Hi Guys and Gals! This is my first real post since joining cnczone more than a year ago (other than my introductory post in the Welcome thread).

I am currently putting together plans to build a CNC Router using a SuperPID and a Bosch 1617 Router. I've found tons of threads and posts from people using the Bosch 1617EVS Variable-Speed router with the SuperPID by bypassing the soft-start and speed control (or removing it completely). This looks totally do-able and I'm not afraid of modifying a brand-new router for this purpose. However, I have found a slightly cheaper (by about $25) Single-Speed (25k RPM) version of this router on amazon. I have not, however, been able to locate anyone on this forum who currently use the single-speed router.

Here are the Bosch Router Motors (no base) for reference:

I have searched extensively and found the following threads, however, I do not necessarily wish to revive 1-2+ year-old threads.

The following reference the 1617EVS:

These threads reference the Single-speed bosch but only have a few replies and haven't been updated in over 2 years:

And these two are general SuperPID threads that also have discussions on modification of variable-speed routers.

The other difference between these two routers is the power. The variable-speed router has 2.25 Hp, whereas the single-speed router only has 2.0 Hp. I plan on cutting mostly various hard and soft woods as well as various plastics (acrylic, delrin/UHMW/HDPE). I would like to be able to cut aluminum plate as well, but if/when cutting aluminum, I could live with slower feeds. Due to the various materials, I definitely variable speed control.

So my question is, is it worth losing 1/4 Hp in exchange for a less expensive router with presumably the same construction (bearings, collet, etc.) and probably easier wiring (no modification to bypass the speed control) to the SuperPID? I would love to hear from anyone who currently uses the SuperPID along with this single-speed bosch router.