Top of the food chain in portable router table systems.

[tbone]

Hello All
I hope i don't start a war or I told you so debate but I would be very greatfull of the advice.
I have been looking very hard at the Trend prt Pro router table and though i have not layed my hands on one yet I think i have it in my mind what it will be like. Now for the BIG question its hard to compare like for like because the festool cms is part of the biggest system on the market but, take aside the fact that the festool has a lot more to offer in terms of it's
other modular saw etc etc. If we just looked at the festool router table in isolation how much better is it compared to the trend pro. Take the cost out of it and just look at the two tables with there own make of router fitted, how far apart are they. This is the only place i can get an opinion on this as a UK based site. I am not wanting to cause any problems between the festool owners and the trend owners just some straight feed back. If i buy on cost am i going to regret it later, should i be saving up or just jumping in with the trend because of the cost.
cheers tbone.

 

[rdesign]

build one get a good router doesn't have to be festal! sheet of mdc laminated with a fence what more do u want

 

[Grahamshed]

If you intend to use this only in your workshop then I think Rdesign is right. making your own is easier and more custom designed to your needs.

 

[Drudgeon]

I have to agree with the others, I actually own a festool CMS router table and it's a great bit of kit, prior to that I had a home made one that I's made a few years previous, it was great but the top bowed and I needed a new one, didn't really have time to make one so I opted to go for broke and get the festool.

It is a great bit of kit and I love it, but to be fair, there is nothing particularly "amazing" about it that you probably wouldn't get on any other good quality table, I only use mine as a router table, so the advantage of the different tops for different tools doesn't really apply to me.

Dust extraction is pretty good, the fence is good, table top is rather small though, I have the extension tables which helps.

I am a full time joiner, and am always pretty busy working, and when I'm not working I have a million and one jobs that need doing around the house, which is why I tend to buy rather than build my own, this applies to most things for the workshop that can be bought or made. but, having seen many home made hobbies on here and in the press, there's no doubt that a 'Norm' replica would be head and shoulders above pretty much any mass produced table, if you have the time to dedicate to it.

But in answer to your original question, the fes is great, it doesn't really have any down sides that I can think of, my point is that I'm not sure you are getting anything extra for your money over a trend or similar table, but not having owned them I cannot say for sure.

Hope that helps.

 

[tbone]

Thanks for the feed back so far.
I am also a working joiner with not much time on my hands. i am self employed and my work changes from week to
week, i would not need it cutting a roof out but would use it on a shop fit. I need it to fold up and alloy for the weight. It will live in the pallet racking in the unit and transported to site in the VW T5 so size and weight are important, the other thing is i am managing with a makita 9 1/4 snorter so a light saw bench would be good. I have a big chop saw but thats no good for ripping. if i got the trend i would get an old elue flip to get me by. I have even looked at the triton work station but thought i would be copping out if i got that ?.

 

[Drudgeon]

Ah ok, then in that case I think the fes is probably a lot better suited to you, it's heavy enough to be sturdy but light enough that you can carry it around anywhere on your own, the legs fold down in seconds (as you probably know) but to be honest, when transporting it's better with the legs left extended and stuff stacked below, fences and guards are good and HSE friendly so if you're on a site where they are ultra keen, or you get a nice site visit, everything should be to their liking, it is a lot of money, and I don't think I would spend it again for something that is ONLY for the workshop, but for something that needs to be transferred around then I think it would be money well spent. I think they do an insert for the TS55 that drops into the CMS too, that would solve your table saw dilemma too?