Article Feedback:
User Rating 3 out of 5 3 out of 5
(1 review)
01 Write a review


Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 3 out of 5
Milwaukee 5616-24, January 28, 2009
By colonel_001

"I am a joiner by trade and have put this router combo through its paces for 6 months now, and have developed a love / dissapointment relationship with it. I spent a long time deciding which kit to get, and chose the Milwaukee 5616-24 as i felt it sounded like one of the best from reading reviews (i live in the UK so couldnt test the many kits available to the US, none available in the UK at time of purchase)

Out of the (large & rediculous) box, my impressions were of a very solid and professional tool. However my first fault was that using the 1/4" collet showed that it was decentered resulting in vibration & snapped bits! (ofcourse i wasnt about to send the whole thing back to the US)

So after 6 months of heavy use making hardwood/softwood window frames, mounted in router table and freehand with plunge base:

Problems:
1) the router spindle has at least 0.5mm of up/down movement(this was apparent from new!) this can cause setting depth of cut to be a problem.
2) the router very quickly went from smooth to exhibiting quite a bit of vibration. Whether this is a problem with its bearings or 1/2" collet i dont know.
3) using the router upside down in a router table eventually causes the on/off switch to fill up with dust to the point it wont work. I have had to clean out the switch about once a month.
4) the plunge base has very quickly developed a great deal of lateral slop in the bearings, causing much inacuracy when plunging deep cuts.
5) why oh why doesnt the depth stop turret have adjustable height stops? makes production routing to two different depths impossible.
6) attaching the guide rods with screws under the base is a real pain.
7) the knob on the depth rod locking screw is just to small, you cant tighten it enough by hand and it will shake loose.
8) the depth adjustment is a great idea but just isnt accurate enough.
9) the guide rods are a much smaller guage than many other routers, and very close together. Is difficult to find longer rods that will fit.
10) the guide rods are oriented the same way as the handles, so you end up facing the router when using the edge guide, maybe this is just preference but i have not seen this before and it makes routing with the edge guide akward, as both handles can end up over the pivot point.
11) scales only in inches..

Now for the good points.

1) seems to have plenty of power.
2) is pretty sturdy, and comfortable to use in most instances
3) fixed base with body grip is just great.
4) plunging action, despite the slop, is a joy, smooth, with a very good and well positioned locking lever.
5) under table height adjustment with fixed base.
6) really like the depth adjuster, just need more accuracy.
7) fantastic that it is supplied with two clear sub-bases.
8) a very decent amount of plunge available, up to 20mm more than many other routers i have used.

So despite the problems with this router i still love it, I just wish these companies would talk to tradesmen more & keep more of an eye on quality control. If i wasnt in the UK i would have sent it back to see if i bought a lemon, but with so many faults i have my doubts. I did email Milwaukee UK with my faults, but they never replied!

Would i recommend this? to a professional, definitely not unless i could be assured that the inaccuracies were fixed, to a DIY'er? maybe, but the edge guide situation probably makes it awkward"

21 of 21 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?  Yes No