Bosch Router POF 1400 ACE (1400 watts, in case)

Background: Having used the same DIY (Green Bosch) for the last 20 years professionally, I decided to retire my old POF1100AE, (it's in my loft I kept it as it just needs a service). And purchased a Popular brand that ar3 Red in colour (not Mi...ie) that unit was more expensive than this POF1400ace and was new but no better than my old Bosch 1000AE, worse actually as both bush caps are broken, the spindle lock is broken, and its is completely dead! How long did the Red router last? About 20 hours use over 13 months, yes just out of warrantee, so I have a new looking router that is not worth repairing. So I went back to Bosch getting the new powerful model. Review: Once in hand it felt solid and well constructed. Works beautifully, smooth, sturdy, quiet and powerful. Joy to use, first use being cutting out a body for a guitar as per photo. I packed it away and as usual can't work out how it goes back in the case! is it base down or base up? Front up or front down. Then I noticed pressed into the case bottom an image of how the router fits back in the case. OMG so simple but will save me 5 minuets every time I put it away and a lot of stress. I almost forgot, whilst using it I 'could actually see the blade and cutting edge because there a two LED lights either side of the collet! Amazing! The faster you cut the brighter the light l, bright and very white. Making my work more accurate, easier and a lot safer. A few other tools have lights but nowhere near as brigjtas these. Overall its 10/10, Bosch has never let me down but I have been disappointed with some of the other brands, including the expensive Yellow units 😕 my table saw is in the repairer shop today as its broken in 2 ways and only 1.5 years into a 3 year extended warranty. Update: after use for 4 hours day one and w hours day two, I've found something that is a negative. The start trigger moves in 90 before the blade starts up, that's fine probably a safety feature. The problem I'm experiencing is this, with 90% of the trigger doing nothing the last 10% of trigger travel turns it on and off, meaning that not only do I need to hold the handle as expected I also have to squeeze and hold very tightly. Often my squeeze pressure relaxes slightly and the unit turns off. The trigger requires a lot of force to keep the motor running. After a few hours my hand is killing me! (I have a very strong hands) inorder for me to be able to use this unit I'm going to have to put a rubber band, jubilee club or cable tie around the on button (yes potentially dangerous) and use the plug switch to turn on and off, buy passing the power trigger (I don't recommend anything to do this!). For the first 2 hours use it is fine, so most will not even notice the issue.

I got this for a specific job and to be honest it was a toss up between this or a circular saw but I'm glad I chose this one. It's nice and easy to use and the pre set depth stops work great just turn it to the next depth a flick of a finger to loosen the clamp then push down and your at the next level, it feels well balanced and slides up and down the guides without that sticky feeling I've felt on some cheaper routers. It has a light that comes on while in use which is handy and a removable guard that stops you getting covered in wood or dust and a extractor. outlet to connect to a Hoover. It's nice and easy to change the tools with the spindle lock but to be honest I used the same cutter that was supplied to do all of my job. I was making a fire surround out of 2" X 18" solid oak planks and it cut through it like a hot knife in butter I had tried cutting the wood before with different electric saws and it was hard going but this router made life easy. The base is round with one flat side and I used this against a clamped spirit level to get my straight line. I've since tried using different tools and feel that it has plenty of power to do most jobs. Would recommend this item.

I bought this to replace a basic old Black & Decker router that really wasn't up to the job. The POF 1400 is clearly built to a much better standard, and good value at the Amazon price, so I'm not complaining about value for money. I'm also not going to dwell on the positive points, but make no mistake - I reckon this is a good router and I am overall pleased with my purchase. I have been using it for a while on oak, and the results are good. However, I have noticed a few drawbacks which make me give it only 4 stars instead of 5: (a) The "quick release" mechanism doesn't seem to work that well. Although it is easy enough to unscrew the collets, the bits seem to have a tendency to jam in the shaft, as some other reviewers have also noticed, and I have already managed to damage one TCT bit while trying to remove it. (b) The one feature that the Bosch doesn't have, and my old B&D router did, was a HORIZONTAL micro-fine adjustment for the parallel guide. This is a pity, as I reckon it would only have needed quite a minor addition to the guide, and it would have been very useful at times. (c) I have discovered that 8mm router bits are harder to find compared with 1/4" or 1/2" ones, and the ones that you can find are significantly more expensive. I can make do with 1/4" bits, but I would prefer to use 8mm ones if they were more readily available.

I bought this router for several reasons, the first being that I finally managed to kill my existing Bosch router after 20yrs of abuse. Every Bosch tool I've ever owned has been a quality tool that lasts, they might be more expensive than the cheaper tools on the market, but you get what you pay for. Another deciding factor was the 22 previous 5 star reviews, and my review is no different. If like me it's been 20yrs since you last bought a router, things have improved in that time and mostly for the better. The one thing I don't like is the fact you have to press and hold a button to change bits, this can be hard on the fingers and I much prefer the old method of placing a pin through a hole in the shaft to keep it in place, however I believe this is now the standard way of changing bits on all routers. The depth lock is now a lever rather than built into one of the handles and is by default always locked and has to be pressed to release which is big improvement on the old router. This model comes with a built in led that illuminates the work area and also a very handy case in which to keep it when not in use. The router is well built and solid and has a real quality feel to it. This model is definitely worth the £80 I paid for it. And once again Amazon's customer service and delivery were what one has come to expect, excellent.

Fabulous if you want a large, heavy duty router. I got it to work on heavy pieces of English oak and that was great but would consider a smaller router for many joinery jobs. More power than you are likely to need and I have never used it at more than 60% speed or it burns hard woods. Good depth control.

Bought this during the recent Amazon Prime Day promotion and I haven't been disappointed. It's a substantial piece of kit that is marked as being for professionals on the box (yeah - it comes in it's own rigid carry case), I wouldn't call myself a professional but I needed one and this was a bargain. I love the easy set up, how well made the router and all the accessories are (the guide arm is really sturdy) and then little findings like: - it builds up the speed (which is variable and set by you before you switch it on) when you press the trigger to start. - there's an LED light that comes on to illuminate the drill area - it's super bright and gives you a clear view of what you're doing - all the things you need for different sized bits are in the box The only complaint I had was that it only came with one bit. I bought a set of 12 Draper quarter inch bits from Amazon (also a bargain) and they fit and work perfectly.

Solid as you would expect of Bosch but I have no need of a plunge router and that ability adds a degree of complexity to set up that irritates. It is a decent quality router that does what it needs to do.

nice bosch plunge router with case for all wood working jobs

Bosh is excellent, came in original packing all sealed, so happy to do unboxing but unfortunately speed control doesn't work from 1-3 so I have to return.

The build quality of this is good. I do like Bosch tools for the evident quality in their tools and this one doesn't disappoint. This is a very powerful router. The extra collets are very useful. It is important to get good quality router bits to go along with this router otherwise the power of this tool will damage them. I have damaged a few router bits of a poor quality build. This is an excellent router and the storage case makes it even the more impressive.

bon appareil puissant avec bonne stabilité. 2 fraises sont fournies (de bonne qualité). il faut un peu s'habituer aux réglages de profondeur etc, mais une fois qu'on a compris ca va tout seul. A recommander

Buon prodotto per l'uso hobbistico e con buone frese, anche qualcosa in più. Maneggevolezza, poca rumorosità, nonché minime vibrazioni, in un attrezzo dall'ottimo rapporto qualità prezzo.

English power plug. Only suitable for 6mm cutters. Warranty would be lost if the plug was changed. Call centre chat offered a power adapter. Manufacturer manual advised not to use power adapter. Amazon we’re good with a full refund.