New Tool Review - "Festool 32mm Hole Guide System"

When I first looked through the Festool catalog, I couldn't help but notice the 32mm hole guide. In fact, it turns out to be more than a guide. It, too, is a whole system.    I just came in from the shop after setting it up and using it for the first time, and it is great! If you have had to drill holes for shelf clips, you know how tedious it can be. I have used a number of drill and router jigs and, in my estimation, they were are a pain to use — literally.    This one is not. It is smooth.
	I am clamping in place a piece of white melamine flakeboard. This will be my "test" piece. Note that I am using the Festool Multifunction Table but any work surface will do. Fact is, once you get use to this table, you want to use it for lots of applications. I am using one of the Festool clamps that fits into the 3/4" hole to fix the board against the block at this end — it, too, is in a 3/4" hole. The board is not going anywhere.
This is the "action" end of the clamp. There is a bar that allows quick adjustment so that the clamp can be anywhere in the 3/4" hole range. My right hand is pressing the clamp pad to the workpiece, and my left hand is working the cam to close and put pressure on the workpiece.
	There are quite a few pieces to the "Hole Drilling Kit." They come so neatly packed and organized. I have learned that I need to shoot a picture of the kit when first opened. This allows me to get the pieces back where they belong when I am through with the task. The picture at the start of this page is the one I took for this Systainer.
The first step in setting it up is to adjust two pressure pads to minimize "play" of the router base plate on the guide. There are two guide rails available with holes spaced 32mm apart. This is the shorter one at 42" — which I think will handle all my needs and is easiest to maneuver.
	Next, I insert this centering guide in the collet of the router.
With the guide installed, I can place the router on the base plate and easily align the two. Two large knobs allow me to lock the router in position on the plate. There is no guess work here. The guide is precisely the right size.
	With the router locked in position, I remove the centering guide and install one of the two 5mm router bits that come with the set. There are two bits. One has a sharp point, and the other is shaped like a brad point drill bit. I am guessing that the latter is for veneered surfaces, wood and plywood and the pointed one is for man-made materials like the white melamine board that I am working on.
There are two of these adjustable guides. The fixed end fits over the channel of the guide. The adjustable end rides along an accurate vernier scale. I will set the guide to 37mm. That is the standard distance as prescribed by the 32 mm Euro System.
	This is a close up of the vernier. I have added the white line for illustration purposes. Fact is, the black piece has raised marks that you use to line up the zero point. It also allows for some offsets to be set in although I am not sure yet when that will be useful. [As I write this, I realize that it may be useful for using this setup with bits larger than 5mm — maybe? I will keep an open mind. So far there has been nothing designed into the Festool products that hasn't had a specific use.]