Are Festool Router (and tools) really worth the money?

[matt scarlett]

If I was starting out and didn't have the budget for festool then I would take a look at the two big triton routers.

I'm sure it was a Triton router that I previously had. Although that router was blue. The only Triton routers i see are Yellow. Maybe I had another cheap brand. What ever it was, it wasn't very good.

Thanks for the input.

 

[matt scarlett]

Titan router ... i had a Titan router. That was dreadful. :shock: something like this, but it was blue so one can only guess it was an older model.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb591r ... 240v/49312

My only concern with Bosch is the price difference for a 1/2" collet router and 1/4". The 1/4" go for under £100, but the 1/2 and you're in the near £350 range depending on where you buy. I already have some 1/2 bits, and it would so primarily i'm looking a 1/2" machine.

 

[Wouldchuk]

I have another perspective to add - from that of an amateur for whom woodworking is absolutely a hobby. While a lot of people say to me - why do you bother to spend all that money on Festool stuff - and simply enough, it's because I really really enjoy using them as they are great bits of kit.

As a hobbyist, my biggest challenge is time.... time... time time... aggghghhh! Every project is a battle of squeezed Saturdays and trying to remember what that pad of scrawled measurements meant... ! (hammer). Mistakes mean a project can be stalled for months.

For me, I had a few bits of second-hand kit and some newly bought Dewalt, when I thought that it was the top of the range - little did I know of Festool prices!

Gradually, over the past few years I've upgraded to a Festool router and track saw. These are the bits of kit I use by hand the most in my sort of weekend projects. They make a massive difference in that they're reliable and accurate, so while I can still make mistakes (measure twice, and again, then cut it too short anyway...), I think they were worth the price - which also makes you look after them better than your first born!

But in my judgement, I don't need a £1000 Festool chop saw - I have an old Axminster one for £50 which I can tune to cut square. That's all I need. If you've room, a table router is a worthy investment. I got one second hand with a whopping old Makita router in - it hasn't missed a beat in all the time i've used it, permanently fitted to the table - you can do a lot of other tasks, avoid mistakes and with safety, than a hand-held machine.

Anyway, Im fortunate that I can afford to spend on my hobby - but I do that because it gives me enjoyment, and I find it really has helped to have good quality kit. I'm not saying that it's only Festool in that quality bracket, but I do really rate them.

In addition to the earlier comments on service - Festool proivde an inbuilt insurance policy - if stolen, pay £100 and you receive a brand new tool - this was a god send when I was burgled last year.

 

[Roughcut]

Titan router ... i had a Titan router. That was dreadful. :shock: something like this, but it was blue so one can only guess it was an older model.

http://www.screwfix.com/p/titan-ttb591r ... 240v/49312

My only concern with Bosch is the price difference for a 1/2" collet router and 1/4". The 1/4" go for under £100, but the 1/2 and you're in the near £350 range depending on where you buy. I already have some 1/2 bits, and it would so primarily i'm looking a 1/2" machine.[/quote]


From what you said earlier (making speaking box's/enclosures) you really do need to be looking at 1/2" collet Routers.
I have used my Festy 1010 with a trammel to rout out a 24" diameter hole before but because I was using a 1/4" shank router bit I had to go careful and slow.
So it can be done but it's not ideal especially on a regular basis.
The Router's that have been mentioned by other users will all do what you require.
I'm a bit confused why you would want a Raised Panel Cutter for making speaker enclosures though? As these are used in a Frame and Panel construction which wouldn't be the best for a speaker box in my opinion.
Also as a general rule and from experience you get what you pay for with router cutters.
Buy cheap buy twice etc.

 

[Racers]

Hitachi M12V/VE are very good and cheap, about £150 I use one in a router table and its a beast!
I also have a Makita 3612c which is also good.
Pete

What router table do you use.

I have the Ryobi/Record one, it's not bad if you replace the movable fence with a solid one.

Pete

 

[AJB Temple]

My perspective. I don't tend to buy by brand: I usually try to buy the best tool I can find of for the job in hand. For mounting in a table the Festool premium may not be worth it. For hand held - it probably is. Festool don't always make the best: I recently used a cordless drill and driver extensively at a friends house helping him with some assembly. I had a Milwaukee Fuel with me (mine) and we both agreed the Milwaukee outperformed the Festool. I was very tempted by the Festool track saw but ended up with a Mafell. I don't have a domino, but have use them and the Festool system is superb. I might have to splash out on that.

It 's easy to get carried away with brands. But in the end most of us like tools and if we can afford it we should just buy what we want. There is a definite diminishing return at the high end, but so what?

 

[matt scarlett]

re.
I'm a bit confused why you would want a Raised Panel Cutter for making speaker enclosures though? As these are used in a Frame and Panel .

A round-over is needed for some of the enclosure design, and for finishing the enclosure on the outside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul8YT98Nymw It's not 100% necessary on the outside, that's just for decoration so-to-speak.

As for the Trend Trend C191X1/2TC, that's for the 'Speaker' builds for which I intend to use it to design a tweeter wave-guide https://goo.gl/qy9r7E or some form of wave-guide for a point source speaker, the likes of Hertz Mille Pro MPX 165.3 http://www.fourcaraudio.co.uk/brands/he ... -mpx-1653/ or Morel Tempo Ultra 6 http://goo.gl/Nwsv1N .... as well as for use on the edge of the enclosure to reduce diffraction if the design calls for it

 

[matt scarlett]

Again, thanks for all the replies so far. Any more viewpoints,/advice is welcome.

 

[Wuffles]

re.
I'm a bit confused why you would want a Raised Panel Cutter for making speaker enclosures though? As these are used in a Frame and Panel .

A round-over is needed for some of the enclosure design, and for finishing the enclosure on the outside. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ul8YT98Nymw It's not 100% necessary on the outside, that's just for decoration so-to-speak.

As for the Trend Trend C191X1/2TC, that's for the 'Speaker' builds for which I intend to use it to design a tweeter wave-guide https://goo.gl/qy9r7E or some form of wave-guide for a point source speaker, the likes of Hertz Mille Pro MPX 165.3 http://www.fourcaraudio.co.uk/brands/he ... -mpx-1653/ or Morel Tempo Ultra 6 http://goo.gl/Nwsv1N .... as well as for use on the edge of the enclosure to reduce diffraction if the design calls for it

Am I reading it right that you are intending to use that big trend cutter as a kind of large roundover bit for the tweeter?

If so, good luck with that. I wouldn't do it, but perhaps I'm less proficient on a router table.

 

[DiscoStu]

Just to be clear Triton and Titan are very different makes of router. I have a Triton in my table and can't fault it. It's too big and heavy (and powerful) to do a lot of handheld work but beautiful in the table.

I had some round overs to do with it the other day and did these by hand and it was heavy work. Hence I bought the OF 1400 yesterday, but I've not used it yet so can't comment.


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[woodpig]

This is interesting.

http://youtu.be/oezp-_DcUgg

Possibly not worth a thousand bucks then?! :lol:

 

[DiscoStu]

Seen that before and it is interesting however Festool provide a 3 year warranty and I don't know anyone who owns a TS55 and isn't pleased with it. I love mine - stonkingly good bit of kit.


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[matt scarlett]

Am I reading it right that you are intending to use that big trend cutter as a kind of large roundover bit for the tweeter?

If so, good luck with that. I wouldn't do it, but perhaps I'm less proficient on a router table.

Believe me, any help and tips are more than welcome. How would you go about it? Round-over/edge work seems to be part and parcel of a car audio enthusiasts builds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YvFJpc91LM

 

[Wuffles]

This is interesting.

http://youtu.be/oezp-_DcUgg

Possibly not worth a thousand bucks then?! :lol:

The fanboy element of the FOG tore that video to pieces last year, was interesting watching the "mods" (and the ex site administrator who now works for a retailer) try and defend it all. They were pulling the guy's electronic knowledge apart, whether it was correct or not. Don't forget, Festool's price fixing is still in operation in the US, so it all costs them more.

One of them claimed to have reported the serial number from the tool in the video to Festool USA to make sure they were aware so they could cancel the warranty.

Very p̶e̶t̶t̶y̶ thorough behaviour.

 

[Sawyer]

Oh, and re. those 1-star reviews, there's all kinds of reasons people leave them - problems with deliveries, damaged goods, inexperienced users with a tool they don't understand, or just people who don't like the tool; when you're chunking down a few hundred quid on something, you get to be quite particular...

HTH Pete

Edited to add: +1 to table use with that cutter.

Even the best stuff will always have some naysayer denouncing it: "I'll never buy Bosch/DeWalt/Metabo &&&c again!", so it's best to take all such remarks in context. However, if something is attracting an unusually high proportion of bad reviews, then it's probably worth taking note.

 

[yetloh]

My only concern with Bosch is the price difference for a 1/2" collet router and 1/4". The 1/4" go for under £100, but the 1/2 and you're in the near £350 range depending on where you buy. I already have some 1/2 bits, and it would so primarily i'm looking a 1/2" machine.[/[/color]quote]

IMHO quarter inch routers are best avoided. They lack the oomph for really hard work and the narrow shanks cause vibration which affects smoothness of cut. Half inch cutters are more expensive but worth every penny

 

[matt scarlett]

IMHO quarter inch routers are best avoided. They lack the oomph for really hard work and the narrow shanks cause vibration which affects smoothness of cut. Half inch cutters are more expensive but worth every penny[/quote]

I assume 1/4 is there for lighter work, in my case, trimming of veneers etc, where as a 1/2 router would be better for cutting through the wood .. mounting whole for a subwoofer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvbPhJf ... tml5=False

 

[Beau]

How about just getting a quality second hand machine. Can thoroughly recommend the old Elu Mof 177E and looks like there are quite a few floating around second hand. Mines never needed more than the odd bearing and a change of brushes in 25 years. for example http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elu-moff-177E ... SwZ8ZXBVts

 

[matt scarlett]

How about just getting a quality second hand machine. Can thoroughly recommend the old Elu Mof 177E and looks like there are quite a few floating around second hand. Mines never needed more than the odd baring and a change of brushes in 25 years. for example http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Elu-moff-177E ... SwZ8ZXBVts

Looking into it. I'm also looking at the models from Elu .... anything but that Titan router again :roll:

Seems to be enough spare parts around. https://www.partshopdirect.co.uk/brands ... arts-c275/

I'll look further into it. Thanks

 

[matt scarlett]

I'm guessing the Elu router bits are equally as trustworthy and reliable?