Acme Tools’ has new tool deals of the day, today only, featuring tools and accessories from Bora and Bosch.
Most of the deals are either repeats from last week, but there are a couple of new ones, and this Bosch 18V cordless router deal caught my attention.
The price of the Bosch brushless router, which hasn’t been out on the market very long (see Bosch is Finally Launching an 18V Cordless Router), dropped in price from $219 to $189 today, AND you get a free starter kit with battery and charger.
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Here’s what you get:
- Bosch 18V cordless router (GKF18V-25N)
- Charger (BC1880)
- 18V 6.3Ah battery
Amazon has the same tool-only router for $184 and change right now, and Lowe’s has it on sale for $149.
The kit with a battery, charger, and tool box is $399 at Acme Tools and Amazon. Lowe’s also has it at $399, but unavailable for purchase.
Everything you need to get started – except for a 1/4″ router bit – for $189 seems like a great deal to me.
Note: The screen capture says “made in USA,” but it’s NOT; the router is listed as being made in Europe.
According to the countdown timer, the deal ends at 1am ET 3/20/25 unless supplies sell out sooner. (Supplies are likely going to be limited – I wouldn’t dawdle.) Ground shipping is a flat $6.49, or free on orders $199+.
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Acme Tools has more tool deals – see them here. There are some other good woodworking deals, but as mentioned a lot are repeats from last week’s flash sales.
Home Depot’s PRO tool deals of the week sales event is also still ongoing.
Peter
Darn it, if I not already had a DeWalt cordless I would get that in the heart beat.
Icing on the cake is that it is made in USA.
Stuart
It’s NOT made in the USA – what makes you think it is?
Peter
On the picture you posted it says made in the USA or is that referring to something else?
Stuart
Hmm. Glitch? It’s definitely NOT made here. I’ll add a note to the post.
eddiesky
Made in Hungary.
Colt is a good router, and I like how its has the shields/vac attachments over my Dewalt.
fred
I have the corded Colt from 2010 and its predecessor (1608) from 1995. The older router has some bases and features not duplicated in the Colt – but most relate to working with laminates. I also own the diminutive 12V GKF12V-25N that I like quite a bit for inlay work. My router table also has a Bosch 1617 mounted in a lift. So, in general. I like Bosch routers and find them to be good performers.
What I learned about COO when I bought the 12V router in 2018 was that the machine was made in Hungary – but other components of the kit were more global in origin (China, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore) – not surprising for a global company like Bosch.
fred
I just bit on the deal. I’m not sure if I’l keep it or gift it away next Christmas. I already have a pretty full stable of routers (11 corded and 4 cordless) but I often set up multiple routers at a time when working on a furniture project.
LE
Interesting choice of battery kit to give with it. I got it for $149 with the standard 4.0ah and charger kit at Lowe’s last month (and they had 5x reward points on Bosch stuff during that week at Lowe’s)
fred
It sure looks like that 6.3Ah battery (GBA18V63 – UPC 000346489538) has been discontinued. Lowes and Amazon both say that it is no longer available.
Luis
that’s an old battery with lower output 20700 cells that’s no longer being sold in most places. My thoughts are this is one of the newer kits, like the 6Ah CORE battery kit with 21700 cells that’s been available for almost a year
Luis
I can only speak from my experience when I purchased a Bosch 18V sawzall from CPO Outlets which was on sale at the time with a free starter kit consisting of a regular charger and hear me out: a 2.6Ah fatpack battery pack. Such kind of battery hadn’t been offered for about 5 years at the time of my purchase.
Unsurprisingly the tool didn’t came with a 2.6Ah battery, but a much newer 4Ah CORE battery. CPO never cared to update the tool’s listing to provide the right kind of battery included. And my guess this router kit is a similar situation.
Ken
Pretty good deal! I haven’t seen the 6.3Ah battery being offered in a promotional kit before. I bought this new router back in December from Lowe’s right after it was released. Even though it was just released, they put it on a promo for $160 with a “free” 2 x 4Ah battery + charger kit. I haven’t had time to use it yet but the reviews seem to be very good.
James
I purchased one of these during the holidays as part of a Lowe’s deal and have been really happy with it. It has great power, good stability, a nice collet lock, quick-click dust port accessories, and compatibility with many of the Colt accessories that are out there.
But I’d only describe it as “mostly” compatible with older Colt accessories. The 18v router has some minor variations, such that older Colt bases fit but not exactly the way they would on the corded model (i.e., rotated a bit differently). The included base also has a completely different hole pattern – so a base plate designed for a corded Colt router (I have one from Veritas) won’t fit unless you are also attaching it to the older base.
fred
That’s a bit of a bummer. I have the Veritas 05J66.01 base plate mounted on my corded Colt – and often prefer using bases like it that have a flat side.
TomWV
I’ve been following ToolGuyd for a while now but I am new to commenting. Fantastic site, by the way. I am quite invested in the Bosch 18v system. I am a professional woodworker, so my needs are a bit different than, say, a general contractor. Bosch is justifiably criticized often for being late to market (at least here in the US) and having a relatively limited range of tools. But, some of their offerings lately have really impressed me. I have the higher end brushless barrel grip jigsaw, and it is extremely smooth and powerful. Best cordless I’ve used (I haven’t used too many of them.) I admit I’m a bit biased, but I think this is a top of class tool. I have multiple that are used almost daily and really like them. (I have used several other tools in this class.) The 6 ah battery is an odd pairing. I use them with core 4 ah batteries typically. My understanding is that this particular tool wouldn’t benefit too much from the higher output larger batteries. But it is a good deal. I really am hoping Bosch brings tables batteries stateside soon. But, who knows if they will. Thanks, Stuart, for all of the updates, news, and analysis. Reliable, unbiased, and fair news regarding any industry is valuable and increasingly rare.
Stuart
Thank you for the kind words!
The 6.3Ah battery is indeed an odd pairing, but this looked like a good promo and I couldn’t find any other active promos that came close. From what I’ve seen, cordless routers sometimes do benefit from a performance boost when used with higher output batteries, although I’m unsure if that’s true here too. Compact batteries usually provide better ergonomics and balance. It’s good to have choices.
As for Bosch’s 18V line, it’s great to see the brand pushing forward with this and other new tool expansions, and I hope they continue the momentum.
rox carbuncle
If you go to the lowe’s website and scroll down to the comparisons section for this router you will see the red circled/X which indicates that this router does not have a depth adjustment. how much of a handicap in ease of use would y’all consider this to be?
Stuart
Lowe’s website is wrong; the router base does allow for adjustable cutting depth.
Skye
What’s up with Bosch deals?? Is there something up with Bosch? I was on SlickDeals and there are SO many dirt cheap Bosch deals from Lowes.
Is lowes dropping Bosch? Is Bosch quitting the cordless tool market?
Is this just a normal sale cycle and nothing to see here unless you want a good deal?
What’s up Stuart?
Stuart
I have no idea (your guess is as good and mine) and there’s no one at Lowe’s to ask.