Bosch RA1171 vs RA1181 Router Table Comparison

Bosch RA1171 vs RA1181 which Bosch router table is right for you?

With the RA1171 and RA1181 Bosch have pretty much dominated the budget friendly router table market. There are of course much more expensive models available from other manufacturers like the Kreg PRS1045 and PRS2100.

However if you are just starting out or can't justify the more expensive brands then these two Bosch router tables are certainly strong contenders to meet your needs.

Lets take a brief look at each model and then have a comparison at the end.

Bosch RA1171 Review

The Bosch RA1171 is a cabinet style router table that has a smooth work surface area of 25 inch x 15-1/2 inch.

The table top has a smoothed laminate surface ensuring that your work pieces are easly to adjust and slide about.

The fence on the RA1171 is made from sturdy aluminum and has MDF face plates that can be used to for some fairly tall work pieces.

Included are two adjustable featherboards that can either be attached to the fence or the table and are also adjustable.

Design wise the RA1171 is the more traditional cabinet style router table. This design allows for superior dust collection versus the more open bench top format of the RA1181 below.

To help aid dust collection the RA1171 has two dust ports that can be hooked up to any standard shop vacuum. There is also a dual outlet switch and comes supplied with a six foot power cord.

Included in the box are: router table, 3 mounting plate insert rings, two adjustable featherboards, adjustable guard and 1/16 inch thick two fence shims.

Bosch RA1181 Review

The RA1181 is the newer version of the RA1171 above. It has an open bottom design foud on similar benchtop router tables. 

The majority of the specifications on the RA1181 are the same as on the previous model.

You get the same fence height of 4-7/8 inches and a slightly larger work surface.

However, there are a few important differences between the RA1171 and RA1181.

The leg supports on the RA1181 are made from molded plastic versus the all metal cabinet construction of the RA1171. This may put off a lot of people as they are naturally afraid of the plastic being easily damaged over time.

However I have not heard of anyone having any problems with the plastic.

The one advantage the plastic does have to offer is the reduction in weight versus the RA1171. The RA1181 weighs 30 pounds against the RA1171's 42 pounds.

Bosch RA1171 vs RA1181

Bosch RA1171 vs RA1181 which one is right for you?

The RA1171 cabinet style table is the older model and depending on where you buy is can be a little bit cheaper than the newer RA1181. 

The lighter RA1181 is probably best suited to those that need to move their router table from job site to job site. Being roughly 12 pounds lighter than the RA1171 it is much more portable.

For a more permanent setup I would favor the RA1171 especially as the cabinet style base will give you much better dust and debris collection than the more open style of the RA1181. 

As you would expect both tables can easily accept the more popular brands such as Bosch and DeWalt routers so combat-ability should not be an issue.

Both will perform as well as each other as from table top upwards they are essentially the same machine.