Steve, the real reason Bj has so many routers is he is too lazy to change the bits... he just buys another router. At the rate he is going it wont be long before we see his nice bit storage cabinets up for sale.
On a serious note the new Craftsman router BJ mentioned should be a better choice for a couple of reasons. First off it has more power than a 690. The built in soft start and speed controller are included in the price. That having been said I prefer using external speed controllers for a couple reasons. The two biggest killers of the soft start/speed controller components are heat and vibration. Aftermarket controllers are physically larger so they should dissipate heat easier, and since they are fastened to the table they are subject to less vibration. I promise your wallet would much prefer replacing an aftermarket controller too. The factory built in units will cost you 3 or more times as much if they fail. You should get years of use from either way, and the opinions about the controllers are my own views, based on many years of machine repair. The only thing to watch out for is you can not use an after market controller with a router that has a built in soft start/speed controller. That is a sure fire way to an expensive repair. Let us know what you decide.
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Mike
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