Best Router for LR32 system

[Bob D.]

[member=8955]Coen[/member] [member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member] My point was that the jig can also be used with a $99 Chinese Makita knockoff trim router. As explained, I use the 2200 because I have it. Makita don’t make a 17mm guide bush for my quarter-inch RP1110.

Is this what you are looking for?
https://www.sautershop.com/makita-copy-sleeve-d-17-mm-ma-165366-6?c=13125

 

[woodbutcherbower]

I know this will be a minority opinion - but to me, the entire LR32 system is a ludicrously expensive way of making a bunch of equally-spaced holes.

For normal home or hobby use I would agree, but if you made your living from it the Festool would win hands down in my book. It's a precise system that dramatically reduces the chances of screw-ups. With the Sauntershop jig it would be very trivial to have the router slip on that last hole in the beautiful red oak bookshelf you're working on and ruin the project.

I made a shelf drilling jig for a friend, and made it so there is no sideways movement, the guide bush fits firmly in and you just plunge the router, job done. No need to think about it, no possibility of errant movement. This is the assurance that buying into the LR32 system, as expensive as it is, gets you.

If I didn't have a CNC so I could make these jigs, I'd probably buy the LR32 set if I had to even do one or two cases a year. The time it would save, minimal effort and brainpower required, and the almost non-existent risk of accidental screwup would make it worthwhile in my opinion.

Thinking about it further, the only way I would be happy using a jig like the Sauntershop one, is if I clamped a piece of material along the top of it on the far side, butting against the side of the router so it left just enough room for the template guide to fit inside the jig edge, eliminating all sideways movement. I'm surprised they didn't actually design a pair of grooves into it for this purpose, it would greatly enhance the workflow if you didn't have to concentrate on not screwing it up while handling and plunging a router.

And before people chime in with yes, routers are easily controlled, the difference between using a bullet proof jig where you simply plunge, move, plunge move, as opposed to having to be keenly aware of controlling the router to avoid a mishap can be very time consuming when it all adds up.

All fair points I guess - but the jig doesn't move. It has steel pins which locate through holes to reference it against the edges of the workpiece. You'll notice that I'm just using a pair of 6" Irwin trigger clamps because that's all that's needed. Do you seriously think that the Germans would have overlooked something as fundamental as a jig which slides about? That specific project in the photo needed over 2,000 holes. And your point about move-plunge-move-plunge is exactly how this thing works. My post was aimed specifically at illustrating that the LR32 isn't the only way to get the job done.

 

[Coen]

[member=8955]Coen[/member] [member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member]  Makita don’t make a 17mm guide bush for my quarter-inch RP1110.

Ya know, that just seems silly to me? Why wouldn't they make bushes in every size, 1mm increments, seems simple enough and quite handy for changing the fit of things with the off-set.

Because they already make router bits with 1mm increments? So you can already get whatever off-set you want.

 

[woodbutcherbower]

[member=8955]Coen[/member] [member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member] My point was that the jig can also be used with a $99 Chinese Makita knockoff trim router. As explained, I use the 2200 because I have it. Makita don’t make a 17mm guide bush for my quarter-inch RP1110.

Is this what you are looking for?
https://www.sautershop.com/makita-copy-sleeve-d-17-mm-ma-165366-6?c=13125

Thanks Bob, but it doesn't fit my model of router. Appreciate the input, though, very kind of you.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

[member=8955]Coen[/member] [member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member]  Makita don’t make a 17mm guide bush for my quarter-inch RP1110.

Ya know, that just seems silly to me? Why wouldn't they make bushes in every size, 1mm increments, seems simple enough and quite handy for changing the fit of things with the off-set.

Because they already make router bits with 1mm increments? So you can already get whatever off-set you want.

maybe in Europe they do, not so easy here.
I wish we would just get over it and switch.

 

[Coen]

[member=8955]Coen[/member] [member=58857]Crazyraceguy[/member]  Makita don’t make a 17mm guide bush for my quarter-inch RP1110.

Ya know, that just seems silly to me? Why wouldn't they make bushes in every size, 1mm increments, seems simple enough and quite handy for changing the fit of things with the off-set.

Because they already make router bits with 1mm increments? So you can already get whatever off-set you want.

maybe in Europe they do, not so easy here.
I wish we would just get over it and switch.

Hmm, I am mistaken. Festool does not produce a 17, 21, 23, 26-29. But other than that everything from 3-30mm.

 

[bwehman]

For me, I needed to get a rail for my TS55 anyway, so getting the LR32 rail wasn't much of an added expense.

 

[luvmytoolz]

All fair points I guess - but the jig doesn't move. It has steel pins which locate through holes to reference it against the edges of the workpiece. You'll notice that I'm just using a pair of 6" Irwin trigger clamps because that's all that's needed. Do you seriously think that the Germans would have overlooked something as fundamental as a jig which slides about? That specific project in the photo needed over 2,000 holes. And your point about move-plunge-move-plunge is exactly how this thing works. My post was aimed specifically at illustrating that the LR32 isn't the only way to get the job done.

I wasn't meaning the jig would move, I meant the degree of difficulty in controlling and plunging the router in a loose fit slot that limits the guide bush movement in one axis only, but allows movement in the other plane.