Help with choice of Festool routers

[jarbroen]

Hi,

I have never had the opportunity to handle a Festool router. My old Bosch blue GOF-whatever is also around 20 pounds, but from the very start the "pillars" on which you lower and raise the router were not smooth going - it was really an uncomfortable, unpredictable, and uneven movement leading to mistakes and ruined wood - no smooth start too.

I can imagine, no matter what the weight, if the movement down is smooth and predictable and it has a soft start, then it should be quite a pleasure to use.

Well, so a few messages before this one I decided on the 2200 for the CMS-OF module... now I don't know anymore ;-) Thanks guys ;-) Seems the 1400 could do as good a job... I would still love a cordless 1010 though, for light hand work and for use with the templating system.

Thanks again,
Peter.

Peter Parfitt had good advice on the 1400 being capable in the CMS.  If you are doing larger diameter panel bits the OF2200 might still be the better choice.  That sucker has so much power it doesn't even break a sweat milling hardwood door stile and rails.
The 1400 will do it - I've used the Infinity panel door sets - but you can tell it's working hard and needs a slower feed rate.

Swapping in and out of the table just takes a minute or two.  No bigger deal than changing out your bit and setting up your fence.
Where you might have frustration is if it's your only router and you're constantly swapping back and forth.  That gets tedious.

Save your self some time overthinking things... just buy all three routers.

 

[rst]

Or fifteen

 

[Crazyraceguy]

[member=69213]BigDan[/member] Hi Dan.  Good info on the door making area.  I will get to that at some point.  My issue here is not really with the bit dropping in the collet.  Its with the Triton height adjustment.  I loosen the lever so that I can move the height up and down, get it set where I want and then tighten the lever.  Even when I do the height adjustment, I can feel it 'clunking down' when I lower it.  Its not what I would call a good, smooth motion.  Its not bad, but I can feel it.  My little Dewalt DW745 table saw does the same thing sometimes, but that's usually because of dust build up that I have to clean out.  I just got the WP router table and their Super Fence.  I couldn't spring for their router lift just yet as I want to get more mileage out of the Triton. 

I think what you are feeling is the clearance in the threads of the adjuster. I always adjust the bit height "upwards" and then lock it in place. In use, the router never moves/drops, but the adjuster screw can back down causing the slack you feel. Then when you release the lock lever, it clunks down to the screw again. This may not happen if you come to the bit height adjustment goiing down, but I just don't feel right about that?

Haven't been to VA in a long time but both me and my Dad spent a lot of years at NAS Oceana.  My oldest was born in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital.  But never really been to Chesapeake proper.  Not sure why...  Wouldn't mind a trip back though.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

What is the amp rating draw on the OF 2200? I see 15 amps listed on many supplier sites and the manual but have also seen 18 amps mentioned a few times. 18 amps takes it closer to 2200W. I have a Bosch MRC23 and it is rated at 15 amps and seems to be 1/2 the router the 2200 is - size wise.