MavDog said:
Hoping i could get some help with my next purchase. I am considering purchasing a OF 1010 and had a few questions first.
I am choosing the OF 1010 because I already have a router table with a good size router so I am looking for a smaller one that can be used for things that can't be done on the table. Things like dovetails, flush cutting edge banding, profiles on large tops and dados in large pieces. I am also very interested in getting the LR32 system as I do a lot of adjustable shelves. Is my thinking that the OF 1010 is the better choice over the 1400?
My biggest concern with the 1010 is that it doesn't work with 1/2" bits, just 1/4" and 8mm. Has anyone ever had a problem with using 1/4" bits in the 1010 (breaking or runout)? If I wanted to route a 3/4" wide by 1/2" deep dado in plywood or MDF would I have any problems? Would I have to do it in multiple passes?
Does anyone use 8mm bits or is it mainly 1/4" bits?
Is the dust collection better on the 1010 than the 1400? What size hose is best to use?
Looks like there are a lot of accesories for the 1010. What are the ones that you would reccomend?
Hi Mav Dog and Everyone,
Given that I own and use a lot of OF1010, I am happy to answer your questions. Yes, I also own several MFK700 trim routers, 2 OF2200 and one OF1400.
In 1946 I purchased my first router and have used several brands since then. I bought a TS55 with CT22 in January 2006, at which time I still had several conventional routers ranging from 550w to 1900w. However, I had sold all of my fixed shop equipment, including my line boring machine.
Within days of falling in love with my TS55, I drove back to my dealer to buy a fully-loaded OF1010, a 1080mm (42") Holy Rail and the LR32 kit in a Systainer 1.
Mav, for LR32 hole boring often the question comes up, OF1010 vs OF1400. By the time the OF1400 was available in the USA I owned 3 OF1010 and an OF2200. Consequently I never used my OF1400 routinely in LR32 mode. Even for boring 35mm hinge cup holes the OF1010 has more than enough power. Certainly for 5mm shelf-pin holes the OF1010 is marvelous. My own feeling is that it takes more effort to plunge the OF1400, which can be a good thing in routing situations, but is frustrating when drilling many shelf-pin holes. When people newish to Festool ask me, I suggest that if that person owns no routers then the OF1400 is a great way to start. It is versatile, meaning it is not always going to be ideal for many uses.
The Festool LR32 drill and boring bits all have 8mm shanks and are shorter than average so they will work well with the OF1010. By the way, all of those bits are still sold by Festool USA even if they are not featured in the 2011-2012 catalog. It is important that those bits have 8mm shanks because that is the shank on the LR32 centering mandrel. Unfortunately Festool does not offer a 1/4" drill bit with an 8mm shank. Sometimes my customers insist on using 1/4" shelf pins. I find it a PIA to center a router and then have to change collets.
Although when I bought my first OF1010 many of the routers I already owned had 1/2" collets available, the bits I had been using for 60 years for nominal 3/4" dadoes all had 1/4" shanks. Despite all those other routers, I bought my second OF1010 precisely so I could leave it set with a 1/4" collet for routing dadoes.
About the dust collection. The OF1400 has a dust port that will connect to the 27mm hose as well as the 36mm hose. With the 36mm hose in tasks such as routing dadoes, the OF1400 collects dust very well. However, in my experience the OF1400 collects less dust that other Festool routers in situations where it is working off the edge of a job.
The OF1010 has a dust port that only connects to the 27mm hose, yet in nearly all tasks this proves to be very good collection.
I was used to the weight and balance issues of older conventional routers for edge trimming. So I did not try doing those tasks with the OF1010 for a couple of years. When I did use an OF1010 for edge trimming I felt it handled very well and collected most of the dust, so that was a big advantage over my older routers. Then, just as the volume of edge trimming I needed to do increased, Festool brought out the MFK700. Now in my opinion, the MFK700 is the ideal tool for edge trimming. Perhaps for the hobby user or the carpenter only doing a few trimming jobs justifying the price of the MFK700 might be difficult. Still, let me tell you, I would much prefer trimming edges with the OF1010 than the OF1400.
You asked about making 3/4" x 1/2" dadoes. Did you mean 3/4" nominal? Most currently available sheet material is actually 19mm or even 18mm so when inserted into a true 3/4" dado, there will be slop. My own approach to making dadoes is to budget for making at least two passes. The problem with a dado is that when we try to make the cut in one pass with a full width bit, one side will be a climb cut, associated with a ragged edge. To get around this problem I have always used an undersized bit. I make my first pass full depth using the router so the climb will be on the side where I will bring the dado to full width on the second pass. For that I slide the reference over and use the router going in the opposite direction, so the final cut on that side is conventional, not climb cut. Trust me, with a 1/2" bit used my way the OF1010 has more than needed power and excellent dust collection. When I need to make a nominal 3/4" rabbet I use a 1" bit and an edge guide set for 3/4", 19mm or 18mm as the case may be. In my shop, we make our rabbets on router tables using PC7518 motors. If the dadoes are not being made on a CNC machine, then I use the OF1010 and guide rails.
In my nearly 66 years using routers I have never broken a 1/4" shank. There have been problems with carbide inserts, but those also happen with 1/2" shanks. Festool 1/4", 8mm and 1/2" collets are equally precise, so run-out is no more an issue with a 1/4" bit in an OF1010 than it would be on an OF1400 or OF2200 using a 1/2" shank.
If I did not answer all your concerns either ask again here or drop me a PM. Carroll
) so now that I've had time to use it a bit I can give you some observations on it. My other router is a Freud combo unit which stays in the fixed base in my router table now. It handles 1/2" shank bits so I use that for M&T joints and whatnot that I have larger bits for. I have way more 1/4" bits though and never had one break or bend yet, even though I beat them up pretty good when I first got that router. I've had that one for maybe 6 years now...
