Festool quality and precision can't be understood until you make the plunge

[hallquistg]

I am a seriuos hobbiest, and have been woodworking for 25 years. I have made a lot of Thomas Moser's pieces for our home, and am unafraid to take on almost anything. I have always had issues with my Router table - it's the extension table of my unisaw, and is powered by a 3 1/2 HP Porter Cable beast of a router. Accuracy has always been less than desirable, and the safety of my fingers has always been a real concern.

Early this week, I was at MLCS - many of you may know of them for their router bits. The showroom is right around the corner. They recently bought another outfit, and had some Festool tools for sale that they had acquired. They had the 2200 Router - hmmmmmmmm

I currently own one Festool tool - a 150 FEQ RoTex sander which has served me well. By FAR, the best sander I have ever used. Anyway, I decided to go for the router and edge guide - a LOT OF MONEY, but I am in the middle of a huntboard build in which I'm using fiddleback Walnut, and I have been putting off making the doors because of my router table concerns.

It took me a bit to get things sorted out with the 2200, but once I did - WOW. Who needs a router table?
I made the doors - raised panels and all - with the 2200 held in my hands (there's a great post on YouTube for making a panel door).

The results were outstanding - best I've ever had with panel doors using heavily figured material.

I am sooooo sold on Festool quality and precision - I never could've imagined what a difference that this equipment can make in furniture making.

 

[allen r austin]

thanks, I have been looking at the 2200 for over a year, and a router table. would love to know more detail about what you liked better about the 2200.
Allen Austin

 

[MrMac]

well now I am really jealous I've got a triton router, and I call it the screamin banshie. Man that sucker shakes! so much that various fittings fly off during routing. I can't take it back, the store went broke, and the warranty is long gone.

My 15 year old makita is smoother!

Saving my pennies for (3) Festool routers. If they are  anything like the festools that I have now (kapex, domino, RAS, ct26, sander150, TS55) then it will be money well spent.

This time of year is tough, gotta slow up on the spending so's I can pay up at tax time. Oh yea, there's that christmas present for wife thing too- she's not so much into routers

 

[meldgaard]

ooh beware - it's a (green) slippery slope  [tongue]

(PS: Welcome aboard hallquistg)
(PPS: My own 14 years old Festo router is still running as good as the day I bought it)

 

[hallquistg]

thanks, I have been looking at the 2200 for over a year, and a router table. would love to know more detail about what you liked better about the 2200.
Allen Austin

More detail - hmmm - let me think. OK:

Smooth - like butter - you hardly know you are actually routing anything
Massive, but easy to control - like holding a mini shaper in your hands - so much control for such a big machine
Precise plunge depth control, and guide fence adjustment
Comfortable - handles are positioned in such a way that you don't have to try and keep the router against the workpiece - it just happens
Dust collection is insane - no more chips all over the floor - even when routing raised panels in ONE PASS
Powerful - like i said, one pass with NO VIBRATION at all.

Hope this helps.
I have 3 routers - a 3 1/2HP Porter Cable monster (for my router table), a 2HP DeWalt 621 for hand held plunge work, and a Bosch 1617VS for trim and dovetail jig work (although i have now switched to all dovetails by hand).
I don't need any of these routers any more - they are all in excellent shape, but i'll never use them again. The Festool is that versatile!!!!

 

[semenza]

Hi hallquistg,

Welcome to the FOG !  [smile]

Incredible isn't it ! ?

Do you have a link to that video you mentioned?

Seth

 

[Brice Burrell]

Hi hallquistg,

Welcome to the FOG !  [smile]

Incredible isn't it ! ?

Do you have a link to that video you mentioned?

Seth

Hey Seth, I know the video hallquistg is referring too, and that guy in the video is pretty awesome. [thumbs up] [tongue]

Making a cabinet door with the Festool OF 2200 router

 

[Floorman70]

ooh beware - it's a (green) slippery slope  [tongue]

(PS: Welcome aboard hallquistg)
(PPS: My own 14 years old Festo router is still running as good as the day I bought it)

Yep! his bank balance will never be the same again [big grin]

 

[AlexThePalex]

Hey Seth, I know the video hallquistg is referring too, and that guy in the video is pretty awesome. [thumbs up] [tongue]

I wonder if it's someone we know.  [tongue]

 

[RONWEN]

Hi hallquistg,

Welcome to the FOG !  [smile]

Incredible isn't it ! ?

Do you have a link to that video you mentioned?

Seth

Hey Seth, I know the video hallquistg is referring too, and that guy in the video is pretty awesome. [thumbs up] [tongue]

Making a cabinet door with the Festool OF 2200 router

I believe Brice lives fairly close to that guy...  [wink]

 

[MrToolJunkie]

This is still my favorite Festool of all the ones I own -- it is the perfect router and with an extra edge-guide and the Plexiglas guide, you can pretty much do everything you would need to do in a hand-held machine.  I did an in-depth review last year and VictorL did a review too.  Even though it weighs in close to 18 pounds, it is so well balanced and smooth and you can push it along easily.  I did buy a 1010 for the small stuff and to get into tighter areas and feel that this combo is a perfect combo for hand-held routing.

Scot 

 

[merlinmaster]

Great to know.  I was looking at a new router / table combo.  I just bought my first festool (CT26 & Rotex RO150FEQ) and was really pleased.  Slippery green slope  [scared] - no kidding! I just jumped in head first and bought a Kapex last week.  ;D  the only bad thing (good for the budget tho) is my nearest dealer is over 100 miles away!

 

[andvari]

That was my experience too. My first Festool purchase was an OF 1400 + CT 36. The first time I used it was an epiphany. Quiet, precise and clean. No comparison to any other router setup.

Since then I have added a Domino and TS55 and accessories. I am sure future tool purchases will be mostly of the green and white variety.

 

[JSands]

Ok, I agree on the the festool quality part of the thread....

but I don't get the huge benefit of using the 2200 as the video shows, vs. having the same bit mounted in a router table....seems easier, safer and less risk of an error as well... I guess the ultimate would be, the 2200 under the table.... 

so what am I missing?

 

[Brice Burrell]

Ok, I agree on the the festool quality part of the thread....

but I don't get the huge benefit of using the 2200 as the video shows, vs. having the same bit mounted in a router table....seems easier, safer and less risk of an error as well... I guess the ultimate would be, the 2200 under the table.... 

so what am I missing?

I agree, some times it easier to use a router table, but not always.  Last year I used the 2200 handheld to make large raised panels for wainscoting.  The largest panel was just about a full 4x8 sheet of MDF.  There's no way to have done that on a router table.     

 

[JSands]

fully agreed, when the material is too difficult to move through a cutter, its easier to move the cutter through the material....

But that is not what the video was showing, relatively small pieces such as those in the video seem much easier for me in a router table.... hence why I did not understand all the hoopla over the technique....it seemed a bit counter productive to me, hence I wanted to know what I was missing.  But kudos to having hands of steel!