8 mm router bits

[Michael Cole]

I have a Rockler dovetail jig which I bought last summer but have not used yet. I will be using it soon. It has 8 mm router bits and an 8 mm collet reducer, so I am assuming one must have a 1/2" router. Is that correct? I will be buying a router to use with it. The router I really want to get is the Festool OF 1400, but may buy something cheaper to get started . A local company has a "tool trade in day" this Saturday where you can bring in an old tool and get a few bucks off a new dewalt. They seem to carry a 1 3/4 hp 1/2" bit and 1 1/2 hp 1/4" bit fixed based routers (also a 2 /1/4 hp, but I don't think I need that big of one for this project and since I eventually want the Festool I don't think I need that). Would the 1 3/4 hp work for this?

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Michael, that router would be more than large enough power wise to make dovetails.

Yes you'll need a 1/2" router to use an 8mm collet.

I have a different attack on tools, I buy the one I want to own first, saves me a lot of money over "starter" tools...............Regards, Rod.

[Jim Dwight]

I own one Festool tool, the little $60 hand sander. My daughter bought if for me for my birthday. It is nice but not worth anything like $60.

I own two mid sized routers, both PC 690s. I also have one a little larger than I put in my router table. I also own one smaller, a Bosch Colt. I don't know if Festool routers are a good deal or not. But I know it's nice to have multiple routers. A mid sized, like you describe, with 1/4 and 1/2 inch collets is a great place to start. The last time I looked, the prices seem the best on the Bosch but it, the PC 690 or 890, or equivalent DeWalt or Milwaukee would be a very worthwhile addition to your shop regardless of what you end up doing about a Festool. The plunge/fixed combination kit gives you a lot of versatility. I like to do dovetails with the fixed base but the plunge base is very nice for other things.

While a Festool router may be sufficiently better to justify the price (although I am skeptical) there is no way a Bosch or PC mid-sized router is a "starter" tool. I you walk into any professional woodworking shop and find a router, it is much more likely to be one of these and not a Festool. They are tools you can use for the rest of your life. I've had one of mine for several decades and replaced a switch once.

[Greg R Bradley]

First off, completely discard a PC690 lasting for 20 years unless you can find a new one that has been sitting in dealer inventory for 20 years. If you can, jump on it! Probably worth much more than a new one. Not a bad idea to find used older PC routers in perfect condition if you can but, of course, dust collection is non existent. PC keeps driving their quality to lower and lower standards.

The Festool 1400 comes with 1/4", 1/2", and 8mm collets. The smaller 1010 comes with 1/4" and 8mm collets. I love my 1010, which has the dust collection really built in well and that style really works well in that size. Scale it up a bit to the 1400 and it doesn't feel as "right" to me. Also the dust collection is a clip in plastic piece that gets in the way. I consider the 1010 to be not much more than my Bosch Colt with the extra plunge base and dust collection. Lots more power, soft start, great dust collection. BUT Festool makes only plunge routers and that doesn't fit every need.

That being said, consider if a plunge router is what works best for that dovetail system. I don't know much about dovetail jigs but it seems you don't plunge for those setups, right?

In a 1-3/4HP router, I really like my Milwaukee 5615 with the palm grip. That is personal taste and may also not be best for that jig.

[Erik Christensen]

on my dovetail jig the fit is adjusted by tiny adjustments in router height. I have used both dewalt & festool routers with the jig. the micro height adjuster on the festool makes dialing in a perfect fit a heck of lot easier and faster. they both cut dovetails equally well with the festool having a bit better chip collection but router jigs are messy things anyway

much as I like the festool, the cost is hard to justify unless you get a rail and use it for dado's etc - if you do then it is the best choice by far IMHO

[Michael Cole]

on my dovetail jig the fit is adjusted by tiny adjustments in router height. I have used both dewalt & festool routers with the jig. the micro height adjuster on the festool makes dialing in a perfect fit a heck of lot easier and faster. they both cut dovetails equally well with the festool having a bit better chip collection but router jigs are messy things anyway

much as I like the festool, the cost is hard to justify unless you get a rail and use it for dado's etc - if you do then it is the best choice by far IMHO

I have a regular rail and the holey rail already, so I will probably just go with the Festool which is what I want anyway.

[Curt Harms]

I have a Rockler dovetail jig which I bought last summer but have not used yet. I will be using it soon. It has 8 mm router bits and an 8 mm collet reducer, so I am assuming one must have a 1/2" router. Is that correct? I will be buying a router to use with it. The router I really want to get is the Festool OF 1400, but may buy something cheaper to get started . A local company has a "tool trade in day" this Saturday where you can bring in an old tool and get a few bucks off a new dewalt. They seem to carry a 1 3/4 hp 1/2" bit and 1 1/2 hp 1/4" bit fixed based routers (also a 2 /1/4 hp, but I don't think I need that big of one for this project and since I eventually want the Festool I don't think I need that). Would the 1 3/4 hp work for this?

Some manufacturers offer 8 mm collets so you don't have to use a bushing. I'm not sure which ones.

http://www.amazon.com/Porter-Cable-R.../dp/B00B0WL7A4
61dCtjKS8dL._SL1008_.jpg
Another option

http://www.elairecorp.com/portercabl...FVcTHwodE8QBBQ

I have no idea why metric collets are so much more expensive than inch sized but they seem to be.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

I'm not sure about the OF1400 but my OF1010 comes with a 1/4" and 8mm collet. I believe the OF1400 comes with 1/4", 8mm and 1/2" collets. Festool routers are some of the best I've ever used so you'll love your OF1400 if you decide to get one.

[Mike Cutler]

I have a Rockler dovetail jig which I bought last summer but have not used yet. I will be using it soon. It has 8 mm router bits and an 8 mm collet reducer, so I am assuming one must have a 1/2" router. Is that correct? I will be buying a router to use with it. The router I really want to get is the Festool OF 1400, but may buy something cheaper to get started . A local company has a "tool trade in day" this Saturday where you can bring in an old tool and get a few bucks off a new dewalt. They seem to carry a 1 3/4 hp 1/2" bit and 1 1/2 hp 1/4" bit fixed based routers (also a 2 /1/4 hp, but I don't think I need that big of one for this project and since I eventually want the Festool I don't think I need that). Would the 1 3/4 hp work for this?

Michael

I own the OF 1400, and Porter Cable routers, 3 models I think. I've used the DeWalt's, and the Bosch's. All are nice routers, and all will cut dovetails just as well as the next, and as accurate as your jig will allow.
My advice is to buy two routers. One for pins and one for tails and dedicate them to that jig until you're done with the project. (It's kind of a pain in the behind to swap over bits and reset depth of cuts.)
Buy routers that accept Porter Cable collars, and template guides without adapters. If the router is a plunge type, make sure it has a positive mechanical lock for depth, not just a friction lock. Fixed base routers are great for Dovetail jigs, and can usually be had cheaper than a plunge of the same size. Nothing will make you madder than cutting a row of pins or tails and they all have and incremental change in depth as they go across the board. DAMHIKT.,

[lowell holmes]

I resent that they are trying to force us into buying new routers that will accommodate 8 mm bits. It's not happening in my shop. I use one of my fixed base routers for dovetails. My old bits work fine.

[Erik Christensen]

for most modern routers that already handle 1/2 bits all you need is an 8mm collet - usually ~20$ - no need to buy a new router... unless you want one