I purchased this based on many articles I had read.  I have made thousands of board feet for my house trim when I had it mounted on a router table.  Recently I built a cnc router for a my cabinets and other projects I have.  This is the router I put on it.  It is a workhorse.  Runs for a full 8+ hours and never stops.  Sure a spindle and VFD would be nicer but a $30 pair of earmuffs is worth the enormous price difference.  I would recommend this router to anyone.  Only recommendation is to buy good bits.  You get what you pay for and this router can and will overheat regular steel bits if you are not careful.  I run only solid carbide on mine.  I would agree that this is the closest thing to a shaper that you can buy on the consumer based products.  Great price for a great product although please wear hearing protection.