I have been wanting one of these routers for some time and when Festool announced the new promotion, I jumped at the chance to save a little money. While I have not spent a lot of time with this router, I did get a chance to play with it at my dealer and at a Festool event. This is without a doubt one of the nicest tools that I have used. It is extremely well balanced and easy to maneuver and it is clear that the tool designers and engineers at Festool did their homework. This tool is feature rich and one of the nice things about it is that all of the tools controls are within easy reach of the handles. You can literally adjust everything from the speed control to dropping the dust shroud right from the main handles. I mention how well balanced this machine is. It is powerful and easy to maneuver -- akin to a 250 pound NFL linebacker making a play from across field -- fast, powerful and nimble.
I will try to update this review once I have had more time to put this machine through its paces.
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OK, so let's look at what is included in the basic kit (I should mention that this review is only going to cover the router itself, although I did buy and recommend the accessory kit to go with the machine):
Chip Catcher
1/2 inch ColletI have been
Dust exctraction hood
Standard U.S. guide bushing adaptor
Systainer 4
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The specifications of the machine:
Accepts 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch and 8 mm collets
Variable speed from 10,000 - 22,000 RPM
Max bit diameter 3 1/2 inch
2200 watts/18 amps 120 V AC (although the nameplate states it is 15 amps -- I have not had trouble plugging this into the CT and I suspect under normal load this would not pose a problem. If you are going to route tough material or push the unit it might be best to plug it into a separate 20 amp circuit to keep from overloading a single circuit).
As with all Festool tools, dust collection is not an afterthought. This machine is no exception. On the back of the unit there is a rigid dust collection port that aims up -- this keeps the hose up and out of the way. In addition to the port, the machine as a clear drop down dust shroud that encloses the bit opening. This allows for efficient dust removal and it still gives a view of the bit. The other part of the dust collection is the swiveling chip catcher as seen below:
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This nifty feature attaches to the bottom of the base and encloses the bottom of the bit while edge routing. In the test runs I made, it effectively captured most of the chips and dust. It was nice to route an edge and not contend with cips and dust flying everywhere (I realize that other Festool routers utilize this same accessory, but this is my first Festool router and is new to me -- I am impressed)!
Another great feature of this router is the ability to set a 2mm offset from your initial pass to the finishing pass. This is nice as some woods can chip easily or might be tough and prone to some chatter. With this offset, you can set the depth of cut for the initial pass to be 2mm higher than your final pass. Make your first pass, flip the turret and you can make your final clean-up pass. Here is a picture of what this looks like in a sample piece of hard maple:
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The plunge mechanism is very easy to control and it is a simple twist of the handle to lock and unlock the plunging control. This is very intuitive and I like it better than having to reach for a lever to release the mechanism as found on other routers.
While I am not reviewing the accessory kit, I highly recommend this kit to go along with the router. It includes all the different base plates, guide bushings, edge guide and guide rail stop to aid in virtually all hand-held routing tasks. I added a couple of limit stops and a ¼ inch collet to my accessories and these easily store in the Systainer. Here is a picture of the accessory kit:
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I cannot really find any faults with this machine. I suppose if I had to find one criticism it would be the price. This machine is expensive and it might be out of reach for some. However, high quality and features that the OF2200 has come at a price and I have no regrets spending the money on such a high quality unit. I am looking forward to using it on my next projects.
I hope this review was helpful.
As a side note, I took a short video of me turning on the router and letting it run by itself without touching the machine to show how well balanced it is. The triple bearings eliminates all vibration and this is going to translate into smoother cuts. I do not recommend anyone do this, but I thought that it demonstrated how smooth this router is. It also shows the braking system and how quickly it stops the bit – another nice safety feature I failed to mention earlier. I will try and upload the video if this link does not work."
I will try to update this review once I have had more time to put this machine through its paces.
[attachthumb=#1]
OK, so let's look at what is included in the basic kit (I should mention that this review is only going to cover the router itself, although I did buy and recommend the accessory kit to go with the machine):
Chip Catcher
1/2 inch ColletI have been
Dust exctraction hood
Standard U.S. guide bushing adaptor
Systainer 4
[attachthumb=#2]
The specifications of the machine:
Accepts 1/2 inch, 1/4 inch and 8 mm collets
Variable speed from 10,000 - 22,000 RPM
Max bit diameter 3 1/2 inch
2200 watts/18 amps 120 V AC (although the nameplate states it is 15 amps -- I have not had trouble plugging this into the CT and I suspect under normal load this would not pose a problem. If you are going to route tough material or push the unit it might be best to plug it into a separate 20 amp circuit to keep from overloading a single circuit).
As with all Festool tools, dust collection is not an afterthought. This machine is no exception. On the back of the unit there is a rigid dust collection port that aims up -- this keeps the hose up and out of the way. In addition to the port, the machine as a clear drop down dust shroud that encloses the bit opening. This allows for efficient dust removal and it still gives a view of the bit. The other part of the dust collection is the swiveling chip catcher as seen below:
[attachthumb=#3]
This nifty feature attaches to the bottom of the base and encloses the bottom of the bit while edge routing. In the test runs I made, it effectively captured most of the chips and dust. It was nice to route an edge and not contend with cips and dust flying everywhere (I realize that other Festool routers utilize this same accessory, but this is my first Festool router and is new to me -- I am impressed)!
Another great feature of this router is the ability to set a 2mm offset from your initial pass to the finishing pass. This is nice as some woods can chip easily or might be tough and prone to some chatter. With this offset, you can set the depth of cut for the initial pass to be 2mm higher than your final pass. Make your first pass, flip the turret and you can make your final clean-up pass. Here is a picture of what this looks like in a sample piece of hard maple:
[attachthumb=#4]
The plunge mechanism is very easy to control and it is a simple twist of the handle to lock and unlock the plunging control. This is very intuitive and I like it better than having to reach for a lever to release the mechanism as found on other routers.
While I am not reviewing the accessory kit, I highly recommend this kit to go along with the router. It includes all the different base plates, guide bushings, edge guide and guide rail stop to aid in virtually all hand-held routing tasks. I added a couple of limit stops and a ¼ inch collet to my accessories and these easily store in the Systainer. Here is a picture of the accessory kit:
[attachthumb=#5]
I cannot really find any faults with this machine. I suppose if I had to find one criticism it would be the price. This machine is expensive and it might be out of reach for some. However, high quality and features that the OF2200 has come at a price and I have no regrets spending the money on such a high quality unit. I am looking forward to using it on my next projects.
I hope this review was helpful.
As a side note, I took a short video of me turning on the router and letting it run by itself without touching the machine to show how well balanced it is. The triple bearings eliminates all vibration and this is going to translate into smoother cuts. I do not recommend anyone do this, but I thought that it demonstrated how smooth this router is. It also shows the braking system and how quickly it stops the bit – another nice safety feature I failed to mention earlier. I will try and upload the video if this link does not work."
