Also with the VL on the end of the mft you could clamp or bolt an Incra router fence to the MFT and use that fence, which would give you repeatable results every time.

Dan.

Did you get it yet? Waiting for the pics and review.

Alrite,   No I have not received it yet. He didnt have the VL in stock so hes had to order it and its taking abit longer. Im sure he will call me monday asking for payment so he can send them I hope. Got my core drill next day haven't payed for that yet. Just wish the festool stuff had come with it. I had some time yesterday to play with it and 2 day so could of taken photos. Oh well.

Soon as I get it ill make vids and photos.


JMB

Richard,

I considered the CMS-VL and the basic unit for my shop/garage.

I chose the CMS basic unit, but have to admit that all the additional support tables add up $$$ or should I say GBP.

I had read prior posts and conversed with JMB, in the end my decision came down to portability, it is just so much easier to move the CMS- basic unit when compared to the vl unit attached to an MFT.

JMB also suggested to me in a PM the possibility of a V groove attached to a wall would also allow you to attach your CMS-VL unit independently.

The other consideration, at least for me, is related to shipping: the vl unit is a little smaller and lighter, the CMS basic unit when packaged in box exceeds dimensions alllowed by airlines.  Of course not a a problem if you can pick one up in Canada.

AS regards the fence and the basic CMS unit ( with 4 legs) I do not believe it has to be attached to the basic unit it is secured by fasteners that run thru the plate it self.  I am sure there is a way to create the plate insert in an MFT top, but that is beyond my woodworking skill level.

Venk

 The VL is lemon! . You could attach it to wall somewhere but why not just get the 2 extra legs?

You have it attached to your MFT.Every time you want to use the MFT for a long panel or board you have to take off the fences/saw/clutter or whatever.

If you  really want to make the unit fit the MFT here is the profile on one side ,the other is flat.

Now that's sensible.Get the VL, put 4 legs on it and some castors!Very nice.

What did you do with the 2 original legs?

Umm the smaller Dealers dont always have it in stock.  If so normally just one version 110V or 240

JMB

most "carpenters" i've seen in this part of the world fall into two classes... "rough" and "finish" carpenters... the finish carpenters use a fine tooth chain saw.... :-/

i've got a fair bit of money invested in Milwaukee battery tools.... drills, roto hammers, rattle guns, etc.

and i've got SIX 18v lithium batteries, and a 3 station fast charger, and all the batteries are less than a year old....

one won't take a charge, four are good for one 2" holesaw thru plywood, or the equivalent.
two of those batteries still work ok.

six batteries, and that speedie charger, and a lineman's bolt bucket on the back of the charger
to hold batteries, weigh about 20 lbs.

and with tax cost about the price of the new 18 volt drill, with accessories.
so... lets' see... i should buy another $500 worth of batteries for this year, right?

i'll keep the charger and three batteries, for the rattle gun and some of the stuff
that i want to use, but most of it's going to salvation army. i've had it with crap
stuff made in china by american companies pulling all the equity out of their brand
names. all this stuff is a quarter inch above what you find at harbor freight.

the ridgid compound miter saw walks, and doesn't cut miters well.
and doesn't make repeat cuts.

the Milwaukee batteries are worthless swill.

so, i'm getting an 18 volt drill set, and a carvex when it comes out.
that carvex will replace my milwualkee sawzall, and porta band.

the drill will replace my 90 degree ridgid driver, three milwualkee drills,
and a corded hole shooter that will be rendered unnecessary, but will
still be carried on the truck, along with a super hole hawg that i use
for driving big cutters, and a cable tugger. i'm an electrician, not a
finish carpenter.

and the reason contractors, both union and non union, don't buy good
tools is that most of the "skilled labor" using them destroy them in the
course of one job. most tools are considered disposable by contractors.

i've seen very few festools on jobsites. i've also seen contractors doing
$30M a year that don't use some of the tools i use, in electrical contracting.

festool doesn't run a lot of their product line in the united states. they have
a drywall sander that will produce 75 POUNDS of drywall dust an HOUR, in
a production environment. that's a lot of finished drywall, for an hour of
labor.

it's over $3k to buy. and in this part of the country, you can buy a whole
truckload of cheap labor with sanding poles in a home depot parking lot.

and most american contractors are right in there with harbor freight.
for you folk who live in parts of the world where you don't know what
a harbor freight is, consider yourself lucky.

That router set up looks great. Seem Very portable and better than anything I have seen on the Rockler website.

As for cost, Im a Trim Carpenter/General Contractor. I do a lot of work in customers homes and having tools that are 90% or better at containing dust is a good part of me getting more work from them or others. I have had my company since 2005 and have never advertised, all my work is word of mouth/referrals. As for the cost of tools, the precision I get out of the Kapex and other Festools along with the lack of dust flying through the air is worth it to me. The weight is another factor. Carrying tools in and out of a 14 foot trailer everyday gets old. I have a Bosch miter saw and it weighs 67 lbs without brackets and is awkward to carry ,with the gravity assist stand it is better till you try and get it in a home, down to a basement job or storing it in the trailer takes up a lot of room. Also have a Bosch 4100 table saw, great saw,Gravity assist stand but takes up a lot of real-estate in the trailer. I have bought the new Bosch GTS1031 to replace it and a Festool TS75 with CT26.

Had the same issue with my Milwaukee batteries. If I have to replace batteries (It is actually cheaper to buy new drills/battery kits) every year then what am I saving. I was a Milwaukee user for a longgg time but the only cheapish company that is holding up for me these days are Bosch.

I have been doing this work since I was 17 and i am going on 42. I am getting tired of trying to find a place to park a truck and trailer. If I have to spend a little more money to consolidate, have better tools  lighter tools and maybe work out of a Chevy 3500 extended van to keep enjoying my work, well than… 

I also take great pride in what I do, great tools make it that much nicer and gets me more jobs in the end. I also Worked in the Union (Pleaseee don't hold that against me…lol) in Washington DC for many years on the Reagan building and New Convention center. That is a whole different ball game from working on a custom home directly with for the customer. This is where Festool,Lamello and Fein fit in nicely.

Oh I have a Porter Cable drywall sander and P-C Vac system, best investment for a $700 package. I would like the Festool version later.

This router table set-up looks like it would fit my needs very well. Thanks for the review.

I got a CMS-VL mainly for my TS75 so I could have an easily portable table saw.  I'm less convinced by the router module at this stage - stuffing an OF2200 into a £450 module in a £300 table just seems a really expensive way of making a small spindle moulder.   I don't normally need to do moulding "on site" - if I want to make skirting board, make up a few lengths in the garage and then chop it up in the room I am working in.

No wrath from me.  I just see based on the economy, land costs. land use theory changes, etc. that there will be a slow movement towards acceptance of tools that save space, and allow contractors to do more with a tool that takes up less space than separate tools.  I have never seen another contractor using Festools, although I have had a customer who owned one.

I predict that the tool trend in the US will very slowly move towards more compact multi-use stationary shop tools (Euro style) and also quasi - portable tools that will allow contractors to eliminate shops and do more on site.  It won't happen overnight and easily.  We are used to space and heavy iron.

The next ten years will be fun.

Peter

I have a CMS with both the Saw and Router insert. I just love both of them. A good addition to the saw insert is the parallel guide which adds ot of value to your saw capabilities. Everytime I use the table I get happy about the results. The saw leave so much of the original 55 mm to cut, it's impressive how the plunge saw is integrated in the table and what quality of cut you get from this. I just love it and can recommend everybody to buy this if you need a convertable saw for workpieces not too big. It's accuracy and quality of cut are excellent.

thats odd

First,  Welcome to the Forum!

The CMS system for North America at this point is designed strictly for the OF1010 and OF1400 routers only.  As a moderator I am supposed to cut and paste the following statement:

"Warning: The Festool CMS System is approved for use with only the OF 1400 and OF 1010 routers in the US and Canadian markets.  It is not approved for use with the OF 2200, nor with any of the CMS modules currently available outside the US and Canadian markets (TS, Jigsaw and sanding modules).  Festool USA does not  endorse the use of these components and will not support them with spare  parts or repairs. The use of anything other than the OF 1400 and OF 1010 routers and their related accessories with the CMS will void the warranty agreement on the entire system for customers within the US and Canada. Festool does not endorse the application or use of any Festool product in any way other than in the manner described in the Festool Instruction Manual. To reduce the risk of serious injury and/or damage to your Festool product, always read, understand and follow all warnings and instructions in your Festool product's Instruction Manual."

Peter

It works, but Festool is not supporting it and is not endorsing. It's up to your own risk.
I've used it with OF-1010 centering ring.