Festool

[Joe Von Kaenel]

Hello,

Let me begin with: I'm not trying to compare one tool to another, and don't want to offend anyone. I am just curious. Why are Festool tools so expensive and are they that much better? Thanks

Joe

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

This is a very long and old story. Festool is not expensive if you want to buy it and very expensive if you compare to other tools. A lot of people agreed that Festool is better quality ( me including). But you can live without it and be very good WW. I would say you can be the best without a single Festool.
You can use Festool forum to look for a specific questions - festoolownersgroup.com

[Michael Peet]

I was this close to picking up a TS55 the other day. The box was in my hands. It would have replaced an 8-year old Craftsman circular saw that sucks. It would also have been my first Festool.

However, my mind just kept coming back to the "slippery slope" thing, and wondering why a hose costs $100. I'll pay a premium for a quality tool every day of the week. It's the outrageous cost of the accessories that turns me off.

I don't know, I still may end up with a collection of green and black tools, but I'm not gonna like it :rolleyes:

[Robert Parrish]

You know what they say - buy cheap - buy twice!

[ron hokenson]

Joe, The reason I got started with festools is because of the dust control available for many of the tools. I just recently began purchasing their tools and find myself buying more tools as I am really happy with the quality of the tools and how they function. I also have limited space and find that storing the tools in the systainers that are included with each tool makes it easy to stay somwhat organized. The accessories do seem expensive but I buy a few at a time as needed. I will buy more festools in the future.

...ron




Hello,

Let me begin with: I'm not trying to compare one tool to another, and don't want to offend anyone. I am just curious. Why are Festool tools so expensive and are they that much better? Thanks

Joe

[Erik Frederiksen]

I have a friend who's a yoga teacher and really hates construction, but has been building his own studio for the past year. He borrowed my ts55 and vacuum last month and his reaction was like a kid at Disneyland. He was that enthusiastic. And he hates construction.

Many of their tools are worth the price to me and some are not (for a jigsaw I'd prefer a cheaper Bosch.)

I really like the Rotex sander, I actually enjoy sanding with it hooked up to a vacuum, and I used to hate sanding. The track saws are a real eye opener.

Festools have significantly increased the quality of the work I do and at the same time made the work much more enjoyable. That's worth more to me than what they're getting for their tools (hope they don't read this).

[guy knight]

started with a domino due to splitting on face frames in jatoba then bought the 125 sander for the dust control then there inline sander so i could make custom profiles for easier sanding of crown moulding then there detail sander and just got there 150-3 sander love them all

[Andrew Joiner]

I really like the Rotex sander, I actually enjoy sanding with it hooked up to a vacuum, and I used to hate sanding.


This is the best statement I've heard . It might make a Festool worth 3 times the price of other tools. It may even get me to try a Festool.

[Larry Edgerton]

You know what they say - buy cheap - buy twice!

Or get conned into paying too much once, and then spend the rest of your life trying to justify......

[Robert Parrish]

I have 3 Festool sanders and I almost enjoy sanding as there is zero dust. If I use one of my Porter Cable sanders my shop gets filled with dust even with an air filtration system. I also have the Domino system which is great.

[chris dub]

This topic is always very interesting. I'm always curios about why this is always directed toward Festool and Sawstop. But I think the argument exisits across all tools and makers. Why is Forrest 2X more than Freud industrials? Are they really 2X better. Same with Hitachi compared to Bosch. Is DeWalt really 2X better than Ryobi or is it really more like 30% better? Why is Powematic 2X more than Grizzly?

With Festool you know you are getting a quality product with some unique engineering built into it. And for that peace of mind people will pay more. The also address most if not all of the biggest needs that WW’s have: Reliability, accuracy, service, unique features, dust collection and portability.

I know I have personally gone through the evolution of buying just for utility to actually buying for specific features. Now I will pay extra for quiet tools and dust collection.

Now I don't own a single Festool product. Not because I don't like them, but because they don't but their stuff on sale! And I will almost always look for the next best alternative on sale for any purchase. But that’s me. I wanted a TS55 but decided to get the DeWalt TrackSaw when uncle Bill was giving away 30% back in November. But up until October there wasn’t that choice.

[Jim Becker]

Each of us has the ability to make choices based on our own needs, desires and budget. I was skeptical early on around Festool, but after being able to actually use the tools for a weekend compliments of Uncle Bob (Marino), I saw a lot of value over the long term. For sanding, I can now spend a great deal of un-interrupted time without getting numb hands and wrists and will nearly zero dust residue. A lot of routing tasks are now nearly dust free. And I have no qualms about using the system in my home, in active living spaces, since there is little or no dust left behind...important for me since I not only do woodworking in my shop, but also do a lot of my own home improvement tasks. The drill/driver is the most used tool behind the 150/3 sander. I use that drill/driver a lot...it's comfortable in my hand, has a lot of power and the versatility of the multiple chuck/connection system is wonderful.

For me, that brings a lot of value for the initial cost, but I respect the fact that it might not be for everyone or even the majority.

All is not perfect, either. The jigsaw, while being a superior cutting tool, has some "visiblity issues". And Festool still cannot provide "native" square drive/Robertson bits in the Centrotec format. I have to make those myself by machining changes to existing non-Festool tooling.

[Per Swenson]

Or get conned into paying too much once, and then spend the rest of your life trying to justify......

No, Not quite.
Some of the folks know me here personally, for those who don't,
I am a poor streetwise finish carpenter who majored in thrifty.

My Festool stable started with a sander and a CT dust extractor.
It was a revelation after 25 years in the business and guess what?
I had been bad mouthing Festool back when they called themselves Festo.
Sitting down at Clancys, sippin and sneering about yuppie contractors who probably pulled up to the job in BMW pick ups. Bragging about freehand straight line rips with my PC. I was ofted quoted as saying, If you have any skill or experience at all....you need none of that crap.
Lets say my comeuppance and self awareness started with that sander.
Here is why. I am all about money. The Festool SYSTEM increases profit.
Number one is dust collection. Time saved in clean up and the reputation garnered from a clean job site. Set up and take down. Nice organizable systainers, everything has its place. Time is money, a 8 hour day, at least 1 hour is consumed by clean up and stowaway with other methods.
When you can knock that down to 20 minutes or less..that is 2 1/2 more hours of paying work accomplished in a week.
You may think you are a professional and may actually do pro quality work.
But do you look like one?
Set up a MFT3 and ts 55 on a job site, the clients will be discussing it at dinner and telling their neighbors. Nothing sells better then a professional
reputation. Y'all notice I haven't discussed the quality of the tools?
That's because there is no debate.
Now the question is price. More specifically the price for the hobbyist.
Jeez, I know hobbyist's with sliding table saws and Minimax shapers.
I also know 65 year old men with Corvettes. So price is between
you, your wallet and your Spouse.
My tools paid for themselves.

Per

[Chris Padilla]

Dust collection got me started on Festool: no one can really touch them although that is becoming a little less true now but 4-5 years ago, it was an absolute.

Everyone who hates sanding loves it after using a Festool sander and vacuum. I'm dead serious...you sand and you'll feel like nothing is getting down although you'll be darned if the surface isn't getting smoother! Where's the sawdust??!! Cool beans.

[Greg Mann]

While I agree wholeheartedly with everything Per had to say (usually do) I want to add something about the "twice as much" observation. We always seem to get hung up on the notion that "twice as much" must equate with "twice as good."

How often have you seen folks with little sign offs like, "In search of the perfect miter" or something similar? When one is looking for any little edge that helps them be a better craftsman or do better work faster it is often worth a lot more just to get a little better. That is where the value of Festool can make a difference. It may be too subtle for some to appreciate but it can also be very obvious to others. To each his own.

[Wilbur Pan]

Short answer to the Festool question: no other equivalent tool does better with dust collection. For me, that is the added value that Festool brings.

Long answer:

Suppose you have two bookcases, one made of solid cherry, with a dovetailed carcass and made with hand tools, and the other made with ripped pieces of plywood and cinder blocks. Why is one worth more than the other? They both will hold books just fine.

Now, as woodworkers, the answer to that question is obvious, unless you happen to own a woodworking business making plywood and cinder block bookcases. ;) So why is there so much bickering about tools?

[george wilson]

I have no Festools.I noticed that their sliding compound miter saw seems to have the most rigid sliding motion of any I've tried. No slop or variation out of true. I have several Fein tools,and Boschs. I wonder why they quit offering that Fein half sheet sander that does 21,000 orbits per minute. That sander was very expensive,but VERY smooth,and sanded like a belt sander. Great time saver. I did have to machine out a special dust collector attachment for it, Came with a real cheap looking bag.I hook it directly to my Fein vacuum.No lost dust.

[Jason White]

Depends on the tool.

I replaced my most-used sanders with Festool and have never regretted doing so.

The plunge cut saw (tracksaw) is also terrific, but could I get by without it? Absolutely!

Jason



Hello,

Let me begin with: I'm not trying to compare one tool to another, and don't want to offend anyone. I am just curious. Why are Festool tools so expensive and are they that much better? Thanks

Joe

[Brad Wood]

Short answer to the Festool question: no other equivalent tool does better with dust collection. For me, that is the added value that Festool brings.

Long answer:

Suppose you have two bookcases, one made of solid cherry, with a dovetailed carcass and made with hand tools, and the other made with ripped pieces of plywood and cinder blocks. Why is one worth more than the other? They both will hold books just fine.

Now, as woodworkers, the answer to that question is obvious, unless you happen to own a woodworking business making plywood and cinder block bookcases. ;) So why is there so much bickering about tools?

great analogy

I don't own any Festool and frankly never heard of them until I started getting into woodworking two years ago. First thing I noticed was the pricetag and haven't been able to get past that.
As an amatuer hobbiest, I can't justify buying top of the line. I try to find something that is considered a decent tool and at a reasonable price.
I could see myself taking the plunge if my hobby became more serious and I was spending more time out there creating dust.

[Jim Kountz]

Or get conned into paying too much once, and then spend the rest of your life trying to justify......

Heh heh heh, Excellent.