BOSCH RA1171 25-1/2 in. x 15-7/8 in. Benchtop Laminated MDF Top Cabinet Style Router Table with 2 Dust Collection Ports

BOSCH RA1181 Benchtop Router Table 27 in. x 18 in. Aluminum Top I put it together. Haven't yet put it to use. I'll only speak to what I can tell from the assembly. Great instructions! Bosch has gone to great lengths to take all guess work out of the assembly process, something other manufacturers should take a lesson from. The paper booklet is much better than online manuals, although I used both at different times. For those of use who think manuals are an unnecessary imposition on our God-like intelligence; I suggest you read the manual at least a little in advance of the parts you're assembling. It might save you some assembly-disassembly-reassembly. Don't ask me how I know. You know how I know. Ever wondered which bolt is the #10-16 x 1/2" and which is the #10-24 x 1/2"? The paper booklet has a true-to-size print of each and every bolt, washer, nut, etc. that solves the mysteries of identifying an incredibly large number of parts that come with the router table. How many parts is a large number? There are 161 parts, a few of which are for other models of Bosch router tables. A key identifies each part with a number that matches the true-to-size part's representation in the booklet. BTW: I didn't notice any Chinesium fasteners whose Philips head screws round out with the slightest bit of aggressive twisting of the old driver bit. All the fasteners are of a quality you might find in something like automotive manufacturing. All the main component parts are solid and well-made. Plastic is not all made the same. Time will tell how the plastic components hold up, but I expect they'll do just fine. I was very surprised at how sturdy the aluminum fence was. The same for the aluminum router plate and table top. I did not expect them to be so heavy. When I was removing the table top from the carton I wondered, due to its weight, if it was steel rather than aluminum. Leveling the router plate: I've seen reviews that made comments about the difficulty of leveling the router plate and aligning it to the same plane as the table top. I found no problem with this at all and verified the results with a TSO MTR-X triangle. I didn't go so far as to get out a set of feeler gauges to look for thousandths of an inch differences, but I don't expect to be routing components for use on Space-X. It's woodworking, not rocket science! Price: I got a terrific Black Friday price of $172.81, or so I thought. It's still (12/20/24) listed at about the same price on Amazon. I am not a connoisseur of router tables. I did the usual due diligence one might expect a penny pincher to do when making a purchase that offers the best of everything at the lowest price available and I think it went a lot better than expected. I wasn't looking for a table that cost $400 or more. I wasn't looking for the largest table or one that attaches to a Festool MFT. I wanted a table I could use in the basement or out on the driveway and pick up and carry to a job site without too much muscle strain that was suited for making moldings, dados and so forth. I was first looking for a table with a two part fence so it could be used for jointing. I admit to being disappointed that the best table I found did not have that feature. It took a while to find a Youtube video that spoke to this problem. But Bosch solved it by including two 1/16" "Jointing Shims" that slide behind the out feed fence to allow edge jointing in increments of 1/16" to 1/8". It's not an infinity of adjustments but then no fiddling is required to set up the table for jointing. Just slide a shim behind the fence and you're ready to go. So, that may actually be an advantage over two separately moveable fences that require careful alignment to get the right cut on an edge joint. I rarely give five stars but I think they are well deserved in the case of the Bosch RA1181 and the great Amazon price. For $175, how can you go wrong?

Disclaimer: I'm a wannabe woodworker headed for retirement and a mechanic of 40 years experience. Assembly was a breeze really. I got it mounted and running in 90 minutes. Identifying and sorting all your parts first will help. Having a ratchet with an allen-head socket will speed things along too. Although I would have preferred a full sized router table with a cabinet, my limited space made it impossible. (If I told you how small my shop was, you probably wouldn't believe it.) Naturally, in the process of buying something I really didn't want to buy, I did lots of research. I buy with value in mind employing a computation of price, quality, quantity, reputation and life cycle. I have NO allegiance to any brands or where any product is made. I had a chance to see and touch some of the competing models of bench top tables including Bosch's other model 1171 and rejected them all for one reason or another. The numbers (including a great sale price from Amazon) landed me on the RA1181 with trepidation after reading many reviews and not being able to get my eyes and hands on one. As a mechanic/technician, I'm fairly picky about machine tolerances so, I was a bit put-off by some of the reviews I've seen complaining about warped tops. I fully expected to go into this with having to do my own machine work to the top in mind. As soon as I opened the package I went over the top with a 12 inch machinist's bar and a feeler gauge. I did it again after assembly. I found no high points and the lows did not exceed 0.004. I don't know about everyone else but, that's damned near perfect and less of a variant than I know I'll experience from the materials (wood) I'm working with. Wood, depending on how dense the species is, will expand and contract over time, humidity and temperature at least as much if not more than 0.004. If you want better than that, I would recommend prying out a few grand for a cast iron shaper. Testing by bridging the over the insert found it dead-on. That's good enough for me. I found the fence to be fine. The hardware is robust enough that they all stay put during operation and should last. I saw some complaints about the fence material. The metal extrusion is also dead on and the faces are what appears to be melamine. Good enough when you consider that they are sacrificial. Replacing them shouldn't cost much and they shouldn't really be replaced with anything other than what they are. I really like the dust extraction feature. Some bigger chips do fall underneath but, the flyable dust seems to be getting sucked up pretty well. I'll put the efficiency, conservatively, around 70%...'your mileage may vary'. The included shims to set up for edge jointing is a nice touch and I've used it twice already. Works great. Speaking of 'nice touch', there is an outlet to support your shop vac or whatever you're using as a dust extraction system, a real time saver. No Miter Fence? The track on the table is not for a Miter Fence, it's for the feather boards. Everything I've studied says that you shouldn't use a miter fence on a router table or any other tool that has a parallel, rip, oriented fence. I square up a piece of scrap and tack a guide on the end so it follows the edge of the table top. Works fine, quick and easy to do and provides a nice back-up to prevent tear out. Downers: Of all the dimensions I was able to find prior to purchase, there was no mention of the base. There is a dimensional diagram on the box but, still no mention of the base bottom. I incorrectly assumed the dimension would be the same as the top. Be warned that the base, at the mounting holes, is wider than the table top. It didn't fit the workbench I had to make in advance of receiving the tool. I wish the carriage bolts in the feather boards were a little beefier but, that's only a little annoying in initial set up of a project. Yes, the base of the table is plastic but, it's made with enough ribbing support that it's very strong. The unit doesn't rack at all. I just wish the same theme was followed with the switch fascia. It's sort of adequately supported on one side only and feels cheesy as it deflects when operating the switch. But, it does work and we'll see if it lasts. I'll just have to discipline myself to use my fingers rather than my knuckles like I do all the rest of my tools. Summary: Other than those couple of nit-picks, I'm pleasantly surprised by the convenience and functionality of this tool and would recommended it to the small-shop woodworker without much reservation. I've done a couple of projects with it, got no surprises and it has already paid for itself in saved time and aggravation. The days of having to whack together all sorts of elaborate jigs to compensate for not having a router table are over, thank goodness.

I really like this router table. Solid build, smooth top, and once it’s together, it works like a dream. But—and it’s a big one—putting it together felt less like a tool project and more like assembling IKEA furniture... blindfolded... during a windstorm. Seriously, Bosch, love the table, but the instructions had me questioning all my life choices. I started this assembly with hope in my heart and left with sore fingers, three extra screws, and a new appreciation for pre-assembled anything. That said, once it’s finally together (sometime next week, probably), it’s sturdy, precise, and a great addition to any shop. Just block off your weekend, grab some coffee, and maybe have a therapist on standby.

Okay, I know my needs are quite specific, but I've not seen my solution anywhere and it's working great, so I wanted to share it: I bought this Bosch router table because of the size of its top and the fact that the top is METAL (I'm distrusting of the durability of those MDF tops). The table is terrific and an incredible bang for your buck! My specific needs, though, were for a capable and PORTABLE router table. I use it at home but also will need it for building film sets at my company's first video studio (we're currently building the studio itself). "Benchtop" implies that you could set this on a bench and use it... bad idea. You'd be routing at face level. The stand makes the tabletop too tall for a bench or a miter saw stand and too low for the ground. "Tabletop" would be more accurate, but even a kitchen table height makes it uncomfortably tall. Regardless, I had portability to consider and a budget I wanted to stay within. My entire routing solution was as follows: I purchased the Dewalt 618 router package with the fixed and plunge bases. I mounted the fixed base to this Bosch table, leaving the plunge base available for buying a second DW618 motor only for handheld routing. Then, after a lot of research, I bought the DW7440RS Rolling Table Saw Stand. It's very low and puts the Bosch router table at the PERFECT operating height for me (I'm 5'9"), with the added bonus that it folds up and rolls away. I may have the world's most portable routing setup. Haha! Anyway, it took me a lot of research to figure all of that out, but I feel those three items were a great compromise for my budget requirements. On the DW7440RS stand the Bosch RA1181 is sturdy but portable, and I've really been enjoying it!

I just finished a set of raised panel cabinet doors which is about the most challenging thing I use a router table for. The doors ended up nice with good fit, the minor flaws are most likely do to the operator not the tools. I am by no means a pro but here are few points I noticed while using the table: 1. Assembly was not particularly difficult but expect to take some time to do it right. The instructions were adequate. 2. Leveling the mounting plate got a little frustrating, but I tend to get hung up making things perfect when they don't need to be. In the end I got it level with the table (more on this later). 3. Setting up the table for use was easy, the feather boards were solid, worked well, and stayed in place as did the fence itself. I have to admit, the guard that attaches to the fence didn't last long with me, but removing it is easier than installing it. I will most likely regret this decision the first time I get my fingers tangled up in a spinning bit. 4. The table surface left some mar on the wood I was using, but nothing that wasn't easy to sand out. I imagine that this will go away as the table surface gets used. If you really wanted to I'm sure you could polish the table surface before first use. 5. I have a Bosch router so the table top depth adjustment feature worked with my router. However, the combination of having to clean out the dust from the hole every time and keeping track of the allen wrench made it a rarely used gimmick. I ended up just making all of my adjustments from under the table. This is how I adjusted on my old table so it was not a big deal for me. 6. Chip collection was decent using a 1HP shop-vac, but I would continually blow the breaker in the table switch with both the vac and the router plugged in to it. Based on the current rating of the switch (15A) I shouldn't have had both things plugged in to it; so chalk that up to operator error. Now for my main complaint. As was mentioned in a few other reviews my table top had some significant crown (a little over 1/32" or 0.03125"). 95% of the time this probably won't be an issue but I emailed Bosch anyway. Per the response I received, the manufacturing tolerances are a max crown of 0.5mm (0.02"), so it would seem my table is out of spec. It's the weekend so I will have to wait for Bosch's response as to what I should do, but even with the out of spec crown the table performed well. Overall, I would recommend this table to a friend who was in the market for a sub-$200 router table. *EDIT* After a brief and friendly email exchange with Bosch tech support they shipped out a new table top which showed up just a few days later. This one was perfect and they did not ask for the old one back making it a rather easy process. I upgraded my review to 5 stars due to the excellent support I received.

I purchased this router table recently for my Bosch MR23 router. I have a small shop so a huge router table is out of the question. I have always liked Bosch products so I gave this a try. After reading a bunch of material on the different Bosch router tables I was directed to go for the aluminum top model instead of the other models for durability and accuracy. TAKE HOUR TIME putting this together and make sure you use the exact recommended screws in the exact positions they go in. The direction photos can be hard to make out at times but the directions are thorough enough to allow you to get the job done. It took a few hours to put together properly and square/level everything up. You will have to use a zip tie around the trigger button of the router because you will now turn it on from the included switch which is a nice included avcessory. My first job was rooting a bevel edge on a door threshold piece of corian I was needing and it handled it flawlessly! The table exceeded my expectations. It comes with 3 different inserts to fit different size it’s, a corner guide pin starter, feather boards, etc. For this price I simply can’t imagine anything being better than this. I checked the squareness with my gauges and the table/fence is dead square out of the box. If you are looking for a small benchtop router,I think this is the best in its class by far!

Very nice router table with lots of nice useful features. I slapped a skill router in it and it paired up nicely without issue. This router table is very durable with lots of adjustability.

I paired the BOSCH RA1181 Router Table with the BOSCH 1617EVS, and it's been a great setup for edge profiling and smaller woodworking projects. The table offers a stable and solid surface, and the aluminum top and fence hold up well during use. Assembly was easy and intuitive, and the fence locks down firmly - though if you need ultra-fine adjustments, it can take a bit more effort. The router height adjustment is smooth and easy to fine-tune, which makes dialing in bit depth a breeze. Dust collection is okay but not perfect - the 2½″ vacuum port helps keep things cleaner than handheld routing, but some dust still escapes during use. If you're planning on working indoors or want a dust-free experience, you may need a shop air filter. The 27″×18″ table size is sufficient for smaller to medium projects, and while the whole unit is technically portable, it’s not something you’ll want to move around constantly due to its size and weight. Overall, I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It’s a great value for budget-minded beginners and hobbyists, especially if you're looking for a solid benchtop solution that doesn’t take up too much space. It’s not perfect, but for the price, it gets the job done.