Consolidated Q&A for CMS Router Table

[Brice Burrell]

I have a great router table but the fence (also with my table saw fence) leaves something to be desired in incremental adjustment.  With the CMS being capable of precise .004" adjustment I'll have to have one when the saw module becomes available.   [thumbs up]

Ron, I just posted this on the "CMS vs. regular router table" thread.

Not sure I compared it to a normal router table, but the OP asked how it compared to one. I offered some of the features and benefits of the CMS. Anyway... like all of our tools, you need to decide if it's the right solution for you. For some people, it won't be and that's fine.

FYI: The fence can be adjusted in 1/10mm increments, 1/256". For me, that's plenty accurate. For you, it may or may not be.

Just so everyone is on the same page, only half of the CMS fence can be micro adjusted, say if you wanted to use it as a jointer.  For the fence as a whole there is no micro adjustment, you just move it by hand.  Also, there is no track, slot to guide the fence to keep it parallel to the sliding table.  In my opinion this is the weakest point of the CMS.    

 

[Tim Morris]

Brice how soon before you have some pictures and initial thoughts?

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I have a great router table but the fence (also with my table saw fence) leaves something to be desired in incremental adjustment.  With the CMS being capable of precise .004" adjustment I'll have to have one when the saw module becomes available.   [thumbs up]

Ron, I just posted this on the "CMS vs. regular router table" thread.

Not sure I compared it to a normal router table, but the OP asked how it compared to one. I offered some of the features and benefits of the CMS. Anyway... like all of our tools, you need to decide if it's the right solution for you. For some people, it won't be and that's fine.

FYI: The fence can be adjusted in 1/10mm increments, 1/256". For me, that's plenty accurate. For you, it may or may not be.

Just so everyone is on the same page, only half of the CMS fence can be micro adjusted, say if you wanted to use it as a jointer.  For the fence as a whole there is no micro adjustment, you just move it by hand.  Also, there is no track, slot to guide the fence to keep it parallel to the sliding table.  In my opinion this is the weakest point of the CMS.    

I'm not sure I would use the fence and the sliding table at the same time anyhow - sounds like a good way to get things in a bind and send a workpiece flying, even with a track for the fence.

How about some help here from our non North America colleagues?  Do you use the two together?  If so, how do you work the alignment issue?

 

[RC]

Here are some pictures I took when I got my CMS-GE + CMS-OF + OF1400 put together for the first time:

Overview with the router and fence mounted:
[attachthumb=#]

Finger guard down:
[attachthumb=#]

End view:
[attachthumb=#]

Back view - micro adjuster only for the left side of fence:
[attachthumb=#]

Rear view - dust extraction port:
[attachthumb=#]

Front end view:
[attachthumb=#]

Directly from front:
[attachthumb=#]

Fence removed - OF1400 plastic insert ring visible in hole:
[attachthumb=#]

Close-up of the router specific ring and the clearance adjustment insert:
[attachthumb=#]

Round over dust shroud with bearing guide (plastic stick on the right that sits on the bearing):
[attachthumb=#]

Router attachment to the CMS-OF module:
[attachthumb=#]

 

[ccarrolladams]

During trips to Europe and Australia, as well as in Festool classes, I have used the CMS with both the OF1400 and OF2200 routers. Most of those had the sliding table.

In my shop I have 3 router tables with PC 7518 motors and sliding tables. My Felder Format 4 tilting arbor shaper also has a sliding table. With these if I am using the fence, I do not clamp the work to the sliding table. In this mode it serves as an effective push stick.

When I do clamp the work to the sliding table the fence is out of the way so there is no chance of binding.

 

[Tim Morris]

Reiska THANKS for the photos.

 

[RC]

Your welcome Tim,

As a side note you can see in the rear and end pictures the etched millimetre scale on the sides of the fences rear block and in the picture with the fence removed the two lines etched into the CMS insert behind the hole on both sides.

These are used for rough alignment of the whole fence system and in theory if you have the same amount on both side scales against the aligning lines on the insert your fence should be square to the edge of the CMS-base unit. Then you tighten the holding screws to lock the fence in place and continue to adjust the in-feed side of the fence with the micro adjuster.

 

[Rocky]

Is Dust Collection connected with 1 or 2 hoses.  Meaning is it connected to the fence and the port on the router?

 

[awil66]

Reiska, very good photos. Great eye for light.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Is Dust Collection connected with 1 or 2 hoses.  Meaning is it connected to the fence and the port on the router?

Yes.

 

[Brice Burrell]

I'm not sure I would use the fence and the sliding table at the same time anyhow - sounds like a good way to get things in a bind and send a workpiece flying, even with a track for the fence.

How about some help here from our non North America colleagues?  Do you use the two together?  If so, how do you work the alignment issue?

Jesse, I first had the chance to use the CMS in Lebanon for the door and drawer class.  We used the sliding table and fence there with good results.  I do remember it was a little fiddly to setup a perfect right angle to both the fence and sliding table.  I think figured out a much easier way now that I one and was able to play around with the idea.  I'll be setting up to do some stile and rail pieces with flat panels.  I'll try one of the 1/4" plywood panels pushed to the bearing one the bit and to the miter gauge fence on the sliding table.  Then I'll clamped it down and slide the CMS fence to the panel, bam, perfect right angle alignment and fence set perfectly to bearing on the bit.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brice how soon before you have some pictures and initial thoughts?

Tim, if there is anything specific you want to see let me know I get some pictures.  Initial thoughts are very positive at this point but it is still early on.  As I already mentioned in another post the fence not having some kind of micro adjust is the only minor complaint I really have.  The hold downs work well but it does take some getting used to with the rod sticking out in the front so far.  The nice thing for will be how easy it's going to be to take this to the job.  Right now I have a Bench Dog contractor router table.  That's the small portable one.  It's not bad but dust collection isn't great and the top is starting to get warped.  The CMS is huge step up and still very portable.

Here are a couple of pics of the sliding table and extension.
[attachthumb=#]

[attachthumb=#]   

 

[doc4som]

? to CCARROLLADAMS,  can you tell/show your sliding table setups?

 

[Tim Morris]

Brice you said no micro adjust on the fence and Reiska said slide it close by hand, lock rough and micro adjust. Which model did festool send you and does it micro adjust or not?

 

[Nigel]

Micro adjust is on the in-feed only for use when jointing .

 

[mouppe]

One negative I have come across is when the fence is screwed into the forward pair of holes (there is a second pair further back) you cannot change the ring that surrounds the router bit. Ideally you want the smallest possible ring that accommodates the bit to be in place as it minimizes the hole around the bit.

I don't have the dust extraction kit but unless your fence is closed up behind the bit, dust extraction is still excellent. I would not recommend getting the kit at first, rather see if you want it later on.

Reiska, I don't use the micro-adjust in the way you suggest as I normally want the two fences to be co-planar. The adjust is there to enable you to use the cms as a jointer. I almost always set my fence relative to the bit, I usually tighten one screw and then tap the other half of the fence with a small hammer till it's where I want it.

Tim, there is only one model.

Brice, I really like the hold-downs but there are two annoying features. When the wood is too large to fit between the transparent hold-down and the fence, it's fiddly to remove it so you can just use the other hold-down by itself. You essentially have to dissemble the whole hold-down setup or rotate the perspex 180 degrees and have it suspended in mid-air (it tends to not stay there though). I wish the way in which the perspex was attached to the rod was designed differently.

Also when you don't want to use either hold-down you swing the whole thing up and out of the way, but it is not held in place and can easily drop back down. There should be some sort of lock preventing it from doing this.

As a whole it's an unbeatable system, but there are one or two small niggly details to be aware of.

 

[Nigel]

Reiska, I don't use the micro-adjust in the way you suggest as I normally want the two fences to be co-planar. The adjust is there to enable you to use the cms as a jointer. I almost always set my fence relative to the bit, I usually tighten one screw and then tap the other half of the fence with a small hammer till it's where I want it.

That's what I do too but not with a hammer. I guess micro-adjust on the whole fence might be nice but then to move it quickly it might be annoying. I generally just line up with a bearing. Why would you need micro-adjust on the whole fence? Any bit that requires that kind of accuracy has a bearing. The main thing is there is adjustment on the fence to square it up and make it co-planar, I reckon that's more important than micro-adjustment.

 

[RC]

Is Dust Collection connected with 1 or 2 hoses.  Meaning is it connected to the fence and the port on the router?

You can connect both the fence port, which takes most of the debris away, and the router port with the Y-hose by attaching the 27mm end under the table and the 36mm end to the fence port. It will work with only a 36mm hose attached to the fence as well but you'll obviously end up with more dust on the floor. I got the Y-hose mainly for my TS55 module to have above table DC for saw dust, hence my comment about it becoming a useful accessory when the CMS-TS inserts swims over the pond.

As a not so interesting note for the NA people, there is no above table dust collection attachment for the CMS-PS (jigsaw) module at all so I'll have to rig it somehow since the amount of dust on your work piece with the jigsaw with only under table DC is bad, bearable with a lot of huffing and puffing to see the cut line, but still bad.

Tim: As Richard and the others have said as well, the hole fence is not micro adjustable - only the in-feed side of it moves (left side in the picture from the back, the adjustment knob is the large black one). If you need to change the alignment of the whole fence in relation to the bit you will need to loosen the holding screws and tap it to the desired distance back from the bit and relocked down with the screws manually.

 

[Alan m]

maybe someone (ron maybe) could make a fine adjust for it. have it  clamp (mechanism like the ug wings or crown stops) into the v groove and have a threaded rod pughing the fence. just loosen the fence and turn the screw ,then push the fence up against it and tighten.

 

[dltflt]

maybe someone (ron maybe) could make a fine adjust for it. have it  clamp (mechanism like the ug wings or crown stops) into the v groove and have a threaded rod pughing the fence. just loosen the fence and turn the screw ,then push the fence up against it and tighten.

Wouldn't something like this Kreg Micro Adjusterwork for the micro adjust