OF1010 Router happy discovery

[Sam Murdoch]

I have just started using my new OF1010 - just have the basics- whatever came in the box. I have had 3 or 4 reasons to use the edge guide that rides along the guide rail attached to the router with metal rods. (I have no idea what all the various doo hickies are actually called so I will do my best to explain rather than spend an hour on line trying to determine the exact terminology. Sorry in advance if I fail to make myself clear.) Have been frustrated because my routing was being done too close to an outside edge so that the little sliding side support foot that is intended to level the router base to the work surface while using the edge guide (it sits off the work surface the thickness of the guide rail) was not supported by my work surface. So, the first time I just had to give up. The second time however, I was determined to make something work without reinventing the little sliding foot suspended with a sky hook, or something like that. After a few failed attempts I went back to the systainer to see what else I might have in there. Discovered the plastic guide bushing adapter all set up with screw holes to be attached to the base. Also discovered that you can screw that adapter onto the base without removing the inner black ring already in the base, using longer longer screws. Do so with the protruding inner circle facing out and now the router base is automatically set up off the work surface equal to the thickness of the guide rail. For you engineer types out there I did not do exact and precise measurements but for running 15" sliding dovetails if there was any misalignment it was absolutely negligible. Anyway, problem solved. Found the longer screws to screw through both rings in my Bosch router base. Thought this was worth passing along.

Speaking of screws - there are staight slots, phillip heads, tourque drives, combi drives, toilet stall one way screws (why?) and then there are Festool router base screws [huh]. What is up with those things? What kind of screw driver are you supposed to use with those and why isn't that included with the router? What a miserable little pain [sad]... Are those really necessary?

 

[tiralie]

What kind of screw driver are you supposed to use with those and why isn't that included with the router? What a miserable little pain [sad]... Are those really necessary?

Sam:
Those pozidrive screws. If you don't want to buy or don't have a pozidrive screw driver or tool to remove them you can replace them with a straight head screw. They are metric. I got a set of screws from HD, (imagine that) and I agree Festool needs to ship a screw driver with that kit.
Tim

 

[Sam Murdoch]

Thanks Tim, I figured as much but I felt the need to complain  [embarassed]  [big grin].

 

[semenza]

If they are pozidrive screws then a phillips head  driver should work all right if you are careful.

Seth

 

[ScotF]

Or get the Centrotec Installer's set with the appropriate driver bits  [big grin] [tongue]

Scot

 

[fdengel]

I think the Festool drills include one... at least used to.

They are common in Europe from what I gather.

 

[Oldwood]

Blum Meple Hettich all use these screws with their hardware. They all also sell or give away depending on how much hardware you buy, screwdrivers for the screws.

HTH
Gerry

 

[joiner1970]

Theyre not pozidrive they are T15 torx screws but you can also use a slotted driver on them.

heres the one I use I bought one and leave it in the of1010 systainer

http://www.google.co.uk/products/catalog?hl=en&q=t15+torx+screwdriver+wera&gs_upl=8715l9533l0l9798l4l4l0l3l0l0l120l120l0.1l1l0&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&biw=1680&bih=901&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=5712979493530656906&sa=X&ei=4_yqTr3zGcfZ8AOX0sCyCw&ved=0CFwQ8wIwAQ

 

[Sam Murdoch]

  [dead horse] The reason I brought up these screws is because they are unlike anything I have ever seen here in the US. They are not, in my experience, what I know as pozi drives or tourque or any other version of a screw I have seen or used on euro hardware including what I know of as euro screws, which I would call pozi drives. Here is a page from Wikipedia that list quite an assortment of screw head types. The closest to the screws in "my" OF1010 are called  Supadriv on this page. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives

I would describe the screws in question as a small square drive with one extra straight slot. You can't drive these with a phillips head. In my collection of tips I could only use a small straight tip. I tried my smallest square drive, marked as a Q1, but that was too big. I am guessing that not all OF1010 screws are alike judging from the posts above, joiner1970 - they are NOT T15s. In any event I have no proper screw driver for these and will likely end up replacing them with locally purchased metric screws as Tim suggested.

...but what about my neat solution that prompted this thread??  [unsure]

 

[PeterK]

Oh I am going to try your idea for sure!

 

[tiralie]

Theyre not pozidrive they are T15 torx screws but you can also use a slotted driver on them.

Yes, thanks joiner1970, my mistake.
I bought a Wiha Torx screwdriver for my 1010 kit should have gone and checked it.
Thought I remembered correctly, but obviously not.
Tim

 

[joiner1970]

  [dead horse] joiner1970 - they are NOT T15s.

Oh well I tried to help I wont bother again  : maybe if you took a photo then we could see better what you are talking about.

I know thats exactly what we have on all our OF1010's here in the UK (TORX T15's) its a bit wierd how you have different screws on yours, you would think Festool would just use the same screws every where.