I'm looking to buy an under-the-table router to do a variety of cabinetry, including raised panel passage & entry door making.
While price is -always- a concern, I'm more concerned with getting a router that will take anything that I, a hobbyist, am likely to ever put in its path and still outlive me by a wide margin. I am willing to go as high as $500.
If I don't make a fatal mistake along the way, I figure I have perhaps another 20-25 years yet to live. So I am looking for something that was deliberately over-engineered. Heavy casting. Premium bearings. Heavy duty electronics. Little or no plastic & chrome.
What, in your opinion, is the current "Cadillac of Routers" for this application and why do you feel this way?
Bill