Bosch 12A 2-1/4 HP Plunge & Fixed Base Corded Router + Benchtop Router Table Expired

If you want a much cheaper alternative, I recently got the kobalt router/table combo and used it for the first time this weekend and highly recommend it. It's currently on sale for only $129.

Its honestly so cheap compared to any other alternative I thought something had to be wrong. I am sure an expert can find plenty of things to improve, but for $129 it is seriously 1/3 the price of any combo you will find with similar features. Includes an aluminum table top (almost all under $300 I have seen are MDF including the Bosch), height adjustment from above the table so you don't need to get under there, and an adjustable outfeed fence which allows for easy jointing.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-F...1000318615

I agree the Kobalt table can fill the needs of some. Be aware though, this table uses a non-standard miter track size. This means you won't be able to upgrade the table with a better miter gauge, sled, fence, stops, jigs, etc. if you want to enhance the capabilities of the table in the future. You'll be stuck trying to home brew something. Many reviews ding the Kobalt table for the sloppy plastic miter and track, so it's very conceivable that would be one thing many users would want to upgrade.

I tried to submit my review about Kobalt router table @ Lowe's website but it didn't show up. Here is a summary of improvements I made to my Kobalt router table. Overall the Kobalt system is a very good choice for beginner, and it could be fun/educational to improve it to your need.

1. Non-flush Router plate: The plastic plate around the router bit is not level with the table top– the plate is sitting a little lower. Solution: I bought a thin handi-board (~1/8 in thick) from Menard, used a Milescraft circle guide kit to cut out plates fit to the router plate hole, use a hole saw to cut out center opening for the router bit (I made a few of them), and hand sanded the plate to be flush to the table.

2. Slippery fence: Those factory provided knobs can't be tightened sufficiently to hold the fence in position. Thus, the fence may slip away under pressure and destroy the wood work (there are tons of complaint about this on Lowe's customers' review). Solution: Added a LOCK WASHER under each plastic knob, which easily fixed the fence at its position. However, after that the knob is very hard to untight. I finally replaced both the original metric M8 carriage bolt with 5/16" bolts, and replaced the original knobs with WING KNOBS from my t-track kits.

3. Non-flush fence surface: The outfeed side of the fence is hard to stay flush with the infeed side -- this adjustable outfeed fence likely was designed for jointing wood. Since I use my table saw jig to joint wood, I have no use of this function but prefer a flash infeed-outfeed fence surface.
Solution: I removed the adjustable black plastic plate on the outfeed side. Then fixed a DIY fence (made from a ¾" particle board) to the remaining fence (see Fig 3). I also router a slot and then installed a standard T-track to