Accessories

Excellent Router
I researched routers by reading and talking to people who use them regularly. This Milwaukee kit came up over and over as one of the best. I have used it for a few weeks now and absolutely love it. I am a novice user and bought a set Whiteside bits. The router and bits are performing flawlessly. I do recommend contacting Pat Warner (http://patwarner.com/) for his alternate base. He has an elliptical base that fits this router (and others) that makes them more stable when using by hand. The router is quiet, powerful, has a slow start feature, and is simple to use. I am not a big fan of the three part case or the size of the case. Some will not like having to use two wrenches to change bits but this is no problem for me. The body grip on the fixed base is wonderful for keeping a good grip on the router. Finally, the switch is perfectly positioned for easy on and off while you are gripping the router. Buy it, you'll like it.

very nice
i recieved this router and was very impressed with the quality and control it was difficult to decide what brand to by but i finally decided to go with milwakee because it was one of the only ones made in the USA

Beware of lemons
After purchasing a Milwaukee Sawzall from Amazon and being very pleased with it, I was in the market for a router and was impressed with the Milwaukee height-adjustment design. My first purchase was a reconditioned 5615-81 1-3/4HP router. Although it was supposedly tested and inspected at the factory, there was a 3/4-inch long piece of metal rattling around inside the motor housing. It looks like part of a motor armature. Luckily, I discovered it before I plugged it in. It was fairly easy to remove, but Milwaukee quality control should have caught this.
Next, I decided to purchase this 5616-24 kit from Amazon. No rattle, but upon plugging it in and turning it on, there was a noticeable recurring vibration in the motor that increased with the speed adjustment. At the slowest speed, it pulsed about every half second and was strong enough that it would have disturbed cutting. The motor was also much louder than that of the 5615. I contacted Milwaukee Tech Support and they simply said that this was a variable speed unit with soft start, and deferred me to the local service center. Terrible.
Fortunately, Amazon customer service took the old one back and sent a replacement. The new kit arrived today and is smooth and buzz-free. Again, Milwaukee quality control should've caught the problem before shipping it out.
As for the rest of the kit, this and the 1-3/4HP kit are the best deal if you need both the plunge and BodyGrip bases and the clear sub-bases. The height-adjustment wrench and dust collector are of limited use to me. I still need to reach under the table to loosen the clamp before adjusting the height. The dust collector looks and feels really cheap. It is held in place by a U-shaped piece of metal which clamps to the edge guide holes. When using the edge guide, the U-shaped piece is removed and the collector is held in place by the edge guide rods. Speaking of edge guide, they should've included one, although the Milwaukee guide looks cheaply made. The gargantuan case will probably go into storage. The smaller case that came with my reconditioned router is much more handy.
The 1-3/4 and 2-1/4HP motors, bases, and accessories can be used interchangeably. If you look at the parts diagrams on the Milwaukee Web site, you'll see that the added height of the red cap is to accomodate the electronic module. The motor housings are the same, just a different armature and field. The soft start feature is more like a delayed start. After flipping the switch, just as you start thinking that the unit is defective, the motor comes on. There is still quite a bit of starting torque transferred through the grips.
The plunge base is excellent. Plunge is smooth and controls are well placed, and it comes with the 1-3/16 clear sub-base installed. My only gripe is the cheesy stop rod and stop screw. It looks like it was made in the same factory as the other router accessories.

Excellent value for a superior tool!
This is the first router I purchased for my woodshop. I have used it on every project so far and absolutely love it!! When you grip this tool, you can feel the rigidity and quality right in your hand! I would highly recommend this tool to anyone, from the do-it yourselfer to the professional!

Good fixed base,stiff plunge base
I purchased this router combo in april to supplement my milwaukee table mounted router. First, the durable plastic case is large and everything fits inside nicely. The compact fixed base is comfortable and will be familiar to those who have used other milwaukee body grip routers. The plunge base feels robust but the plunge lever is very stiff. I thought that it may loosen after some usage, and it did improve gradually, but it made routing deep mortises a chore. Make no mistake, it works, it is just very stiff. Another issue involved the two milwaukee supplied 1 1/8 wrenches. One of the wrenches was forged incorrectly and would not fit on the collet. After a phone call to Milwaukee, a new wrench arrived a few days later. I gave this router 4 stars because it is powerful, has a excellent fixed base, decent plunge base, and a solid 5 year warranty.