When to move up to an OF 2200?

[Jason Kehl]

Hey folks, I have the 1400 router and I would like to know at what point does it make sense to use the larger 2200 router? What common routing tasks are likely to overwork the 1400 or be much more easily performed by the 2200? I make a wide variety of cabinets and furniture as well as housed stringer stairs and other general carpentry tasks. I am fairly new to Festool and have been making do with other tools for years, including overworking them at times. I would like to get away from that, working more efficiently in general. With the current router promo I am thinking this might be the time to take the plunge but would like some/any input.

    Thanks;
            Jason

 

[Chris Hughes]

I converted over to Festool routers recently as well.  I have a 1010 for line boring and small edge work and I love it.  However two years ago I got certification in solid surface and the arsenal of routers I commonly used were all PC and offered no dust control.  I had an opportunity to buy a 2200 when a dealership was tanking and jumped at the chance.  I certainly do not use the 2200 as much as the 1010 but on all of my heavy routing jobs nothing can take the place of the monster 2200.

The other reason IMO to have the 2200 is that soon Festool will release the CMS platform in the US market and then I will have about the best router table platform to go into the field with.

 

[Guy Ashley]

Hi Jason

I moved to the OF2200 when my last 1/2" router died through heavy use. It was only 13 months old so outside the warranty period.

I explained to the dealer that I make a lot of solid oak doors and use the router for plunging 70mm in to channel out the lock.

I also do custom kitchen work with 40mm wooden tops or the occasional Silestone (solid surface).

The dealer did say the OF1400 would certainly take care of the wooden worktops but when I managed to get my hands on the OF2200 I could feel the cash drain from my bank account in seconds.

It is a truly awesome piece of engineering and doesn't scream like a stuck pig even when chomping deep channels and rebates in solid oak, unlike its predecessor.

If you do heavy work with a router go for the OF2200 is my view, if you have a dealer local to you just go and see it and pick it up. It is a monster and some people think its unwieldy but I find the weight reassuring.

 

 

[Rob-GB]

I would echo what Guy said. ;D
I am currently using the OF2200 for everything, in and out of the CMS Router table. With it's soft start and generous power it makes light work of everthing I have thrown at it so far. I quickly got used to the heft of it and now hardly notice it.
That said I think I will be getting a 1400 at some point...just to keep it's big brother company ;D
Rob.

 

[grobin]

Some considerations about the 2200 (friend owns one and lets me borrow it):
Festool says You might even think it is a portable shaper,  that's pretty accurate.  If you do a lot of heavy routing in hard maple, Osage Orange, etc. then you probably need this otherwise it is overkill.
At nearly 18 Lbs it's at the limit of what I can handle with my arthritis, but the weight helps handling in most cases.
The bi downer is that it draws 2200W.  Here in the states with most AC running 110 or even closer to 100v that requires a 20 or 30 amp circuit--and a very heavy (10 to 14 ga) extension cord.  Those aren't thick on the ground.

It's like a 1" drive socket set--if you need it there is no way to fake it; but if you don't its an expensive affectation.

 

[Jason Kehl]

Thanks a bunch to everyone who offered their input. The opinions give me some food for thought regarding the 2200.

      Jason

 

[just learning]

...What common routing tasks are likely to overwork the 1400 or be much more easily performed by the 2200?...

Can anyone address this part of Jason's original post?  It's a question I have, as well.  It seems there are lots of generic mentions of "heavy" work, but I've never seen a post where someone who owns both the 1400 and the 2200 really addresses the point that the 1400 can no longer do the job and the 2200 is required.

Thanks!

 

[greg mann]

Some considerations about the 2200 (friend owns one and lets me borrow it):
Festool says You might even think it is a portable shaper,  that's pretty accurate.  If you do a lot of heavy routing in hard maple, Osage Orange, etc. then you probably need this otherwise it is overkill.
At nearly 18 Lbs it's at the limit of what I can handle with my arthritis, but the weight helps handling in most cases.
The bi downer is that it draws 2200W.  Here in the states with most AC running 110 or even closer to 100v that requires a 20 or 30 amp circuit--and a very heavy (10 to 14 ga) extension cord.  Those aren't thick on the ground.

It's like a 1" drive socket set--if you need it there is no way to fake it; but if you don't its an expensive affectation.

I think the operative word here is that it CAN draw 2200W. When actually cutting, I doubt there is much amperage, or wattage draw, difference between a 2200 and a 1400. It takes a certain amount of power to make a cut. The 1400 will work up to its maximum of 1400W, at which point the internal protection will start to kick in to keep you from burning up the router. At the same point the 2200 should be using about the same 1400W and still have 800 more in reserve. You may trip a breaker when you enter that range but you won't be damaging the router, and you will be into a range the 1400 cannot enter, along with a host of other routers.

I have a big PC in a table with a Rigid DC collecting the dust through a clearvue mini-cyclone. Sometimes I leave it running for a moment and make a cut on my Kapex hooked to a Fein DC. Trip the breaker everytime.  [embarassed] But that is a big router, 2 DCs and a Kapex, all on one 15 amp circuit. I have yet to be able to push the PC with one dust collector hard enough to trip that circuit. My guess is that the 2200 is at least as efficient as the PC.  [wink] And, I suspect the Festool DC are far more efficient than the Rigid. Use the 2200 with DC on a 20 amp circuit and I will bet you will very hard pressed to trip a breaker.

If, in the end, you can only run the 2200 on a separate circuit from your DC then you will be making some kind of chip pile.  ;D 

 

[grobin]

I still have  POC old Skill that I have in a router table.  A friend does restoration and loans me his 2200 when my old skill will not do simple routing with straight bits in Osage orange, hard maple or Lyptus.  Its a great tool and unless you need to work other than horizontally on a table or bench the weight is a big advantage.  It will swing a big bit in tough wood and if that's what you do its a great tool.  My friend uses his 1400 90% of the time that's why he loans me his 2200.  It even cut a 1" rebate in lignum vitæ ( bought a used piece that used to be a ship's propeller shaft bearing) although it took 4 passes. 

I see a lot of stuff on this form about not really needing all that much amperage.  In my experience if you have a 15A circuit and 120V it will work most of the time.  But on the heaver jobs—which is the reason to use it—it blows the breaker frequently.  If you use a CT then it has to be on a separate circuit or the breaker blows way to frequently.  Now I only borrow it when I can use it on my only available 20A circuit.  I can't use it and a CT on even on that circuit when the voltage is running low (≤110V) and I am working difficult wood.  So its good news bad news—it will work OK on a standard 15A circuit so long as it isn't doing really heavy work—but its real utility is for very heavy work.

Frankly I have a Milwaukee router that I am planning to put in my new table and retire the Skill.  Then when I get some more money I am going to get a 1400.  The 2200 is not on my radar right now.

 

[btracey1]

Jason,
The 2200 excels at most of the things you would normally do on a router table with a 3+hp motor, but can't get the work to the table. For instance long heavy stringers, or really hard woods, or mortises where you need deep plunge cuts. The 2200 has excellent balance, and in my opinion, the best ergonomics out there. With this much power it's a good idea to be able to operate all of the controls without taking your hands off of the handles. Another strong point is the dust collection collar that snaps down into place, again without taking your hands off of the handles

 

[Sparktrician]

Jason,
The 2200 excels at most of the things you would normally do on a router table with a 3+hp motor, but can't get the work to the table. For instance long heavy stringers, or really hard woods, or mortises where you need deep plunge cuts. The 2200 has excellent balance, and in my opinion, the best ergonomics out there. With this much power it's a good idea to be able to operate all of the controls without taking your hands off of the handles. Another strong point is the dust collection collar that snaps down into place, again without taking your hands off of the handles

 

I'd have to echo Brian's words of wisdom.  The OF2200 is an 18 pound beast, albeit a very refined beast, but a beast with tremendous power.  It's so well-balanced that one might forget its power and get arrogant.  You'd have to remember that if you wanted to use one with large-diameter bits, the router has the ability to spin them at full speed, but you'd better slow down the shaft speed significantly to prevent the bits from destroying themselves, and possibly causing your bodily fluids to ooze  [scared]  uncontrollably.  It's a great workhorse, especially in a production environment, but it also demands respect and full-time attention. 

[smile] 

 

[FulThrotl]

Hey folks, I have the 1400 router and I would like to know at what point does it make sense to use the larger 2200 router? What common routing tasks are likely to overwork the 1400 or be much more easily performed by the 2200? I make a wide variety of cabinets and furniture as well as housed stringer stairs and other general carpentry tasks. I am fairly new to Festool and have been making do with other tools for years, including overworking them at times. I would like to get away from that, working more efficiently in general. With the current router promo I am thinking this might be the time to take the plunge but would like some/any input.

    Thanks;
            Jason

well, it's heavy, and stable. it doesn't twitch or bounce. and if you take an excessive bite and grab a chunk, it doesn't slow down... a quick "bang" and the offending wood disintegrates.
but the speed never varies based upon the load. i have a PC plunge router, and that will do for my middle router, but if you wish to do solid surface work, or very hard woods, or swing huge bits,
or do several of these at once, this is the thing to do it with.... i put a full bullnose on 1 1/2" sapele in one pass, parting the wood, and leaving two full bullnoses. across the end grain. had it on a guide rail.
it's more like a hand held milling machine than a router. the dust and chip collection is excellent. the bases and integration with other elements of festoolery is seamless.

as for tripping circuit breakers, the draw on the electric circuit is more a function of the material being removed, than the size of the motor, especially with solid state motor controls and soft start.
the 2200 will draw more wattage idling than the 1400, of a certainty, but under identical loads, the power consumed will be quite similar.

horsepower is work done, over time. one horsepower is 746 watts, irregardless of the voltage of the circuit, or the motor doing the work.

 

[Wonderwino]

So far, I have only been able to play with use the OF 2200 while at Advanced Router class at Lebanon last year.  I had similar predjudice against a large and heavy machine, but that was proven unfounded once I put the router to the test.  It is very stable and easy to control.  I was using a 1" roundover bit on maple and cutting the profile with a single pass!  I did find that the extended base gave me more conficence, although I think most of that was in my mind.

I had the pleasure of visiting Roger Savatteri's shop and seeing the custom bit he used to create a parabolic edge on a table that was about 3-1/2" thick.  That bit would barely fit in a coffee mug!  I can't think of another portable machine that could handle such a task.

I have an OF1010 which I use all the time.  After using the OF2200, I'm going to skip the OF1400 for now and get the OF2200 with the base kit as my next router.  I don't think you can overwork this machine.  [big grin]

 

[PaulMarcel]

Coincidentally, last night I got to use my OF-2200 for the first time... I had gotten it with the router promotion sometime just before Thanksgiving.  Sad my day job has kept it idle this long!

The first task with it was making an 11" long by 1.5" wide by 3" deep mortise in the top of two industrial doors.  Lovely.  Straddling a 6" ladder to mortise two 7'10" doors by work-light as it was already dark.  [scared]

Some observations:

1) it didn't notice the doors; I think it was idling the whole time, seriously.
2) though I made a template with 'wings' to stabilize the router, one door needed some freehand work basically on the 1.75" wide top surface leaving 1/8" walls.  Any tip would have sucked, but the balance was so nice and smooth.
3) weight: 19.7 lbs and likely another pound for the 4 3/8" bit.  I think it adds greatly to the stability (because it is balanced).  The balance, weight, and power combine to make a router you push to where you want to cut and it does it's job.
4) dust collection... the actual mortise profile is around 38 cu in to remove of a combination of softwood, composite 'wood', and particle board.  Other than some chips that broke loose and were too big to go through the dust port, this was a pretty dust-free job.  I did use a 'shorter' 4" upspiral for the first part of the mortise so the 2" cutting end helped launch the dust up towards the enclosed dust collection hood and out the D36.  Then had to switch to a 2-flute straight bit that was long enough (with a little cheating on the collet depth)... this was all last minute so had to go with what the store had locally.  Anyway, the straight bit kinda stirs up dust at the bottom of the mortise not lifting it up.  No dust floated in the air and whatever came up went in the DE, but a large portion of the dust sat in the then 3" deep mortise.

hmm... 38 cu in times 2 and my CT-22 was nearing capacity.  Bet I have a brick to remove tonight.

Anyway, rockin' router.  And I admit that seeing Roger Savatteri's table routed with it convinced me this was a shaper with handles.

Back to the original question: when to move up to it... Alex has it right... OF-1010 if you want a lighter router but then straight to the OF-2200.  I don't see the physical size of the OF-2200 being that much bigger than an OF-1400 to give the 1400 a benefit.  When I originally bought the OF-1400, I really wanted the OF-2200 instead (it was in pre-order then) but it is a beast and a beast of a price-tag so I went with the OF-1400.  No regret for that, great router; OF-2200 though greatly impressed me even if it was on just one awkward-as-hell job.

 

[ccarrolladams]

Hey folks, I have the 1400 router and I would like to know at what point does it make sense to use the larger 2200 router? What common routing tasks are likely to overwork the 1400 or be much more easily performed by the 2200? I make a wide variety of cabinets and furniture as well as housed stringer stairs and other general carpentry tasks. I am fairly new to Festool and have been making do with other tools for years, including overworking them at times. I would like to get away from that, working more efficiently in general. With the current router promo I am thinking this might be the time to take the plunge but would like some/any input.

    Thanks;
            Jason

Jason, I own and have made a lot of money using, all 4 of the current Festool routers. Each has its place.

Before the OF1400 was available I owned 3 OF1010, one of which I used for conventional and guide rail routing. I never found the OF1010 under-powered making 19mm dadoes and rabbits.

The OF1400 has 390 watts more power than the OF1010. The OF2200 has 800 watts more power than the OF1400.

When routing flat with a 1/2" shank bit, I prefer to use the OF2200 not so much for the added power as for the added mass. In my experience the OF2200 is the smoothest running router ever sold.

Frankly when I need to use very large router bits I prefer to put them in my shaper or one of my router tables. Yet I know that if necessary I could use them in my OF2200.

 

[Wonderwino]

Paul, I think you NEED the Plexiglass Template Routing Aid!  This would make those door jobs so much easier.

 

[GPowers]

Paul, I think you NEED the Plexiglass Template Routing Aid!  This would make those door jobs so much easier.

That is one expensive piece of plastic.

 

[RPSmith]

Jason,

I would echo many of the sentiments here, but my arithmetic would come down to this: at what point am I overworking my 1400?

If you do closed stair stringers with no problem and can put a 1" round over consistently on hardwood pieces then I'd say the 2200 is a vanity purchase.  Don't feel bad:  all of our shops are filled with them  .

It is at the point that you could see mounting the router upside down that I would say that it is truly earning its keep.

If you ever see doing raised panels as a money making venture, or serious custom moldings as a regular part of your income revenue then the 2200 is a no-brainer.

If like most of us, you long to revel in the prospect of making wood bend to our will and pleasantly so, then the 2200 is not so much a necessity as it is a desire. 

Responsible men can afford responsible desires.

Do whatever makes you happy, within reason...and post pictures.

Hope this helps (though it certainly did not)

RPS

 

[tbellemare]

Quite well put, Mr. Smith...

I would add that the 2200 can make raised panels similarly as effectively as it can perform solid surface duties. It's a big, smooth, handheld shaper.

Tom

 

[USPcompact]

Coincidentally, last night I got to use my OF-2200 for the first time...

Video review time?  [cool]  I'm at the point where I thought I was set to get a 1400 to go with the 1010, but your comment about skipping the 1400 and going straight to the 2200 have me seriously rethinking that plan...