There’s a lot of myth and trepidation about when the governor gear “will go”. 3600 revs is the engine industry standard for powering a tiller, generator, power washer etc. It’s just an agreed-upon RPM figure to suit the implement on the end of the engine. Not slow, not super fast but enough speed to get the job done—of course most machines use a gear reduction where needed (rototiller, snow blower, etc) for more grunt.
If you’re within the range of *governor adjustability* with it still intact inside the engine, the governor gear will survive. The range that it can be adjusted is determined by moving the linkage rod to a different hole on the governor arm, or in some cases putting more tension on the governor spring as seen on some Briggs L head engines.
In other words, if the engine can be adjusted, per manufacturer specs, to provide 4500 revs for example, then the governor gear will be happy. Like in that thread I posted, it’s called a safety margin.
Some manufacturers provide a tool (or instructions) to adjust the governed speed. Blah blah blah…
