What power of spindle for cutting 4mm phenolic with 3mm cutter?

[Neale]

Not sure how the noise level varies between the different rating spindles, but certainly there's a lot to be said for water-cooled spindles from that point of view. I wear ear defenders when using a hand-held router and any other noisy power tools, but I can stand next to my 2.2KW W/C spindle running at full chat and still hold a conversation with someone next to me. The noise of the cut is greater than the noise of the spindle itself if you are removing any significant amount of material.

Couple of days ago I went from a 1/2" collet holding a 50mm facing cutter, used to flatten the spoil board, to a 0.4mm cutter in a 3mm collet for engraving some text. Versatile things, these spindles!