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Product Reviews
Great router at a good price, November 19, 1999
Reviewer: Brent Erickson (tberickson@worldnet.att.net)
I've owned my Hitachi M12V for about four months and I
prefer it over my Craftsman and Porter Cable routers. The
bit depth ajustment is easier to set than my Porter Cable
plunge router and is usually right on the first time. The
on/off switch is in the right place for either table mount
or use by hand. It also came with an attachment that
accepts Porter Cable template guides. I compared the
Hitachi M12V with the Porter Cable model 7539 and the
Hitachi was lighter and had better balance. I am going to
purchase a second one so I don't need to take the one I
have out of the table to use.
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The incredible hulk, September 15, 2002
Reviewer: iwoodknot
I did my homework before buying my larger 3+hp router for
my router table. From the Internet, woodworking books,
local stores and personal opinions the Hitachi M12V 3-1/4
HP router time and time again came up to be the router of
choice or best for its price. I have a mid-size plunge
router already, (the DeWalt 621-a fantastic router, read
the MANY reviews) and needed a heavy duty machine for my
table.
This router at it's normal everyday price is a good value.
I'm not allowed to disclose this price unfortunately,
(sorry Amazon's policy). When purchased with the accessory
package and the height adjustment knob it's a great deal.
I got mine at Amazon with all the above and an additional
twenty five percent off. This unique Amazon offer was a
terrific (once in a lifetime??) deal!
3-1/4 hp is more power than most people are going to need
unless you plan to use it for panel raising or using 3"
diameter bits. I just used it in my router table for
cutting 3/8" deep 1/4" dados in purpleheart, a very
hard/heavy exotic hardwood I plan to join for a heavy duty
cutting board. The cutting was flawless. Earlier I used a
3/8" radius bit for rounding off corners in some pine
shelves and a 3/4" straight cutter in redwood for some
5/8" deep dados. The soft woods of course did nothing to
arouse the Hitachi beast's attention.
The Hitachi M12V has been around a long time and has
proven itself in countless professional and school
woodshops and of course at home with the everyday
woodworker. It has a long and positive track record.
While some might argue getting a plunge router for a table
is not a good idea because of their inherent design (you
have to fight gravity and the plunge springs to adjust).
This router is easy to convert. The plunge springs are
quickly removed with the loosening of a couple allen head
screws. The height adjustment knob is easily attached with
the refitting of a nut/washer assembly on the threaded
adjustment bolt attached to the router base. If you wish
to run larger bits of 3"+, simply turn the router/base
upside down, hold it secure and cut off the magnesium tabs
that hold the template guide with a jigsaw. (If this is
your only router you may wish to keep this useful feature
for hand held routing, otherwise its not really
necessary.) The whole conversion time including cutting is
a little over ten minutes.
The height adjustment knob works adequately for most table
routing but it's a little slow and can be awkward to bend
down each time you wish an adjustment and measurements are
done by hand (meaning literally your hand holding a ruler
from the table top to the tip of the bit). You may wish to
purchase the Router Raizer system, I plan to. This system
then is essentially the same as buying a 3hp fixed base
router+router raising assembly at 1/3 to 1/2 the cost! And
for those of you Tim Taylors, those large 3"-3-3/8" bits
can be used to hog off a small forest in your next cabinet
or door project.
The fit and finish is adequate. I've seen better from
Porter Cable and DeWalt but it's the performance and
reliablility I'm after here along with a good price. This
incredible hulk is lurking under my router table unseen
anyway, ready to chew through anything I can throw at it.
The accessory package aside from the height adjustment
knob and included 1/2" carbide straight bit is of
questionable usefullness to me since mine is primarily for
the table. The quality of these items is average.
The Pros:
**Unbelievable value (when purchased on sale), otherwise
still a good value
**Incredible 3-1/4 hp power
**Soft start, electronic speed control and feedback
**Well designed, simple to use plunge lock
**One touch spindle lock
**Easily converted to table use
**Long track record as a proven workhorse
The Cons:
**Fit and finish average
**Macro and micro plunge adjustment action fair when used
freehand
**Base opening < 3" diameter (to fix, see above)
Summary: A terrific big mean green machine for the table
and the most bang for the buck available. Just don't get
it angry.
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Powerful Router, March 21, 2006
Reviewer: C. Rice
This is a nice router with a very powerful motor. I put
mine in a routing table. Having run a few things through,
I am impressed with the smoothness, especially under load.
I also like the metal casing and construction used on the
router. The plunge action is smooth. I would recommend it
to others interested in a large router.
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So good I bought two., March 20, 2006
Reviewer: D. Collini
The M12V is solidly the best router bang for buck.
Amateurs and professionals would appreciate this tool.
First off, the fit and finish were great. The first time I
turned the router on I was instantly impressed with it's
easy start-up which controls the torque and prevents
little "kick-back" while holding the tool. The operation
and performance were not disapointing either. I was so
pleased with the first one, I bought a second for a
dedicated router table.
PROS: cost; power; performance; versatility (variable
speed) included accessories; good company for support or
service if needed
CONS: no real dust collection built in (only resaon I
didn't think it was a 5 star rating)
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A must for any woodshop., March 3, 2006
Reviewer: Frank M "frank_m"
This router is 1 of 4 in my shop. It is currently
permanently mounted (3 years now) in my router table and
will most likely stay there until its shot. I have added
the router raizer kit(simple installation) to it and
cannot live without this setup!
This router has soft start and runs smooth and true. I use
the router with a 3 1/2in raised panel bit with no
problems. It has enough power to hog out all the material
in one pass, but I usually take multiple to prevent
blowout and a smoother finish.
For the price, I am considering purchasing a spare just to
have as a backup. You just can't go wrong with this one!
Enjoy.
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Da Hulk! , February 18, 2006
Reviewer: Jason S. Quick "Dilettante, man-about-town, all
around nice guy"
The M12V was the first router I ever bought. It was one
helluva introduction to the router, let me tell you.
I use it in a table, where it does an outstanding job.
Yeah, it's really big, has a somewhat dated design, and is
heavy, but let's be honest - you don't buy a 3.25HP router
to do fine work, do you? No, you buy it for raising panels
on the table, or cutting dados in particleboard. Barring
that, you could probably use the M12V to mix concrete.
This baby is built like a tank, and has little to
recommend against it. In fact, soon as I got the cash and
Amazon's running a sale, I'm buying another one! So there!
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