Review Bosch Benchtop Router Table RA1181

The Bosch RA1181 benchtop router table provides a large work surface for woodworking and routing. Designed to fit a variety of routers, this router table is a versatile piece of equipment that will serve as an indispensable part of any woodworking shop. Its 2-1/2 inch dust collection port offers better dust collection for a cleaner work environment. The large aluminum top makes the table both durable and portable. This benchtop router table includes mounting hardware, features a tall aluminum fence with adjustable MDF face plates, two outfeed shims, and an aluminum router mounting plate. The starter pin and guard for router curved workpieces is also included, in addition to the built-in cord wrap for convenient storage and portability. 

Here is some people talk about Bosch Benchtop Router Table RA1181

• What is up with all the positive reviews? Where to start? Mounting plate was so rough and uneven (NOT flat, as others have noted) that it literally served as a brake, preventing work piece from sliding across the surface. Fixed that by grinding it level, sanding it smooth, cleaning/polishing with fine steel wool and wax paste, and buffing with white rag till clean. (No black residue ended up on work piece this way.) After all that work, wood slides beautifully across the surface. But...then it’s time to re(re)adjust the plate. The countersunk leveling screws and plate screws, if adjusted properly, SHOULD keep the plate tight and level, but they don’t. They vibrate loose with EVERY PASS throwing everything out of balance. Finally, the fence: it will not stay square no matter how well you set it up and tighten it down. Was trying to joint boards, but the littlest bit of pressure threw the fence out of alignment every time. Trouble shot the issue eight different ways before throwing in the towel.This was my first router table. The only positive thing I can say is that I learned a LOT about what features are essential in a good router table. Unfortunately this table has none of them.
• Disclaimer: I'm a wannabe woodworker headed for retirement and a mechanic of 40 years experience.
  Assembly was a breeze really. I got it mounted and running in 90 minutes. Identifying and sorting all your parts first will help. Having a ratchet with an allen-head socket will speed things along too. Although I would have preferred a full sized router table with a cabinet, my limited space made it impossible. (If I told you how small my shop was, you probably wouldn't believe it.) Naturally, in the process of buying something I really didn't want to buy, I did lots of research. I buy with value in mind employing a computation of price, quality, quantity, reputation and life cycle. I have NO allegiance to any brands or where any product is made. I had a chance to see and touch some of the competing models of bench top tables including Bosch's other model 1171 and rejected them all for one reason or another. The numbers (including a great sale price from Amazon) landed me on the RA1181 with trepidation after reading many reviews and not being able to get my eyes and hands on one. As a mechanic/technician, I'm fairly picky about machine tolerances so, I was a bit put-off by some of the reviews I've seen complaining about warped tops. I fully expected to go into this with having to do my own machine work to the top in mind. As soon as I opened the package I went over the top with a 12 inch machinist's bar and a feeler gauge. I did it again after assembly. I found no high points and the lows did not exceed 0.004. I don't know about everyone else but, that's damned near perfect and less of a variant than I know I'll experience from the materials (wood) I'm working with. Wood, depending on how dense the species is, will expand and contract over time, humidity and temperature at least as much if not more than 0.004. If you want better than that, I would recommend prying out a few grand for a cast iron shaper. Testing by bridging the over the insert found it dead-on. That's good enough for me. I found the fence to be fine. The hardware is robust enough that they all stay put during operation and should last. I saw some complaints about the fence material. The metal extrusion is also dead on and the faces are what appears to be melamine. Good enough when you consider that they are sacrificial. Replacing them shouldn't cost much and they shouldn't really be replaced with anything other than what they are. I really like the dust extraction feature. Some bigger chips do fall underneath but, the flyable dust seems to be getting sucked up pretty well. I'll put the efficiency, conservatively, around 70%...'your mileage may vary'. The included shims to set up for edge jointing is a nice touch and I've used it twice already. Works great. Speaking of 'nice touch', there is an outlet to support your shop vac or whatever you're using as a dust extraction system, a real time saver. No Miter Fence? The track on the table is not for a Miter Fence, it's for the feather boards. Everything I've studied says that you shouldn't use a miter fence on a router table or any other tool that has a parallel, rip, oriented fence. I square up a piece of scrap and tack a guide on the end so it follows the edge of the table top. Works fine, quick and easy to do and provides a nice back-up to prevent tear out.
  Downers: Of all the dimensions I was able to find prior to purchase, there was no mention of the base. There is a dimensional diagram on the box but, still no mention of the base bottom. I incorrectly assumed the dimension would be the same as the top. Be warned that the base, at the mounting holes, is wider than the table top. It didn't fit the workbench I had to make in advance of receiving the tool. I wish the carriage bolts in the feather boards were a little beefier but, that's only a little annoying in initial set up of a project. Yes, the base of the table is plastic but, it's made with enough ribbing support that it's very strong. The unit doesn't rack at all. I just wish the same theme was followed with the switch fascia. It's sort of adequately supported on one side only and feels cheesy as it deflects when operating the switch. But, it does work and we'll see if it lasts. I'll just have to discipline myself to use my fingers rather than my knuckles like I do all the rest of my tools.
  Summary: Other than those couple of nit-picks, I'm pleasantly surprised by the convenience and functionality of this tool and would recommended it to the small-shop woodworker without much reservation. I've done a couple of projects with it, got no surprises and it has already paid for itself in saved time and aggravation. The days of having to whack together all sorts of elaborate jigs to compensate for not having a router table are over, thank goodness.
• I absolutely LOVE this table. Until I bought this I was trying to get by with second hand junk.... THIS table made me fall in love with my router! I have a Porter Cable plunge router that I was intimidated to use because I was trying to use it with junk. I am new to the world of tools. I use them for creative Maker projects AND for restoring my Victorian house....so I'm learning everything as I go...
  
  I love this table because it feels solidly built. I am a small woman and I like that it is sturdy enough to stay in place while being easy to move around my shop area for storage. Installing and removing the router is also fairly easy, you won't have to spend half a day extracting your tool to use for something else. I have only just begun to learn what I can do with my router, but I feel like my projects are coming out much nicer having good tools to work with.
  
  Initial assembly wasn't too bad. It's a bit of a puzzle....a few hours and a bottle of wine made that process feel fun.

Hope this article helpfull for you.