Festool MFS Fence System Instruction Manual page 28

Now let's turn our atten-
tion to using the MFS
system in advanced rout-
ing applications
Everything we have talked about in terms
of aligning the Festool guide rails for cut-
ting work pieces applies equally to routing
operations as well.
Most all routing operations require some
means of positioning the work piece and
router bit in a desired alignment while ei-
ther the work piece is moved past the
router (as in a router table application) or
while the router is moved past the work
piece.
The former is accomplished either by the
work piece being held against the router
table fence or by a bearing on the bit
which rides on the work piece, a template
or a pattern. The latter is accomplished
either by a fence that is attached to the
router base, or by the router being guided
by a Festool guide rail, or by a bearing on
the bit which rides against the work piece,
a template or a pattern.
Since this manual is all about techniques
using Festool products, we will skip the
discussion on router tables and cover
only guided rail routing here. I will as-
sume you know how to set up and handle
your Festool router safely so those basics
will not covered here.
If you have any question about your
ability to set up or handle your router
safely, please do not proceed with this
manual. Move instead to literature,
videos, or training programs designed
for that purpose.
28
Since most of you have experience with
free hand routing using bearing guided
bits riding against the edge of the work
piece (such as when putting a rounded
edge on a shelf or table top,) I won't
spend any time here on how to do that.
Instead we are going to concentrate on
advanced guided rail routing, pattern
routing, and template routing operations,
especially those for which the Festool
MFS is ideally suited.
First, let's clarify some definitions. Peo-
ple often use the terms "template" and
"pattern" interchangeably. I don't. I use
the term "template" to mean a way of
guiding a router bit to cut a female recess
in the face of a work piece. It can also be
used to cut a (nearly) matching male
shape in inlay material to be inserted into
that recess if you wish. By "pattern" I
mean a way of guiding a router bit to pro-
duce an area that mimics the area under
or beside the pattern while other areas of
the work piece are routed away.
By my definitions one would use a "pat-
tern" to establish and duplicate curves on
table legs, for example. In that same ta-
ble we might want to inlay a different ma-
terial as a decorative accent. That would
be done using a "template."
Offset Routing
To fully appreciate all that can be done
using templates and patterns, we need to
explore the notion of offsets, guide bush-
ings, and bearings as they relate to guid-
ing the router bit.
Guide bushings fit onto the router base
concentrically located around the router
bit. On routers such as the Festool 1010,
concentricity is established via a cone
shaped mandrel which is placed in the