Festool Routers?

[Russ Filtz]

Okay black & green fanboys. Do these routers live up to their price, or can I do just as good spending half the money? Was thinking of the big one for raised panels.

[Jim Becker]

I own the OF1010 and the OF1400 and love them...a lot. The OF2000 is too big an heavy for most hand-work and there are better values for the table, IMHO. (The OF2000 is an OEM product, too) I use a PC7518 in my table. Robust. Powerful. Simple.

[Dave Falkenstein]

Raised panels means a router table, IMHO. Festool routers are great tools, but more suited to hand-held work. There are lots of better choices for a router table, and I'm a Festool fan.

[James Biddle]

I have the OF1400 and wouldn't use it to spin panel raising bits in a table. I have a Milwaukee 5625 for that.

[Dev Emch]

The Big Boy is not a Festool at all. Its actually a Mafell which is a similar company with relationships with Festool. Festool has an OEM contract with Mafell and Mafell uses red and white systainer boxes for their tools. There is some overlap in the product lineup and this is it. Festool does not make a 24 inch diameter portable circular saw. Mafell does.

Plunge routers are not good routers for use in a table application. The setup that I endorse for router table use is the PC 7518 motor coupled to a Bench Dog router lift. That is the lift with a polished, nickel plated steel top plate. It has ball bearings and awsome performance and the crank handle can adjust within thousands with the greatest of ease. The cooling fin equiped clamping body was made to hold the 7518. Excellent setup for router table applications.

[Frank Pellow]

I have the Festool 1400 and it's great for handheld and guide rail use. But, I would not consider its bigger 2000 brother for table use. Right now I don't have a router table, but if I do get one I would get something like the Milwaukee 5625.

[Russ Filtz]

Wow, totally unexpected! I figured everyone would love the big Festool. Guess it's a good thing, maybe now I can afford the router AND a good lifter.

[Ed Labadie]

Russ,
The Festool OF2000 is an excellent router, even though it's made by Mafell. Tons of power & a spindle bearing design that is very sturdy.
It will not work for raised panel work. The center hole in the router base is not large enough to fit a raised panel cutter. My guess is that in Europe they do not use the same designs for their raised panel doors. Thus the bits are much smaller & the router will not clear a 3" plus diameter cutter.

Ed

[Bob Marino]

The Big Boy is not a Festool at all. Its actually a Mafell which is a similar company with relationships with Festool. Festool has an OEM contract with Mafell and Mafell uses red and white systainer boxes for their tools. There is some overlap in the product lineup and this is it.

True enough! The OF 2000 is made by Mafell (to Festool's specs) and Festool makes the smaller router (similar to the 1010) for Mafell. I beleive there will be a redsigned Festool 2000 router which will be made by Festool.

Bob

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Go to a show and get a Triton 3.250 HP for $190.00
Do not pay a penny more.

It's an unsophisticated clumsy hand router but a fine table router.
You can change bits above the table, it's got a fine control on the height adjustment as well as a hand winder crank so if you don't want to spend the $$$ on a lift you can skip it, it lets you change bits above the table. And it's got a BEAST of a motor.

For a$190.00 it's hard to beat as a table router.

On the off chance that you can't get to a show do what I did.
Call Triton.
Tell them you were at the show but they wouldn't take AMEX ( they don't that happened to me)

Ask if you can send 'em a check for $190.00 the show price.
They are quite nice that way.

[Mark Singer]

I use the 1400 handheld.....it is smooth and accurate. The dust collection works well in certain applications and not so well in others. The depth turret design is not great....you can slip between the screws and ruin a piece pretty easily. The handle that locks the plunge is also the grip that is used to hold the router and that takes some getting used to....you can't just quickly plunge to the next depth....you must stop...set it ...lock it and then start. A thumb release is a much handier way to plunge and allows you to increase the depth with great control while the router is spinning.....this is great for mortising where you are moving back and forth and plnging like a slot mortiser.. It is well made and useful for many applications though.

[Jim dePrado]

I have their 1400 router and love it for handheld work. I agree with everyone else....I would not but it or it's bigger version in a router table. I would go with a PC/Freud/Makita etc for that.

Jim dePrado