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 going down, but I just don't feel right about that?

 

[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.

 

[smorgasbord]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I could use a bigger router (I already have a mid-size router, a battery trim router, and a table-mounted big old Porter-Cable router as well). But, the mid-size Bosch is hampered with its 1&⅜" diameter bit capacity due to how the guide bushing attach (to metal, not the sub-base). I don't need/want to run 3" diameter bits (I have the router table for that), but I do want to be able to run 1&½" to, say, 2" diameter bits.

Well, the OF2200 is like $1200.

The Bosch MRC23evs is under $240 with just the plunge base, or $300 for two bases and a case. I know the OF2200 is probably twice the router the MRC23EVS is, but it's more than 4X the cost. And I believe my 1613 edge guide and MuscleChuck will fit the MRC23EVS just fine. Heck, the Bosch even has LED lights.

In terms of dust collection, the Bosch isn't great - they have a kit with 3 flimsy plastic pieces for different operations. The Festool dust collection accessories are almost certainly better, but probably not up to the level of the mid-size DeWalt battery router that sucks in dust through the metal base and up one of the plunge shafts. But, the DeWalt is probably a replacement, size-wise, for the 1613 rather than an upgrade in power/size.

The Bosch MRC23 has their "AfterLock" adjustment mechanism, which I have on the 1613, so I'm comfortable with it and do like it.

I'm not in a rush to buy, but should one of my upcoming projects need something bigger (or should black friday sales come), I want to be able to pull the trigger more quickly than figuring it out then.

 

[luvmytoolz]

@smorgasboard I couldn't recommend the OF2200 high enough. If you're sitting on the fence and unsure if the use benefits outweigh the cost, I'd recommend seeing if you can try one out. The balance, power and noise levels have to be seen and felt to be believed. Any thought I had of the high cost went out the window the first time I used it. Absolutely incredible machine. It would be the very last router I'd sell if I had too.

 

[Mike Goetzke]

Sorry to resurrect this old thread, but I could use a bigger router (I already have a mid-size router, a battery trim router, and a table-mounted big old Porter-Cable router as well). But, the mid-size Bosch is hampered with its 1&⅜" diameter bit capacity due to how the guide bushing attach (to metal, not the sub-base). I don't need/want to run 3" diameter bits (I have the router table for that), but I do want to be able to run 1&½" to, say, 2" diameter bits.

Well, the OF2200 is like $1200.

The Bosch MRC23evs is under $240 with just the plunge base, or $300 for two bases and a case. I know the OF2200 is probably twice the router the MRC23EVS is, but it's more than 4X the cost. And I believe my 1613 edge guide and MuscleChuck will fit the MRC23EVS just fine. Heck, the Bosch even has LED lights.

In terms of dust collection, the Bosch isn't great - they have a kit with 3 flimsy plastic pieces for different operations. The Festool dust collection accessories are almost certainly better, but probably not up to the level of the mid-size DeWalt battery router that sucks in dust through the metal base and up one of the plunge shafts. But, the DeWalt is probably a replacement, size-wise, for the 1613 rather than an upgrade in power/size.

The Bosch MRC23 has their "AfterLock" adjustment mechanism, which I have on the 1613, so I'm comfortable with it and do like it.

I'm not in a rush to buy, but should one of my upcoming projects need something bigger (or should black friday sales come), I want to be able to pull the trigger more quickly than figuring it out then.

I have the MRC23 for several years and also had the OF2200. The MRC23 is a nice router. I like the power switch in the handle along with all the benifits/features you mention. The OF2200 is in a league of it's own. When I picked it up the first time I compared it to a machine rather than a portable hand tool. I couldn't believe it when I put it on my somewhat slick router table on it's highest speed and it didn't move at all. For me it was just too large to add any value to my current stash of routers so I sold it. Ha- doesn't mean I won't pick up one in the future if that project that needs it comes up.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

For about half the cost of the OF2200, you can have an OF1400. It is a nice balance between the 2200 and a light-weight (but still full sized) router. It can handle all but the biggest of panel raising bits, so your 2" or so is just fine.
The dust collection is better than anything other than another Festool router.

 

[rst]

Another 1400 vote. I have all the Festool routers, two 2200s. Also PC, my router table has a 7518 with a collet chuck I’ve used for close to 30 years. I’ve Bosch, and various M18 battery powered ones. Of the 15 or so I have, I use my 1400 the most

 

[Michael Kellough]

“two 2200s”

 

[Cheese]

Like @rst I own all of the Festool routers along with a couple of Milwaukees and a Porter Cable. The 1010 is my absolute favorite but for flexibility the 1400 can't be beat. It handles 1/4", 8mm and 1/2" bits and will still swing a 2-1/2" diameter bit.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

“two 2200s”

I think Tom (@tjbnwi) has 4 or maybe even 5 of them.

 

[rst]

While I have had a router table I built 20+ years ago, I bought two VLs and joined them back to back with 8020 15 series extrusions for the purpose of making cope and stick doors. Thus the two 2200s.