Triton TRA001 3-1/4 HP Precision Plunge Router Review
A big router built around going in a table. The above-table height winder and the automatic spindle lock are why people buy it.
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Most routers are designed to be held and then adapted for a table. The TRA001 was designed the other way round, and the features that follow from that are the reason it has stayed in production so long.
The three table features
Above-table height adjustment. A winder handle passes through the table plate and turns the router’s height mechanism. You set cutter height from above, watching the bit, rather than reaching underneath with a torch. This is what a router lift does, and a router lift costs more than this router.
Fixed-base mode. A plunge router in a table is a problem: the spring wants to push the cutter back down. The TRA001 has a mode that disengages the plunge spring and locks the mechanism, so the height stays where you set it.
Automatic spindle lock. Wind the cutter to full height and the spindle locks itself and the collet rises above the table. One spanner, from above. Compared with lying under a table with two spanners, this is the feature owners mention first.
Handheld, honestly
It will do handheld work. It is 3-1/4 HP and it weighs accordingly, and holding it against an edge for a long profile run is tiring. The centre of gravity is high, which makes it tippy on a narrow edge.
If you do a lot of handheld routing, own a compact router as well and keep this one in the table.
What you give up for the price
Refinement. The plunge action is not as smooth as a Festool or a Bosch, the castings are rougher, and the switch arrangement is clumsy — a flip-up cover over the trigger that has to be reset after any power interruption.
None of that affects the cut. It affects how the tool feels, and at this price that is a reasonable trade.
The 2-1/4 HP version
The MOF001 is the same design at lower power and lower weight. For a table running smaller cutters, or for someone who wants one router for both jobs, it is the more sensible buy.
What works
- The height winder works through the table with a supplied handle, so you set cutter height from above without buying a router lift
- Switching to fixed-base mode locks the plunge, which is what makes a plunge router usable in a table at all
- The spindle lock engages automatically at full height and the collet is accessible above the table, so bit changes do not mean crawling underneath
What doesn't
- It is heavy and tall for handheld use — usable, and genuinely tiring on edge profiling compared with a compact router
- The safety switch cover and the plunge lock arrangement take getting used to, and the switch has to be re-armed after a power cut
- Fit and finish is a clear step below Festool or Bosch: the castings are rougher and the plunge action less silky
Worth comparing against
- Check price
Triton
Triton MOF001 2-1/4 HP Dual Mode Precision Plunge Router