Another rookie, just made the plunge

[IonPrize]

Hey hey, excited to say I have a ETS 150/3, OF 1400 and accessories, CT midi, TS55 and some rails on the way.

It's been a long time coming and I 'm excited to put these to use as my next job is a hidden bookshelf. 

The tool I'm still the greenest on is the router.  It's capabilities seems limitless, but I'd love some "I use this trick all the time" or "this is a great way to use a router" type stuff from you guys.  I'm a 2nd carpenter, so I have done rabbits and dados and edges and such, but any tips or links?  I work in the field on remodels but hope to do more shop work now I have a kit.

Or just thoughts about my new kit and what I can pull off now, good projects to learn the ropes.

Thanks guys.

 

[peter halle]

Hey Ion!  Guess what?  You found the FOG!  [welcome] .  You will have a blast learning and using your new tools.

I will encourage others to add tips for you but when you look at the router's base you will find centerline marks on each side.  This means that when you lay out dadoes you only need to mark the centerlines.

Peter

 

[tigger]

Hey Ion

Always good to meet a new convert!

The only advice I can give you at this point, is to find a good therapist.  [big grin]
My wife refers to my Festool catalogues as my porn collection  [eek]

Enjoy your Festool. You'll soon start to wonder how you ever used "that other stuff" lol  [tongue]

 

[JimB1]

Congrats on the new tools. Sounds like you are off to a great start!
The 150/3 is in my opinion Festool's best. It's my go to sander and is used on every project. The array of abrasives is astonishing. I use Rubin and Granat on bare wood up to 180 grit and Granat or Brilliant2 above that. There are a few videos around on Festool sanding and abrasives.

The midi is very nice. The bags last forever for sanding and pretty decently for larger chips like routing and it's very quiet. The TS55 is louder then the Midi. Make sure you use hearing protection though the TS55 is loud enough to cause hearing damage over time. I just got the TS55 a few weeks ago and it is a really nice addition.

I have the OF1010 not the 1400. Dust collection is good but depending on the cut you are probably still going to get some dust out of the 1400 like I do on the 1010. Dado cuts and plunge cuts are great for dust collection, maybe 95% dust capture. On edge cuts or using a dovetail jig it doesn't capture as well. Maybe 60 - 70% dust capture on those cuts, which is still pretty good.

Good luck with everything. Let us know how everything works out when you get them in hand.
-Jim