Festool is actually having a sale

[blakeyon2asd]

Other applications besides woodworking? You mean like their drywall sanders??

http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tools/sanders/drywall-sanders/

No I was getting at would the festool line up last with a different group of users rather than just wood workers like who generally buys them. Like for example most construction workers are pretty tough on their tools so they only use the best and most durable tools. Most of the time the tools they use can transfer over to wood working like contractor style saws, impact drivers, miter saws and a bunch of other stuff. I'm just wondering how something like for example kapex miter saw would hold up to a group of guys who just use the heck out of the equipment. Most construction grade miter saws only have to be squared every few months because they are designed to be picked up and take the abuse, would the kapex be able to take that same abuse. I have no doubt at all of the usefulness of them in woodworking application we have a few festools in our shop. I just don't know if I'd be willing to take them out and do other stuff with them.

 

[Hmerkle]

No I was getting at would the festool line up last with a different group of users rather than just wood workers like who generally buys them. Like for example most construction workers are pretty tough on their tools so they only use the best and most durable tools. Most of the time the tools they use can transfer over to wood working like contractor style saws, impact drivers, miter saws and a bunch of other stuff. I'm just wondering how something like for example kapex miter saw would hold up to a group of guys who just use the heck out of the equipment. Most construction grade miter saws only have to be squared every few months because they are designed to be picked up and take the abuse, would the kapex be able to take that same abuse. I have no doubt at all of the usefulness of them in woodworking application we have a few festools in our shop. I just don't know if I'd be willing to take them out and do other stuff with them.

Blake - I think the tools would hold-up to the abuse - but the owner could not afford the temptation of theft. Festool has to be GOLD for thieves!

 

[kooshball]

I own the OF1400 festool router and can tell you that it is quieter, smoother running, has less runout and better dust collection than anything else I have used. The plunge settings are precise and repeatable. What more could I want?

 

[Phil S]

No I was getting at would the festool line up last with a different group of users rather than just wood workers like who generally buys them. Like for example most construction workers are pretty tough on their tools so they only use the best and most durable tools. Most of the time the tools they use can transfer over to wood working like contractor style saws, impact drivers, miter saws and a bunch of other stuff. I'm just wondering how something like for example kapex miter saw would hold up to a group of guys who just use the heck out of the equipment. Most construction grade miter saws only have to be squared every few months because they are designed to be picked up and take the abuse, would the kapex be able to take that same abuse. I have no doubt at all of the usefulness of them in woodworking application we have a few festools in our shop. I just don't know if I'd be willing to take them out and do other stuff with them.

My youngest son is a high-end carpenter building vacation palaces inn the mountains surrounding Tahoe. A few years back, his Dewalt slider bit him badly, of course it did not have a guard as it had quit operating properly months before. I bought him a Kapex and he loves it, says the guard retracts well and does not seem as just an add-on like other saws. He uses that saw in some rather extreme conditions and it is holding up well.

The crew also has a SawStop

 

[gfernandez]

My youngest son is a high-end carpenter building vacation palaces inn the mountains surrounding Tahoe. A few years back, his Dewalt slider bit him badly, of course it did not have a guard as it had quit operating properly months before. I bought him a Kapex and he loves it, says the guard retracts well and does not seem as just an add-on like other saws. He uses that saw in some rather extreme conditions and it is holding up well.

The crew also has a SawStop

A SawStop on-site? That is high end!

 

[blakeyon2asd]

Blake - I think the tools would hold-up to the abuse - but the owner could not afford the temptation of theft. Festool has to be GOLD for thieves!

I was wondering about that also, it seems a few people use them for construction I've never seen or heard on any contractor forums of anyone using them which is why I was wondering. I guess thats a good enough excuse for me to start looking around. I love the stuff we have. Maybe its just me but in my hand it doesn't' seem like it would take a bunch of abuse.lol

 

[zapdafish]

this got lost in the discussion

Are you planning on the DF500 or DF700?

 

[scsmith42]

I was wondering about that also, it seems a few people use them for construction I've never seen or heard on any contractor forums of anyone using them which is why I was wondering. I guess thats a good enough excuse for me to start looking around. I love the stuff we have. Maybe its just me but in my hand it doesn't' seem like it would take a bunch of abuse.lol

One of Festools key market segments are high end craftspeople that are mobile. Go to a job site in NYC or downtown Chicago and you will find a lot of cabinet and trim carpenters on site using Festool products.

The Kapex and Track Saws provide cabinet saw quality cuts on hardwood that you won't get with lower grade tools. The dust collection is state of the art.

Every time I use my Kapex to crosscut an oak board I am amazed at the cut quality and how smoothly the blade cuts through it. I don't know how they do it, but I do know that it is much better than my other saws.


Scott

 

[secondo]

I love the idea of Festool and would love to own some. I'll ride both sides agreeing with those who say that it is insanely expensive and that it is entirely possible to get the same results for cheaper, but also with those who say it is really well constructed and thought out and in that way is a bargain. Top of my wish list is the TS55, which a friend let me borrow once and which amazed me!


That said, I think this sale is a little funny because I'm pretty sure they just raised all their prices so while sales are rare and this is a sale relative to the new normal, my guess is that these products were cheaper a month or two ago. (Highland WW sent out an email telling me to buy Festool now before the prices went up not that long ago. I confess that I didn't notice if the Domino was one of the products going up in price, but I thought it was everything).

 

[drw]

Okay, I confess that I own several Festool products as well as a SawStop table saw. Yes, the cost was higher than other brands that I could have purchased, but I have never regretted the extra amount, because I got what I paid for in terms of quality, durability, and performance; and in the case of SawStop there is an additional safety factor. Am I crazy because I have purchased these products? I hope not. I prefer to think that I simply do not mind paying for value...and so far, value is what I have experienced.

 

[KenOfCary]

this got lost in the discussion

I don't need anything bigger than the basic 500. The XL is just too big. I don't need 6" long loose tenons.

I bought the kit with the alignment fixtures and also the accessory pack which includes a Systainer full of dominoes and the extra sizes of bits.

 

[KenOfCary]

I love the idea of Festool and would love to own some. I'll ride both sides agreeing with those who say that it is insanely expensive and that it is entirely possible to get the same results for cheaper, but also with those who say it is really well constructed and thought out and in that way is a bargain. Top of my wish list is the TS55, which a friend let me borrow once and which amazed me!


That said, I think this sale is a little funny because I'm pretty sure they just raised all their prices so while sales are rare and this is a sale relative to the new normal, my guess is that these products were cheaper a month or two ago. (Highland WW sent out an email telling me to buy Festool now before the prices went up not that long ago. I confess that I didn't notice if the Domino was one of the products going up in price, but I thought it was everything).

I'm not absolutely sure but I don't think the dominoes went up in price any last month. The sale could be a predecessor of a new model or just sales stimulus. Not sure. I just know I was looking seriously at them before the sale, and it clenched it for me.

The TS55 was the very first Festool I bought. It is still the only circular saw I use with one exception. I have a battery powered DeWalt that I use when mending fences. I don't like 500 foot extension cords or portable generators when out in the field. I could (and have) use a hand saw, but the battery powered is useful for trimming fence boards. Now that I have an MFT1080 the track saw is even more useful for trimming panels.

It's a system. The tracks work with the router as well.

 

[secondo]

I went back and checked. I'd set up a dream list of prices a few months ago and the "Domino 500 Set with the CT26" was $1435 then, it is $1487 now, and with the sale it is $1395, so I was wrong. Even compared to pre-price hike you got a better deal.

By the way, I agree that at least for me the 500 makes more sense than the bigger one since I only build stuff for me and I'll want small much more often than large. (This agrees with the rec. of Marc S., the Wood Whisperer who actually has had both - which makes him infinitely ahead of me since I just keep hoping someone will decide to give me one as a gift and I've never used one!)

 

[KenOfCary]

A lot of my decision process was influenced by Marc as well. In fact seeing how it was used in the Wood Whisperer Guild project that I'm currently building is the biggest reason I was looking at the purchase. He used it to solve some of the problems during glue-ups that I actually had during the first stages of the project. Had I had it 3 weeks ago it would have saved me countless amounts of time and compromises.

And saving me time and aggravation is why I buy tools.

 

[kooshball]

A lot of my decision process was influenced by Marc as well. In fact seeing how it was used in the Wood Whisperer Guild project that I'm currently building is the biggest reason I was looking at the purchase. He used it to solve some of the problems during glue-ups that I actually had during the first stages of the project. Had I had it 3 weeks ago it would have saved me countless amounts of time and compromises.

And saving me time and aggravation is why I buy tools.

That is all the justification you need. If it works better for you then it is better (for you) and worth the one-time cost premium.

 

[Scott Meek]

I got into Festool 8 years ago when I was a full time trim carpenter. I had 30 some doors that all needed 1" trimmed off the bottom. I cut one door with the old "clamp a straight edge after 30 minutes of figuring out where to actually do so, wrapping painters tape around the line to be cut, then cutting and still getting horrific tearout" method. I then drove 45 minutes to the Woodcraft, bought the TS55, got back to the job site, and had all the doors cut in an hour. It literally paid for itself in one day.

Also, just a bit of info on how well they are built: The largest router they sell, the OF2200, has three sets of high end bearings in it, at the top, the middle, and bottom. They control run out to an unparalleled degree. It makes that monster the smoothest running router I've ever used. I've actually seen a rep put a cup of coffee on top of the router, with the start locked on, then plug it in. The thing just purrs on, no spilt coffee. As I've heard it, those three bearings would cost someone as much as most Big Box routers out there. That OF2200 router will out last anything else being built. Also, consider this: most cheapo tool makers have even started replacing their metal bearings in their tools with plastic type bearings. Built-in obsolescence.

We think that Festool is expensive because we've become conditioned to cheap junk built cheaply. Festool is just making tools the way they used to be made, with quality, care, and longevity in mind.

Now, if you are buying a tool that will only be used a couple times a year, then, sure, save your pennies and go the inexpensive route. But as someone that has to rely on his tools daily, I am going to buy the best when I can.

FWIW, my Festools held up just fine being used in a cabinet shop, back and forth to a job site, and now in my current shop when I need them.

 

[Jeremy Scuteri]

A lot of my decision process was influenced by Marc as well. In fact seeing how it was used in the Wood Whisperer Guild project that I'm currently building is the biggest reason I was looking at the purchase. He used it to solve some of the problems during glue-ups that I actually had during the first stages of the project. Had I had it 3 weeks ago it would have saved me countless amounts of time and compromises.

And saving me time and aggravation is why I buy tools.

Ken,
What are you currently building? More importantly, why haven't we seen any work in progress pictures?

 

[scsmith42]

Style? Is that what motorcycling is?

To me motorcycling is about freedom and being at one with the environment. It doesn't matter if I'm on a Harley or a Honda, riding is great.

For some folks though (especially Rich Urban Bikers or RUB's), it's about image and Harley has made a fortune capitalizing on that.

 

[chris_goris]

Also, just a bit of info on how well they are built: The largest router they sell, the OF2200, has three sets of high end bearings in it, at the top, the middle, and bottom. They control run out to an unparalleled degree. It makes that monster the smoothest running router I've ever used. I've actually seen a rep put a cup of coffee on top of the router, with the start locked on, then plug it in. The thing just purrs on, no spilt coffee. As I've heard it, those three bearings would cost someone as much as most Big Box routers out there. That OF2200 router will out last anything else being built. Also, consider this: most cheapo tool makers have even started replacing their metal bearings in their tools with plastic type bearings. Built-in obsolescence.

Scott,
Your comment, "As I've heard it, those three bearings would cost someone as much as most Big Box routers out there" is truly laughable. If you are to compare the OF2200 to what is was trying to copy when when it was introduced, you would be looking at the PC 7500 series routers. These motors are used in countless CNC router applications globally. Why? because they run.... FOREVER. Sure, you may ocassionally have to replace brushes in them, but they just run, in some terrible conditions. No runout problems with "cheap " bearings. I would love to have the runout discussion with a festool rep sometime as most (especially sales people) dont even know what runout really is. If a router has any runout, it would be unsafe to operate, especially at the rotational speeds of router bits.

 

[Kicbak]

I'm going to add something to the conversation without trying to add any more flames to the fire.

There were some questions about durability. While I was living in Amsterdam I would see work trucks as I walked and biked around the city. I would say that 9/10 contractors had Festool vacs and sanders. I took a few pictures when I moved there and after a week I didn't bother anymore. Seeing a contractor with Festool here is like spotting the Easter Bunny but over there it was the standard gear. We (Americans) don't always do a decent job thinking outside our own bubble. Festool is a German company supplying tools to more than just the US. I would make a large bet that most of the company's income if from Europe and not here. European contractors looked like they invested more in long lasting tools then the average American. A lot of the stuff was beat up but many models older than the current catalog. It looked, to me, that they hold up very well.

Typically somebody will have a kitchen redone and the contractors will build the cabinets and fit everything on site. Most buildings are 100+ years old and all unique. I think this is the main reason the dust collection is such a big deal. Working for weeks onsite with somebody still living in the apartment happens all the time in Amsterdam. I didn't see anything in my travels to other European cities to make me think Amsterdam was unique.