MPOWER CRB7 Combination Router Base Mk3-7 Functions from Just 1 Jig

If you use a router frequently, this is a great add-on to have.Unfortunately, it did not work for my purposes. I wanted to cut a wide (2.5") rabbet on the edge of a timber. There is no way to reconfigure the base that would allow me to do that (it's complicated).Trust me...after spending a premium price for this base, I tried every possibility.Finally, I had to cut a 2" wide dado, leaving a .5" section along the edge of the timber. Then, I removed the last of the stock by cutting kerfs across the grain and knocking off the waste. I finished up with a hand plane. Like I said, it's complicated.There was no way to know how this tool would (or wouldn't) work without actually having it in hand. Hopefully, I will find a use in for it on future projects. Otherwise, it will go into the bin marked "Seemed like a good idea, but...".The quality is here, and this tool is obviously well thought out. It just has some limitations.

This router base is just what's missing from most router kits. The quality is very good and thus I had no problem marrying it up to my router. It took me a minimal amount of effort and I didn't even need to read the instructions. If you have a router and you want to increase it's capabilities get this base.

I really would like to give it five stars.., but....First my Jig came assembled wrong, I had to disassemble the Jig to "invert" the plastic bed so the holes would match and the accessories would pass through.Second once you have the Router mounted on it, the "fine" adjustment is extremely hard making it impossible to fine tune. that takes away a lot of this product. I'm using a small Dewalt router over it.So haven said that, the adjustment over the mount it is good enough so you don't need as much the fine tuning,The circle cut, works quite well.All parts seems to be high quality materials, really well made and besides the fine tuning adjustment, everything else is very well thought out.The price, makes you expect more.... this fine tuning is the bigger seller point.., so for this price i would hope that to work smoothly.

One of the most versatile accessories I've ever bought. It doesn't do anything that you can't do with a bunch of homemade jigs but it's way faster, more versatile, and precisely adjustable. Comes with nearly everything you need except the fence which I think should be included but isn't. A great tool at a fairly high price but worth it if you do a lot with your hand router.

I got this before the router showed up so I didn't get to mess with it for almost a month. When I did start to get it set up I spent a good bit of time but once I got the hang of it I cut precise dados that worked out perfect on the first try. I would advise buying the edge guide with it and get a digital height/depth gauge, or setup blocks, to set the router bit height/depth. Also, if you buy a Dewalt (dw628) router it apparently doesn't come with the required thumb screws, though everything fits together. So I had to get some metric bolts for now and order the thumb screws. The one thing I with this kit had was a storage case for all the little parts. I will come up with one, and usually I don't like the stock cases anyway, but it this case I'm using the box it shipped in at the moment. If you are woodworking with routers this is definitely worth the investment.

The first part of this review is just focusing on the set up on the CRB 7 router jig attachment. Set up is pretty straightforward it's not really that difficult to set up your router. I am using Ryobi router RE180Pl1G Plunge router. The only thing with this set up is they are assuming your router has thewing nuts for a straight edge already attached to your router, my router didn't have them so I actually had to go to my local hardware store and buy some knobs. Now if you have the same router that I'm using you will want to get nobs that 7/8 diameter, 10/24 fine thread x at 1/4 to 1/2" length. If you're using an aftermarket subbase on your router you may have to remove the subbase in order for it to properly lineup on the Jig. Other accessories that come with it include the circle cutting attachment and the two 10mm rods for doing larger circles. It also comes with the anti tip leg, and two mortise legs that can be position at different location on the jig to accommodate different size widths. (On my initial dry run, it seemed sloppy. It may be I need to perfect my technique.)So far my only con is that it doesn't come with a straightedge attachment, you have to buy that separately (yeah okay. I will just use a piece of scrap wood.and get the same effect)More In depth: Opening up the package and what is included, you get the CRB7 JIG (obviously) it comes with a set of 2 rods 3 differents sizes, the first two are already attached to the jig, This set of rods will fit most routers including my Ryobi. The other two sets can be used instead for your router in case the first set is too big or small. It has the anti tip leg which is two pieces and it’s fairly long so you should be able to use it for most stock. You also get large knob handle that goes into the jig to help balance your router while using the jig. You also get a bag of small wood screws for different router jig operations , For making small circles with the router. You get a small brass insert that you use after drilling a small hole in the center of the workpiece and a screw, for larger circles you use one or two of the 10mm rods , that screw into the rod opposite of the micro adjuster and a attachment that you would screw into the workpiece, that is pretty much it.So far: I used the jig for making key hole slots. Now i could have used my router table for this operations. However when it comes to certain operations I Prefer to be able to see the actual cutting of the operation.How I did it. :The first this I did was grabbed some Scrap stock of the same thickness and laid them out on my bench, next after I marked out and measured where I wanted my key hole slots I clamped my two scrap boards down, making sure i could slide my work piece through without any slop. Next i squared up the Crb7 Jig on the workpiece and scrap and screwed the jig to my scrap pieces, got it centered., marked a line on the workpiece where it meets the jig, measured two inches at the base of the jig made my stop line on the scrap.And then repeated for the other two keyhole slots..So for the operation I really wanted to use this for I will give it 5 stars.As far as its other capabilities I really haven’t used it for those other operations. So I am not going toSpeculate as to how well it will do.Price. Honestly I think it is way more expensive than it is worth. So for price and value I will have to give it 1 star.Over all I would give this product 3 stars.It does have it’s benefits, but with a little ingenuity some one could make a similar jig in their work shop for a lot less .For some this might be a well worth investments,. For others it could be one of those take it or leave it.Ken the Mad Carpenter©Copyright 2016

I use this primarily for making circles, but it can be used as an edge guide also. I like that the router is positioned by the rails and not with the myriad bolt patterns for different makes' sub-bases. I wish the micro-adjustment device worked a little smoother and easier, but overall this tool has worked well and I can see it has more uses I have yet to employ.