OFK500 - not available in UK and Ireland ?

[mino]

Razor blade approach:  Handle is cheap, make money on the blades.

Festool approach: Tool is expensive and make money on custom cutters

How is tightening the cutter with a screwdriver that much better than a wrench on a collar?

How many of you think this will be a big seller?

Once again, a few persuasive people with a fancy presentation may have sold management on this concept.

I am amazed how, even here on FOG, there are so many people who do not understand that Festool is a PREMIUM BRAND sellign PREMIUM PRODUCTS.

Their whole philosophy is to make a tool "as good as possible for the task" and then sell it on a cost+*) basis.

Sometimes, they hit a jackpot. Sometimes the end result is just not good-enough to justify the cost/price.

This is how tools were made (designed) before the industrial mass-production capability of today. So, today, indeed, you can afford such an approach only on the PREMIUM edge of the market.

Everywhere else the crappy-but-cheaper competition would squeeze you out.

These are the brands like Maffel, Festool, Mirka, Fein, Hilti, etc. I.e. the "old" brands that generally operate as tool brands operated in the 19th century. Striving for /not always achieving/ better tools and profits only then via the sales of those better tools.

If you strive for Walmart marketing approach from Festool, then it means you strive for a "Ryobi". Fine. The go buy a Ryobi. A fine "good-enough" Chinese producer.

No need to be unhappy there is now all of ONE high-end woodworking power tools brand left. There are tens of "mainstream ones" where one can get screwed properly by every single tool being hit/miss. No need to have Festool add to the pile.

*) For those younger than 60 years when thins was common:
Cost+ means a product is NOT priced to market. Aka "what market will bear", trying to extract maximum possible profit, but, instead, the price is calcilated as production costs + some reasonable profit % with R&D spread over an *expected* production run.

 

[jimbo51]

NAINA bias as I do not remember all the tools not sold over here.

 

[guybo]

The tool has been around since at least 2008; it and the MFK 700 were the predecessors to the MFK 700.

I work mostly with small(palm) routers and was thinking about OFK700.  But its base is too large for what I do.  Is there any way to take off OFK 700 base and replace with smaller, maybe circular base? That will be an instant purchase for me

Hi, no green or plug-it but comes with the round base and one with an edge plate. btw the tiltable base trimmer has possibilities.https://www.virutextools.com/edge-trimming-set-fr256n-pid314

 

[JINRO]

The tool has been around since at least 2008; it and the MFK 700 were the predecessors to the MFK 700.

I work mostly with small(palm) routers and was thinking about OFK700.  But its base is too large for what I do.  Is there any way to take off OFK 700 base and replace with smaller, maybe circular base? That will be an instant purchase for me

Hi, no green or plug-it but comes with the round base and one with an edge plate. btw the tiltable base trimmer has possibilities.https://www.virutextools.com/edge-trimming-set-fr256n-pid314

Thanks for sharing! Their Radius trimmer is just what I want in Festool version I just hope Festool has similar one since I'm already deep into Festool environment

 

[woodbutcherbower]

Fantasy Island

The OP.

 

[kifi]

Fantasy Island

The OP.

Sorry, I don’t understand this post?

 

[luvmytoolz]

The tool has been around since at least 2008; it and the MFK 700 were the predecessors to the MFK 700.

I work mostly with small(palm) routers and was thinking about OFK700.  But its base is too large for what I do.  Is there any way to take off OFK 700 base and replace with smaller, maybe circular base? That will be an instant purchase for me

Hi, no green or plug-it but comes with the round base and one with an edge plate. btw the tiltable base trimmer has possibilities.https://www.virutextools.com/edge-trimming-set-fr256n-pid314

I have a variant of this same model router and they aren't bad, the only issue for us in OZ is almost all the Virutex routers come with Euro style 8mm/12mm collets as standard. Whereas the vast majority of affordable bits are 1/4" or 1/2" so you need to buy the expensive collets to match. Performance wise they're not at all bad but they're no fun running for long sessions. But they really don't compare to a Festool router IMHO. Having an OF1400 or OF2200 really tends to spoil you for other brand routers.