A mid-sized, lightweight, full-featured router for precision routing.
Drill/driver, sander and router are the triumvirate of power tools. With these three tools, and a few hand tools, you can build just about anything. Of these three the router is the most versatile. It excels at joinery, edge treatment, profiling, grooving, inlaying and much more.
Festool’s new OF 1010 R (#576922) router is an updated version of the reputable OF 1010 router, which has been on the market for over a decade. I’ve had the pleasure of shop-testing the new OF 1010 over the past two months, and it’s quickly become my go-to router. Here are what I think are the most outstanding features of the OF 1010 R.
Festool OF 1010 REQ-F-Plus
MSRP: $775 (includes router, chip catcher, 1/4″ and 8mm clamping collets,
wrench and Systainer)
Website: festoolcanada.ca
The OF 1010 R comes with 1/4″ and 5/16″ (8mm) collets. At just under six pounds, it’s heavier than a palm router. However, the inline height adjustment handle and long main handle along with a low centre of gravity provide a comfortable, well-balanced feeling in use.
You get a routing stroke of 2-1/8″. Bit installation is super quick. The spindle stop is large enough to firmly press down on and the widely spaced plunge rods give ample room to manoeuvre the wrench (and an excellent view of the routing area and bit). One of the most superb features on this router is the micro-depth adjustment. A simple turn of the fine-adjuster knob enables you to move the router bit up or down in 1/128″ increments over a range of 5/16″. It’s a feature I use almost every time I pick up this router.
I’d be surprised if you could get better dust management on any router. When connected to a dust extractor, I would estimate that 80 to 90 percent of the chips and fine dust are removed. When routing edges you’ll want to spend the 60 seconds or so it takes to install the chip collector. It does a great job of diverting chips from the router bit to the dust extractor connector. If you do template work, then you’ll be happy to know that the OF 1010 R has a standard guide bushing adapter that accepts the popular 1-3/8″ guide bushings.
The included guide rail adapter and guide rails enable you to use the router with a Festool guide rail for making perfectly straight grooves, dadoes and rabbets. You also get a convenient height adjustable support that attaches to the side of the router to prevent it from tipping over when used with a guide rail. There’s also a range of optional accessories that expand the capability of the OF 1010 R.
The design, features and precision of the OF 1010 R make this one outstanding router.
By the way, if you’re confused with Festool’s nomenclature, here’s what OF 1010 REQ-F-Plus means:
OF – router (from the German OberFräse)
R – relaunch of a previous model
E – electronic (variable speed, soft start,
thermal overload protection)
Q – plug-it power cord
F – fractional inch on the depth scale
Plus – comes with a Systainer
Carl Duguay - [email protected]
Carl is a Victoria-based furniture maker and the web editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement.
