# Festo of 900 e router speed controll module



## Peteroo (Aug 17, 2011)

Hi 
I have been having trouble with my Festo OF 900 E router speed controll. Thanks to the Forum I have learnt that vibration and excess heat are two of the worst enemies to long life of the controll module. 
On my model the speed suddenly changes on occasions and then when left alone for days goes back to working. I experimented with a piece of washing up glove rubber around the post the module is impailed onto in an attempt to dampen vibration and in a half hour period it seemed to work. ONE THING THOUGH was that the screw which goes into that post to hold the top of the router on, was left out. I then experimented by pushing the top cover down on the body at the front right hand side with the screw out. The problem imediately happened so I let off the pressure and the motor returned to the selected speed. 
HAS ANYONE ELSE HAD THIS PROBLEM WITH THEIR FESTO? What did you do? 
Peteroo


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Peter Festool have nice tools but honestly, they are just not worth the money NGM


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## Peteroo (Aug 17, 2011)

Hi Neville
thank you for your reply to my festo of 900 e router controll module problem. 
I bought a lot of Festo and Festool tools with an inheritance at a time I was not financially well off with an inheritance. The main reason was because of the built in dust extraction. Believe me, I packed it each time I went out on a limb to make the big purchase. I too after a while questioned the price paid. Here in Australia we pay a lot more than in the US. 
At present I am suitably happy at the attention to manufacturing detail and innovation in my tools. As they say in their advertising "no compromises". Festool have a tradition to live up to and to today they have done just that for me. I sent the co owner a picture of my router's armature showing that it had not been used much in the 17 years I have had it. I am well known to the people at Festool Australia. Today I received a brand new controller delivered to my door. 
I have never tried to make anything to the level of a power tool before. I don't know the economics of this and so cannot comment on it. In fact I suspect that if Festool elabourated on the "no compromises" advertising they may justify the cost and get more followers. 
Regards
Peteroo


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Peteroo said:


> Hi Neville
> thank you for your reply to my festo of 900 e router controll module problem.
> I bought a lot of Festo and Festool tools with an inheritance at a time I was not financially well off with an inheritance. The main reason was because of the built in dust extraction. Believe me, I packed it each time I went out on a limb to make the big purchase. I too after a while questioned the price paid. Here in Australia we pay a lot more than in the US.
> At present I am suitably happy at the attention to manufacturing detail and innovation in my tools. As they say in their advertising "no compromises". Festool have a tradition to live up to and to today they have done just that for me. I sent the co owner a picture of my router's armature showing that it had not been used much in the 17 years I have had it. I am well known to the people at Festool Australia. Today I received a brand new controller delivered to my door.
> ...


Peter even with what you have said Festool tools are not worth that hefty price tag, as a professional I would not buy them.


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## Dmeadows (Jun 28, 2011)

Peteroo said:


> In fact I suspect that if Festool elabourated on the "no compromises" advertising they may justify the cost and get more followers.
> Peteroo


There is pretty much no such thing as "no compromises"! If they elaborated too much, they would prove that.

As for cost? I'm with Neville on this, there is no way I could justify paying Festools prices! It's not even a consideration or "I wish" to me. If you like them that's ok. but for me it's like buying a Rolls Royce.. even if I had the money, it wouldn't get me anywhere a Ford or Chevrolet won't.

But it's good that there are options available. If Festool were the only choice, I would never be a woodworker, period:fie:


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## neville9999 (Jul 22, 2010)

Dmeadows said:


> There is pretty much no such thing as "no compromises"! If they elaborated too much, they would prove that.
> 
> As for cost? I'm with Neville on this, there is no way I could justify paying Festools prices! It's not even a consideration or "I wish" to me. If you like them that's ok. but for me it's like buying a Rolls Royce.. even if I had the money, it wouldn't get me anywhere a Ford or Chevrolet won't.
> 
> But it's good that there are options available. If Festool were the only choice, I would never be a woodworker, period:fie:


The other problem that I have with Festool is this one, so much of their stuff requires you buy other things Festool to go with it, as so much of it does need their dust extraction plus other parts so it will work as it should work, so as A Professional then it is clear to me that if I buy one thing Festool then I have to buy many other things that are also Festool and that the buyer has to consider having an 'all Festool operation' so who could afford that?, now I also know persons who have many Festool tools and I have used them and they are made very well but when you look at the big picture then I could not afford to go with the 'everything Festool concept' and there is also this, I was offered a second hand OF1100 router so I bought it and as a hand held router then it meets all its targets and works very well and it's speed controller is first rate but I soon realized that it had a design flaw that means that I could never use it for the purpose that I bought it, many routers have a second method of locking the plunge down in place however the OF1100 has only the single lock down method and that does open up under load, I have had it open up on me when I locked it down as hard as I could, now there are some times when that would not matter, that it opened up that is, but for me then I bought it to run my 45mm 'full bullnose rounding over cutter' and if it opened up when I was doing a run with that cutter then it would be a total disaster, so I cannot use that cutter in the OF1100 and that is why I bought it, so they are good but they also are not perfect and for me to spend that much money then I would want the tools to be 'more than perfect' and they are not. Neville


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## Peteroo (Aug 17, 2011)

Hi Neville
I have never had a problem with the plunge lock on my Festo of 900e. I was practicing with that and other aspects of the machine last night whilst seated and the machine off. The depth stop was set as a double surety that the armiture would not bottom out on the desk I was practicing on. It only required a short gentle shift of the knob to lock and unlock the device. 

When I first bought my Festo,as I said before, I was packing it. I didn't have a lot of money and it was a make or break for me as I had to have dust extraction. I have worked out a bit of trade psychology in the past 40 years. There seems to be an attitude in a lot of people to coppy their elder piers in the way they live and do things. One of these attitudes is to apply more force than is necessary. I really valued my Festos and Festools and have over the years learnt to treat them verry gently. May I suggest that you first check the machine to see if the plunge lock has been damaged. Then with AS LITTLE FORCE AS POSSIBLE, lock and unlock the device whilst seated and relaxed. This was the way to understanding the tool for me. I was on such a high and expected the machine to virtually work itself after selling my car to buy it and other tools. It was the same with the Festo jig saw. I was lifting the base as I tried to go through corners in the cut because I was trying to see the result before doing the process. Mind you I have Hypoglycemia and am forever medicating it with food and nutrition . A word with the Festool man at a wood show revealed the embarrasing truth, I WAS LIFTING THE TOOL'S BASE IN CUTTING A CURVE. 

No, Festoll products are not perfect, but, as the sales rep from another German tool company said at a tool store one day, "Festool have the tiniest number of warranty claims of any power tool company". He was envious of them. 

Yes, most times you have to buy Festool accessories. In the case of the dust extraction under base clear plastic cup that bolts to the side of the base, I worked it out after having it for about 15 years, just last night whilst sitting quietly at the desk. I used it on a competition piece years ago along with the attached plate which allows the machine to be rotated horizontally to cut edges. There were no instructions with all three components, a fact which should be mentioned to the Festool people. This morning I used the dust cup whilst rounding over a piece of scrap and it worked 98%well in collecting the dust. Not as well as the way I have just suggested to our friends at Festool from an experiment I have done in my workshop, but wow 98% isn't too bad. By the way I got my picture in the local Australian Wood Review Magazine with the desk, the edges of which were trimmed with the three accessories. If you are thinkig of buying these accs. then keep in mind that internal curves are difficult if not impossible for this set up. 

Festool are showing a new willingness to listen to feedback these days. May I suggest that you communicate with the local Festool people for the things you find problematic for you. It's their job to help and if they don't then email or write to Germany to get the answers.
Good luck with your Festool Neville. 
regards
Peteroo


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