Bosch MRC23EVSK 2.3 HP Electronic Modular Router System

LOVE this router. Plenty of power, smooth starting and operating. Very good ergonomics - love the trigger mechanism. VS covers a good range, soft-start is great - no bucking when starting. It also holds steady speed/power under load ... and I have pushed on this guy just to see if I could bog it down. I stopped short of being stupid /unsafe before I had bogged it! Fixed base does it's thing well, and plunge base is smooth, precise and overall great. Can't say enough good things. The ONLY downside I can find to this router is the weight - it is heavy. BUT any router of this power will be - heft comes with the power territory. It balances very well and is manageable despite the weight. I have had, oh, maybe a dozen routers over the last 25yr, still have many ... this is by far the most powerful + smoothest. Ideally, this would occupy the slot of "large router" in a shop and you'd have a trim router (and maybe a midsized too...) for lighter tasks. I honestly reach for a smaller one more often ... but this is an invaluable part of my lineup. In the role of large/power router, this one is unsurpassed IMHO.

I obsessed over whether to buy this, but after using it for around 90 minutes I couldn't be happier. My old router, a Dewalt, died recently after not many hours of use (but a lot of years). Since I hadn't used the previous one much since I bought it, I was thinking maybe I should get a lower end router. Part of the decision was the tongue and groove bits I just got, and all my other bits, are half inch shank. After looking at some reviews, I decided to bite the bullet and get this one. Part of the decision was that I probably will want to get a router table, and the fixed base can be mounted there and then the motor swapped. Much of the reason is that the adjustment seemed dead simple. My Dewalt took 15 irritating minutes with a micrometer to adjust. I've used the Bosch for around 90 minutes today and couldn't be happier. I was able to adjust it in a minute, using the fixed base, and then used it to run some tests. Once I was satisfied with those, I did around 84 feet worth of tongue cutting. In all that, I didn't have a single problem, operator or equipment. Most likely was the operator. The base is wonderful, easy to place and glides along smoothly. The coarse adjustment in the fixed base is kinda hard to operate, IMHO. At first I thought I might complain about the "lock" trigger being right where I would naturally grab it, leading to it being locked sometimes when I didn't expect it to be. But then I started just locking it at the start of a cut, then clicking out at the end, and I think it gives slightly better control. The other minor complaint is that it seems to eject dust right at my crotch. I came out of that session filthy.

The 15amp router market is usually reserved for Router Table behemoths - the big Porter Cables, Hitachis, Triton, and several others; with the 12amp doing the hand-held heavy lifting. This 15amp Bosch is clearly an exception - and and excellent one. I've pushed this hard for the past three weeks, with deep mortises in Jatoba (an incredibly dense wood) using Bosch's template guide bushings, and hand-held edging - more delicate, precise work. This router is smooth, relatively quiet, very predicable, and a pleasure to use. This replaces my venerable PC895, which is 10 years old, still as good as new, but a generation or two older than current models. Being a long-term PC user, I was concerned that my trained hand & body positions would make using the Bosch difficult - not a bit. The real advances for me are: Soft Start, power switch on the handles (unlike others in combo packages); quiet operations; better engineered dust collection - though, this is not dust-free by any stretch of the imagination; and effortless power which comes without the heavy weight of the routers mentioned above. Festool is a common comparison to Bosch; and I own several Festool products. Unlike many Festool owners, I am not a rabid fan - I buy for long-term professional-level functionality. For me, the Festool price-premium is not justified, when compared to the power, ease-of-use, and quality engineering this product demonstrates - not to take anything away from the OF1400 or OF2200 machines - for me, they're just not worth the extra money, compared to this. For $300, you'll get one of the best on the market, and certainly enough power to handle whatever you'll encounter.

I've had a number of routers over the years, some expensive, some not so expensive. This router combo pack cost more than any router I've ever owned. Well you get what you pay for. I have the fixed base attached to a Bosch router table that my son wasn't using, he can't even remember why he bought it. He gave it to me brand new, still in the box. I've never owned a router table, but this combo is fantastic, I can adjust the depth from the top, wow, and turn the thing on without reaching under the table. I used the plunger router for the first time yesterday to mortise hinges on two doors I needed to install, oh my gosh, what a pleasure. The plunge was smooth and the depth gauge was amazingly simple to set and dead accurate. I've never had a router with soft start, again, oh my gosh, how good is that. I'm still tickled a day later. The plunge router is not light, it stays put until you move it and the LED light is another fantastic feature. Except for adding some chip collection I don't know how one could improve on this setup. Pro: Powerful, accurate, heavy duty, smooth plunge, positive locking, easy depth adjustment. Con: I can't think of any.

I purchased 2 of these. I had 2 1613EVS routers that are well used over the last 15 years and the bearings have seen there last days. First thing I noticed are these routers are heavy. Much heavier than the 1613's Took my first MRC23 and plugged it in. Turned it on and it was a bit vibraty at full speed. Dropped the speed down to about 4 1/2 and it smoothed out. So I plugged the 2nd one in and the same thing. So either I got 2 that are slightly out of balance in the same way, or this is just how they are. It's not a lot of vibration, just not silk smooth. Got it into the shop the next day and put one of my table edging bits in it. It's one of the larger diameter bits I own, 2 1/2". Since the opening of the base is only 2" I chucked the bit up above the plate and used the fine tune to plunge it through the plate. This router will be used with this bit, the other I'll leave at 2". I got out a pc of Maple, set up the bit for the finish depth. I did a climb cut and then the push cut. The router didn't waiver at all. My 1613 needed 3 passes to handle this bit. Right there I was impressed with the power of this router. The 1613 is 2.25HP and the MRC23 is 2.3HP. I'm pretty sure the .05HP didn't make that difference, the MRC23 is just a much stronger router. The plunge isn't silky smooth. I notice if you press straight down it's a bit sticky. If you push forward and down in the natural direction of the handles it operates nice and smooth. The 1613 had a similar issue, but because the springs were weaker, sometimes you needed to lift up to have it unplunge. I don't think the MRC23 is going to have that problem as the springs seem much stronger. The main reason I got this router instead of the less expensive 1617EVSPK is the fine tune adjustment. The 1613 has it and it's one of the best feature of the router. Making that couple of thousandths adjustment is critical to fine woodworking. The plunge stop is much more robust and tighter than the 1613. I'll feel much more confident using this stop. I haven't had the need for the light yet. But when I do stop fluting I always need some sort of extra lighting so I can see my lines. Hopefully these lights will eliminate the need for the extra lighting. I wish there was a switch for the lights. I normally don't unplug the router when I'll be using it a lot and the lights just stay on all the time. The fixed base will probably end up as a permanent router table. I'll be nice to be able to just slip a router in there when needed. Plus the fact that it has a key so you can adjust the height of the router from above the table. Never had that convenience before, should be nice. Probably make a real router table instead of the makeshift tables I always use. Overall this is a great router. It would have been perfect if it didn't have that high speed vibration.

Just received this router today. I had it out of the box and in operation in under 10 minutes. Watched a quick YouTube video on how to change motor and bits and adjust depth. What a machine! I am going from a 1961 BD Pro Router (still love my Dad's old router) but this is out of this world. Slow spin up to speed was awesome. The trigger control and the ergonomic handles are incredible. Forget the 1617 Bosch with wood handles and get this one! This is truly a first class pro machine. Single pass cuts with a sharp blade. The plunge system is awesome and doesn't have rubber boots to collect dust and debris. (Major factor in why I bought this machine). The motor easy changes and the depth setting is phenomenal. Well thought out controls and system. The case is even well designed and holds everything but my router bits. (Large case of bits). This will be my last router and plan to hand it down to my son. I think it will last that long. I will add more as I continue using it. I have several projects for a local non-profit children's theatre that I volunteered to make. Should be more fun with this router.

I regret having to say don’t buy this product. Functionally, it’s fantastic. Comfortable grips & grip mounted trigger make it easy to use. Plunge action is pretty smooth and after-lock depth adjustment is very useful. This would be my favorite router, EXCEPT it stopped working 4 months after purchase. I suspect the problem is in the low voltage trigger control, but a thorough cleaning didn’t resolve it. A call to Bosch did not yield any troubleshooting advice only an assurance of warranty coverage and a mailing label to send it in. So, I have to pack it, send it, wait for repair/replacement, and put my in-progress project on hold for at least a week. Here’s the thing: when I initially researched this purchase, I read a number of negative reviews noting this issue, but purchased anyway because I thought: a) Bosch would fix the defect; b) I wouldn’t be unlucky (In 30 years of woodworking, I’ve never had a power tool fail to power up). Now that It’s happened, I realize that reliability is more important than any of the admittedly sweet features of this product. Hopefully, Bosch can address the electronic issues in the future, but until, then I would steer clear.

Its a tank, stout and sturdy, does everything I expect it to do easily.

Tiene muy buena potencia, no se le pide nada, tuve el DEWALT DW618 y este se calienta mucho y muy rapido, el BOSCH mis respetos y he trabajado largas jornadas con el, claro dandole su tiempo de descanso. Me gusto mucho que viniera con sus dos bases, la de inmersión y la fija, muy útiles las dos, y lo que me acabó de ganar fue su estuche rigido. Me encantó. Lo recomiendo

Wow was I surprised when I opened the case upon arrival, this unit is a beast compared to my old but reliable B&D fixed base. Inspected it for an hour and was very impressed with the engineering and quality. Quite intuitive to switch bases and this is my first plunge router. Machining is first rate and switch in handles combined with soft start is a definite safety plus. Clear bases and lighting is also a plus. All actions are smooth and threads are nicely tapped. The case holds the optional dust collection hoods and centering cone which look to be efficient. They should be included with the kit though for a small premium in price though as I can't imagine using this tool without them. One thing I can't figure out is how can one 15A Router can be rated at 3+ horsepower and the other at 15A at 2.3? It defies common physics. Wish manufacturers would stop this HP game.

Es un router de muy buena calidad, arranque suave y mucha potencia. Tiene dos bases lo que es muy práctico si lo piensas usar en una mesa para router, no hay que estar desmontando el router, solo dejas la base fija en la mesa y la base con profundidad variable para los trabajos manuales.

Excellent in every sense. Using this router is so comfortable, the levers are in the right spots, the turret is easy to use, the trigger. It's perfect.

I had previously ordered a comparable Dewalt router (DW618) but returned it because the depth adjustment was problematic and it kept coming out of adjustment. In comparison, the Bosch MRC23... feels like an entirely different tool! Extremely smooth operation, quieter (not sure why), with excellent controls including superior depth adjustment. The motor is easy to remove to switch bases. Very highly recommended, and well worth the price differential compared to the Dewalt!