A router is a very useful woodworking power tool. With it, you can make your own mouldings and decorative edges. Limitations are present, however, because it is handheld. You cannot cut long thin moulding sections, since you will have to clamp the workpiece securely so it won't bend. A solution to this is a table base or base. These allow you to mount your router upside down to a platform. In essence, you can turn your router into a stationary shaper with a base.
Homemade Bases
A homemade router base is not hard to build. It is simply a table, with legs about 16 inches long. Make the top out of 3/4-inch plywood, and the legs out of 2-by-4s. Cut a hole in the middle to fit your router, and use flat-head screws to attach it to the underside of the base. Woodworkers at Lumberjocks modified a table presented at "Woodsmith Magazine" to make a complete work cabinet with a router table as the top.
Transparent Base
Many routers have a black plastic base. While this is adequate, you may want to see the workpiece ahead of the small opening in the middle. This is especially true if you are following a pencil line. The solution is to make a transparent base. Obtain a piece of clear plastic, 1/4-inch thick. Remove the black plastic base, and make one exactly like it out of the clear plastic.
Rotary Tool Sets
Tools are sold individually or in sets. If you are obtaining your first tools, buy a set, since a price discount is usually given. If by chance you destroy a tool by hitting a hidden nail in the wood, you can always replace it by purchasing an individual tool. Bear in mind some of these tools have revolutions per minute (RPM) limitations. Find out what your router's RPM is, and make sure it does not exceed the RPM limits of the tool.
Rotary Tool Quality
A world of difference exists in the quality of rotary tools. Good quality tools are made out of carbide steel, and have good longevity. Inferior grade tools are made out of questionable steel, and dull quickly. A dull tool will tear the wood horribly, instead of leaving a clean cut. As of October of 2010, Northern Tools sells a 15-piece bit set for $50. Freud Tools also sells a 15-bit set, but for $200. The difference is beyond just price-gouging -- Freud states that its tools are made out of carbide steel developed in its manufacturing facility. If you are a hobbyist woodworker and only use your router occasionally, the cheaper tools may be fine to use. If you are a professional woodworker who uses a router constantly, in the long run the initial cost is worth it. You will constantly have to buy cheaper tools, as opposed to buying good quality tools just once.
Rotary Tools Shapes
Tools are called by the cutting profile they leave on the wood. Tools come in a variety of shapes, such as half round, shallow S (called a Roman Ogee), or square slotting. By altering the depth of cut and tool selection, you can make very decorative moulding that have a variety of profiles in the wood. By gluing together two or three pieces of cut moulding, you can make decorative large moulding, such as for a fireplace mantle. You have to be an artist, and experiment around with different shapes. Another interesting feature is a paired tool set. These are used to cut mirror image patterns. What one tool cuts out, the other tool leaves in, and vice-versa. For example if you are making a tongue-in-groove joint, one tool cuts the tongue, and another cuts the groove. These tools are also used to cut dovetail joints, found on the back of all heirloom quality drawers.
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