Recommended Accessories for the 1400 Router...

[Neal W]

Forum noob here.  I'm a hobbyist woodworker.  I've been building things like Cabinets, Shop goodies, and the like.  I have limited space as I work out of my one car garage for which my Mrs. insists on parking her car.  Worse, she severely frowns upon actual sawdust being generated in the garage, so for now I'm limited to working outside on the driveway.  Which is difficult in Southern Ohio this time of year. 

I've been blessed to have some success in my working life the past few years and it has given me the ability to have some extra disposable cash to augment my hobby.  I've been planning my tool purchases for the coming year and have narrowed it down to a few things, a couple of the green and black machines and their accessories.

The first thing I'm purchasing is the Domino 500 and companion systainer of goodies. 

The second thing I'm purchasing is the 1400 Router.  I have a big Triton 3.24 HP in my Router table so I will use the 1400 as a handheld for non table work.  My thoughts for companion accessories are as follows. 

• The LR32 Track with holes.
• The Shelf pin boring systainer with the router guide.
• The 492601 Guide rail adapter

I plan on making my own MFT type top with the LR32, and was wondering which 20mm router bit is recommended for boring the holes. 

(of note, I have a non festool track saw.  It is the grizzly model, and for now I'm happy with how it has performed.  At some point, I will likely upgrade it, but for now it is serving its purpose and function in my shop, this is why the TS55 is not on the list at this time.)

Thanks for the input. 

 

[ear3]

Welcome, and excellent choice.  I have the Triton as well as a dedicated table router, and love it.

I would add the edge guide as well, which is super sturdy: 492636.

Lots of threads on the FOG on the best way to build homemade MFT -- have fun searching.

 

[waho6o9]

Welcome to the FOG!

 

[Stoli]

I would add the edge guide as well, which is super sturdy: 492636.

A second edge guide is very useful to trap a narrow workpiece.

 

[semenza]

Hi Neal,

    Welcome to the forum!  [smile]

          Since you are concerned about dust I assume you have or will buy a vac? 

          Get the D36 hose to use with the 1400 router. Big DC improvement with the D36 hose on that tool.

Seth

 

[Brent Taylor]

The Triton is a great router for use in a table, The OF 1400 needs the edge guide, guide stop & a good set of guide rings. A holey track & a DC w/ hose ( the bigger the better) are also nice to have. Might as well spend it before they do.

 

[truck90278]

You do need dust extraction with the Domino.  Otherwise the chips will clog up

 

[rst]

I just bought the domino and love it, recently built a mobile lift kitchen stand for my wife's xmas present...Kitchenaid mixer.  I also have the 1400, it is a fantastic router (and I should know, I have 11 other routers, Bosch and PC) especially useful with the LR32 system.  I use Fein vacs (3) with my Festools... cheaper, have adjustable vac pressure, and no static issues and their step and straight adapters let you attach to anything.

 

[Linbro]

I assume the 1400 comes with an edge guide, in the US? I'd grab a second, as well as the clip in base that has a smaller bit opening. The plexiglass 'routing guide' is excellent, if you have a use for it.

 

[Gary in Texas]

Neil,

Nothing wrong with making your own MFT top.  Biggest issue is just making sure the holes are aligned correctly.  And the time and tools....

Have you considered just buying the top only?  You can purchase the top only, Amazon has them for $134.19, which is reasonable and saves a lot of time trying to manufacture one yourself.

Also, a FOG member (brucebo) is currently offing two sizes of MFT tops, these are currently being manufactured by a CNC shop.  Just saying....

Gary

 

[JBird]

I plan on making my own MFT type top with the LR32, and was wondering which 20mm router bit is recommended for boring the holes.

Festool has a 20mm router bit which other users report success with.

If your use of the MFT holes is just for clamping (which seems to be the way Festool originally intended it) then making your own top may be a good option. But if you are going to use the MFT holes with dogs for the purposes of aligning rails and fences, or for squaring cuts, then I think you are much better off buying and MFT top or a top CNCd to your specs. There is plenty else to go wrong in making square cuts so removing the variability of a shop built MFT top will eliminate lots of uncertainty in your setups and will pay for itself many times over in terms of saved time and material.

 

[mcooley]

Couple questions here:

Have any of you used this the Routing Slide for MFS Template System for the 1400?

And for the multi-routing template users how versatile is this tool?

Are there two different sized chip catchers that I see online or is one for the 1400 and the other 2200?

And how about this hood Dust Extraction Hood - 484453, is it good, or, not worth it? I noticed with large bits like a slot cutter the blades are so close to the chip catcher they fly beyond its edge.

Lastly, I use the Guide Stop quite a bit but not a huge fan of the construction along with how it interfaces with the track. Anyone know an alternative, possibly metal and that is a bit more well balanced with some weight at the base? Woodpeckers etc.?

Thanks!

 

[Birdhunter]

I built an island to augment my dual MFT set-up. I considered making an MFT top drilling my own hole pattern. I ended up just buying the predrilled MFT top and concentrating my efforts on the rest of the island.

It turned out well.

If you end up building your bench, I found that having a solid woodworking vise is an enormous advantage. I added an extension to one of my MFTs to accommodate a big vise. The extension also steadied the MFT to the point of being able to cross saw and do heavy planing.

To further emphasize what was said about needing a good vac with the Domino 500 or 700, the tool just doesn't work well at all without excellent extraction of the chips. This is especially true of the 700 as it creates very deep mortises.

I prefer the Festool vac as it is effective and very quiet. The Fein vacs are excellent and about the same level of noise as the Festool.

 

[Brent Taylor]

To take full advantage of your router I would recommend a second edge guide to aid with mortises large than the Domino can create,  plus other edge details.  And I find that the edge plate and it's assorted accessories is helpful to do edging work  (I use mine mostly with the 1010, due to weigh and dexterity issues on my part ) like banding and flushing up carcasses.  MFT's are a good foundation, especially Tim's MFTC. 

 

[SS Teach]

Also very useful when routing with the guide rail is the small bore base 492574. It ads enough height to you router to make it level with the guide rail. Then you will not have to rely on the plastic side foot that comes with the guide rail adaptors. Many have talked about its fragility. The edge guide is also very useful. In fact once you have the OF 1400 you will find a place for it in the systainer. Brent and Seth are correct with the OF 1400 the 36 mm hose works best. And this is just the beginning. Good luck and enjoy the tools they are a joy to use.

 

[Ed Bray]

I would suggest the MFS 400 or 700 as a very useful accessory for the OF1400.

 

[Acrobat]

See Paul Marcels video on youtube, or do a search here I would say there's a link somewhere to it.
(Half Inch Shy's excellent review of what he calls the Batman utility belt router (OF1400). In it he goes over the accessories for the router and points out ideas and useful tips, such as a second edge guide - in effect imitating one of Festools  overpriced plastic guide tool to rough centred grooves on door end etc. Well worth a look.

 

[bkharman]

Forum noob here.  I'm a hobbyist woodworker.  I've been building things like Cabinets, Shop goodies, and the like.  I have limited space as I work out of my one car garage for which my Mrs. insists on parking her car.  Worse, she severely frowns upon actual sawdust being generated in the garage, so for now I'm limited to working outside on the driveway.  Which is difficult in Southern Ohio this time of year.

Where in southern Ohio are you?  I am in Cincy.

Welcome to the most wallet emptying forum on the internet!!

Come on in... The water's fine. ;^)

Cheers. Bryan.

 

[sancho57]

What kev said

 

[birchwoodwerks]

I assume the 1400 comes with an edge guide, in the US? I'd grab a second, as well as the clip in base that has a smaller bit opening. The plexiglass 'routing guide' is excellent, if you have a use for it.

Mine didn't come with an edge guide unless im blind which could very well be the case