Many years ago, I had the pleasure of working with the late Pat Warner. Pat, in my opinion, remains the most outstanding writer and fixture maker for the electric router, head and shoulders the best.
Pat invented the offset router base. After using several of Pat's offset bases, I would not use a fixed base router without one or with one of the poorly designed clones.
Pat's engineering and workmanship were impeccable. He also used just the right high quality parts. On Pat's recommendation I have dealt with Reid Tool in Michigan occasionally over the years. I recommend them highly.
This you tube describes a similar business, McMaster-Carr. If you are ready to move up beyond the standard limited selection of hardware store parts, watch this video.
EDIT:
Sorry, here is the link.
https://youtu.be/8kbu34dk92s
Ken
Should there be a youtube link?
Happy new year!
Adam Savage's Favorite Tools: McMaster-Carr Catalog! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kbu34dk92s&feature=youtu.be)
I agree wholeheartedly. The McMaster-Carr catalog has been part of my work/hobby life since 1963 when I went to work in my father's machine shop. Wondrous resource and what a pleasure to read/look at/use. Adam's enthusiasm is shared. I don't have the most current volume, even though I buy regularly my volume and dollar amount are not great enough, but I cherish it as does Adam. He is correct that the online catalog is entirely complete and exactly mirrors the print version, so much so that one doesn't really need a printed catalog.
(https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4576.0;attach=5274)
When I lived in Portland, OR, I had access to some good hardware stores, on in particular, Winks, was the classic old type that had a warehouse full of shelves full of everything you could ever want or imagine (but not as much as Mc-C). Perusing through it was a glorious experience, almost a live Mc-C experience.
I currently live in a very rural area of NE Oregon and have limited access to really good hardware stores and nothing like Winks. So, I use the online Mc-C catalog extensively for ordering common and specialty parts and fasteners. One of the benefits of this is that it is often necessary to order in quantities beyond my immediate needs, up to 100 ct packages, so I have been accumulating a much deeper inventory of fasteners and misc. in my own shop. I like it.
One feature of the online catalog is that there are 2D and 3D CAD files of many of their products available for downloading. These are intended for commercial designers and fabricators but as a hobbyist that uses 2D CAD extensively on nearly all of my projects, I frequently download 2D files to add to my CAD designs. Speaking to Ken's subject line, my use of McMaster-Carr's catalog and especially these CAD drawings goes way beyond "tinkering".
(https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4576.0;attach=5296)
(https://forum.tormek.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=4576.0;attach=5298)
Rick
Those 3D CAD drawings are importable into Fusion 360 for 3D modeling. I find this very useful. (And Fusion 360 can export designs for 3D printers.)