MIMF

Jason,

I own 4 different size routers. I have been blessed with a wife who understands wood-working.
This Whiteside bit we are talking about is a fairly big aggressive bit. It has a 1/2 inch shank too.

I have a "just larger than laminate trimmer" 1-1/4 horse Dewalt router that will only accept 1/4 inch bits, and a similar, slightly larger, older Craftsman. I use these for smaller tasks like routing pickup pockets. neck pockets, and control cavities that have been drilled out first.
The next size up, and quite frankly the smallest I would use with the Whiteside bit, is a 2-1/4 horse Makita.
This router has both a solid base, and a plunge base. The weight of this router is good, making it possible to work with it in my hands. I also had it mounted in my router table until just recently.
Then I got my new 3-1/4 horse Porter Cable.
The Porter Cable is a great router for table mounting, but is a bit heavy for hand work. It has 2 chucks, one for 1/2 inch and one for 1/4 inch. This router will handle almost any bit out there. This is the table mounted router I use for template work.

In my opinion one of the mistakes we make when buying tools is under buying. In other words, not buying a tool powerful enough to maintain RPM while cutting.
This leads to burning the wood, and dulling the bit faster because of heat. I know this out of my own experience. Like most of us, I did not have the money to buy some of these tools until I got a bit older. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT.

Hopefully this helps you in your choice of routers.

Thanks, Gordon. The PC 7518 3-1/4hp fixed base router is in my budget, so I might as well go for it. I'm okay with putting a fixed base machine in my table and keeping it there, while using other smaller routers for handheld tasks. There are a few routers in that power class that get some good reviews on Amazon and other sites, and the PC is one of the more expensive. If someone could make the case for another less expensive tool, I'll listen. Makita?

I've heard good things about the Milwaukee and newer Bosch. None of the plunge routers I've looked at were rigid enough for under table mounting for the applications I was hoping to use them for i.e. 2" tall perimeter trimming on a solid body.

In my experience the causes of burning (besides sugary woods) are:
1) Dull and/or dirty bits.
2) Moving too slowly.
3) Not enough airflow around the cutter
Slowing the cutter down actually helps, I never get burning on my milling machine at 3000RPM.
I try to have a vacuum/dust collector set up to dissipate the heat quickly.
I push the wood through deliberately and take several small passes to avoid burns or chunk-outs in the tricky spots.
If a corner looks sure to burn I'll leave it a little shy and sand to the final profile so i can sand out any burn that happens.

David, thank you for reminding me of the conversation we had regarding using plunge bases in a table setup and the inherent problems with rigidity. I'm going to toss out a couple options based on that alone.

Seems like most routers have speed control nowadays, if not variable then 5 or so settings. I'll have to experiment with slower speeds, because burning is a constant issue for me.

More power is always better, but for flush trimming, the loads are not nearly as high as large panel raising bits, so I believe you can get by with a 2-1/4 hp class router for the Whiteside bits. I agree that a fixed base router is the better choice for a table, and if precision depth control from above the table is necessary, better to go to a router lift or one of the bases that allows wrench adjustment from above. I have both big 3-1/4 HP PCs from when I did a lot more large scale stuff, and they are best of class for when brute power is needed - really great for doors or rail and panel work, but just too heavy and cumbersome for most luthiery stuff in my shop.

Have had a Milwaukee 2-1/4 HP in the table for a decade - good router with good micro-adjust system. Have a couple PC's as well, along with the triple base DeWalt 2-1/4 HP kit - tough to go wrong with any of these or the Bosch kits.