Review: Dewalt DCW600B Cordless Compact Router

The Dewalt DCW600B cordless router is a great option for people who want to go cordless without sacrificing power. It’s a little larger and heavier than some of it’s competitors, but those qualities rarely generate complaints from people who own this one. Let’s take a closer look.

Cutting Power & Motor

This router is powerful enough to make smooth cuts on many types of materials with it’s 20v battery power and variable speeds of 16,000 – 25,500 RPM. This router also has a weight of about 4 lbs with a battery attached, which might seem heavy for a compact router. However, it helps to keep the router in place on the surface you are using as a guide, which helps make it feel more smooth during cuts.

Overall, this is one of the more powerful compact routers out there – especially considering that it is battery powered. It has enough power to be useful for job site, shop and home use.

The motor has soft-start features to keep torque at a minimum during startup. There is also an electronic brake to stop the motor more quickly when shut off.

The collet size on this router is 1/4 inch, so keep in mind that it will only fit that size of bit.

Battery Power

This router is battery powered which helps to free you from being tethered to power cord during use. It works with 20v Dewalt Lithium batteries. The tool we looked at specifically is a bare bones model that doesn’t include any batteries or a charger in the box – this is sold this way for people who already use Dewalt tools and already have batteries and chargers. If you don’t have Dewalt batteries already, you will need to purchase some as well as a charger if you get the bare bones version of the tool.

Let’s look quickly at Amp Hours (AH). Dewalt makes variations on their 20V batteries and you will find that there are 3AH all the way to 9AH versions available. Generally, the smaller AH batteries will weight less and the more powerful batteries will weigh more.

Battery weight will affect usage of this router as larger batteries will make it feel more top-heavy. Some people who own this router prefer to have multiple smaller batteries rather than one or two larger batteries due to the weight distributing and top-heavy nature of the router as a whole.

Smaller batteries will wear out fairly quickly with this router. If you will be using this for quick jobs, the smaller batteries will probably be fine.

Most serious users will want at least 5AH batteries for the best battery life for longer use or bigger jobs. However, if you intend to use this for 15 minutes or longer on a consistent basis you will want to look at the higher powered batteries.

Here’s an example of a battery starter kit that works with this router – which includes a charger and 2x 5AH batteries:

Fixed Base

This router is packaged with a fixed base attachment. The base is made from aluminum and features a clear plate on the bottom to help with visibility when in use. The base can be removed completely from the router so that you can change bits, perform maintenance or swap on another type of base.

The fixed base attaches with a quick clamping system and then the depth can be adjusted with the fine tuning ring which is attached to the top of the base. The locking lever can be adjusted to clamp more tightly or more loosely, and is something people should keep an eye on when setting up and using this router. Not tightening it enough could result in the base moving when making cuts.

Overall, the base works well and is accurate during use. Some people have complaints about the adjustment system. Making bigger adjustments can take a little longer than you’d expect due to having to rely on the fine tune adjustment ring for all adjustments. It’s not a huge issue but something to consider.

Cutting Depth

The fixed base allows a max cutting depth of about 1 inch. We can’t find any specifications on the max cut depth for this router from the manufacturer. The cutting depth is adjustable on this router with the fixed base, with adjustments made by turning the fine-tuning ring.

LED Lights

This router features two LED lights which are placed on the bottom of the router unit, inside of the base. The lights are decent and help to illuminate whatever you are cutting so that you can get a better view of what’s going on during the cut. Combined with the clear base, this really helps with visibility during cuts.

Handheld Design

For a compact router, this is one of the larger options available. While it is designed to be compact and for holding with one hand, some might find the size of the router to be a little too big to one-hand. Keep this in mind if you have smaller hands. It’s hard to call this a palm router since it’s a little bigger, but it’s still compact.

Those that have big enough hands to operate this one-handed will find it easy to operate and to hold onto. The weight of the router itself will help keep it on the surface of whatever you are cutting.

Adding a larger battery pack will affect the weight as well, and could make it feel more top-heavy during use.

Build Quality

People who own this router really like the build quality and there’s not much to complain about in terms of things breaking or falling apart. There is plastic employed in the case and in the switches and levers, but people haven’t really had any issues with those breaking, even after high amounts of use. Overall, this router is very well built and should stand the test of time.

Included Accessories

This router comes with a few accessories, and there are more available to purchase depending on how you intend to use your router. Keep in mind the specific tool we looked at was a bare bones unit that didn’t include batteries or a charger. Here’s what comes packaged with this router:

• Wrench

Other Available Accessories

Dewalt offers some accessories to expand the capabilities of this router, which need to be purchased separately. Here’s what’s available.

Plunge Base Edge Guide (DW6913)

Setup & Assembly

This router is pretty straightforward in terms of assembly and setup. As always, read through the manual so you understand the details of making adjustments and bit changes. Overall, you’ll be up and running pretty quickly with this router, outside of charging batteries if you need to.

Warranty

Dewalt offers a 3 year warranty on defective parts or workmanship. They also include a 1 year free service contract and a 90 day money back guarantee. This is good enough to help you out if you have quality control issues in that first year of use.