DEWALT DW618B3 12 Amp 2-1/4 Horsepower Plunge Base and Fixed Base

by DEWALT

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Featuring a 12.0 Amp motor that delivers variable speed performance from 8,000 to 24,000 RPM, the DeWalt DW618B3 2-1/4 HP router with a fixed base, a plunge base and a D-handle base offers all the power and versatility that professionals demand. Soft start provides an extra-smooth finish and helps ensure that this tool even performs well when working with the toughest hardwoods. With a micro-fine depth adjustment ring, you can count on accurate adjustment in 1/64-inch increments, while a clear, Lexan sub-base ensures durability and visibility. The included sub-base concentricity gauge enhances accuracy even further by helping you maintain bit concentricity, and long, eight-slot collets that are self-releasing provide excellent bit retention for dependability. A steel motor cam lock and quick-release motor latches make adjustments and base changes tool-free, fast and easy when you need to switch tasks, and a unique, detachable cordset helps keep this tool easy to service. This router also provides over-molded, rubber handles and a well-balanced body for increased operator comfort and control. The unique switch and cordset configuration allows you to keep the switch in your right or left hand, while a flat top and spindle lock further increase the ease of bit and depth changes. The switch is also dust-sealed for durability. Kit includes motor pack, DW6184 fixed base, DW6182 plunge base, DW6183 D-handle base, large-hole sub-base, 1/4-inch and 1/2-inch collets, wrench, sub-base concentricity gauge, vacuum adaptor, and heavy-duty kit box for easy transport and storage.

From the Manufacturer

DEWALT DW618B3 12 Amp 2-1/4 Horsepower Plunge Base and Fixed Base and

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 19.9 x 24 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 27.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000CCXU3
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: DW618B3
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,935 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #17 in Home Improvement > Power & Hand Tools > Power Tools > Routers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

113 of 115 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars nice features, ease of use, ready for inlay, and dovetails.., December 4, 2003

By 

Paul Castaneda (Santa Rosa, Ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DEWALT DW618B3 12 Amp 2-1/4 Horsepower Plunge Base and Fixed Base (Tools & Home Improvement)

I purchased this router set to do inlay work and use on the dovetail machine. I wanted to keep my bosch under the table so I did not have to pull it out all the time (by the way the bosch is a nice machine too!).
The Pros

1.) The bases on all three are narrow enough to hold brass bushings to follow templates and it was a snap to start the dovetailing like I wanted. It does have soft start like the bosch.

2.) The D handle is nice too I use that the most. I have had some trouble with the bit coming lose on the 1/4" shank but only because I did not tighten it good from the excitement of having a new tool (no harm done).

3.)It does have variable speed which I love to control on various hardwoods.

4.)The other feature I like are the cord connectors which have their own plugs and are easy to connect. The ends of the cord twist and latch so you know they're in place.

5.)The plunge base has a vaccum port on one of the shafts that I have yet to use.

6.)The dial on the router bases are smooth and raises and lowers the motor with precision and locks tight.

The cons:

1. When routing some stock you can really see the coils and bushings wind up the eletricity through the top vents which is normal but can be distracting, I'll get use to it

2.I like the one wrench bit removal with the push pin to hold the collet in place, but it takes some practice. (No more loose bits!)

Overall the machine is excellent and I am happy with the purchase and performance. The cons are very minor. I would have to choose this machine over the bosch if it were my only router because of how veritile it is (dovetail & inlay bushing bases, three bases, vaccum attachment, and variable speed) but what serious woodworker can only get away with one router? Oh yeah, and I did get the free bits......nice too.

92 of 93 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great tool DeWalt!!!, February 18, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: DEWALT DW618B3 12 Amp 2-1/4 Horsepower Plunge Base and Fixed Base (Tools & Home Improvement)

Well, this is my first "yellow" tool. I am a "blue" tool guy but I did not like some of the features on the new Makita routers, they are excellent tools with rave reviews but I did not like the entire motor turning when you adjust the depth. The problem was also compounded that nobody made a D-handle, plunge combo kit. I handled them all, every top name in the business. I took a look at the Dewalt 3piece combo and fell in love with it. It's a very well thought out system. Plus it's the only router brand that I know of that includes all three bases in one kit.

Pros:
Smooth Power, Soft start, very quiet for a router.
Three bases with great ergo design.
Awesome depth adjustment, motor does not twist.
Power cords are detachable.
Easy snap in and out bases.
Spindle lock.
Great value, D-handle base only costs you about 40 bucks with the three piece kit, retail is about $90!!
Fixed base in the router table, D-handle and plunge for freehand work, what else could you want?
Operate the power switch with your thumb without taking your hands off the router on the fixed base and plunge, not an issue with the d-handle.

Cons:
None, well ok, for you really picky people the case is larger than other routers, but remember there are three bases in there.

I did originally purchase the Milwaukee Body grip and loved it before I picked up the DeWalt. The ONLY reason I did not keep it was because I wanted a plunge base and the "red" company does not make a PB for the 5616. I did not want to spend another $200 on a plunge router, and still not have the D-handle option. This is my first router and I could not think of a better kit for the DIY homeowner to have.

59 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE router kit to own, January 14, 2007

By 

John W. Wendt (Lubbock, TX and Gulu, Uganda) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DEWALT DW618B3 12 Amp 2-1/4 Horsepower Plunge Base and Fixed Base (Tools & Home Improvement)

Okay--you are shopping for a router kit. That probably means that you are looking for the advantages of both fixed-base and plunge based routers. Or you may be asking yourself, do I really need those extra bases? Plunge bases let you get right into the middle of the workpiece without having to start at an edge, and are essential for many router operations. Of course, you can use your plunge base for many fixed-based applications, but a fixed base router is generally less bulky, gives you more control, and gets into tight areas. It's great under a router table also. I had never owned a fixed base router until I used the bases in this kit. Now I'm sold on them because of their control and ease and accuracy of depth adjustment.

So is this kit for you? What sets it apart from other kits?

First, the motor, interchangeable between all bases. Of the routers I have used--Fein, Makita, a 3 hp Dewalt, a Craftsman, and a cheap Grizzly--it rates tops with the Fein. Soft start, and very quiet. Quiet matters--particularly if you have ever used a high-pitched, high decibel router that has your head spinning after every cut. When the router is quiet, you can concentrate on your workpiece, and hear a lot that is going on with your cut. If some wood starts tearing out, you can know before you rip a big chunk out of your edge and adjust your cut. The motor is also very compact. Used with the fixed base, this is one of the smallest routers I have ever used, making it very maneuverable. It's the perfect balance of being solid but not too heavy, and pretty powerful.

(Amendment, Dec 17 2007: I had a problem with the motor that is mentioned in several other reviews: the disintegration of a magnetic ring that controls speed. One reviewer suggests that this may be due to running it upside down under a router table, which I do a lot, though mine actually fell apart while upright. The router would only run on high until I got this replaced. Replacement requires a bearing puller to remove the ball bearing that sits above the magnetic ring. I also had problems with the pin on the collet lock coming loose (also mentioned by others), which I resolved by placing a drop of glue on the side of the pin that goes into the base. I thought I should mention these problems, but it does not affect my overall opinion of the router.)

With a multi-base kit, one thing you are going to look for is how easy the motor moves from one base to the next. With the Dewalt bases, it's a snap--as in, snap open the latch, then squeeze two tabs with one hand and lift the base out. The motor has to be aligned to put it in a new base, a fast eye-ball operation. The whole thing can be done in half a minute with no tools. The 2-1/4 hp motor is quite enough. I've been using it lately on Ugandan Elgon olive, a very dense, cross-grainy wood. It's quite adequate even on the end grains. When I really have to dig some wood, I will go to my 3 hp routers, but this one can do the job. It just requires more passes. The on-off switch is a solid toggle type, positioned such that you can flick it on and off with both hands still on the router--a real plus--and great under the router table, because you flick it, and it's on. The variable speed is nice--I slow the router down to prevent wood burns on edging and rounding operations, which saves a lot of sanding time. And the lower speeds are even more quiet.

Now, the bases. All of them can be used as vacuum bases, and other reviewers can tell you more about that than I can, because I don't like a vacuum hose trailing around, so I never use the vacuum accessories. All of the baseplates (the flat part of the router that glides across the workpiece) are clear, thick polycarbonate. This lets you see your workpiece as you cut, a real essential. The cutting hole is pretty small, accomodating bits of only 1-1/8" diameter. But Dewalt includes an extra baseplate with the kit which can take bits up to 2-3/8". The smaller diameter baseplates are built to take standard template bushings, which are very useful. On my big routers, you have to attach a steel plate to hold template bushings, which blocks the view of the workpiece, and takes time to swap out. That small diameter hole gives you the extra surface area for stability when you are cutting on a narrow surface, such as a chair leg. My monster router baseplate holes are inconveniently large for this application. The larger diameter baseplate is switched out by removing 4 screws. If you need to use bits larger than 2-3/8" diameter, you can just take off the baseplate altogether, and the thing will accomodate huge bits, all the way up to just under 3-1/2". This is larger than even my monster routers. These are the ONLY router bases in my collection that can handle my box miter joint bit, which is 3-1/4". That bit was just sitting around gathering dust until I got this router. Now it's one of my frequently used.

My favorite base is by far the D-handle. Dewalt has wired it such that it is controlled with a trigger, so you turn the motor switch on, which passes the power to the trigger, which you then use to on-off the router for exceptional control, because your finger is always right on it. It has a trigger lock as well--sweet! The router is very easy to control with the D-handle.

The fixed base router is smaller. The great thing about it is that because I have the D-handle base, I can mount the fixed base permanently to my router table, and click in the motor when I need it--30 seconds and no tools, compared to 5-10 minutes to switch in the entire router. That makes using the router table a lot more appealing! Both the fixed and D-handle base (which is also a fixed base) have a fast, accurate, easy-to-use depth adjustment. As for the plunge base--good plunging action, but it could use some improvements on the depth adjustment. You can still nail the exact depths, but it's not exceptional. This is the only aspect of this kit that could use improving.

The kit also comes with a nice edge guide with a fine adjustment. I should mention that if you are going vaccum, the kit comes with one set of vaccum snap-ins that are interchangeable between all bases.

In sum--this router kit is capable of taking care of practically all of your router needs. A bigger router is nice to have for some very heavy applications, but this kit is still capable of doing everything if you don't want to spring for a monster router, and in fact has a better ergonomic feel. There are other kits out there, but none I looked at had all of the features of the Dewalt kit, and they are features that matter: very solid but not bulky, quick base change, fully accessorized with the extra clear base and the edge guide, and a collet lock to boot, so you can change bits with a single wrench (not so on many of the other kits I looked at). Great view of the workpiece, vaccum possibilities if you are into that. Good positioning of the on-off switch, and an overall solid feel, quiet running. Great case too. If you are out to buy just one router, spring the extra money and get this kit. I feel a satisfied grin creeping up my face every time I use it, and I hope it will give you the same pleasure.