Festool Multi Tool Upgrade - Questions!!!

[Mike Wills]

I am seriously thinking of upgrading some components of the shop and am curious on some of the Festool products.

Are the Festool Sanders that much better than their rivals that cost a third?

Festool Domino - I know it speeds up the building process but is it going to be like dowels that come loose 5 years down the road after the glue had deteriorated??

Festool Dust Extractor - Does this replace the dust collector or does it merely enhance? Can they be hooked up to a table saw or is that just too much for them??

Thanks,
Mike

[Mike Hollingsworth]

Buy a Rotex. You have thirty days to return it, no questions asked. You won't.
(What's in YOUR wallet?)

[Tom Cornish]

Can't comment on the sanders - don't have any yet.

If you are having glue problems with dowels after 5 years, you're either using the wrong glue, the wrong wood, or something else. Dominos should be a long-life mortise and tenon type joint.

The dust extractors are designed to be attached directly to many small to medium-size power tools, including their Kapex miter saw, and they work great in those applications. Certain folks have said that it can function on a heavier duty tool like a table saw, but that's a very marginal application. I know it wouldn't even make a dent in the dust on my table saw. For a drum sander or planer you'd have no chance - you need a "real" dust collector.

[Mike Ashton]

When I was first introduced to Festool while meandering through a Woodcraft, I was completely put off and had zero interest. The guy basically made it sound like all of my tools were garbage and these were the only thing that worked. A couple years later while at Eagle tool I was shown how they work and they let me try them out. I was hooked, but my wallet wasn't so sure. Fast forward to today, and I have a T55 track saw, the Domino, barrel grip jigsaw, CT22 vac, ets125 sander, 150 sander, and a 700 router kit.

I'm pretty new to this hobby and don't think I would have attempted chairs prior to owning a Domino. Last month I completed the Dining room table with 6 chairs that I am extremely happy with and are very solid.

The sanders biggest perks are the freakish dust collection and the lack of vibration. No longer to I walk away from sanding still feeling my hands vibrate.

I can go on and on about the jigsaw, track saw, and router. So far I haven't been disappointed or even thought about taking anything back. I don't think I would bother trying to use the small vac on my table saw, not even close to the CFM my 2hp grizzly moves. I don't think it would be close to keeping up.

[Joe Cowan]

I am starting to change over. I have the Kapex, Ct33 and the MFK700. On the vac, I bought the boom arm and then added the Oneida dust gorilla and dust bin to the vac. Wonderful set up and money well spent.

[Brice Burrell]

I agree with Tom's comments on the extractors. No question that you'd be much happier with a real dust collection system for stationary tools. On the other hand, dust collectors don't work well with hand held power tools so you'd really want both.

I'd say yes, their sanders are much better than almost any other brand out there. You should get to a dealer that has a nice display so you can try them out. Most people love the Rotex sanders, they have both a rotary and random orbit mode making it a very versatile sander.

I made a cabinet with my Domino when if was first released here in the States. It's seen a fair amount of use and the joints are still as tight as the day I assembled it, that was back in the spring of 08.

As Mike said, you've got 30 days to try Festool tools out. This no question asked return policy is no gimmick, if you aren't happy, take it back. I'll tell you now, very few tools are ever returned, so be prepared to be very happy with your new tools. Also, Festool has first rate service if you ever have a problem with one of their tools. Good luck.

[Brice Burrell]

I am starting to change over. I have the Kapex, Ct33 and the MFK700. On the vac, I bought the boom arm and then added the Oneida dust gorilla and dust bin to the vac. Wonderful set up and money well spent.

The boom arm was some the best money I've ever spent.

[Callan Campbell]

I own lots of Festool Products, including the Domino. So I'm biased to just about any Festool machine or tool. However, your glue or dowel joint failures need to be studied to see what's happening. Going to a Domino or even a biscuit jointer could mean the same type of issue if there's something not right with the glue-up or process.
I love all the sanders I own, each goes right to work for its given speciality or niche. I've given up on "living" with a sander any more, either I really like it, or it goes away since I don't really like sanding!.:p
For a single, all-round sander, I still really like my 6"/150mm RAS from Festool with the larger/coarser 5mm pattern. Not as aggressive as a Rotex but will remove more material and still leave a nice finished/sanded surface than many other RASs that I've used with their smaller/finer 3/16" to 3mm orbit pattern.
If you buy a decent sander that works well with any high end vacuum unit, you'll be impressed and get better results since you're leaving less sanding grit on the work surface to make scratches from mixed grits while working. This alone for many people is an eye opener, no matter whose sander they're using.:D:D:D The prospect of less dust flying around a job site or shop is also really nice.
On the issue of the dust extractors/vacuums, I've upgraded my CT-22 to use the Oneida Cyclone unit that sits on top of the Festool vacuum. The largest machine that I use with it is my 8" drum type floor sander. It easily keeps up with that, and leaves me with almost no dust on the outside of my N95 type dust mask when I'm running any grit on the floor.:cool:
Way better than just the bag that floor sanders come with.:rolleyes:
Totally agree with Tom's comments that Festool vacs are best suited for small to medium machines,even with the larger 36mm or 50mm Festool hoses being used over the stock 27mm hose for larger particles or chips.
Can't beat real Dust Collectors for many woodworking machines, so my 2 stage Festool Vac set-up keeps from filling up the bag inside the Festool vac for all the small tool sanding tasks that I use it for. In its stock form, it still was better than anything I had previously with regards to a single sander hooked up to a vacuum, but 2 stage dust collection is better, now that I have my 'tiny' cyclone to compare each method.
It doesn't take the place of my single stage Delta DC, just allows me to work with much less dust/dirt no matter where I am in the house or other places outside my home.
Now I want to replace the Delta with a 3 or 5 HP cyclone and run better duct work in the shop. Sigh, it never ends...:p:p:p

[Don Bullock]

Since I replaced my faulty Bosch sander with a Festool, I haven't regretted the expenditure. Because the sander was so good I bought another sander with a dust extractor as a package deal.

The combination of sander and dust extractor is excellent and well worth the price. I save a lot of time because there is no clean up after a session with the sander. Yes, the dust extractor collects the vast majority of the sanding dust. I would suggest adding a small cyclone (i.e. Oneida) to the dust extractor to save on bags. I still have a portable DC system that I use for my larger machines. The Festool dust extractor doesn't replace it. I also have a shopvac with an Oneida cyclone attached for tools like my miter saw that I also use for general shop clean up duty.

I'm sure that the Domino is a great tool. When they first appeared the WWing forums were inundated with posts about them extolling their virtues as the machine that would change woodworking forever. I find it very interesting that I rarely see a post mentioning them on any of the forums. Sure I'd like one, but I don't have that much in my budges and I seem to be able to make things without one. Perhaps one day I'll have the funds available to add one to my shop. I can see their usefulness.

[Greg Portland]

Are the Festool Sanders that much better than their rivals that cost a third?Sanders are a combination of abrasive quality, ergonomics, and finish quality. IMO, Festool rates "excellent" in all 3 areas. However, you can get similar results with pro air sanders. When comparing Festool to a Bosch, PC, or Dewalt, the ergonomics are definitely better. I replaced a 5" Bosch (very highly regarded sander) with a ETS150/3. Previously I was only able to sand a few hours at a time. With the Festool, I can sand all day without and hand or arm pain. The /3 version produces much smaller swirl patterns so you get a finer finish for a given grit. The Rotex sanders are OK if you want a jack of all trades (beltsander + finish sander) but I would strongly recommend the ETS150/3 for finish sanding due to the smaller oscillations, better balance, and lower weight.


Festool Domino - I know it speeds up the building process but is it going to be like dowels that come loose 5 years down the road after the glue had deteriorated??I use this tool for all of my non-exposed joinery (except quick-pocket hole shop jigs). Domino's have larger surface area versus dowels so glue deterioration should be less of an issue. For me the cost was high but the usability was also high. If you do not need to portable nature of the tool then you might want to investigate used horizontal boring machines.


Festool Dust Extractor - Does this replace the dust collector or does it merely enhance? Can they be hooked up to a table saw or is that just too much for them??It is a shop vac and would not be 100% effective with larger tools. Fein is another excellent shop vac but you will need to do some hacks to do variable-suction (required for Festool sanders). Festool vacs also have the excellent boom arm accessory.

[Will Blick]

Sanders are the best.... are they worth the extra $? Prob. not, you can hand sand and get equally good results....not all tasks can be accomplished so easily though.... a lot comes down to how often, and how long you use the tools - which can justify buying the BEST tools...

Domino... if you already have a nice Biscuit set up and a DowelMax, the Domino is certainly not mandatory. You got all bases covered.... however, if you do not have any joinery systems, the Domino makes perfect sense and the high price is not an issue, as you did not spend money on alternative products yet. IMO, dominoes offer the convenience of biscuits with the strength of dowels, or sometimes even M&T. A brilliant concept, the single best all encompassing joinery system.

Dust collection.... agreed with above poster.... works awesome with their portable power tools.... but much inferior to a cyclone for stationary tools..

One of the reasons I keep moving towards more Festools is the dust collection is built into the tools.... I am constantly trying to reduce my exposure to dust...and no portable tool maker takes this more seriously than Festool....