Editing Router (woodworking) (section)

==History==
Before power routers existed, the [[router plane]] was often used for the same purpose.

An incremental step toward modern power routers was the foot-pedal operated router, such as the Barnes Former/Shaper, available in 1877.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.footpoweredmachinery.com/manufacturers/barnes-wfj/machines/formershaper/ |title= Former/Shaper |website=Foot Powered Machinery |access-date=2021-01-17}}</ref> Barnes patented a reversible rotary cutting head in 1889.<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=449571 |status=patent |inventor1-last=Barnes |inventor1-first=J. |pubdate=1891-03-31 |assign= W.F. & John Barnes Co. |title=Reversible rotary cutter}}</ref>
 
The first portable power router was patented in 1906 by [[George Keller (architect)|George Kelley]] and marketed by the Kelley Electric Machine Company.<ref>{{cite patent |country=US |number=877894 |status=patent |assign=Stevenson Machine Co.|pubdate=1908-01-28 |inventor1-first=George L. |inventor1-last=Kelly |title=Routing machine}}</ref> The early electric routers were quite heavy,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.woodworkinghistory.com/glossary_router.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081013121013/http://www.woodworkinghistory.com/glossary_router.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 13, 2008 |title=Glossary: Router |website=A History of Woodworking |access-date=2021-01-17}}</ref> and only nominally "portable".

In 1915 Oscar and Rudy Onsrud produced an air-powered router, which they referred to as a Jet Motor Hand Router.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cronsrud.com/about-us.html |title=C. R. Onsrud company history |access-date=2021-01-17}}</ref>

In the 1930s, Stanley Works acquired a line of portable routers from Roy L. Carter, and marketed an 18000 RPM electric hand router similar to modern routers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.woodworkinghistory.com/stanley_router_shaper_catalog_1935.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007064020/http://www.woodworkinghistory.com/stanley_router_shaper_catalog_1935.pdf |url-status=usurped |archive-date=October 7, 2008 |title=1935 Stanley Router Shaper Catalog No. 61 |access-date=2021-01-17}}</ref>

Further refinement produced the plunge router, invented by ELU (now part of [[DeWalt]]) in Germany around 1949.

Modern routers are often used in place of traditional [[moulding plane]]s or spindle moulder machines for edge decoration (moulding) of timber.