Which one???

[Doughboy]

I am looking at getting a router to mount permanently under a table that I am yet to construst from plans posted on this site and I know that the Triton is the bees knees but I cant justify that kind of money at this time...

My old man has offered me an older version of the makita 3612 the BR model to be exact.... This unit does not have a variable speed on it and as far as I can tell this is the main difference. At 3 hp it has the grunt I think is needed but I am wondering if it not having a variable speed controller am I going to be severely disappointed down the track??

Should I sacrifice a little grunt so I have the variable speed option? Please dont tell me to bite the bullet and spend the dough-rei-me on the Triton because you know all I really need is the excuse....

Thanks in advance for any and all advice.
Pete

[Stuart]

Sacrifice grunt for variable speed without a question.

You want to be able to use larger and smaller bits, especially in table mode where large router bits can be used safely. (Well moreso than handheld!)

There is no way you will want those big bits running at full speed.

There has been some discussion on here about fitting external speed control - not sure if this is an option or not (many cause I haven't read the thread, having a variable speed router already ;) )


Now.....have you given any thought to the baby Triton? Cheaper, 1400W, but still with all the advantages of the biggie, and when ;) you finally decide you need the biggie, the baby becomes a great hand-held router!