Jesse Cloud
Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2007
- Messages
- 1,746
Not posting this as an expert, but I thought it might be fun for those of you with an OF1400 to remember that day you took it out of the box. Also, this might be input for those thinking about taking the plunge (ahhh, terrible pun :
).
First task, of course, was to be sure all the little parts got shipped and nothing was damaged (I have had about 1/3 of my festool shipments suffer some damage. That's a little of a challenge because the systainer tray, being black, is the same color as many of the parts. I was convinced that I was missing the two guide rods until I looked at just the right place.
Next was taking off the packaging material. They use some bizarre black material that looks like styrofoam, but is next to indestructible
to hold the plunge mechanism in place. Plan to spend some time on this.
Now the good parts start. First thing that wowed me was that the router will lie flat on either of the two long sides, of course on the bottom, but also on the top. I have owned maybe 10 routers in my lifetime, and this is a first. Usually there is only one side that is stable.
The manual is a little skimpy on process, but the pictures are good, so I didn't have any trouble figuring out how to assemble things.
The next thing that wowed me was the dust control attachments. The top thingy fits very snugly, is clear enough to see through, and has a sliding door that big enough to let you fool with the bit if needed. There's a thing that snaps into the bottom to catch dust when you are edge routing. Yes, it just snaps in. By this time with my DeWally or Bosch router I would have screwdrivers and screws all over the place.
OK, now the real test, inserting a bit. Amazing, even with the dust control stuff on, there is plenty of room. The spindle lock mechanism was weird at first - one button to lock for inserting a bit, another button to lock for removing a bit??? Huhn? Well, I slipped the bit in, pressed the appropriate button and finger tightened the collet almost all the way. With the Bosch or Dewally I have to use the wrench for a long time. Back to the Festool, d**n the spindle actually ratchets! You don't have to remove the wrench and put it back on! I'm in love! Now I see why there are two lock buttons!
OK, plug in the cord, just like on my saw and sanders. Insert the vac hose, fits fine. Pull the trigger to start her up. So much better than a switch where I sometimes plug it in a there she blows because I forgot to turn it off when I took it out of the router table :'(
I had a 1/2 rounding bit. Ran it down the edge of a 2x4. Worked smoothly. Dust control isn't perfect, but as good as I have seen on any router.
The dc is positioned so that the hose doesn't get in the way, unlike some other routers I won't mention.
Now on to using it with the rail. The gadget that attaches the router to the rail has a couple of screws you can adjust to eliminate any slack as it rides the rail. Fooled with this for a long time. Too tight and it don't move at all. Too loose and it can wooble. I probably erred on the tight side. Does anyone else's squeal a little when it goes up the rail? More to learn here I'm sure.
Now I see the problem that I read about on this forum. The guide rail lifts the router up above the stock. They supply a small outrigger to hold it up, but it still feels wobbly. Think I will follow davedubbya's suggestion and make an alternate base to raise the little guy up a bit. Even with this problem, I routed a few perfectly parallel grooves in no time at all.
I was a little surprised that Festool didn't seem to make any real improvements on the plunge adjusters. Same mechanism as all the others. It works ok, so I'm not really complaining.
Bottom line, I'm a happy camper. Just the ease of changing bits will make this my go-to router. The integration with the plug-it cord, the rails, the vac, etc. is gravy.
Sorry this ran so long, hope you found it interesting or helpful.
).First task, of course, was to be sure all the little parts got shipped and nothing was damaged (I have had about 1/3 of my festool shipments suffer some damage. That's a little of a challenge because the systainer tray, being black, is the same color as many of the parts. I was convinced that I was missing the two guide rods until I looked at just the right place.
Next was taking off the packaging material. They use some bizarre black material that looks like styrofoam, but is next to indestructible
to hold the plunge mechanism in place. Plan to spend some time on this.
Now the good parts start. First thing that wowed me was that the router will lie flat on either of the two long sides, of course on the bottom, but also on the top. I have owned maybe 10 routers in my lifetime, and this is a first. Usually there is only one side that is stable.
The manual is a little skimpy on process, but the pictures are good, so I didn't have any trouble figuring out how to assemble things.
The next thing that wowed me was the dust control attachments. The top thingy fits very snugly, is clear enough to see through, and has a sliding door that big enough to let you fool with the bit if needed. There's a thing that snaps into the bottom to catch dust when you are edge routing. Yes, it just snaps in. By this time with my DeWally or Bosch router I would have screwdrivers and screws all over the place.
OK, now the real test, inserting a bit. Amazing, even with the dust control stuff on, there is plenty of room. The spindle lock mechanism was weird at first - one button to lock for inserting a bit, another button to lock for removing a bit??? Huhn? Well, I slipped the bit in, pressed the appropriate button and finger tightened the collet almost all the way. With the Bosch or Dewally I have to use the wrench for a long time. Back to the Festool, d**n the spindle actually ratchets! You don't have to remove the wrench and put it back on! I'm in love! Now I see why there are two lock buttons!
OK, plug in the cord, just like on my saw and sanders. Insert the vac hose, fits fine. Pull the trigger to start her up. So much better than a switch where I sometimes plug it in a there she blows because I forgot to turn it off when I took it out of the router table :'(
I had a 1/2 rounding bit. Ran it down the edge of a 2x4. Worked smoothly. Dust control isn't perfect, but as good as I have seen on any router.
The dc is positioned so that the hose doesn't get in the way, unlike some other routers I won't mention.
Now on to using it with the rail. The gadget that attaches the router to the rail has a couple of screws you can adjust to eliminate any slack as it rides the rail. Fooled with this for a long time. Too tight and it don't move at all. Too loose and it can wooble. I probably erred on the tight side. Does anyone else's squeal a little when it goes up the rail? More to learn here I'm sure.
Now I see the problem that I read about on this forum. The guide rail lifts the router up above the stock. They supply a small outrigger to hold it up, but it still feels wobbly. Think I will follow davedubbya's suggestion and make an alternate base to raise the little guy up a bit. Even with this problem, I routed a few perfectly parallel grooves in no time at all.
I was a little surprised that Festool didn't seem to make any real improvements on the plunge adjusters. Same mechanism as all the others. It works ok, so I'm not really complaining.
Bottom line, I'm a happy camper. Just the ease of changing bits will make this my go-to router. The integration with the plug-it cord, the rails, the vac, etc. is gravy.
Sorry this ran so long, hope you found it interesting or helpful.
