OF 1400 - Guide Stop vs Guide Plate

[BTDT]

I have recently started to look at the OF 1400. Before I buy I am trying to make my mind up on the accessories.

Could someone tell me why I would want both the Guide Plate and the Guide Stop? Ultimately I would want to have the Guide Stop in order to use the LR32 system but would not want to be limited to hole drilling capability only on the rails.

Thanks in advance for enabling me!  [big grin]

 

[ccarrolladams]

It is true that when the Guide Plate is used on an undrilled rail it slides freely. So, in theory, with an OF 1010 or OF 1400 attached to the Guide Plate it could be used for straight-line routing.

The Guide Stop is designed for straight-line routing. The big advantage for that purpose vs the Guide Plate is that the Guide Stop has a Micro-adjust feature. With Micro-Adjust once the guide rail is set and clamped in place, you can easily move the router slightly closer to or farther away from the rail. This is very important when routing dadoes to fit modern plywood, which varies in thickness and hardly ever is exactly 1/2" or 3/4"  Many of us use a 10mm bit for 1/2" and then micro-adjust one way or the other to make the dado a perfect fit for the plywood we are using. Same thing for 3/4" using a 14mm bit. To me and many of my friends this alone justified the Guide Plate.

In my case I keep an OF 1010 mounted and centered on a Guide Plate just for LR32 hole drilling. By the way, when you do start to use the LR32 system, I strongly suggest buying the entire kit which included the Guide Stop. Trust me, you will need all the included accessories, which cost less as the kit than when purchased separately.

Very often, but hardly all the time, I use my OF 1400 on the Guide Stop.

 

[tbellemare]

The Guide Plate is for use with the LR 32 hole drilling system. It has an indexing pin to drop into the holes in an LR 32 system guide rail.

The Guide Stop allows you to use the router with the guide rail. It lets you to run the router in a straight line at a micro-adjustable distance from the guide rail.

Tom

 

[Coen]

The guide plate doesn't slide as easy as the guide stop.

Recently I bought the LR 32 set for my OF 1010 and used the guide plate for straight line routing, but it just doesn't slide as well as the guide stop.

But it's a big bonus you don't need the stupid foot. The guide plate has a bigger compensation for the 5mm of the guide rail, like the OF2200 guide stop.

It's certainly possible to use the guide plate for straight line routing with the OF 1400. But it doesn't work as nice as with the guide stop.

 

[ccarrolladams]

Both the Guide Plate and the Guide Stop have adjustments to make the sliding action as tight or loose as desired.

Normally the Guide Plate is used for hole drilling, in which case many of us prefer that there be some resistance to sliding. Should we want to use it for routing it only takes seconds to re-set for free sliding, similar to the normal setting of the Guide Stop.