I processed 9 slabs of walnut, very satisfied. I used the settings like YouTube. The bridge is 3/4 thick making tree placement critical in terms of height, allowing for little adjustment. Using the router bit extension would make this much easier. The wood look is excellent with no scratches. Small lines should be sanded. I used a 2 1/4 hp router. and slowed down the data transfer rate. Make sure you feed from the edge and in the right direction, that's a big chunk. Some of the cuts were deep and delivered aggressively, no problem. I think a 1 1/4 hp router can be used if you slow down the feed rate. The finish was the same or better than the planer, barring minor lines, even with complex texture. Love it !