I
was going to say that I bought
one of the Axminster ones (but I haven't yet used it), and it wasn't hugely expensive, but...
... I think they now are hugely expensive. Saying "only 49.96" on the web site is really having a bit of laugh when it was around half that price three or four years ago (I stand to be corrected, but I think that was roughly the price I paid).
It is an absolutely enormous cutter though, but it isn't complicated, so it's hard to see how the price is justified.
Have Wealden got anything?
Seriously, despite the price (he said, sucking his teeth), I'd be inclined not to get a cheap and nasty one. They're awkward things in that there's no 'right' speed to run them. You have to go slow because the outer edge is whizzing round, but it's almost inevitably too slow for the centre (the edge of the raised panel).
My point: it needs to be well-machined and goodly sharp. You can't afford for one to be out of balance or blunt. I'd go for a brand with a really good reputation, even if it was for occasional use.
There is an alternative approach that I've seen, with a steep conical cutter and holding the panel against a tall fence:
I think the drawback is that it's easy to wobble during the process, and that the board is bearing on just its edge. That design might be cheaper.
[slightly later]Here ya go,
the Wealden version:
E.
