With regard to routers I would agree for most work you do not need a. ½′' router, they are heavy and cumbersome.

They come into their own when jointing worktops with a jig, for general projects routers with 8 and 10 mm collets are fine, soft start and variable speed are beneficial.

I have a Makita biscuit jointer, the head /face plate are very adjustable to suit all manner of work .

Think about the projects you wish to do and prioritise the use for the tools you buy.

Check the suitability of the blade for your saw, the general purpose one that comes with the saw is just that, if you are cutting sheet material and more teeth are beneficial, ripping softwood less teeth / bigger gullets are better.

    Compost bin project. Will finish over Easter.

    PortafilterProcrastinator Bosch GKT55 and have been really pleased with it. Very similar to the Mafell (rumour was Mafell make it for them).

    Thx. I have been looking at this along with Festool. The Bosch’s review is very good.

    simonc Many thanks. Those hunters look reasonable. The Stainless steel versions are expensive but may last for a long time.

    Elcarajillo Yeah. I am not going to buy all in one go. I’m more likely to start with the plunge saw as we would require it for the garden project.

    I saw Peter Millard making a wooden 2.4 m rail. That was interesting. Perhaps, will make one to cushion the financial impact.

    What do guys do for the extractor? They cost the same, if not more.

    Elsewhere, we ordered these two!

    envii SeaFeed Xtra – Organic Liquid Seaweed Fertiliser Multipurpose Plant Food - 1 Litre

    Pro-Kleen 2.5 KG PREMIUM Iron Sulphate (Makes up to 2500L When Diluted & Covers up to 2500m2) Pure Lawn Tonic- Ferrous Sulphate of Iron Lawn Conditioner and Turf Hardener. Dry Powder easily soluble in water

      LMSC What do guys do for the extractor? They cost the same, if not more

      I didn’t bother. Usually I try to cut outside, or hook up to the old dyson vac

      • LMSC replied to this.

        hornbyben Yeah! I was thinking of hooking the Miele with an adaptor. That’s what we do while using the electric sander for decorations. Works very well. 😊

        LMSC What do guys do for the extractor? They cost the same, if not more.

        If cutting outside, still use decent protection - I recommend the JSP Force 8. Sheet material especially is bloody horrible - don’t want it in your lungs.

        Extraction helps a lot with routing in terms of seeing what’s going on.

        If you don’t need power pass-through I’d recommend CamVac.

        If you want another DIY project you could mock up a master/slave using the Kemo module - decent rating - for convenience.

          PortafilterProcrastinator JSP Force 8. Sheet Material

          Mate, you’re a walking library! 👏👍 Is that a respiratory mask?

          Absolutely agree, I have no intentions of exposing myself to dust.

          The problem is these extractors are so expensive. I will aim to connect the vac while working. Could you share the CamVac link please ?

          Could you tell me more about the Kemo please ?

          Is there a free design tool for designing cup boards, tables, landscaping garden please ? Windows or iOS.

            One more recommendation for Festool - not just the plunge saw, but the OF1400 router. I haven’t used the Bosch (which by all accounts is excellent too), but I found an open-box OF1400 on eBay at a great price, and I haven’t looked back. It’s an excellent tool, and as long as it’s connected to a shop vac (not the Festool mortgage-requiring type) there is practically no dust, even when working on MDF.

            On the ¼ vs. ½″ collet, I would go diametrically (!) opposite - unless you are planning to use the router only as a trim router. You can fit a ¼″ collet on a ½″ capable router body, but you can’t do the reverse, and any shaping/moulding capability is severely restricted if you only have ¼″ bits.

              LMSC Take a look at Axminster Tools to view variety of makes / models.

              About 28 years ago I totally transformed our sloping back garden from this…

              to this…

              At the time I chose to use wood to make a decked area and a product called Woodblox for the beds due to cost. It was cheaper then than building retaining walls and backfiling and laying slabs and stone steps. Now though, I wish I had waited and saved up a bit and gone down the brick/patio slab route, as even though everything was pressure treated and looked after every year, it has rotted in places. Because it was built so long ago I can no longer get the same size decking, which means replacing the whole lot and as we all know, the price of wood now is rediculous.

              So, I am now thinking brick retaining walls and slabs will at least see me out. Trouble is, I’m 30 years older and no way can I do it. Also, we have some major work being done in the house replacing all the lower ground joists and floors throughout (cowboy house builders say no more) back end of September, so it’s going to have to wait another year or two at least.

              Wood decking looks good, but if I had my time again, I wouldn’t.

                LMSC We have a gardena 6 zones digital timer controlled irrigation along with 6 zones distributor. At the moment, We are using only one; plan to use 3 more of these for the lawn, front and split the watering for plants. We will still have 2 spares. 😊

                What is your pressure like? You might find if you want to run 2 pop ups at the same time, that you would need larger supply hose than this would take, or you would have to run 2 hoses all the way from this to each pop up, does depend a bit on size of garden and how easy it is to hide them. At the very least you will be burying pipe for the pop ups and the tree irrigation and you will need to make sure the hose you use and connectors are up to the job. I wouldn’t want to bury a normal garden hose and click connector as I know how often they leak above the ground as bits become loose. Hopefully you will be able to connect MDPE supply pipe to this controller.

                If not, you will be looking at solenoid valves (all easy to do) and a 12v controller (and might be able to help you out there).

                  @LMSC You may have done this already, but I highly recommend a programme of removing the thatch from your lawn(s) on a regular basis, I started doing this two years ago on a very tired, run-down lawn and it makes a world of difference. Use an electric powered “scarifier” rather than a manual scarifying rake. The lawn will look pretty roughed up to begin with but will soon recover.

                    One thing is sure! My wife is going to kill me for planning to run down our bank accounts!

                    CoyoteOldMan Interesting take on routers. Thx

                    Pompeyexile This is absolutely beautiful. What a grand design and development! Well done. Retaining walls and slabs will be very expensive! Let me think about it as we plan to extend the back garden enhancement this season and aim to wrap up everything next, if we can’t finish this season. It’s mostly a one-man job. It takes time, unfortunately. 😊

                    simonc I don’t remember. I remember measuring 2 or 3 bars! I was planning to bury PVC pipes. Does it work? How is it different to to MDPE.

                    RDC8 Thx for the heads up. We purchased Bosch Vericutter 1100W 2 years ago. It is good, though one needs to be careful. The lowest setting will rip all the grass out! 😂 I plan to scarify today or tomorrow. We will be getting the Moss killer. It is good to scarify today, apply the moss killer tmrw and rains the day after. The advisory is a wet / moist lawn and not a sunny or a dry lawn.

                      LMSC This is absolutely beautiful. What a grand design and development! Well done. Retaining walls and slabs will be very expensive! Let me think about it as we plan to extend the back garden enhancement this season and aim to wrap up everything next, if we can’t finish this season. It’s mostly a one-man job. It takes time, unfortunately. 😊

                      Thanks. Those pictures were taken when I had finished the main work. The bricks and pieces of wood on the beds were to stop the local felines doing their business and had to stay unti I managed to find a way using slightly raised chicken wire to stop them and until plants were established. As I said that was years ago and now it all needs replacing. Also, virtually every year I treated the wood too which was a major job and not cheap, which you don’t need to do with brickwork and slabs.

                      I’m going to price up both ways and if brickwork and slabs comes close to the cost of wood either more or less, I’m going for the brickwork… maintenance free.

                      • LMSC replied to this.

                        Pompeyexile 30 years for an “all wood” work of that type and extent is fantastically good durability.

                        Perhaps a mad idea, but - depending on what is rotting, and how much - would recycling most of the current “healthy” decking and adding new (similar or deliberately dissimilar) decking “around the edges” be feasible? It may be cheaper than replacing everything…

                        Pompeyexile I’m going to price up both ways and if brickwork and slabs comes close to the cost of wood either more or less, I’m going for the brickwork… maintenance free.

                        Pl keep us posted. We will do some measurements for our garden. Am thinking, once done measuring, go to Selco for a chat.

                        LMSC The mask - yes. You can get different filters depending on the job. Creates a great seal - cheaper disposable alternatives leak like a sieve.

                        CamVac: https://www.recordpower.co.uk/category/dust-extraction

                        Yes pricey, but very good indeed. £380 for the smallest with two motors. Having that option is great, especially if you ever get a planer/ thicknesser.

                        The Kemo module will allow you to create a master/ slave set up so turning on your tool will then power up the extraction. You’d need a double gang plug socket and project box to wire it together.

                        https://www.conrad.com/p/kemo-m103n-master-slave-switch-component-230-v-ac-1091973

                        Ready made options don’t have great power ratings, but this one seems to have enough headroom. I’ve not done it myself yet, but it’s on the list just as soon as I can get some time.

                        I’m afraid I’m a pencil and paper man, technologically inept.

                        I also agree with @CoyoteOldMan - there are so many more options with a ½″ router. Have a look at the UJK router table for instance - a whole new world of possibilities.

                        LMSC simonc I don’t remember. I remember measuring 2 or 3 bars! I was planning to bury PVC pipes. Does it work? How is it different to to MDPE.

                        its more common to bury PVC in the US than here from what I have seen. You can, but joints are more effort and less forgiving in movement than hose. This in either 25mm or 30mm is ideal, and then easy to get connectors to the pop ups. Much like flow profiling, pressure and flow are related and depend on the pipe. You also need to measure how much flow you have as the sprinkler heads are rated by flow. Not enough and you can only run one at a time, which just means more zones and more pipes back to the controller, rather than plumbing them in on the same pipe.

                        • LMSC replied to this.

                          simonc Thanks again! We do have something similar to your link, which we purchased from Gardena. This can go under the ground as well. The cost those MDPE looks fine for 100m.

                          It is definitely a separate pipe lay out per zone. My controller has 6, which is more than enough. 😊

                          Cheers mate!

                          Edit: We any way require a new set of pipes for sure. The MDPE looks good for us.?