Freud Doweling Joiner

Saw it in a magazine the other day and it looks like a real clunker to me....worst of doweling and biscuit joiners all in one gross looking package IMHO.
I doubt if the Festool engineers and marketing people are losing any sleep over it frankly...

Best,
Notorious T.O.D.
 
I just bought the Freud, and it is about what I expected. 

I have been looking at the Festool Hole-Drilling system for a couple of years, but just couldn't commit.  This seemed to make a little more economic sense. 

I just used it to cut the holes in two 36" cabinets.  As long as you have something to reference from, it works great.  Of course it is not as smooth as a Lamello or Domino, but it seems serviceable. 
 
The holes are perfect.  I did several test pieces to align the reference pins.  The markings on the reference pins are not accurate.  The setting that worked for me was slightly strong of the 1/4" marking.  Once they were properly set, it worked perfectly.  No rocking on the shelves.  In my experimentation, I used the fence as a reference off of the edge of the board, as well as a Festool guide rail clamped to the workpiece.  Both worked well. 

I just finished retrofitting an installed kitchen cabinet with pins holes.  The hole pattern is perfect, but I do have a problem with the dust collection.  I couldn't use it when cutting the back pins.  Freud includes a "standard" base insert and a dust-collection base insert.  The dust collection base insert worked great, collected virtually 100% of the debris.  But the collection point is on the bottom of the unit, so there are places where it can be an issue. 

There are other downsides.  Nothing on the box or website indicate what size cutters are included.  Mine are 1/4".  The 5mm pins that I had in stock were a little loose.  I did have a handful of 1/4" pins, and they fit snuggly.  The second issue is the depth of plunge setting is a little weak.  After about 20 cuts, I notices a little creep.  It does allow you to zero out the setting using a threaded insert.  You just need to keep an eye on it.  After a little practice, I could tell that something didn't feel exactly right.

 
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