Any preference in 3HP fixed based routers

[Mike Heidrick]

I’ve been running a Mileaukee 5625 for years. All it does is work.

Same here. 7518s do too. But honestly I have had a 618 dewalt in another lift/table and it has never flinched either.

[julian abram]

PC 7518, no need to spend time looking any further.

[Randy Heinemann]

Nick

Thanks for the answer. It saves me some time. I already have the Jessem ON/OFF switch installed. Just thought it would be nice to be able to control speed from the switch on those rare occasions when I think it's necessary. Hard to get at under the table and I always forget exactly where the speed control is located on my 7518.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Another satisfied Milwaukee owner checking in.
I had a Freud 2.5HP that died and early death & got real spoiled real fast by the above table capabilities.
Since I didn't want to spend a bunch more on a lift - so I could use the PC, I went with the Milwaukee instead.


Now - just to muddy the waters some.....

Before making any final decision,,,,have a look at the big (3 Plus HP ) Triton. People that own them think extremely highly of them.
It's a plunge router - - but - - IMHO, most people use them under a table.

[Curt Harms]

Randy, the Jessem speed control/switch won't work with the PC 7518 or any other router with soft start or variable speed . In fact, I don't think Jessem even sells the switch separately. They sell a simple on/off switch but not the speed controller.

You'd have to bypass/remove the P-C speed control module then the Jessem device would work I bet. Might be an option for someone with a 7518 with flaky speed control.

[Nick Decker]

Nick

Thanks for the answer. It saves me some time. I already have the Jessem ON/OFF switch installed. Just thought it would be nice to be able to control speed from the switch on those rare occasions when I think it's necessary. Hard to get at under the table and I always forget exactly where the speed control is located on my 7518.

Yeah, it makes sense that adding speed control to a machine that's already speed controlled would cause problems.

In my situation, I have to bend down (a bit of a pain at my age), slide open the door on my dust cabinet and reach into a dark area for that slider and adjust it by feel. Iffy at best.

I guess if you rarely adjusted the speed it wouldn't matter much, but I tend to use a variety of sizes of roundovers and chamfer bits. Maybe I'm over thinking it, but I'd rather err on the safe side and match the speed to the cutter.