I want to drink the green koolaid

[Stephen Cherry]

Is there any way to fight off this urge?

[Dale Coons]

yeah--send all your money to me....

[Mike Henderson]

The Domino is a unique tool. But you'll find that most of the other tools are duplicated by other manufacturers. You may decide that a DeWalt (for example) tool does everything you need the tool to do at a significantly lower cost.

The main advantage, in my mind, to Festool, is the dust collection. If you take your tools to a customer's location that dust collection can be very valuable - it can save you a lot of time in set up and clean up. But for shop work, you may decide that the initial cost of another tool is significant savings.

Summing up, make sure you're buying for a good reason, whichever way you go.

Mike

[David Weaver]

Is there any way to fight off this urge?

buy a little of it. Tell yourself you can always get 80% of your price back. Once you have it, some of it will make you think "was that $200-$300 finish sander really better than the one that it replaced at $70?"

I've had some of those thoughts. I don't own much of the green stuff, just a couple of indulgences, but they do seem to me (as a hand tooler) to be just that. I couldn't point to anything I've made with them and say that it's better than it would've been with made in china tools like hitachi or MIM tools like dewalt, etc.

You know, the best way to get rid of an itch is to scratch it....

[Stephen Cherry]

The Domino is a unique tool.

That's what I've been thinking about for a while, and the dinero is actually in place,

[Mike Henderson]

That's what I've been thinking about for a while, and the dinero is actually in place,
I have a Domino and can highly recommend it.

I bought one of the Festool drills and found that my DeWalt worked just as well for my usage. I sold the Festool.

Mike

[Ryan Mooney]

The main advantage, in my mind, to Festool, is the dust collection.

If you drink the koolaid and buy multiple pieces some of the integration can be nice. For instance I have a TS75 and an OF1400eq and the fact that they share rails (and the OF1400 on rails works really well for somethings like shelf pin holes with the indexing rails is sweeeeet .. if you're doing a bunch of shelved cabinets). There are some other "works well together" features I'm still figuring out (and many I probably never will).

Some of the other bits I do question how much better they are... For instance I can't see myself ever buying a kapex. The ROS is nice enough alright, but better than a $70 one? dunno.. it did come in that nifty case though.

Whether all of that is worth the price delta its hard to say. I think if I was doing a lot of onsite work for customers being able to roll up with a nice tidy stack of tools and have decent dust collection would be worth a fair bit. Working in my own garage, its a harder sell.

[Michael Mahan]

I have a Domino and can highly recommend it.

I bought one of the Festool drills and found that my DeWalt worked just as well for my usage. I sold the Festool.

MikeMike ,
I got a Domino & a TS55REQ track saw both are great tools the costs were well worth what the tools will do .
, but for what the other Festool's offer vs the price , I'll pass . . . . .
my Delta Miter saw is very accurate has been for Years !
, I got 4 Dewalt screw/impact drivers for what one Festool driver costs ,
Dewalt big driver , small driver , impact driver, angle driver , battery packs that don't break the bank & will hold a charge just as long or longer
as for that MFT table , I'll make my own ,
routers ? my various models of Porter Cable's work just as well at a fraction of the cost .
I can't believe those plastic boxes cost over $70.oo :confused: , I've seen some guys who have a whole wall of them .
To each his own I guess :rolleyes:

[Ole Anderson]

Step away from the kool aid...

[Rich Riddle]

Sipping the koolaid is fine, don't gulp it. I have the larger track saw and one of the sanders. Both work great. Other tools don't interest me as much. Some folks really like the Domino and Kapex though.

[Brian Ashton]

Is there any way to fight off this urge?

I read a bit further on an it became clear this was about festools not a flash back to the 60s

[Rod Sheridan]

Is there any way to fight off this urge?

Why would you want to fight it off?

If you want to do it, go ahead, enjoy yourself.

The only green tool I own is a CT26 vacuum, it's great, Festool gave me it as a free replacement for the Midi, which were all recalled in Canada.

I don't remember seeing a lot of posts from people who regretted buying Festool, so go ahead and enjoy your money, you worked for it and it doesn't do anything for you when you're dead.............Rod.

[Bob Kovacs]

I dank deep a few years ago- Kapex, MFT, track saw, jigsaw, Domino, vac, router and a few sanders. I've since sold the Domino (wasn't using it enough) MFT (wasn't impressed with it) and the Kapex (bought a Makita slider and a few other toys with the proceeds), but kept the rest. The tracksaw is great for the builtins I do (no need for a huge table saw and a 16' long area to break down sheets), and the dust collection saves having to clean up a mess. The router is very good, and again, avoids a mess. Their sanders are very smooth, which is a good thing when you're using them for a long period of time, and it's nice to be able to sand in a customer's house without dust.

The overall system is really geared toward onsite use where dust is a major factor, but was also useful when I was working in an attached garage that I shared with all of my wife's stuff. Yeah, their stuff is pricey, but if the benefits they offer fill a need for you, go for it.

[mike holden]

Is there any way to fight off this urge?

Never mind, misunderstood the term "green"

Mike

[Neal Clayton]

Is there any way to fight off this urge?

This (http://www.grainger.com/product/21TP01?gclid=COrIiKPx77sCFWRk7AodxVgAaQ&cm_mmc=PPC:GooglePLA-_-Machining-_-Finishing%2520Supplies-_-21TP01&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=21TP01&ef_id=Us3zvAAAATxrrGq0:20140109005628:s) and that (http://www.grainger.com/product/SHOP-VAC-Right-Stuff-R-Wet-Dry-Vacuum-WP114323/_/N-n71?s_pp=false) and this other thing (http://www.grainger.com/product/19L476?gclid=CKyXqbzy77sCFSho7AodIXMAow&cm_mmc=PPC:GooglePLA-_-Power%2520Tools-_-Finishing%2520Tools-_-19L476&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=19L476&ef_id=Us3zvAAAATxrrGq0:20140109010150:s).

Just saved you 500 bucks. Split it with me? ;)

[Sam Murdoch]

Big fan of the Domino and of the Track saw - though I understand that track saws are now made by others and likely not much of a compromise if you don't get the Festool version. Will say though that the Festool ETS 150/3 EQ Random Orbital Finish (http://www.festoolusa.com/power-tools/sanders/ets-150-3-eq-random-orbital-finish-sander-571903) is the best RO sander I have ever owned and used. I have owned a number of Boschs and have used some Makitas but they can't touch the ETS 150/3 as a finish sander. I have 100s of hours using some Dynabrade DAs pneumatic sanders which were excellent but in the electric sander department I still vote for the ETS 150/3. I suspect that the Mirka Ceros 6" ROs would make me a believer too and that if I were to go that route the Festool might get shelved - but the Cereos is even more money.

Would like to try the latest Festool Jigsaws - maybe someday - though for shop work my bandsaw has relegated my Bosch jigsaw to under the bench. Still there is some in the field work where the Bosch is less than I would like.

Anyway for what it's worth - some of the Green koolaid taste pretty good.

[Shawn Russell]

Take one of their classes then decide how far down the rabbit hole you want to journey.

I find Festool to be like Apple. People love it or hate, there are very few who are middle of the road. You pay more than other tools but I would not consider it a premium. Yes there are other tools that can accomplish the end goal but they are not the same. Do not buy the product because of an internet post, go use the product, try it out, and make up your own mind.

At the end of the day Festool is a system more than a tool. If your workflow meshes it is a great buy if you are only buying the drill/driver or a router you could spend less and end up at the same end point.

In the spirit of transparency I took a Festool class and realized how much I like the system, the company, the people, and the tools. I bought a vacuum, track saw, mid-size router, drill, and table. I looked at the larger router and thought I would never need or use that vs a PC 7518. I can see the value in a Kapex it is just not a value for me. The class changed my entire perception about Festool. Once I was able to use the majority of the tools in a real world situation I knew before the end of class if I was going to buy it. The one caveat is I am 100% sold on the trainers, support, product design, and business philosophy of Festool. I can not say enough good things about the training experience.

So... to help you fight the urge... do not take the class if you already have an inclination towards buying the tools. You will buy tools just to learn more tricks. You will buy more tools to have the tallest Systainer tower. You will buy more tools because they are new and then buy the newer version because it is newer. You will be guilted into buying more tools at the end of the year or before their is a price change so you can buy it while it is still a deal. You will buy more during the recondition sale because you are saving some percent and Festool never discounts. Then you will join FOG and buy more because you can not contain the monster within.. slowly you will dream about becoming a Festool and wanting to build a home that looks like a Systainer.... ok, step away from the green kool-aid.

[Lee Reep]

I bought a Festool track saw in November for breaking down sheet goods. The top and bottom splinterguards (on saw and guide rail) give beautiful, tear out-free cuts. I purchased 3rd party parallel guides too, and I built a plywood box that is the most accurate, precise fitting box I've ever built. Over the box went thin cherry-veneered MDF and cherry trim pieces, with a tile inset on the top. Everything fit like a glove. Sure, I still use my table saw, but this saw is incredible for breaking down sheet goods, and doing it with super clean cuts and amazing accuracy.

It has totally made me rethink how I do woodworking.

Next up on my list is a Domino.