Festool Router and Track

[Mark Buchanan]

I have just landed a bunch of parts cubical cabinets made of 3/4 MDF. They are different sizes and lay outs but most of the vertical dividers are on top or one another. These cabinets range from 22 to 38 inches deep and 4 to 10 feet in length and 4 to 6 feet in height. Light weight they will not be. I plan to route dado's in the shelves to accept the dividers. My question is to the Festool guys. Has anyone used a router with the guide track system to route grooves or dado's? I am looking for a way to route these and am Interested in the Festool because of its dust collection. I currently have no Festool products and my local dealer was not much help. I would appreciate yours.

Thanks
Mark

[Bob Marino]

Mark,

The Festool router on the guide is a simple, fast, accurate and safe way to rout dados....and Festool's dc is second to none. I have done it many, many times.
Having said that, other routers with the appropriate attachments work pretty well too.

Bob

[Jamie Buxton]

You could do the poor-man's approach: clamp down a straight edge, and run a router against it. I used that approach for several decades. It is cheap, which is good. However, it has drawbacks. First, you have to measure the offset from the straightedge to the dado. I'll get that correct most of the time. :( Then, if you're not paying complete attention to the job, the router will drift away from the straight edge. Bad words ensure. A guide like Festool's has neither of those issues. I have one, and think that the expensive purchase was worthwhile.

[Vinny Miseo]

I just got finishsed with a built in pantry where this is exactly what I used. Marking the layout and dropping the guide down on your mark, make set up really quick and easy, but not 100% fool proof. We had a temp use the set up and he had never used Festools before and took a nice gouge out of the guide rail. Make sure the bit clears the rail! Other than that, once it is set up it is super fast and almost idiot proof.

The DC is great especailly with MDF. We had another router set up for dedicated rabbits on the backs of all of our panels and it was terrible. There were dust clouds for 5 min after the cuts. When you use the two back to back there is just no comparison.

[Vinny Miseo]

I currently have no Festool products...


it is a slippery slope!

[Jim Becker]

Yes, I've used both my OF1400 and OF1010 with the guide rail for routing grooves and dados.

[George Lohnes]

OH COME ON!!

We can't possibly have a legitimate thread mentioning Festool with the term dust collection in it and NOT have an argument, dissenting opinion, comments of price, etc...

This is being WAY to civil and helpful here! :)

[Dave Falkenstein]

A few comments - first, build those large cabinets in pieces so you can move them and make installation easier. Second - yes, the Festool router and guide rail work well for routing accurate dados. Working in MDF, buy top quality router bits. I have worn out an inexpensive 3/4" straight bit cutting dados in MDF and melamine in a very short time. Third - get the size of bit you need to make the cut without moving the router setup. You can make multiple passes, increasing the depth of the cut and maintain accuracy. It is a bit more difficult to make horizontal (dado width) adjustments for multiple passes and maintain accuracy from piece to piece.

[Mark Buchanan]

Now tell me what attachés the router to the guide rail as my local dealer had no clue, and it is not clear to me on FestoolUSA.com. I thank I'll start with the medium size router. My dado's will be only 3/16 deep so it should have ample power.
Oh yea,Dave I wish sectional building were an option, instead we will use forklifts, bulldozers and wenches! These units set in steal bases with heavy duty casters and are moved occasionally around a plant.

[Jeremy Rayburn]

You use the Festool router guide stop to attach your router to the guide rail. FES-492601


http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=2978&familyName=Festool+Router+-+Guide+Stop+for+OF+1400+EQ

[Mike Wilkins]

I have studied the Festool catalog with the guided routers, and have one question about them. Has anyone used a router other than a Festool with the guide rails??? I have more routers than most folks(10 at last count) and was wondering if there is an adapter for use with other manufacturers' routers allowing the use of the guide rail. I have the guide rail with the TS55 already. Thanks.

[Chris Padilla]

OH COME ON!!

We can't possibly have a legitimate thread mentioning Festool with the term dust collection in it and NOT have an argument, dissenting opinion, comments of price, etc...

This is being WAY to civil and helpful here! :)

But, George, from what I can tell, very few hand power tools out there can touch Festool when it comes to Dust Collection. This was definately true a few years ago and it probably gets less true as other vendors finally catch on.

Now to your other points, well...no argument here that they cause dissent! :)

Now I have a full fleet of Festool but not a single Festool router and lately I've been wishing for easier dust control from my current routers....

[Chris Padilla]

I have studied the Festool catalog with the guided routers, and have one question about them. Has anyone used a router other than a Festool with the guide rails??? I have more routers than most folks(10 at last count) and was wondering if there is an adapter for use with other manufacturers' routers allowing the use of the guide rail. I have the guide rail with the TS55 already. Thanks.

A suggestion I have (assuming no one else responds to this question) is to go to your local Woodcraft and look at the routers. Since you have a guide rail, you have half of what you need to investigate this.

You might be able to purchase separately, a Festool router base that you might be able to adapt to your fleet of routers. This is a guess on my part as I don't own any F routers but I do own their guide rails and plunge saw (65).

[Dave Falkenstein]

...Has anyone used a router other than a Festool with the guide rails??? I have more routers than most folks(10 at last count) and was wondering if there is an adapter for use with other manufacturers' routers allowing the use of the guide rail. I have the guide rail with the TS55 already. Thanks.

At one time EZ Smart was offering a router adapter that works with any router and fits the Festool rails. Check in at the EZ forum here on SMC to see if that option is still available. Here is a review I did almost three years ago on a prototype version:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=36429

Also, there is a Dewalt and Porter Cable router adapter for the Dewalt Tracksaw rails that fits both Dewalt and Festool rails:

http://www.dewalt.com/us/tracksaw/products/router_attachment.html

[Mark Buchanan]

Jeremy

Thanks for the Jamestown link. They have a video that was just what I was looking for. It is just not complicated and that is a good thing.

Mike I have you beat at 23 and I just sold one!

Thanks
Mark

[Dave Falkenstein]

Now tell me what attachés the router to the guide rail as my local dealer had no clue, and it is not clear to me on FestoolUSA.com....

Your local dealer should be ashamed of himself (no, I'm not a dealer). Jeremy gave you the right Festool part number (492601) for the adapter for the OF1400 router. I think the OF1400 is the right choice for the dado application, since it has a 1/2" collet. Other collets available for the OF1400 are 1/4" and 8mm.


...we will use forklifts, bulldozers and wenches!...

Those women don't stand a chance moving those big units!!! :) :) :)

You might want to read this old thread about use of the Festool OF1400 router on the rails:

http://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=36120

(Note the base is made using 1/8" hardboard, not 1/4" as the first post reads.)

There is an excellent supplemental manual available for the OF1400 router here:

http://www.festoolusa.com/support/knowledgebase.html

and click on "OF 1400 EQ Router Supplemental Manual by Rick Christopherson" on the left side of the screen. The manual is an Adobe Reader (pdf) download.

[Mark Buchanan]

Dave (and others) thanks for all the good advice. I will definitely look at the base situation when I get time to go shopping. I did not mean to bash my local distributor, could have just gotten the wrong salesman. Ill give them another shot now that I am better informed.



Mark