Festool MFK 700 EQ Trim Router.

[Rick Fisher]

I was in Vegas and visited Woodworkers Emporium. I wanted to see a machine they had in stock but noticed the Festool display in the corner..

The green and black addiction started jones'in again..

I ended up buying the new Festool Trim Router. Its an interesting tool.

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0459.jpg

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/P1140396.jpg


For anyone interested, this may be helpful.

This is an edge router period. It is, an excellent edge router at that. It comes with 2 bases, variable speed and an attachment for a guide bearing.

This base is really great. It gives a huge amount of control when edge routing..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0461.jpg

The tool can be used horizontal or vertical and is excellent for flush trimming and edge routing..

This green wheel adjusts the height of the bit. The adjustment is significant and very smooth. Its a brilliant design.

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0460.jpg

It is not however a small router. Visibility of the bit is not available.. Its kinda weird to not be able to see anything at all.. If you look at the machine, you will realize that you cant see anything.. its really no good for the "free hand" use I was attempting.. The zero visibility is hard to get used too, but the tool is definately a Festool.

Dust collection in the application in the picture is outstanding.. As an edge router.. its better than normal but hard to expect all the chips to get sucked up in that application..

I think it would be great if Festool created a conventional base for this tool. Its very powerful.. I have a bosch colt already, this is 10x the quality tool..

The price is just nuts for this tool. Buying one is a leap of faith.. If you used your edge router for an hour a day, this would be the ticket.. at the price, its not actually a great investment for a casual user, unless you have the disease ..


If anyone is curious about the other base or the guide wheel, let me know and I will post more pictures. I think this is really a " pro-tool ". Its use is very specific, but if you have a few miles of edge or flush trimming to do, its really in a class by itself.

[Jamie Buxton]

So... It isn't really a router as most of us think about it. Instead it is an edge trimmer. How well does it do that job? Or maybe another way of asking the same question is how does it do that job any better than a conventional router does it?

[Bruce Page]

The price is just nuts for this tool. Buying one is a leap of faith.. If you used your edge router for an hour a day, this would be the ticket.. at the price, its not actually a great investment for a casual user, unless you have the disease ..

Begs the question; How much is it?

[Jim Kirkpatrick]

I've often thought of buying an MFK but don't do enough edge trimming to justify the cost. I'm getting the small 1010 router instead.
But Jerry Work uses his for more than just edge trimming. He mounts it horizontally on his MFT to make the male portion on a sliding dovetail and he also fabricated a nifty sled for his guide rail. Check it out here: http://jerrywork.com/ Click on "Tutorials" then scroll down a bit.

[Rick Fisher]

Thanks for the link to his website. I couldn't get the pictures to expand but it appears that he is running the router on a track, without a base?

That is a great idea. I will have to see if there are accessories for that or if he doctored something up ..

I just got this machine home, it doesnt have 20 minutes on it. As an edge router, its great. The base is smart and its super .. super easy to set the depth..

Its carries a $545.00 USD price tag, more than my QF-1400 .. So its "freakishly expensive" for a trim router. Its about the cost of 4 Bosch colts.

I would love to figure out how to use it for sliding dovetails.. Is Jerry a member here?

Compared to a conventional router, for flush trimming, its miles ahead.. The vertical or horizontal base option is smart.

[Rick Fisher]

Flush Trimming..

To use it for Flush, which I have yet to do, you install the other base..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0462.jpg

The base is attached with one thumb screw which is fast to tighten and loosen, it then just pop's on and off..

You also have to install the guide bearing seen on the bottom of the tool.
This requires an allen wrench, which seems cumbersome compared to everything else..

The base is adjustable, up and down, with the green turn knob, so you dont actually have to have a bearing on the router bit. and the guide bearing is adjustable out and in, for depth.. It sits about 1/2 an inch below the base, but the base is adjustable..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0463.jpg

There is a sliding door on the top, which you can open and install a dust chute..

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0464.jpg


http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0465.jpg


So it becomes extremely stable for flush trimming.. I think this is far superior to a normal router for flush trimming.. The whole swap over takes about 90 seconds. (if you dont lose the allen wrench).

http://i335.photobucket.com/albums/m455/jokerbird_photo/IMGP0466.jpg


The bit in the picture is not the right bit, I didnt change it for the picture..

I think for thinner panels, like 1/2", you might need a larger diameter flush trim bit.. but am not sure.. until I actually use it that way, I wont figure it out.. lol.. There is plenty of room for a larger diameter bit and base can just be lowered to flush the bit.. I guess you could do ease over's and possibly sliding dovetail pin's this way as well. Dunno..

[Eiji Fuller]

I had the MFK and returned it for the 1010 and the edging plate attachment for the 1010. I feel for flush trimming the 1010 with edging plate is superior to the MFK. Plus the 1010 is a much more versatile router.

[Bill Neely]

I did the same thing, sold the MFK and bought a 1010. The slightly tilted horizontal base on the MFK has one drawback: if you are trimming solid edging on ply to build cabinet boxes there will be a gap when you butt to the trimmed edge. Only about .01" on 1/4" banding but that is certainly visible and not a good starting point.

Having said that, if I had an unlimited budget for tools I'd probably have kept it. It is a nice piece of gear.