RPSmith said:
C Carroll: Thank you for your insight. I see your point about the one-hand operation being easier and thus faster. The fact that you own 4 of them speaks volumes.
In your experience, what is the practical upper limit for the 1010? Can I plow a 3/4" dado 3/8" deep into MDF?
Before the OF1400 and OF2200 reached the USA, I often used an OF1010 to grove and dado 3/4" material. I admit I have always used far more plywood than MDF. However, my experience is that this makes very little difference in the power requirement on the router.
Festool makes several bits with 8mm shanks that can be used for this task. Cat 490 950 is an HSS Spiral bit, 18mm dia. This is small enough it will not make an over-wide grove, since nominal '3/4" ' material is rarely thicker than 19mm and hardly ever a full 3/4" My practice was to make the first pass about 3/16" deep and make a second final pass the full 3/8"
Festool also makes several 8mm bits with straight bits. Cat 490 968 is 18mm dia and can cut 20mm deep. Cat 490 969 is also 18mm dia and can cut 30mm deep. I do not recommend this for your task, since my experience is the bit is longer than ideal with an 8mm shank.
Festool 8mm shank cat 490 970 is 19mm dia and can cut 20mm deep. I have used this when I am sure the stock is thick enough. Again, I make the groove or dado in two passes, 3/16" the first time and the full 3/8" the second.
Festool does make the HW Duro-form reversible cutters which can be used for both grooving/dadoing and edge trimming. They have 8mm shanks. Cat 491 080 is 12mm in dia and can cut 30mm deep. Those carbide blades can be reversed, resharpened and replaced, so when faced with a lot of grooving despite the higher initial price, these can save time and money in the long run. However, I still am cautious about using 30mm deep bits with 8mm shanks. I make the first pass 3/16" deep, the second pass the full 3/8" deep and move the guide rail for the final pass at 3/8" deep to bring the groove to appropriate width. All that is well within the range of an OF1010.
Mind you, all those cutters can be used with an OF1400 using the included 8mm collet. Certainly the OF1400, like the OF1010, has more than enough power to make a 3/4" wide groove 3/8" deep in a single pass. The choice of approach could be a question of "good enough" In the real world of woodworking often a groove/dado is as effective slightly wider than the stock. So long as the bit is sharp it well could be a single pass is appropriate.
Of course the OF1010 and OF1400 create a lot more dust when routing a groove and when drilling 5mm holes! Not only do I turn up the suction on my CT, when routing nominal 3/4" grooves I switch to a 36mm AS hose from the smaller 27mm AS hose I prefer for hole drilling.
