OF1010 Base Plate Screw Thread Pitch?

[RMDavis]

Hi -

I recently lost one of the baseplate screws on my OF1010 router.  They screws appear to be 4mm x 8 mm.  When I grabbed a similar from my local hardware store, the new screw seemed to have the wrong thread pitch and would not move through the screw hole.

Anyone have a idea of what the thread pitch is?  The one I purchased is described as M4-0.7 x 8mm.

TIA

Ross

 

[Cheese]

Both of the baseplate screws on the 1010 have a M4-0.7 pitch.

The T-15 torx screws are 8 mm long while the slotted screws for the template guide are 8.5 mm long.

I'd remove one of the existing baseplate screws and see how easily that threads into the questionable hole. If that works well, then I'd measure the new replacement screw and see if that is the correct pitch.

 

[kotto]

Not everything is so simple with these screws. They are produced according to DIN 7500 M

 

[Cheese]

Not everything is so simple with these screws. They are produced according to DIN 7500 M

Well that's really not any different than producing screw threads to ASTM A193, ASTM A320, ASTM A354, ASTM A449, ASTM A453, ASTM A540, ASTM A574, ASTM A1014, ASTM A1082, ASTM F468, ASTM F568, ASTM F593...specs...well you get my drift.  [smile]

Standard, accepted manufacturing specifications are our friends...not our foes.

 

[kotto]

Cheese, not really. Look at these pictures:
thread form
hint: I’m writing exactly about those in OF 1010

 

[Cheese]

Cheese, not really. Look at these pictures:
thread form
hint: I’m writing exactly about those in OF 1010

Well that's interesting  [smile], I'm a big fan of trilobular threads, I've specified them in a lot of plastic assemblies because they'll thread in tight without stripping. However, in order to work properly the material they're screwed into must be capable of "flowing" around the threads. I'd never specify them in an aluminum material especially where frequent screw removal and replacement would be involved. The screw diameter and lead are the same as a conventional tapped screw so if you do lose the trilobular TAPTITE® screw it can be replaced with a common screw.

However, I've never understood why Festool didn't just Helicoil all of the tapped holes in their router baseplate. With the many optional bases, table wideners and the 1010 template guides they offer, Festool is encouraging folks to swap items out.

 

[kotto]

Exactly. I never understood why, at the price of OF 1010, it was impossible to press threaded steel bushings into the aluminum sole, especially since the purpose of the holes implies their frequent use. At such moments, I clearly realize that Festool is also moving in one general direction - irrational use of natural resources with declared concern for the environment.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Exactly. I never understood why, at the price of OF 1010, it was impossible to press threaded steel bushings into the aluminum sole, especially since the purpose of the holes implies their frequent use. At such moments, I clearly realize that Festool is also moving in one general direction - irrational use of natural resources with declared concern for the environment.

I could be wrong but to me steel threaded inserts are a solution looking for a problem? I have often used a multitude of different router bases and in the past used several ad-hoc tables, all requiring the unscrewing/screwing on frequent occasions. And I've never had a screw thread on any Festool, or for that matter, any half decent tool, cause an issue in over 40 years. Cheap tools and thin side wall extrusions, yes, but but never solid threaded holes.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Exactly. I never understood why, at the price of OF 1010, it was impossible to press threaded steel bushings into the aluminum sole, especially since the purpose of the holes implies their frequent use. At such moments, I clearly realize that Festool is also moving in one general direction - irrational use of natural resources with declared concern for the environment.

I could be wrong but to me steel threaded inserts are a solution looking for a problem? I have often used a multitude of different router bases and in the past used several ad-hoc tables, all requiring the unscrewing/screwing on frequent occasions. And I've never had a screw thread on any Festool, or for that matter, any half decent tool, cause an issue in over 40 years. Cheap tools and thin side wall extrusions, yes, but but never solid threaded holes.

I have never had a problem either, but I think it's just the perceived problem of steel screws in aluminum holes. Whether it ever happens to most people or not, the potential is there to wear or cross-threading the softer metal, especially with inexperienced users.
The thing I dislike the most about the screws in the OF1010 is that they require two different drivers. The copy rings use a cheese-head screw with a slotted drive, and the regular reducing discs use flat-head screws with a Torx drive? Why? come on, why?
I assume this is somewhat the point of the snap-in feature of the OF1400? Though some criticize the slight movement that some of those attachments may exhibit, everything pops in and out instantly and toolless.

 

[Cheese]

I have never had a problem either, but I think it's just the perceived problem of steel screws in aluminum holes. Whether it ever happens to most people or not, the potential is there to wear or cross-threading the softer metal, especially with inexperienced users.
The thing I dislike the most about the screws in the OF1010 is that they require two different drivers. The copy rings use a cheese-head screw with a slotted drive, and the regular reducing discs use flat-head screws with a Torx drive? Why? come on, why?
I assume this is somewhat the point of the snap-in feature of the OF1400? Though some criticize the slight movement that some of those attachments may exhibit, everything pops in and out instantly and toolless.

Oh boy...so many issues and so little time... [smile]

Helicoils are the go-to-standard in motorcycles/automobiles/industrial equipment that need threaded holes in aluminum castings such as the Festool router base.
From head bolts to spark plug threads it is the gold standard if repetitive bolt insertion, proper torque installation and removal are needed in aluminum castings. Every bolt needs to be "torqued" to a certain degree in aluminum structures...this stretches the bolt to ensure bolt security but the repeated torquing and un-torquing of the fasteners in aluminum is the death knell for that material. Aluminum is soft and will move despite adhering to precise bolt torque specifications.

The Brits were slow/resistant to install Helicoils in their cast aluminum parts...it was a money thing and the Brits were already bleeding $$$$ in their motorcycle businesses. The Italians were swifter in their adoption but were still relatively nonchalant in their manufacturing venture because the Helicoil inclusion was more expensive and their motorcycles were already priced at the top of the market. However, the Japanese were prodigious in their use of Helicoils and opted to use them from day one because of the value they added to the product and because of the price point of their motorcycles. 

Think about this, common bolt torque specifications are based on a steel bolt torqued into a threaded hole in steel...substitute the threaded hole in steel for "threaded hole in aluminum" and you can immediately understand the concern.

A common rule of thumb for aluminum is 1/3 the weight of steel but 1/2 the strength of steel. So torquing screws into aluminum requires some "Kentucky Windage."

 

[Steve1]

You sure it's not a burr on the end of the screw?
Check how those new screws fit into an M4 hex nut.

Very, very unlikely the Festool screws are anything other than M4x.7.  But there is such a thing as M4.5 x .75 thread.

The outside diameter of a screw that small would normally be about .1mm to .2mm smaller than the nominal.

 

[jeffinsgf]

I'm going to blame the hardware store until proven wrong. I never take a threaded fastener out of one of those boxes without confirming the thread is what the box says. Don't forget the minimum wage slacker who is restocking.

 

[hdv]

[member=14538]Ross Davis[/member] : Sorry it took me a couple of days, but I am in the middle of remodelling my workshop and can't easily get to my tools at the moment.

Today I took out my OF 1010 REBQ and checked with a thread detective for you. I can confirm that all the machine screws with which the brown base plate is fixed are M4-0.7  and 8 mm long.

 

[Coen]

Not everything is so simple with these screws. They are produced according to DIN 7500 M

What? I haven't take off my OF-1010 base in ages... but I'm pretty sure the screws aren't of the thread roller type.

 

[Steve1]

I'm going to blame the hardware store until proven wrong. I never take a threaded fastener out of one of those boxes without confirming the thread is what the box says. Don't forget the minimum wage slacker who is restocking.

I don't think it's the stock-boy.
Probably more the customer that picks up some screws and then puts them back in the closest bin.
When I take some screws out of a bin, I always give then a good look that they are all the same, and look like the size posted on the label.

 

[Coen]

And because of that customer... more and more stores just only sell pre-packaged stuff.