Festool OF 1400 Guide Bushing Adapter Movement

[algibbs77]

I have been snooping around the forum for several years gathering useful data and tons of knowledge but this is my first post.  I tried to find another post with the same problem and although I found many with similar issues none seemed to have the same cause.

I have a Festool OF 1400 router that I have been using for about a year and a half without any problems.  I love the ease of setup and operation and of course the dust collection.  I just recently decided to use it with a standard PC guide bushing and a template to router out a shallow mortise for some bed hardware.  This is the first time using the guide bushing in this router.

When I installed the guide bushing I found two things.  The first thing was that the bit was not perfect centered in the bushing.   I found a couple of posts on this and I am confident that I can easily resolve that issue.  The second issue that I found was that I have about 1/32nds slop in the entire guide bushing adapter plate.   The movement is NOT in the bushing itself but rather where the plate connects to the base.   There is a gap in the base plate on either side of that adapter plate tabs which allows movement side to side.  I am sure that this can't be typical but I surprised that I haven't been able to find someone with the same problem.  I have not taken the base apart to see if there are any adjustments but at first glance I did not see any obvious adjustment to tighten up the adapter plate.

Has anyone else run across this issue or am I the first?  Is there a known solution?

Thanks for your help.

Andy

 

[algibbs77]

No one has experienced this problem?  Would it help if I posted a video?

 

[Carl Prentiss]

Andy,
  I can't help much as I don't have the 1400 but as no one else has answered I went to the shop and checked my 2200. Although there is a different mounting system, the adapters look very similar. I found I had to do a thorough job of cleaning the sawdust out of the recess before it seated well. Once seated though, there was no movement whatsoever and in fact was a little difficult to pull it back out. It appears to be an airtight fit all the way around the edge.
-Charlie

 

[greg mann]

My 1400 shows about .010 movement side to side before the clips lock the guide bushing down tight. It is probably less than .010 but there is some. When you let the clips engage does it tighten up or is there still play? That is what is most important. If it is tight and with an even gap then your golden.

 

[algibbs77]

Thanks for the replies.   My router is clean so that isn't the problem.  I even took it apart to make sure everything was clean and it didn't make a difference.

I experience the problem when the clips are as tight as the get.

I posted two videos on YouTube so you can see what I am talking about.



If the link doesn't work you can search for the title of the thread on YouTube.

 

[greg mann]

That's not right. It should not move that easily. It really should not move at all.

 

[Stefg]

I went to my local Festool sellers.  I've noticed the same issue with the 1400 router they have in store.  Does anybody noticed the same issue or the router was defective?

 

[joiner1970]

I went to my local Festool sellers.  I've noticed the same issue with the 1400 router they have in store.  Does anybody noticed the same issue or the router was defective?

My 2200 is the same . I put some slithers of paper around it before seating it and that stopped any movement. I'm surprised it has movement but then if it was tight you would struggle to fit it.

I've not checked my 1400 but I will do

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[petersd]

My 1400 has some movement and I went to my dealer and the display one had the same movement.

 

[Roseland]

There is no discernible play in mine, in any direction, and I don't think there should be in yours either.

Andrew

 

[slalom]

I am in the market for a new router and I was looking at the 1400 and 1010. (I have a production router in a table so the smaller size of the 1010 is not an issue.) I will be sure to check this when picking up a router at my local dealer.

I am surprised to see this much play in the guide bushing. I was recently in the shop of a local technical college and used their 1010 with a guide bushing. It was a "well used tool", however, there was no play at all. The bushing to collet alignment was slightly eccentric, so it was important to set up for alignment to one side and follow that for all of the work. 

 

[Doug S]

Checked my OF1400 and found the 17mm bush I have is tight but the 30mm bush has some movement, was quite surprised.

Doug

 

[Coen]

Isn't this an issue of bent tabs? EDIT: it's not, judging from the video.

Will have to check my OF 1400, but I can't remember any play on it. But I only have the 24mm that came with it or maybe one other. I already had some rings for the OF 1010 when I bought the 1400 and since I don't use them that much, I didn't buy additional ones for the 1400.

 

[joiner1970]

Checked my 1400 yesterday and there is no play at all. As I said before there is play on my 2200 though.

Sent from my ALE-L21 using Tapatalk

 

[Stefg]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.  I agree that any play in the bushing is not acceptable (specially for an 800$ router).  The fact a couple user have seen this issue indicate the model has some production issue.  I'm new to this group, does Festool sometime respond to this group or should I contact their representative?  I was really looking forward to buy the router, but this whole thing turn me down.  I already own a Rotex sander and it's a wonderful machine.  However I won't buy a router that will be less precise than the cheap one I already have.  I'll keep you posted if I find any other information.  I'll encourage all of you (which have issue) to contact Festool to see how to react to the problem.

Thanks again!

Stephane

 

[Ganbaru]

Mine is brand new and I was a bit horrified to see that much play in my plate. My local dealer loaned me his demo ( no play at all) while he tried to sort mine out. He told me over the phone that he had solved the problem ( removed about half of the play) by bending the tabs.That was not really the answer I was looking for. He also suggested that I could shim it in tight with toothpicks if I wanted it to be movement free. Yes I want it to be movement free and no I do not want to have to shim my $800 routers bushing adapter plate with toothpicks.
In most applications I am certain that it does not make any difference if there is a 32nd" of play but for small and intricate inlay work, zero movement seems to be an acceptable expectation.
The gentlemen at Festool tech support seemed to believe that a 32nd" was normal and totally acceptable and that it wouldn't make a difference to the accuracy of the tool. Hmmmmm, again not the answer I was looking for.
Interestingly, when I first showed my dealer the issue he was astounded and said that there should be zero movement in the adapter plate. Two days later, " thats normal heres some toothpicks".

 

[glass1]

For all precesicion collet work I put the pat warner plate on my Dewalt dw621. He makes the plate for of1400.

 

[nclemmons]

I have the 1400 router but have not noticed the movement with the couple of guide bushings I have.

Probably inconsistency across the inserts.

As a possible fix, you could use a center punch on the edges of the insert and remove the play.  A couple of divots and then a file would fix the play. 

 

[Paulz]

Hi all...well at least it is gratifying to see that not only do others see the play in the 493566 adapter but that dealers see it as well and that the manufacturer believes it to be acceptable and consistent with the most common application of the OF 1400 product in the market. For most applications like holding in the chipcatcher etc...1/64th to 1/32 of an inch has little impact. My comments were made in response to a user that wanted to cut dovetails on a Leigh jig with leigh guide bushings. In discussions with Leigh the amount of play in the adapter ring 493566 is enough to cause gaps in the resultant dovetail assembly. Leigh goes so far as to say that using two routers one on pins and theother on tails is not recommended because of the concentricity differences. Even 1/64th is greater than that and sufficient to cause gaps.
Not surprising that Festool sees that amountof play in the snap in adapter as adequate. The adapter system was probably never designed for applications that required spot on alignment and rock solid attachment of the bushing. That application probably never figured in the definition of the product so we have a superb router for most applications but not at this time for the Leigh jig.
Now it may be that it is a manufactureing tolerance issue and that a bit of adjustment of the tabs on the adapter would be all it takes. It can be that some adapters are perfect and others have play...i have no idea. But...I would be the first in line for that corrected part and I would pay for it if it could be adjusted for concentricity on the bit and it stayed put after adjustment. Looking at this devive without knowing the engineering details I would suspect that it will take a new subplate to get that done. Again count me in first in line if it can meet the requirements of the Leigh jig users consistently...it it is a Festool brand addition so much the better. I am sure if they wanted to meet the needs of users for this app they would engineer a perfect device. I will check aftermarket for such a subbase. Thanks for the attention to the issue...its good to one is not alone in such experiences..regards, Paul

 

[toolLover]

Hi I'm new to the FOG.
Proud and (sadly) dissapointed owner of some Festool tools.

Actually it's like a relief to read that other users have issues as well.
So I had my OF 1400 sent in because of wiggle and excentricity of the (original) guide bush.
Also because of play in the plunge mechanism.

For the guide bush I accepted that this system is quick and easy but not precise enough for my applications.
But the play in plunge mechanism (and I noticed it on about 10 of 12 routers I had a look at).
So I'm wondering if anyone else has noteced this or if its just that I'm doing something wrong or have to high expectations?

Regards