DEWALT Router, Plunge Base, 10-Amp, 2 HP (DW621)

The reason I bought this model was for the built-in dust collection through the handle. This one feature alone sets the Dewalt appart from the others. Truly a well designed piece of equipment, and good bang for your buck. Pros: Soft start will not jerk the router out of your hands Smooth Plunging action Great dust collection, easy clean up. Well balanced and just the right weight Has variable speed control Rack and Pinion depth control is easy/fast to set and use. Constant speed under load Plenty of power at 2 H.P. I like the squared sides on the base. Great when using jigs and fences. Comes with 1/4" and 1/2" collets The start switch is located on the handle so you never have to take your hands off the router Plunge lock is also in the handle... very nice. Cons: The two step start switch takes some getting used to. The router must wind down to a low RPM before re-start. While this can be annoying sometimes, it is bound to increase brush life. You don't need to buy the fine height adjuster. Save your $$ The edge guide is O.K., not great. But it came as a free accessory. Overall: I truly enjoy using this router. I recommend this model for hand help operations.

I know it is heresy to say this, but I bought this router for situations where my Festool OF1400 didn't work well. The handle set-up on the Festool is best when you are standing over it; when you want to sit down level with the router, the handle and power switch are clumsy. I like the knob-handles on each side of the router, and the on/off switch at my fingertips. I modified an EZ Pro mortise and tenon jig to compensat for their jig's weaknesses, and now have a M&T jig worth bragging about (like I'm doing right now). Anyway, I bought the DW621 to use with the jig in a project the required 72 mortises and tenons. The Dewalt was great. Very happy with the purchase. The router is well balanced, with plenty of power. Plunge mechanism is smooth, and depth of cut setting is something I wish Festool would copy. Seriously. It's imperial (not metric) scaled, and set by a positive dial, with fine adjustment. Dust collection is great...on par with Festool. As a plus, the rod spacing happens to be within 1 or 2 mm of the Festool, so I can use the Festool track and guide and fine adjustment. It could use a different, wider base plate. An easy fix. I highly recommend this tool.

I'm a professional furniture maker and I use this router primarily for mortising operations as well as cutting tenons, with a tenon cutting jig. After owning this router for more than a year I'm very pleased with it. In this review, I am comparing it to the Festool 1400 EQ (which retails for $600) I find it just as capable and comfortable and actually better in some ways: Depth Control: The depth stops have a standard turret configuration, Allowing you to set 3 separate depths, which is very handy for deep plunge cuts that need to be done in several passes. Again, I find the dewalt design better than the Festool 1400 EQ. On that tool, when you released the thumbscrew securing the depth stop the rod would just fall, and you would lose your setting (very annoying). This DeWalt model has a rack and pinion adjustment that stays in place when the thumbscrew is loosened. Also, it has a rotary depth adjustment knob that can be calibrated relative to your current depth (super useful!). Then there is the fine adjustment knob at the top of the depth rod, for dialing in a that last 1/32". Dust control: Dust collection is integrated into the plunge mechanism and works even better than the Festool. The freely pivoting vacuum port is located on the top of the tool, keeping hoses up and out of the way, plus it fits festool 27 mm vacuum hoses perfectly. The only downside is that this port prevents you from resting the tool upside down when changing bits, however, it is detachable. Base: The base accepts an edge guide. The dewalt brand edge guide (which I highly recommend getting) is easily adjustable and has a detachable dust shroud that greatly aids in collecting dust when edge routing. the base is also compatible with template bushings, which is pretty standard for a router in this class. The spindle lock works well, allowing you to only use one wrench. however the Festool 1400 EQ has a ratcheting mechanism that is even easier. Like other reviewers have mentioned: the plunge mechanism is sometimes sticky. Some Teflon spray helps. This is annoying but not a deal-breaker. The power lock switch takes some getting used to. Likewise with the plunge lock knob. However, once you get accustomed to them, using them becomes second nature. I've never found the power cord to be too short in my experience. One thing that would make this router even better is if it had LED lights near the collet to illuminate your work better. This router design was once produced by Elu, a legendary Swiss manufacturer of power tools was bought by black and decker (parent company of Dewalt). While the fit and finish of this incarnation might not match the original, I find it to be a very well designed router with lots of refinement. 2 year update: I'm still using this router in a regular basis. It's still a great router. I love the flat sides of the base. Makes it very compatible for creating jigs. Highly recommended.

The vacuum attachment is the best of all routers with a vacuum attachment, IMO. Also it is light enough and yet powerful enough to do MOST jobs perfectly. The exception is large router bits, which I have NEVER been comfortable with using a router. Just too dadgummed dangerous. I believe the shaper SHOULD be used instead for large cutter routing/shaping. I am very pleased to say that I am using this router in an "over and under" arm router table, set up for pin routing; where the "pin" is a precision ground 1/4" or 1/2" stainless steel rod; installed in either the upper or lower router mounted routers. The beauty of the Dewalt 621 is that it fits and works perfectly when mounted "under" a table top* in a pin router set up. IE: EVEN when the router's height is not locked by the knob, it is still quite stable; because of the larger than normal post and very tight tolerances. I use a home-made** latching/unlatching "foot pedal" to raise and lower the router; through a series of wooden levers and pivots mounted under the table. The precision height adjuster on this router is perfect* for that application. And again, one could not ask for a better dust collection system. A very NEEDED and often absent feature on MOST routers. I highly recomment this product; even though it does have a slight problem in non standard mounting holes; and a flimsy base. But that withstanding, I am very high on this router. * Note: This router is NOT suitable (IMO) as an "over" arm router in a pin routing setup. But "under" the table it is a jewel. ** I copied the table height adjusting mechanism from an old pin router table designed by Woodhaven that is no longer manufacturered. But I am greatful to the owner of this fine company for sending me a drawing of how he "latched" and "un latched" using one's foot when locking the height of the router; for both hands free pin routing.

I looked at a lot of routers before buying this. Let me save you a lot of time and tell you that this is the one to get. The only flaw is that it does not have a light. I was considering a Festool since I am already invested in that line and because their routers are well reviewed. But I just couldn't justify paying that much. The main reason I was considering the Festool was for the dust collection. But let me tell you that the dust collection on this is AWESOME. No exaggeration. I routed a groove and it sucked up maybe 99% of the dust. Routing a dado may not be as effective since there is an entire side exposed and there is no shroud around the bit (like Festool has). It's also very perpendicular. I routed a groove then routed an overlapping groove to make it wider. If the router is not perpendicular then there is a ridge at the overlap. This had little to no ridge. Only con is that there is no light. Not a dealbreaker but it's more important than you think. It can be difficult to see what you're doing since the dust hood hinders some of your view. Also, I purchased separately the accessory that allows you to attach the router to a track. It works well. I had to put some tape underneath to eat up some slack, but now I can route in a straight line with no play at all. Be sure to get that accessory if you have a track. I would absolutely buy it again.

I use this router almost every day in my business. My company specializes in repairing countertops. I've owned at least eight of these routers over the years. The DeWalt DW621 is compact and not too heavy, making it great for use in tight quarters. The switch is unusual, but very easy to use when you get the hang of it. The dust collection is outstanding when hooked to a shop vacuum. One unique feature is that the shaft is offset from the centerline of the tool, which makes it much more stable when used on the edge of a flat surface. My only criticism is that it is a bit underpowered for heavy professional use, and I have burned out a few motors after overloading the tool. Jim Heaphy TopRepair American Canyon, CA

I purchased this product so that I could make 60 mortises (3/8"x1 3/4" and 3/4" deep) using a template with guide bushing and I wanted dust collection. In the past, I have used a Porter Cable 891 but it has no dust collection. I inspected the DW621 carefully when it arrived and noticed a couple of design/manufacturing flaws. The depth stop plunger was not very well aligned with the depth stop turret; I felt like I could live with this. Second, the placement of the electrical cord precludes one from turning the router upside down and resting on the top; again, this was something I could live with. Also, I agree with other reviews that the 8 ft cord could be longer. The dust collection met my expectations :). The ergonomics of the on/off switch is great after a little time getting used to it; compare this with the Porter Cable 891 in which you have to move one hand from the handle to the top of the router to push/pull the on/off switch. The soft start feature is very nice.The depth lock mechanism is good after getting used to it. The router fits my hands nicely; I like the feel of it. At the end of the 60 mortises, the depth stop had not moved at all; not so with some other routers I have used. And now for the major problem. The plunge mechanism binds up after locking the depth. In making a mortise, I like to plunge 1/8-1/4", lock the depth and then move the router horizontally to make the cut. This process is repeated for the next 1/8-1/4" plunge. Unfortunately, I discovered that in order to plunge down you first had to plunge up and then you could plunge down. This means you have lost your reference depth on making the next plunge. After you reach the full depth of the mortise, you stop the router, remove it from the template and vacuum out the residual chips. Then you reinsert the router to full depth and clean up the mortise. Unfortunately, if you stop the router at full mortise depth and then remove it, the depth lock does not release. I learned from experience that you needed to "drop" the router on the work bench so that the router would return to the plunge up position. I contacted DeWalt customer service and was told to take it to a Customer Service Center in my area; not much help. Instead, i decided to return the router to Amazon and request a replacement as there appeared to be a manufacturing flaw. If the replacement router has a smooth operating plunge mechanism, then I will update and upgrade this review. I would consider it a great router in its horsepower class if the plunge process worked smoothly.

Good plunge router but a few things clumsy. The plastic dust shield is no good with plunging since it get in the way. I had to take it off and so very little dust actually get sucked into the vacuum. Also, the smoothness of the plunge has much to be desired. I've tried oiling the shaft but it continues to stick in the up or down position. I have to hammer the top to get it to unstick from the up position and need to pry it from the down position. It is very powerful and no slowdown even deep routes into hard oak. Very little vibration and the adjustable speed give good flexibility. Overall is a good quality router but not perfect.

Amazing. Better than expected.

Superb router. Nice depth control, the on-off switch is easy to use (ignore some other reviewers comments on this feature - I never had any issues with the double switch action). My only comment is the left handle could be a bit larger for better grip but that is a minor issue. A router of this quality should come with a copy template but these are easily available as a separate item. The POWERTEC 70175 dust collection system connects easily with this router (also available from Amazon).

Good

Thank you