Festool Opinions

[Jay Knoll]

Hi everyone,

I've been looking at the "package deals" Festool offers and am hesitating since I"ve never held one of their products in my hands. Are they really as great as everybody says? What are equivalent brands?

I've been intrigued by their "system" but wonder if it is a bit like buying a foreign car, parts are hard to find and they are expensive. (Years ago I owned a Saab that I loved to drive, but everytime it went to the shop it was big bucks, don't want to make that mistake again).

The garage is the shop and that won't change, no room for expansion and it is also the only storage area in the house (no basements in Florida). Yes, I have major shop envy when I see some of the wonderful spaces you have created to work in!

So if you had a 40 year old power saw, a 30 year old sabre saw, a Makita palm sander with the small bag and a Bosch hand held router, would you consider putting them on EBay and buying the Festool equivalents with one of their dust collectors? If not, what other way would you go?

Is the Systainer as great a system as it appears or is it a PITA? I've got limited space for storage, I was planning on building a bunch of "cubies" to get things organized, but the systainer things seem to solve that problem.

If I can swing the bucks for a "big buy" there are some significant savings compared to buying one tool at a time. I've been chatting with Bob M, who has been very helpful, but would welcome thoughts from others who aren't directly associated with the company.


Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience.

Jay

[Tyler Howell]

Jay,
As another guy with tool envy I'm not an owner yet, but gonna be. I have held, played and drooled over the toyls and couldn't believe my senses.:eek:

The tools fit comfortably in my hand and didn't make them go numb from vibration.
My sinuses didn't slam shut from wood dust.
My ears didn't bleed from the assault. (There wasn't PPE on sight for individuals)
The work area was clear from debris so I could see the cut.
Didn't have to spend a month in the gym bulking up before using it.
My take is it was made for the no nonsense jobber that, moves his tools in, works on sight, can't make a mess, can't disturb the customer in the next room, demands reliability, and moves to the next project.
Real top drawer for the hobbyist that wants the best.


(How am I doing Bob??? Send royalty too....):p

I won't be stocking up on Sustainers because I like most of my tools close at hand, shelves, & drawers .
Like anything kick the tires and take it for a test drive. Woodcraft carries Festool and every WW show I've been to has had a booth. (Then Call Bob)
A very happy Soon to be a customer!;)

[Jim Becker]

My opinion...buy them. Best hand-held tools I've ever put in my hands and Uncle Bob is likely to get a lot more of my tool budget this year. I'll also be leveraging the combo prices to best advantage.

Systainers are about the only tool cases that I'd probably actually use after the tool was aquired...like Tyler, I'm not inclined to keep my tools in cases. Too inconvenient for the way I usually work. But these things are nice and they stack up.

[JayStPeter]

Hi everyone,


I've been intrigued by their "system" but wonder if it is a bit like buying a foreign car, parts are hard to find and they are expensive. (Years ago I owned a Saab that I loved to drive, but everytime it went to the shop it was big bucks, don't want to make that mistake again).

Jay

So far, I only have the ATF and some accessories. It seems well enough put together that I won't have to worry about it being out of commision as much as the Volvo I used to have :D . And, just think, the ATF is cheaper than one fuel pump relay :eek: .

Frankly, I don't think most power tool mfrs. have repair service I'd consider inexpensive. But, I guess when spending 3-4x on purchase price, I don't consider Festool disposable either. Interesting question, but I suspect nobody here in the US has had one long enough to have a problem with it.

I do use the systainer in this case, but probably won't when I get sanders and such. Like you, I plan to build some handheld power tool storage, then all my cases will go away. I'm not sold on the systainer concept. I guess it would be good if I did anything on-site. But, I tend to use my tools here at home. I do use it to transport my ATF from the basement shop to the garage to "presize" panels before hauling them down. If the rails folded down to fit in, I'd be sold ;) .

My feeling on Festool, after seeing them at shows and owning one, is that you get what you pay for. I plan on paying for at least a couple more soon.

Jay

[Steve Jenkins]

If you want to cut panel stock the saw and rail system is the only way to go. As near perfect a cut as you can get.With the vac it's not totaly dust free but better by far than a normal circular saw. My only complaint with any of their tools is with the jigsaw. It is difficult to see the blade and follow a line. If you remove the front plastic cover the dust collection doesn't work nearly as well. Other than that I don't think you can go wrong with their tools. When sanding I can't see any dust escaping, it all gets sucked up. Steve

[Christian Aufreiter]

Hi Jay,

I have a couple of Festool's (ROS, vac, plunge saw, jig saw, router, my dad has the cool CDD cordless drill) and like them a lot.
I'm sure that you would be satisfied with them but it's always nice if you can try a tool before you buy it. Maybe you can check them out at a show.
You asked for equivalent brands. Well, I think Mafell, Fein, Lamello, Hilti, Duss, Scheer (routers) offer comparable quality. There might be more companies but I'm not aware of any. As you probably know, Fein concentrates on tools for metal branches, Hilti and Duss focus on rotary hammer drills, Scheer produces only routers (apart from large stationary equipment) and Lamello (biscuit joiners and a few other specialized tools). Mafell has some nice tools for fine woodworking (plunge saws, dowel tool, etc) but also offers many carpentry tools.
Basically, I think that you'll have difficulties finding a company which offers the same range of products at the same stage of quality as Festool. At least you won't find a company which offers a integrated tool system.

I like my Systainers because they make it easy to keep everything organized. I'm even contemplating some additional Systainers for non-Festool power tools (for example, hammer drill). In Europe more and more companies offer Systainers today (Mafell, Lamello, Metabo, Makita, Protool, ...).

You could still keep your old power tools. You might find cases where it's useful to have a second tool and I wouldn't like to use my Festool circular saw for rough jobs. Don't get my wrong, the Festool saw can certainly handle rough job's but IMO it's primarily designed as a high end saw in the cabinet shop.

I'd recommend to ask Bob about spare parts and costs for repairs. I wouldn't worry too much about that because the Festool quality is really excellent, Festool offers a 3 year warranty and after I read a couple of posts about the Festool service I can't imagine that this is an issue.

Have you checked out Bob Marino's new website?
http://festool.safeshopper.com/
The "Festool at work" section might be interesting for you.

Regards,

Christian

[Mark Valsi]

I don't think you will find one owner who is sorry he got Festool.

I love mine !!

[Jack Young]

Jay-

It is hard to believe, but Festool stuff is amazing. I live fairly close to a Woodcraft store and have had the chance to try the tools and examine them. My table saw is not the best, so I don't use it often for fine work, anyway, and I just received, yesterday, a Laguna band saw. I have the growing impression almost daily that the Festool system and bandsaw will relegate the TS use to a minimum and produce better results, to boot. I bought the large portable table, mid-size vac, two sanders, circular saw and jigsaw, but not the router (yet, anyway). I had high expectations of each, and the performance has exceeded them in every case thus far.

The system was designed, I'm told, for cabinetmakers to do a whole job on-site, reducing the need for transport back and forth to and from a homebase shop. That sort of work is what I am beginning to do, which is a little different from hobby work, to be sure. However, I find that, within my own workspace, the boxes stack and keep all the appropriate accessories in one place, so it's a help to me either way and I need all the help I can get.

The comments by the pros above are all borne out by my own experience. As a whole, the system functions as an inverted panel saw, table saw, jigsaw and router table combined, but is sooooo portable and flexible. The 48 tooth blade for the CS produces a polished and true joint surface like you've seldom seen before.

The guys at Woodcraft are amazed at the relatively low cost of expendibles, such as sandpaper, blades, etc., across the board. Excellent quality sandpaper cut for the various sanders, velcro-ed and all, is less than comparable sized stuff for PC, Mikita, etc, even at the borg. And the three-year warranty is rather exceptional. I think the current policy is to give a 10% discount for purchase of three tools, and 15% for five, in a single order. I guess that would apply to accessories as well if they were in the same order, but you might check that.

There is a very good demo-type download from the Festool website, if you haven't seen it already. And there are a few earlier posts here worth examining. They are generally so full of praise that one might wonder if there is an agenda. I think not. The equipment is really that sweet.

Good luck. And brood. Brooding is how we all make our best decisions.

Jack

[Dennis Peacock]

Allow me to jump in here.

Noise level from PC tools to Festool - reduced by at least 50%
Vibration from various sanders to Festool - reduced to almost eliminated
Dust collection on various toosl (minimal or none) to Festool - great dust collection
Cost from various tools to Festool - 3x to 4x the normal cost or more

Are they worth the cost you pay? :confused:

<b>Yes!</b> Your lungs will appreciate it, your sinuses will appreciate it and you fingers, hands and arms will appreciate the greatly reduced hazards to your ww'ing environment.

Is Festool tools perfect? No....but they sure come close. :)

NAJASC - (No Affiliation, Just A Satisfied Customer)

[Dan Mages]

BE CAREFUL!!! I asked for about jig saws, and I ended up with my arm in cast for 3 weeks for all of the arm twisting the Festool Junkies did to get me into a Festool Jigsaw. I am in and out of sling right now, but I have had the opportunity to give it a test run. It is a very fine tool!! You should talk to Bob about your options.

Dan

[John Miliunas]

Jay, I've got 3 of their sanders, the jigsaw and cordless drill. I had, what I considered to be a pretty decent sander (Bosch), an OK jigsaw and a couple or three cordless drills. Then, Mr. Peacock came online, just-a-braggin about this Festool ROS sander he got. Didn't have enough good to say about it. Well, that's what started it all. :) I haven't looked back since! :D Fact is, and I've said this before, if there's any power tool I'm in need of and Festool carries it, they're the ones getting my business. They're *always* the first ones I reach for and have never let me down. Nor has Bob, either! What a SUPER combination! Jay, just do it. You won't be disappointed! :cool:

[Ian Barley]

I have just acquired my first festool - the 6" ROS with the 5 mm stroke. It is a great tool. Well balanced and low in vibration doing the job just a treat.

The amazing thing is that Festool pattern abrasives are cheaper to buy than the more standard stuff. I have no experience of parts or repair cost but am impressed that a company that has proprietory consumables chooses to sell them at less than generics.

I will be buying more and currently have my eye on the linear sander. Anybody got any views on that one?

[Jay Knoll]

Thanks for all the advice! I'm hitting the road tomorrow for an extended trip, including a two week class at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine. So, I'll be looking for some Woodcraft stores along the way. Who knows, if I can make a final decision, with some careful scheduling, I can call Bob as I'm driving back to FL and have the tools arrive the day after I get home!

Jay

[Martin Shupe]

Jay,

When you get back, we want to hear all about the class you took!!

Thanks,