Need some tool advice - Decided, thanks everyone

[SirNickity]

I spent some time at Sears today looking at some routers. The first one was this guy:

http://www.sears.com:80/shc/s/p_10153_1 ... 0P?prdNo=1

.. or something like this:

http://www.sears.com:80/shc/s/p_10153_1 ... P?prdNo=13

The Craftsman is huge, weighs quite a bit, but has 150% more power and an interchangeable plunge / fixed base. The Bosch is a light and tiny thing, with a convenient SQUARE base, but only 1HP and no plunge. It seems like the Bosch would be a LOT easier to handle and fence up for straight cuts, but I worry about its capabilities.

I need to be able to do side (flush) trimming, quarter-rounding, inset cuts for speaker jack and plate amp panels, speaker cutouts, etc. Mostly Baltic Birch and MDF, I don't see any exotic hardwoods or masonry in my future.

The price between these is close enough that it doesn't have any bearing on my decision. I may eventually decide to get one of each, but not any time real soon, so whatever I pick has to be versatile enough for now.

This is my first foray into wood-working. I have a ton of projects I'd like to start on... a couple Tuba 30s, some DR-200s, a few SLA Pros, and a Tang Band W6 quarter-wave T-Line for the office. Probably will also want to do some shop furniture (benches and what not) and closet shelves. That said, this is just a hobby, and I tend to shift hobbies throughout the year, so I'll probably use my woodworking tools accordingly. No long shop hours all day every day.

Whaddaya think?

[LelandCrooks]

The colt is one little badass tool. Easy, light, powerful. But if I had to just have one router, it would be a 2.5-3.5hp plunge. My big bosch plunge is still my go to router.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... ockType=G4

Buy this one. I bought one at black friday last year. It's a great mid size router. I prefer it by far over my porter cable. Only downfall is the locking lever on the plunge likes to vibrate the screw out. I have not tried the fixed base yet.

[el_ingeniero]

The colt is one little badass tool. Easy, light, powerful. But if I had to just have one router, it would be a 2.5-3.5hp plunge. My big bosch plunge is still my go to router.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1260 ... ockType=G4

Buy this one. I bought one at black friday last year. It's a great mid size router. I prefer it by far over my porter cable. Only downfall is the locking lever on the plunge likes to vibrate the screw out. I have not tried the fixed base yet.

Well, shoot. That's almost what I spent on a used P/C 6902 + 1001, plus a 6931 plunge base on a separate deal (about $130).

On the plus side, I finally get to try out the cool Milescraft lexan subbase I bought on impulse last year (didn't fit my crappy little Ryobi), it comes with barrel guides even.

[SirNickity]

I handled that one at the store and ruled it out because the plunge springs seemed to bind quite a bit when pressing down. It IS a display model though, so who knows what it has been through. The more expensive one had a very smooth travel.

[DJPhatman]

I own the 1st one, with both bases. The fixed base lives attached to the router table extension on the end of my Jet cast iron 10" table saw. One you get comfortable using it, it is a great router.

[SirNickity]

I decided on the 14-amp router. I'll probably pick up the Colt later on down the road because it looks handy, but for now, I think I would be better served with the additional HP.

Thanks for your input, everyone. I appreciate it.