1010 or 1400...sliding or what?

[woodbloke]

Let us suppose that one is in the entirely hypothetical position of requiring to change/upgrade/improve one's old Bosch bench router (which has served well) and will be in the happy situation after Chirstmas of being able to consider either the 1400 or the 1010, bearing in mind that the 1010 has a crappy pressed steel fence and would be replaced by something much better, which would be best?

Second and foremost, if one were cast one's self on a lime green Festooly slope of this magnitude, how steep will it be and where will it end? 8-[ 8-[ :lol: - Rob

 

[ByronBlack]

You will need a rail and router attachment to go with your shiny router - and possibly an MFT along with a TS55.

Surely a 1400 would be a better option if your happy with the extra cost.

 

[Chems]

1400 for me.

 

[gasman]

2200 for me - it is unbelievable to have a router of that power on and rotating at full speed not moving at all - so well balanced

 

[cambournepete]

1400 for me - a great compromise between a biddie like the 2200 and the delicacy of the 1010.
You can route worktops with the 1400, so it's pretty powerful, even tough it takes a bit longer than the 2200.

 

[mailee]

NO Rob, DON'T DO IT! It is a very steep very expensive slippery slope. :shock: :lol: Just paint the Bosch green and black. :lol:

 

[chippy1970]

I have the 1010 and its an excellent router but I already had a big router otherwise I would have bought the 1400.

The 1400 has more gizmo's on it and is a newer design compared to the 1010.

If you dont need a small light'ish router then go for the 1400.

 

[Waka]

Ah the Festool slope, I was once at the top looking down, now I'm near the bottom looking up, very painful Rob so be careful.

Myself I'd go for the 1400, lovely machine, and it does what it says on the tin.

Out of interest I may need to buy the rail attachment, has anyone used it and is it any good?

 

[promhandicam]

I've not used any of the festool routers so can't comment on that, but I wonder why would you want to spend money on an after market fence? I doubt that the festool ones are that bad but personally I hardly ever use a fence and can't really see much need for one if you have a half decent router table.

Steve

 

[woodbloke]

I already have the Trend T11 in the router table, so it's a lightish bench router that I'd want to replace...would the 1400 be too heavy? - Rob

 

[Jake]

1400 is by far the most flexible of the three and it's still pretty light. The 1010 is a real featherweight and while very nice is IMHO a little bit flawed in the depth adjusting department and I reckon must be in line for replacement.

 

[JonnyD]

I find the 1010 ideal for a bench router and is usually the first one i pick up. Whislt festool routers are very nice i dont personally think they are worth the extra money compared to a dewalt 621 bosch makita etc. The fence on the 1010 works ok but the best thing about them are that you can easily use a festool rail with them. For the price of the 1010 and microfence you are nearly at domino cost arent you?

cheers

jon

 

[woodbloke]

I've not used any of the festool routers so can't comment on that, but I wonder why would you want to spend money on an after market fence? I doubt that the festool ones are that bad but personally I hardly ever use a fence and can't really see much need for one if you have a half decent router table.

Steve

Can you dial adjust the Festool fence (or any fence for that matter) in 0.1mm increments and be sure it's accurate...probably not. You can with the Microfence - Rob

 

[promhandicam]

Any fence that has a dial can be adjusted to within 0.1mm repeatedly with one of these:

Cost - £9 and it has the advantage that it can be used for many other things other than as a router fence :wink:

But then again do you need that degree of accuracy in a router fence? Someone recently wrote

This whole discussion in my view, really comes down to the type of woodworker you see youself as. Do you really want to work to tol of 0.1mm as Robert Ingham does?..or at the other end of the scale, tol judged pretty much by eye as the late JK did?.. (except important mating parts such as joints, where a snug 'push by hand' sliding fit is sufficient)
If it's the former, then you'll need to invest in the appropriate machinery and ensure it's set up correctly. If the latter, then decent, robust ordinary machinery will do the job (the emphasize here switches to hand skills)
I suspect that most of us fall somewhere between the two, within the limits a) of the material and b) our back pockets.
At the end of the jour, it's a lump of wood and will do all sorts of stupid things that we as woodies need to take into account and therein lies the skill, not in whether or not we can produce it to a tol of 0.1mm but whether it fits our purpose and more importantly...SWIMBO's (read customer :wink: )

I think that I know now which camp that person falls in - I wonder if it is anything to do with them having the same christian names :lol:

 

[ByronBlack]

0.1mm increment in a router fence - I have no idea how/why you would need that kind of accuracy. The dewalt fence has a threaded fine adjuster with very little backlash, but so far all I've used is the main fence adjusted to my marking lines on the stock.

 

[Big John]

I've got both (is that a gloat?) and the 1400 is probably the better option. But you REALLY NEED both!!!

 

[woodbloke]

But then again do you need that degree of accuracy in a router fence? Someone recently wrote

This whole discussion in my view, really comes down to the type of woodworker you see youself as. Do you really want to work to tol of 0.1mm as Robert Ingham does?..or at the other end of the scale, tol judged pretty much by eye as the late JK did?.. (except important mating parts such as joints, where a snug 'push by hand' sliding fit is sufficient)
If it's the former, then you'll need to invest in the appropriate machinery and ensure it's set up correctly. If the latter, then decent, robust ordinary machinery will do the job (the emphasize here switches to hand skills)
I suspect that most of us fall somewhere between the two, within the limits a) of the material and b) our back pockets.
At the end of the jour, it's a lump of wood and will do all sorts of stupid things that we as woodies need to take into account and therein lies the skill, not in whether or not we can produce it to a tol of 0.1mm but whether it fits our purpose and more importantly...SWIMBO's (read customer :wink: )

I think that I know now which camp that person falls in - I wonder if it is anything to do with them having the same christian names :lol:

Did I pen those immortal words? :lol: To be fair, the fence arrangement on my current Bosch is pretty rubbish, even though it does have a very crude micro-adjustment of sorts. I had a chat with RI some months ago about the Microfence and he reckons it's the cat's danglies...or similar. Whilst there's there's no way that I could ever work to his sort of tolerances, it would be good to have a truly accurate way of indexing in a cut from the fence edge - Rob

 

[petermillard]

I've got both (is that a gloat?) and the 1400 is probably the better option. But you REALLY NEED both!!!

I think so much depends on what you use a router for, and I guess the basic question is do you need the 1/2" capacity of the 1400?

Personally I have little need for a 1/2" router (and have a big old lump of a thing for when I do need one) so a 1010 was ideal for me; it also comes with an 8mm collet for the times when you don't think a 1/4" bit is man enough. True, you can put 8mm and 1/4" bits in a 1400, but it makes for quite a large 1/4" router.

HTH, Pete

 

[Karl]

Hi Rob

I have been using a Festool 1010 today whilst at Brads, and I thought it was a good router which has a quality feel. Two main points which stuck out for me were the (pistol) grip and the fact that the motor stops very quickly. But it does seem a very basic router for the (significant) cash outlay.

Just as an aside (and not wishing to thread hijack), do other users of the 1400 reckon it would be ok for worktop cutting? I expect so, but would like to hear it from the horses mouth, so to speak.

Cheers

Karl

EDIT - £330 for the 1010 !!!!

 

[woodbloke]

Hi Rob

I have been using a Festool 1010 today whilst at Brads, and I thought it was a good router which has a quality feel. Two main points which stuck out for me were the (pistol) grip and the fact that the motor stops very quickly. But it does seem a very basic router for the (significant) cash outlay.

Cheers

Karl

EDIT - £330 for the 1010 !!!!

Exactamundo...add the cost of a Microfence to that (around £125) and it starts to look like a very expensive basic bit of kit - Rob