BLACK+DECKER BDCMTR Matrix Router Attachment for Cordless Drill - Precision Woodworking Tool for DIY Projects & Home Improvement

Thankful for the dealFirst, let me say that I love the Black and Decker Matrix lineup. I have all of the useful attachments. However, this router is a huge disappointment. When I first got it I spent hours trying to put in a bit. It would never stay in, just slipping out when you turned it over. Figuring that it was something I was doing wrong, I took it to a local DIY shop here in Japan (where I live) for help. They tried for over 30 minutes and were never able to get the bit to stay in. They even tried on the floor model to compare and it didn't work either. They were nice enough to contact the company and amazingly both mine and the floor model were defective.A week or so later they sent a replacement that worked to the DIY shop for me to pick up. I was overjoyed to get one that worked only to realize that it is still extremely hard to tighten it enough for the bit to stay. And then, it's also extremely hard to get it out afterwards. Both the staff of the shop and I had trouble with it. I can also see that the clear plastic around the bit will take a huge beating when you change the pit with the wrench they provide.This design is clearly flawed and should not have made it to production. I would give this less than one star if I could. The rest of the Matrix lineup gets full marks but this is a huge misfire. Do not buy. If I can't get this to work constantly from now on I will probably just break down and buy a stand-alone router.Works well with bits. Takes time to learn control, so makes perfect.It is basically impossible to find a router for this price. $?$I recently used this to dig out a little area in my nightstand to install a qi charger and this fit the bill perfectly and had no issues. If I could gripe about one thing, it would probably be that the little opening on the sides suck to loosen and tighten the blades. I found myself reaching in with a needle nose half the time.I don't really have a workshop, since I live in an apartment. So I didn't clamp anything down, just threw on some safety googles and held that sucker down with my knee and went to town on it with this router and it did great! If you do plan on cutting out a large hole, like larger than the diameter of the base of the router, be very careful and put more weight on the edges that actually have support. I almost made the mistake of not doing that and almost ruined my project with a hole right through the board.Cleanup was pretty easy also, kept the dust pretty minimal for the amount of cutting shown in the pictures. Getting dust out of the equipment was rather easy too, obviously it's going to get into some areas that's a little trickier to get into.I know "experts" and "professionals" all hate on the black and decker brand, but I've had no issues for using it over 3-4 years so far. Except with their sander attachment, that thing was not built well at all.Good add-on to matrix systemRead the reviews, and I felt like my job was small enough to stick with this unit rather than a dedicated router. I did wonder halfway through whether I needed something nicer, but everything worked out beautifully. With some hook-ups on materials, I did a $3k job for $500 total. It turned out as nice as I could have imagined.This will be my least used matrix piece out of drill/driver, impact driver, Sawzall, inflator.At first I was very skeptical about using this tool. It was so small, but I bought the router bits and this was my first go with them. It was clean and efficient. Gave my work a little more polish. Thank you I will be trying more bits later.Debo aclarar que es mi primer router y le doy 5 estrellas porque como primerizo, me resultó muy sencillo y amigable. Lo use con una broca para radio convexo para redondear el canto de una mesa y quedé muy satisfecho. La verdad a la fecha me sigue sorprendiendo la versatilidad de Matrix. Con todo y lo anterior, no creo que sea una herramienta para sustituir routers en serio para trabajo pesado, pero para tareas ocasionales y si tienes Matrix, cómpralo!Compré este accesorio para el sistema Matrix habiendo leído varias críticas y a sabiendas de que no se puede comparar ni usar como un router en si, sin embargo es decepcionante que no haya durado más que la hechura de una caja mediana y se haya fundido a penas finalizando una segunda, hechas con meses de separación. En total logró acanalar poco más de 5 m lineales de contrachapado de caobilla a 4 mm de profundidad y 4 mm de ancho, 3 m en la primera caja y el resto en la segunda. Dicho esto todos los demás accesorios del sistema han superado mis expectativas.Nunca he usado un router profesional, pero este me ayuda con trabajos sencillos. Se puede regular la profundidad de corte de la fresa pero antes de trabajarla, no tiene ese sistema de los otros routers que permiten bajar la fresa a medio funcionamiento, así que hay que buscar soluciones si es que quieren hacer perforaciones que no sean en los bordes de las tablas. En resumen, es bueno para trabajos no muy exigentes.I had low expectations for this. I was wrong. Used it with 1/4" round over bit for a small job - was very quick to set up and great control with the drill handle. I was routing Oak which is a hard wood and will tend to tear out end grain but I had no issues. Not a high volume tool but it gave me great results with a quick setup time. I have three "real" routers, this got the job done well with less hassle. Might be a little intimidating for those who are new to routers - practice makes perfect. I have all the matrix attachments, and I think this and the trim saw are tied for the best for me.TIP: once you have it running you can let go of the button on the router attachment. Depth of cut adjustment is really good as well.If you stop and think about what this is for a moment -- it's actually kind of an incredible product. Surprisingly the ergonomics of using a drill-driven router are pretty good.With a maximum [fixed] speed of 9000rpm though - it falls far behind the 25K+ RPM of even entry level trim routers. If you're running a 12V or corded base unit, your max RPM is lower (6800 and 7300 respective). Again -- looking at this in context... it's incredible. The build quality is surprisingly good.This router is best suited for doing something easy like running a roundover bit.