The MFK700 is presented by Festool world wide as a "trim router" and there are only a few bits required for trim routing. According to Anthony in AU the 700 sold there does not have the threads in the base to accept guide bushings like the 700 sold in the US does. So, for the US market, add pattern following to trim routing and you still only need recommend a few bits.
I find the 700 quite valuable for a number of the routing tasks I do daily so my usage is quite a bit broader than "just" those two applications. For shallow grooving and edge profiling any bit that will fit through the hole in the base seems to work just fine. On really hard woods I do find myself slowing down the feed rate relative to the 1010 and 1400 but that may just be me and I'm not sure that is really necessary for the kinds of work I do.
The bit adjustment height range is not an issue for these applications as most cutting takes place within a 10mm range and most do not require plunge action. All do require good control and benefit from the light weight of the 700. All these same cuts can be done with the 1010 or the 1400, it is just I find the 700 easier to handle and I really benefit from being able to plow a groove using the 700 on a guide rail, then, without changing the bit depth setting, mount the 700 on the side of a MFT or MFT3 and cut the male piece to fit that female groove perfectly. When I use the 1010 or the 1400 I have to change the bit depth setting to cut the male and that introduces one more variable to control. It also takes far more time to mount the 1010 router on its horizontal jig and mount the jig on the side of the MFT to cut the male. If I use a router table to cut the male I have to remove the bit all together, place it in the table mounted router collet and manually adjust bit height to match the depth of the female groove. All this takes longer and involves more potential for error, hence I now like the 700 better for these applications.
So, Dave, the answer I would give to your question is "recommended" bits are those folks cite based on the work they do or the work for which they expect the machine to be used. Since a router is just a motor attached to a collet with some means of controlling the cut depth and direction of the cut, my suggestion is to use any router bit that fits what you need and want to do and is sized to fit the power available.
In the dialog surrounding the MFK700 I feel a bit like the early discussions surrounding the Domino. I was (and remain) really high on the Domino. It is a machine that seems to be designed around the way I work and to the standards I use building fine furniture, so I sing its praises at every turn. I own and use five different Festool routers plus a PC hog in a router table and a beater Bosch for ugly stuff so grab for the one I think will do the job at hand quickly, safely and easily. The 700 is finding its way into my hands more often these days than any of the others. If that holds true over time then I will likely continue to sing its praises as well. Hope this helps.
Jerry
Dave Rudy said:
Although the issue was raised in another thread, I wanted to start a new thread to give it more attention:
Why are so few bits recommended for (my) new MFK 700? What are the criteria for which bits are recommended?
Would Jerry, Bob, Shane or one of the Las Vegas gang please comment?
Thanks
