Question about centering guide bushing adapter on OF1010

[ear3]

This came up in another thread, but I wanted to post the question directly in a new one.  I've used the standard guide bushing adapter several times with the OF1010, but the other day, I needed to be absolutely precise and so went through the centering protocol with the mandrill (the mandrill I used is from the ridgid guide bushing kit, rather than the festool one).  I found that I was unable to get it absolutely centered, and the mortises ended up being a bit off.

My question is whether this is a flaw with the Festool guide adapter, or whether I should try to get their mandrill as well.  It seems to me that their adapter makes it difficult to center, because even before you screw it in, it snaps into the router sub-base with a snug friction fit, and didn't appear to adjust any further with the mandrill.

The picture on the website shows an adapter ring that looks easier to center, as the notches for the screws are open rather than closed, allowing for some additional movement.

http://festoolusa.com/power-tool-accessories/routers/template-guides-imperial/guide-bushing-adaptor-469625

The one that actually comes with the router, however, is a plastic ring (though to be fair, the fine print on the page does say that the OF1010 version of the ring is "non-metallic".

Has anyone else had any problems centering the guide-bushing adapter ring on the 1010, or can recommend a more fool-proof method?

 

[ishmerc]

This is what I did ,I loosen the base plate to center the adapter plate to the mandril .Then once it center ,I tighten the adapter plate first then the base plates .Hope that make sense .

 

[Sparktrician]

The standard guide bushing adapter from Festool fits the base very snugly and doesn't allow sufficient room to move to accomplish proper centering with the mandrel.  If you substitute the Leigh 704R Guide Bushing Adapter, you'll be able to get the bit truly centered within the guide bushing.  It has just enough slack to accomplish this nicely. 

 

[ear3]

Thanks for the Leigh recommendation.  Is there some after-market mark-up cabal on Festool compatible accesories?  I've noticed that a lot of the Festool specific accessories from other manufacturers tend to be more expensive than what they charge for the comparable accessory for another brand.  The Leigh adapter is $29, whereas the adapters they make for other brands of routers are mostly $17-$25.

 

[ear3]

Follow up question -- are the metric metal template guides made by Festool easier to center on the 1010?  I'm just trying to decide whether I go that route rather than a separate adapter.

 

[Stone Message]

I hope to be looking at the OF1010 after Christmas (no sign of it under the tree yet !) and part of that will be centring, using the mandrel, and the Leigh 704R adapter.

Peter

 

[Sparktrician]

Thanks for the Leigh recommendation.  Is there some after-market mark-up cabal on Festool compatible accesories?  I've noticed that a lot of the Festool specific accessories from other manufacturers tend to be more expensive than what they charge for the comparable accessory for another brand.  The Leigh adapter is $29, whereas the adapters they make for other brands of routers are mostly $17-$25.

Got to ask, would you want to buy an adapter for a Festool product made by Makita or Ryobi, for example (even if you could find one)?  You get what you pay for (and you pay for what you get). 

 

[Brent Taylor]

I had ran into that same issue with my older 1400 & 2000, the guide always had to be worked around. It was easier for me to make the jig fit the guide & mark the base, guide and the jig with a single point. My Makitas had the same bugs, but you could adjust them a bit.

 

[ear3]

I don't think this is a Ryobi vs. Festool issue.  I mean that when a company other than Festool makes the same accessory for a variety of brands, the one that is compatible with Festool will be more expensive than the version compatible with other brands.  Like the Leigh guide bushing adapter.  Or the Collins coping foot (the Festool compatible version is double the one compatible with other saws).  I assume that there is no difference in quality.

The only justifiable reasons that I could think of are: a) there's some additional engineering required for the part to fit Festool (though I doubt that's the case with something like a template adapter), or b) the production run is much smaller than the ones compatible for other brands, so they don't realize the same economy of scale, and have to charge more per unit.

Perhaps I'm generalizing on the basis of too few examples.  But it does seem suspect to me.

Thanks for the Leigh recommendation.  Is there some after-market mark-up cabal on Festool compatible accesories?  I've noticed that a lot of the Festool specific accessories from other manufacturers tend to be more expensive than what they charge for the comparable accessory for another brand.  The Leigh adapter is $29, whereas the adapters they make for other brands of routers are mostly $17-$25.

Got to ask, would you want to buy an adapter for a Festool product made by Makita or Ryobi, for example (even if you could find one)?  You get what you pay for (and you pay for what you get).

 

[greg mann]

The cost of engineering, even if the same from one adapter to another, will be recovered through sales. If the anticipated salesa are lower for a certain brand then the cost will be higher for the recovery of engineering. Same goes for the cost of manufacturing. Nothing new here.

Or, all these aftermarket guys think us Festool junkies have money to burn and will pay more becuase we are nuts.

Take your pick.  [popcorn]

 

[rst]

Years ago I got tired of trying to accurately center my guides.  I had guide pins that fit the ID of each size guide made so that by leaving the locking ring loose, I could chuck the guide pin in thr router and then lower it into the guide and then tighten the lock ring or if the guide was tight and off center, I would loosen the base and re-tighten. I also make sure my router bases are concentric to my collets by chucking a guide pin into the router and a stationary block that I could attach to my stationary sander table, spinning the router to ensure the base was perfectly concentric to the chuck.  This obviously only works for round based routers however.