wobbled, when I checked with a straight edge it was 1/16" off, the left side of the left fence tiled backward. I took the fence back and got a replacement fence and it was ok. The way the fence mounts to the table is with carriage bolts, this seemed pretty tacky to me for such an expensive table. When ever you adjust the fence, you have to reach under the table and apply pressure to the carriage bolts to keep them from turning as you try to retighten. The mounting plate has hole patterns for bosch routers so my dewalt would not fit without drilling, my Porter Cable fit into the existing holes ok. The base plate has no provision for adjusting the height to make it flush with the table, mine is lower than the table by about 1/16 inch. This was noticable because the first board I ran through it hung up on the base plate, then the chamfer was not perfect because of the warped fence. Not very impressive. I will fix the base plate by drilling 4 holes in the corners and threading them and installing allen screws for leveling. I would probably but this table again because I need something portable but I am not happy with having to "fix" the table to make it work right.

Wood working is currently one of my more recent obsessions, and fortunately I have the luxury of buying the best with portability being the limiting factor. The garage is home for the cars. I do quite a bit of research before choosing a particular brand and Bosch is one the main choices for my woodworking tools.

Why Bosch above all others is mostly due to how well constructed and thought out these tools are. This router table is no exception. Mostly assembled, the table is easily finished with a screwdriver. Upon first look this table is HEAVY (70 lbs!). It is solid everywhere, almost overly so. The legs seem as if they are made for the weight of a small car. The legs fold easily and lie flat; the motion of which reminds me of tools built long ago. The fence is made of a cast iron base and a wood face attached with carriage bolts and plastic/metal knobs. There are shims included for using the table as a jointer. All the metal/ plastic parts are finely finished and made of thick quality materials. In fact, easily the best I've seen for mainstream tools. No cheapness here. All the small parts are separated into small re-useable zip lock bags. (Nice touch). The router base (phenolic) is better than most - again thick - but could be of a material more suitable with the rest of the table. The base plate is easily leveled and as a benefit can be bolted to the table for transport or storage.

I have little to say about the operation. Which in its self is a compliment. The setup is effortless and it works. The Off/On switch is a great touch. The fence yields to nothing as if were made of granite. The plate is another story as it does flex. I have used it with softwoods and have had no problems. But with some effort you can see it move.

The biggest complaint is of the most convenient parts. The On/Off switch. It's nice to have -period- and it's placed where it's needed at the end of the table. It seems that it could be easily broken by the sheer weight of the table when unfolding. Mine was fixed by having wing nuts and studs replacing the screws making it easy to remove before storage.

I must admit, I didn't buy this from Amazon. I got mine from Woodworker's Warehouse when they were going out of business. If the sale hadn't been final, I would have returned it. The ability to take this table anywhere is wonderful. And if you don't need pinpoint accuracy from the fence on the job-site, then this table is for you. The large work surface is good. After drilling an extra hole, I was able to mount my PC 7518 underneath. The table itself has allt he basic features of any basic table, but the fence is poorly designed and frankly a pain to adjust. I have used it and will continue to use it in the field, but I will not use it in the shop.

I agree with the reviews below noting how imprecise this table is. First, it uses the Rousseau plate that is NOT flat. The fence is fair at best, difficult to adjust. The body of the fence is one piece and mine is an eyelash crooked. The knobs are poor quality and I replaced them immediately.

The distillation of all of this is that you will have a hard time with any precision routing. I tried to make some cabinet rail and stile doors; the error introduced by the above factors make this untenable.

The upside is that the table is large and the is portable. This is by no means an optimal shop table. Save your money and get a better product for your shop (e.g. the Bench Dog).

Part of the reason why I give this only two stars is that for $325 bucks this is a very poor value for what you get. It is worth less than half of that!!!


Remember, if you are going to buy the higher end product anyway, you pay through the nose if you waste money on inferior unit first. I have made this mistake more times than I care to admit.

This is a good router table and very sturdy. Its worked well for me and I would buy it again. I am however not satisfied at all with the way that the mounting plate works. Its hard to align and the cheap plastic set screws that they provide are terrible. Bosch needs to fix two things to make this table really great. Get rig of the cheap plastic set screws, and make the way you align and set the fence easier than having to reach under it all the time to move the knobs. The height is very comfortable and it was easy to set up and build.

What I wanted: The best table for the lowest price. Unfortunately, all good router tables are expensive. After extensive research, I determined the relatively acceptable range of a good complete setup to be $300-$900. A bit pricey for a tool with not even a motor. All router table setups are basically made up of five components. Ideally, all components come together in one box as a complete kit:
*Good quality Tabletop- large & smooth durable finish.
*Portable Legs- when set up, it should be as stable as a fixed leg unit.
*Good quality Fence- should adjust accurately, easily, and stay where I set it.
*Router Lift- must be able to fine tune depth easily to at least 1/64" increments.
*Accessories included- remote on/off switch, feather boards, multiple clear shields.

What I got: This table kit is essentially a Bosch-dized Rousseau 3350. With that known, I tossed out the stock fixed mounting plate and dropped in the Rousseau 3000LS Lift which fits perfect. This completes my setup and is reviewed as such.

Assembly: The table and legs come assembled and unfold easily and lock in position. A screwdriver is the only tool needed to screw in the remote switch and dust port. The mounting plate needs to be leveled flush with the tabletop and is done so with 6 nylon screws into brass inserts from under the table. This along with 4 screws from above are used to tighten it down. Time can be spent getting it all perfect, but it only needs to done once. The Bosch fence varies from Rousseau by adding two horizontal threaded rods for mounting the vertical feather board and/or clear shield. It also uses MDF instead of Baltic Birch for the fence faces. Count on a leisure Saturday morning to setup.

OK. But does it all work: Nice and wide 44" workspace on a very stable platform and it actually folds away. The lift makes the table all it can be and is one incredibly precise & easy to use piece (see my review of it for more info). I did have to remove the vertical clear shield, as its "foot" sticks so far out that it blocks access to the Lifts height adjustment. I will either amputate the "foot" or just leave it off. There's lot of room underneath the table to easily adjust stuff like speed or pull the router. The fence adjusts well enough, although after using the lift with it's 1/512" precision makes me wish it too had micro precision adjustment for fore and aft. Otherwise, the horizontal / vertical feather boards and remote switch work as expected.

Was it worth it: It would be nice to see this table & lift combo as a standard package since they work so well together. My only real wish is, it sure would be nice to see a micro adjustment on the fore and aft movement of the fence. This would add speed & great precise, although at a hefty price increase. Perhaps the fence faces could extend out to the width of the table too. Since it is 44" wide and not 32". Overall, this is one versatile and precise router table setup for the money. 4.5 stars.

Overall, I'd say this is an excellent router table for the home workshop. My only complaints would be the plastic screws used for leveling the mounting plate, and that the fence doesn't have any micro adjustment knobs. Other than that, it's great. It's built like a tank, and the large, laminate top provides plenty of work space. I would highly recommend this router table.

I always wanted a really good router table, after looking for a long time and reviewing, asking questions of guys who have this one and others, thinking of making one by getting a table, insert ect ect, I purchased this one. It started as for just home use, now friends and I use it for cabnet making where the cabnets and other projects are sold. Sets up rather easy and stays set up.Bosch RA1200 Deluxe Router Table

Finally I convinced the wife that I needed this table. It has had a lot of use both with and without the fence. The guide pin and inlay adjustment features are good to work with. I had to take some time to correctly adjust the corner braces on the base inlay so that they would hold firm but still allow easy removal/replacement. Sometimes I wish that there were two adjustment legs but for the most part one works fine. The table is 1 inch thick MDF so definitly is not light but not so heavy that it cannot be moved easily. Learning the use of fence routing is an experience and the shim pack that is included provides some help but not all. It is a good heavy table that should give many years service if looked after.

table is larger then most ,does fold down but it is heavy .table is stable . the table top is flat but the plastic insert router mounts to is not ,i am search right now for one that is and the fit it to the table .