Hello ns
try looking here
http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/
Very good site and friendly too!!
Bewarned if you thought you spent too much time on bee forums, the worst thing to do is subscribe to a woodworkers forum! That will be the other half of the day done for too!
A quicker answer is one from experience. I have had great success buying loads of wood tools on Ebay (Bandsaw, planer/thicknesser radial arm saw, to name just three) I also bought two routers there (both ELU) I can vouch for both - a MOF 177E (lightweight) and a MOF 96 - a brute that will power through walls but it has got finesse too.
Both of these were verging on the well cheap, almost unused and complete in perfect boxes. As a DIYer they will last me the rest of my lifetime. The good part about ELU is that although not still in production, spares are readily available unlike the chinese £10 wonders. Fleabay is also a good source of spare parts should you need them. Things like brushes and I sourced a replacement collet and nut for the big one.
I have also bought 3 ELU planers for less than half the price i would have payed for a new one?
The usual pitfalls apply and buying from an auction site needs some ground rules - However I have been extremely fortunate.
If you want new with a sensible combination of quality/cost with the added advantage of warranty, a good brand is hitachi. I have had 7 inch and 10 inch circular saws for 15 years with no hint of trouble. Finally there is also the Trend range who do everything to do with routing (No personal experience) Good Trend website and you can cross reference all the router bits you see on Fleabey and see what the heck they are??
Just a quick answer
Best of luck FB
