Oops. I meant cutting the MORTISES for mortise-and-tenon joints. I
should have drank some coffee before posting.

On 2004-12-20 08:59:25 -0600, Lars Stole said:

I'm looking to purchase a new router to accomplish 2 things --
occasional floating tenons (which I have never tried before) and
occasional dovetail cutting. I currently have a 2-1/4HP Makita router
dedicated in a router table, and I am tired of taking it out whenever I
need to use a hand held router. (Also, the plunge on the Makita is not
so great IMHO.)

I've never cut floating tenons beofre (only integral ones using my
mortiser anda chisel), but David Marks makes it look easy so I thought
I'd try it on my next project. I notice that every time I see a him
cut a floating tenon, however, he does it with one of his 3HP routers
-- never with a 2-1/4 HP.

As I understand the tradeoffs, the 3HP weighs much more, but packs more
power and probably has a longer-lasting motor. The weight is a
negative for me unless you think it will be easier to avoid router tip
when cutting dovetails on a cheap dovetail jig. The motor longevity is
not really an issue given I will only use the router a few dozen times
a year. So then the issue is power. If I get a 2-1/4HP router, will
this mean that instead of cutting 1/2" depth on each pass, for example,
that I cut a 3/8" depth? If so, that hardly seems worth the extra
weight given the number of cuts I will make per year.

I'm leaning toward buying the Bosch 2-1/4HP router package (which
includes dust collection and other extras) at amazon.com before the
sale ends (possibly today). The alternative is to buy either the
Dewalt or Hitachi 3HP, but I've done less research on 3HP plunge
routers so I am not as tied to these choices.