Anyone modify a router sled to hold a non-Festool router?

Julian Tracy

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Oct 25, 2007
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Can't see which Festool product would work from the catalog., but seems like the hole drilling guide would be simple to mount another type of router to.

I know, i know, the Festool routers are the bees knees, but unlike most here and the other forums, I don't care to own 10 routers.

As cool as the 1010 is (Trying to trade my jigsaw for one on the classifieds.) I'm thinking I'd like to mount my Dewalt/Elu 621 to the rail somehow to do dados and fluting.  +, who wants to use 1/4" bits right?  How stupid is that?  I have a bunch of 1/2" bits I'd like to put to use.

So maybe the Guide Stop (why do they call it that!  Dumb name!)
or, maybe the guide plate?

Thanks,

Julian

PS, accept my apologies for ruffeling the festool feathers arround here, I'm one of you, really...
 
I don't think anyone has done that yet, go for it, I'm sure there are people who'd like to see it. It will give you a good excuse to buy the router later if you already own a baseplate ;D

Julian Tracy said:
So maybe the Guide Stop (why do they call it that!  Dumb name!)

I'm guessing because it goes on the guide, and you set it to stop things.
 
Julian,

You can make your own Guide Rail Follower.  HDPE would be a good material to use.  In its simplest form you could begin with a block of HDPE, say 3/4" thick X 1 1/2 to 2" W X 8" L (at least longer than the spacing between the edge guide rod holes in your router, and the longer and wider it is, the less deflection will occur in use) and machine a dado to fit the raised land on a Festool guide rail.  Attach another similarly sized block on top of your Guide Rail Follower with screws (preferably by drilling and tapping the HDPE Follower block.  Put your rods in the base of your router and measure the center to center distance between them and mark that location on your Guide Rail Follower, then bore horizontal holes through it approximately centered on the splitline of the upper and lower blocks to accept the router rods.   Before boring those horizontal rod holes, place a small spacer between the upper and lower blocks, so that when the spacer is removed, screwing the blocks together will also clamp the rods in place.  If the horizontal plane defined by the router rods when mounted in the router and with the router sitting on the rail or off the edge of the rail and sitting on the workpiece doesn't approximately match that of the split line between the upper and lower blocks of your Guide Rail Follower, then make an intermediate block with four horizontal bores through it, two matching the height and spacing of the holes in your router base and two more matching the height and spacing of the holes in your Guide Rail follower.

Here's an alternative design idea for the Guide Rail Follower.  Cut TWO blocks of 3/4" thick HDPE and rabbet one long edge of each to correspond to the depth/height of the land on the Festool Guide Rail and ONE HALF of the width of that land.  Clamp the two blocks together with their rabbets facing one another to form the groove that will fit onto the Festool Guide Rail.  Fasten the blocks together and drill and tap for some machine screws. This design will allow you to adjust the fit of your Follower for wear or any variation in the Guide Rails.  With this design, you will have to use a different method of securing the router rods to your Follower.  You cold simply bore a couple of holes through the Follower to receive the router rods, then bore and tap a hole from the top to receive a machine screw, set screw or thumscrew to secure the rods within your Follower.

Sorry, but I don't know how to use SketchUp or any other CAD software.  A drawing or two would make you realize how simple these two Follower designs are.  John Lucas or Jerry Work would have had them made in less time than it took me to type this!

Dave R.
 
Hey, Dave, where do you buy your HDPE?  I could google it but I'd probably get 10 million hits.  You SOUND like you know what you're talking about.

Al
 
I bought an Assorted 4 pack of containing 2 pcs 1/4", 1 pc 1/2" and 1 pc 3/4" thickness strips 4" X 48" from PeachTree Wood Working Supply (Atlanta, GA?) last January at the Woodworking Show when it was in Columbus, OH.  Tel. 888-512-9069; www.ptreeusa.com  But many of the common woodworker supplier's catalogues list similar HDPE individual strips.  I'm planning to try using some of this material to make some adapters to join a couple of pieces of T-track at right angles to the back edge of a Festool guide rail so I can set a couple of stop blocks into those T-tracks and use them to reliably and repeatedly set the guide rail to the edge of sheet material when using my TS 55.

Dave R.
 
Here is something that I made this using UHMW for my Hitachi Router. Pics attached.

 
Cool add on, but the color is not quite right on the router :D

BTW, if the Kapex doesn't appear soon, I'll be forced to purchase the Hitachi 12" SCMS
 
I have the Elu 3338 which might be the same as the Dewalt 621 (I'm not positive).  If it is the same, the rails used for the edge guide line up perfectly with the Festool 487010 Guide Stop accessory.  You can't use the fine adjustment assembly. Take it off.  Make a custom base spacer (an additional spacer) for the router to make it level with the top of the guide rail and you're set.  A Festool rep who used to be an Elu rep told me about it at a demo.  I brought in my Elu to make sure, and he is right.  Now I'd just like to adapt the 1400's dust collection attachment to the Elu.
 
bjeshj,

Nice shopmade adapter.  Did you use the Hitachi edge guide and flip it upside down and attach it to the HDPE slider adapter you made for the Festool guide rail? 

Dave R.
 
Julian, after some investigation, I've found that the Elu I have is the same as the Dewalt 625, not the 621 like you have.  I'd take the 621 to your Festool dealer and see if the edge guide rods line up with any of the Festool router eg rods so you could purchase the Festool guide rail adapter.
 
Dave Ronyak said:
bjeshj,

Nice shopmade adapter.  Did you use the Hitachi edge guide and flip it upside down and attach it to the HDPE slider adapter you made for the Festool guide rail? 

Dave R.

Dave, yes. I used the stock hitachi edge guide.
I am planning to make one for my dewalt edge guide as well.
Bijesh
 
Thanks.  Your concept should be applicable to many other routers, too.  Your concept has encouraged me to try to make an adapter for my Makita jigsaw.  And my Domino machine!

Dave R.
 
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