Customer Reviews for RIDGID 18V OCTANE Brushless Cordless Compact Fixed Base Router with 1/4 in. Bit, Round and Square Bases and Collet Wrench

Pretty hard to control by hand. Tried several times to cut some shallow mortises and it'd kick hard and shove itself to the wrong place and mess up the piece. Sure this could have been my fault, but I had to really fight it no matter the speed. Final nail in the coffin was when the _plastic_ chuck button actually snapped while attempting to change the bit. Trying to get it serviced but have to drive it 1.5 hrs to some random shack in the middle of nowhere for service and wait weeks.

Collet threads on spindle stripped out after 3rd use. No, i was not tightening this as hard as possible. There is no torque specification from Ridgid for tightening the collet. The manual only states to "tighten collet nut securely." It also warns "If the collet nut is not tightened securely, the bit could come out during use, resulting in possible serious personal injury." The spindle is integral to the motor assembly, not repairable. Wish I hadn't neglected to do my Home Depot warranty.

I think a cordless router is safer, as there is no cord to get caught as you move the router over your workpiece. This is a nice compact unit. The power switch is kind of awkward (pull to turn on) and will take some getting used to.

This is a great all around tool. The three speeds are a must with a battery operated tool. With a battery operated sander it weighs a little more then I'am use to but the mobility of this tool is a plus.

Excellent tool, I made an accessory to radius the corners on the lexan polycarbonate sheet

I planted a 3/4" auger bit in a 2x4 laminated benchtop and wanted to salvage the bit. Excuse to buy a new tool. This hogged out the material efficiently. Easy to control, and the dust port was solid with a 2-1/2" hose and adaptor. The bit was easily removed from the collect after use. I am pleased with the value of this tool.

I'm an admitted Ridgid tool fan.. But I debated on weather this sander was worth the costs since it's a good bit higher in price over a corded model. Currently on sale for about $70 US. But I had a lot of sheet sanding paper I recently picked up so thought might as well give it a try since the wife wanted me to sand down a item so she can refinish it. Put the 80 grit that it came with on it and a 3 AH octane battery and went to town removing a old finish and stain job. This along with the belt sander make a pretty quick job at removing the old finish. Now just remain with the areas that have to be hand sanded due to curves on the wood. Was impressed with the sander. Dust collection was outstanding as I emptied the bag full of dust in the trash instead of having to blow it all off my me and the project.

Powerful and compact cordless router. I was using a diablo .5” rabbeting bit and it cut through pine with ease. I didn’t get to try it with an octane battery yet but it still works great without one. Only flaw is the micro adjusting dial slips when using the router. I had to hold the dial so that it didn’t move when I was routing. Might call ridgid to see if that is a concern or if I wasn’t using it properly.

I have been using Ridgid tools in my shop for some time now and I know the quality and innovation that they bring to the table in their product line. It is great to see improvements over time as they develop their tools. I own the previous model to this one as well as some other small routers and I am pleased with this new Octane platform. The addition of the dust port adapter and the Octane efficiency is a great step ahead of the Gen5X. I was worried that the dust port would pop out easily with a hose attached but, it locks in with the router base and stays put even with a larger 2-1/2" hose attached. If you have the previous model, the ergonomics are the exact same and you cant tell the difference in a blindfold test. This is a great little router for easy one handed work and even larger hardwood jobs. I can put a 1/4" round over on maple, oak, cherry, and walnut without issue.

Same amazing CORDLESS trim router with more octane power and dust collection! I mean at the end of the day, you just can't beat having a cordless router. I find that I use the cordless router all the time. I have had a lot of experience with the previous model and still love having it. It's been good to me these last couple of years, and now I am confident that this new model will be super helpful in addition to my other router for multi uses in and around my shop. Already right out of the box I can "hear" that it sounds like it has more power than my previous model. The tone is a bitter higher for sure. The dust port is nice too and worked well attaching it to my shop vac with the small hose I use for my miter saw (it is not the same diameter hose that comes with the shop vac but a smaller one I picked up at a tool show one year). I was using it with a 3ah Octane battery and with the hose attached it felt nice and balanced while using the router and even allowed my hand to sort of rest on the chute. I have smaller to medium sized hands and think it fits well; I would be interested to know if someone with large hands felt the same. Either way, its great! If I had to change anything it would be designing it to where you didn't have to remove the base plate in order to install or remove the dust chute, but I plan on leaving mine on so it doesn't matter to me. Also, knowing that the base plate sits on top of where it connects, I guess I know it is not going to pop off with the weight of the hose pulling on it. All in all, I am very pleased with it so far. I know it's a fairly new model and I haven't had a lot of time to work with it yet, but if it serves me like the previous model has, then I am confident this one is going to rock too!

Very nice compact router. Well made, great price.

This is the worst product Ridgid has put out . The base plates don't even line up with the screw holes. . The base has a ton of play. It's finicky and doesn't stay locked in place. The router will get sucked down Everytime . The power is weak, it will stop during operation. The fine adjuster is pointless, it has so much play. This thing is trash!!!

Haven’t used it yet ,Leave me alone

Shipping is bad only received part of my order the main part the router is no where in site

I love having a sander that doesn’t have cords dragging behind it, creating job site tangles, but the run time on my 2.0mah. batteries, is so limited (15min?) that I already bought a MaxPwr 4.0mah battery, and switched back to my corded Rigid palm sander which has noticeably more sanding power than the battery model. Still like having it.

I don’t think there is a cordless ridgid tool that I do not own, and like all of those this one does not disappoint.

ROUTER BIT COLLET REQUIRES WAY TOO MUCH PRESSURE TO SECURELY TIGHTEN ON SHANK OF CUTTER. SINGLE SLOT ON COLLET IS POOR DESIGN.

Works great, easy to use, well built like all Ridgid products

Purchase first one and second one as a return the sander does not work well with ridgid vacuum cleaner attached runs for about 5 to 10 seconds and it shuts down. Tried multiple times. for me it defeats the purpose. It seemed to run all right with the bag on the back of it but you could see the dust coming through though bag besides that and vibrates the living heck out of your hand I have the electric version works great. Guess I got to stick with that, it’s a rotten shame. No quality control I guess.