Any value in a laser tach?

Out of curiosity, would it be worth my while to pick up a laser tach?

I see they’re under $20cdn on Amazon and good to 99,999 rpm. Would knowing what rotational speed my adjustment dial numbers correspond to save enough time or material to justify its purchase?

I’m thinking yes, but has anyone played with one of these cheap tachs?

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probably not, the exact speed of the router doesn’t really matter that much.

The feeds and speeds tables allow for a lot of slop, nothing there results in
precise numbers (remember, they were originally created back in the days before
digital tacs, so you had a AC synced motor and gearboxes that gave you tick
marks every few hundred RPM for slow metal cutting equipment)

The numbers on the dial are good enough to get you in the general ballpark, and
from there you need to pay attention to the cut quality to adjust it to the
particular wood.

it’s a nice toy, and don’t do any harm, but I don’t think it would really help
much.

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Did I mention it doubles as a cat toy?

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