FREE SHIPPING - Milwaukee Router - 3 1/2 HP, 22,000 RPM, 15 Amp, Model# 5625-20
4.8
5
5
5
Router table use
This router is excellent when used in a router table. Great power, does not bog down and the lift works well in the table. Makes changing bits a breeze and height adjustments easy and accurate. The speed adjustment and the locking lever are easy to use when mounted in a router table. I cannot think of any drawbacks or problems I have had with this router and would highly reccomend it to anyone looking for a great router especially for a router table.
August 30, 2010
Power To Spare
The 5625 is a heavy duty 15 amp, 3-1/2 HP fixed base router. It's Milwaukee's top dog among an impressively built line up of contractor grade routers and is backed by a 5 year warranty. It features soft start, electronic variable speed with feedback circuitry to maintain a constant speed even under load, a large throat opening to accept the largest diameter bits, a two nut 1/2" collet, two wrenches, a height adjustment wrench, and above table height adjustment capability. The 5625 also has a convenient decal that correlates the RPM to the numeric speed setting (1-7). Like most other Milwaukee tools, the 5625 is extraordinarily well built. Plucking it from the box gives an immediate impression of ruggedness, quality, and balance. Even the collet wrenches are heavy duty cast tools. The speed control and on/off switch are of good quality and are somewhat conveniently located (more on that later). The height adjustment is very smooth and has no indication of slop of lash from the meshing of the thread gears. The height lock is heavy duty and sturdy as well. The throat opening is made from heavy duty castings, and as previously mentioned, is quite large. There is also no kind of dust collection attachment or edge guide included. The manual is brief but useful. Under power the speed control makes smooth incremental adjustments.
For hand routing the 5625 is a bit heavy compared to smaller routers, but has a low center of gravity, wide base, and is well balanced. My primary purpose is for table mounting to handle the heavy duty tasks. I mounted it on a phenolic router plate with removal trim inserts that offer different clearances for different sized bits. My first complaints came before even firing it up. The relationship of the height adjustment, lock mechanism with the on/off switch, RPM decal, and variable speed control is arranged so that not all of those features can be easily accessed while mounted in my router cabinet. For table mounting purposes the router gets inverted, and in my case, is placed within a small cabinet for better dust collection. In order to have access to the height locking mechanism from the door of my router cabinet, the router can only be facing with that lever facing out, or within reasonable proximity of that location. The RPM/speed reference decal has been placed on the opposite side of the locking mechanism where it can't be seen without removing the router from the table. This position also places speed control and on/off switch just behind the cord relief making it a bit difficult to reach. It's not a big deal, but could have been (and should have been) easily remedied during the design stage. My second complaint is the two nut collet that requires two wrenches and two hands in order to change a bit. My new Freud FT1700 has a simple and elegant solution that's far superior in my humble opinion - the FT1700 utilizes a spring loaded pin that automatically slips into a hole in the arbor when the router is raised to full height to change a bit. Within one rotation of the arbor the pin locks in place...one wrench, one hand. The Freud collet also extends well above the router plate which easily allows above table bit changes through any insert opening that allows the nut to fit through ...a feature that I absolutely love. The 5625 does extend slightly above the plate, but only enough so that I can get one wrench on the top collet nut, but not far enough that I can get to the bottom collet nut without removing insert ring or going at it from below....it's just too similar to most other 20 year old designs. Fortunately the 5625's huge throat opening does allow just enough access to get both wrenches in place with the trim ring removed.....but unfortunately, not all router tables have removable insert rings....I just got lucky. The bit changes are more convenient than on most routers, but falls short of what should be a standard feature on a router that will undoubtedly see alot of table use.
In use, the 5625 proves to be the mother of all big daddy routers. My first test was a large panel cut in hickory, which is among the hardest, densest woods I can get my hands on. The first bit was a 3-1/2" raised panel cove bit of suspect quality....the combination was pretty much a worst case scenario. The 5625 walked through heavy cuts without hesitation or chatter. Every other cut was a cake walk. I don't know what Milwaukee has under the hood that makes their routers seem stronger than other routers with comparably sized motors, but I've owned two Milwaukee routers, and both have blown me away with their power relative to the amp rating of the motor. The Bosch 1619 has impressive power too, and has similar electronics but I don't recall getting the same impression of "diesel" power the 5625 has. Nor did the Hitachi M12V or my Freud FT2000. Regardless, I've never used a 15 amp router that had insufficient power. The 5625 is fairly quiet too....a characteristic that I noticed with my smaller Milwaukee 5615. I haven't tried the PC7518 or the DeWalt DW625, but I have read several reviews that place the 5625 at the top of the heap for a table mounted router. I have no reason to disagree. In addition to impressive power, the 5625's motor can be removed from the frame and used with an aftermarket or shop built router lift. Given the effectiveness of the supplied t-wrench for the above table height adjustments, I can't justify the expense of a router lift, but others may. Another aspect the 5625 doesn't have that would have been beneficial is an above table locking mechanism that would prevent reaching under the table for every height change. Oh well...I guess you can't have everything on one router.
June 1, 2010
Milwaukee 3 1/2 HP Router
I believe the hp rating along with the Milwaukee name says it all. This is a workhorse that you can depend on. (Any more power and a standard plug wouldn't handle it.) I bought it to use in my router table. I regularly use architectural bits in it and it performs like a shaper. It takes the wood and doesn't bog down. I have never used in as a hand held, but have been impressed with it in the table. Yes, if something ever happened to it, I would buy another.
November 3, 2009
Great for Router Table use
Hello Router users:
I have a dual router table set-up which uses two of these. They work great. Tons of power and adjustment works fine.
I'd give them 5 stars, but the soft switches are a bit touchy.
Tom
November 2, 2009
Production Router
This is the router that all routers want to grow up to be! If you are looking for power, this router is a monster. I have this router setup on a woodmaster for tongue and V-groove. I have fed approximately 10,000 board feet of 7" wide by 3/4" thick red oak to this router at 16'/minute and it has not backed away. I would not recommend it as my first choice for hand held routering due to its weight, but you could if necessary. I also like the soft start feature and variable speed.
If you are looking for a 1/2" production router, don't hesitate to get this one.
April 21, 2008
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