Router Speed Controller Options

The cheap model has worked for me for ages, but they're not very good at regulating speed once you've turned it down. The 690 is a universal motor; you can feed it pretty much anything and it will turn as fast as power allows. The $20 models just reduce power, so reduce speed. They do *not* increase torque so you'll have to use multiple passes to compensate.

I don't know of any speed controllers that can regulate the speed of a universal motor, but I haven't looked for any either. IMHO the design of universal motors limits (or removes) any speed feedback, like BLDC or AC motors provide. Perhaps monitoring average current can do something.

A better choice, of course, is a shaper that is designed to be geared down for larger bits - then you get slower speed with *more* torque, not less.

Heck, for $20 this shouldn't be a question. It's a cheap tool, buy it for entertainment purposes, and if it happens to work, bonus! :-)

In a pinch those small speed controllers that you plug your router into. But they suck compared to a built in speed controller with electronic load feed back. And the add on units are any ones guess as to what speed the router is actually spinning at with out a load, and under a load quite a bit slower with larger bits.

Built in speed controllers typically will maintain the speed under a load. The cheap add-on units do not.

Most any router with a universal motor and a speed control will compensate for added load. My Makita and Milwaukee both do this. All bets are off with separate speed controllers.