Great unit, May 27, 2000

Well, the time finally came when I had to replace my 30 year old Craftsman router. The main shaft was exhibiting a little too much wobble for my tastes - this, after I rebuilt the works with new bearings.

I purchased this after reading the Wood mag review and looking at most of the other brands. The only limitation I've found so far is my bits. This thing has plenty of power, fits my medium-sized hands well, and is very precise. The flat top makes bit changes very easy. I had to add a homemade plexi base and deburr the depth adjustment a bit but this is a great tool. I use it for most of my free hand routing, though caution is needed when starting--maintain a firm grip.

Since Porter Cable has pushed its 7310 laminate trimmer as its primary trim router, the 310 has become less familiar with the general public but has remained the production stop standard for professional woodworkers. With its outstanding quality and precision construction, I imagine that the $159 310 is significantly more expensive to produce than the 7310, and is thus not at a competetive price point with the $100 trimmers made by DeWalt, Bosch, and others. Those routers are OK, but they pale in comparison with the 310. See my review of the 7310 for a critique of this second-rate machine.The 310 is a small little horse of a router. It has micro adjustment and is exceptionaly accurate. It has none of the numerous flaws that plague the 7310 and the other "Rotozip" style trimmers. Against the advice of my cabinetmaker colleagues, I originally purchased a 7310 as my sole laminate trimmer, thinking I'd save a few bucks. I was so unimpressed with it and its inaccurate base and...