Am i crazy..

[Patrick Walsh]

Im about to put a deposit down on a Felder AD741 with silent cutter head, power feed and Euro comfort guard.

The other option was the Hammer A3-41 with silent cutter and digital/manual height gauge.

I also considered Minimax but i in the end i want the silent cutter.

So the question is am i nuts to spend 4K more to have the Felder machine over the Hammer?

[John A langley]

If you can afford it no

[Jim Andrew]

If this is a hobby shop, and you look at your machines as an investment the answer is yes. But, if you realize you are not going to get your money back on resale, and can afford it, it is ok to buy what you want.

[Larry Edgerton]

If the Minimax has a Tersa head they are very quiet. My 520S says 78DB in the manual, you can talk in a normal voice when it is running. Both very nice machines so it would be a tough call.

[Patrick Walsh]

I don't just want the silent cutter because it is more quiet. I work with a lot of figured wood. This is mostly my motivation for the silent cutter.

The noise reduction is a very nice added bonus.

I guess i wonder if the electronic height control and planer thickness read out are just something to break.

i don't see the machine as a investment at all. I figure i will take at least a 3K hit on either machine in the event of resale!





If the Minimax has a Tersa head they are very quiet. My 520S says 78DB in the manual, you can talk in a normal voice when it is running. Both very nice machines so it would be a tough call.

[Larry Edgerton]

I would put a Tersa up against any head as far as figured wood goes. I routinely work with some of the worst woods known to man and have no issues. I also have a Byrd head, and the Tersa does a better job.

My planer has a readout, and at this point I would have a hard time getting along without it.

[David Kumm]

There are lots more build quality differences than the digital table controls. Much heavier internals, better grind on the tables, etc. There are solid differences among every company's models as the price increases. Sometimes they get downplayed so as to not lose a sale of the lower end but they are significant. You will be happy once the pain subsides. Dave

[Patrick Walsh]

This is not the first time i have heard this.

on the other hand i have not seen the result a tersa cutter leaves in person. I have seen the finish a spiral cutter leaves in person. Although it also is not perfect it does not produce the tear out i am used to and the sanding required to get it perfect is negligible as the imop the the lines it leaves behind although there are nothing.

I hope i still feel this way six moths after inoen the machine?

.
I would put a Tersa up against any head as far as figured wood goes. I routinely work with some of the worst woods known to man and have no issues. I also have a Byrd head, and the Tersa does a better job.

My planer has a readout, and at this point I would have a hard time getting along without it.

[Patrick Walsh]

The fit and finish was clear as day to me in person. I was able to look at and use both machines.

My only thought is the Hammer machine is nice enough i cant really see the need for more.

The hammer is kinda akin to a BMW 3series with no options and the Felder a BMW M5 loaded.

i really just want the Felder machine and thats the only real justification i can come up with for spending the additional 4K...


There are lots more build quality differences than the digital table controls. Much heavier internals, better grind on the tables, etc. There are solid differences among every company's models as the price increases. Sometimes they get downplayed so as to not lose a sale of the lower end but they are significant. You will be happy once the pain subsides. Dave

[Peter Aeschliman]

i really just want the Felder machine

You have answered your own question, my friend. I assume you wouldn't have started this thread if you didn't have the cash, so I'm ignoring that piece.

Remember that this is a hobby and hobbies are about enjoyment. Thus, the justification should be based on expected enjoyment, and that can come as much from perception as it can from actual functionality.

To extend your car analogy, both the 3 series and the M5 have seats. I assume the M5 seats are made of nicer material, and simply knowing that may give you more enjoyment. It's not an issue of functionality- both hold your butt in place!

[John Sanford]

The digital height doohickey's are very handing for when a project goes sideways, and a new piece has to be milled 2 months after everything else was milled. IF you keep track of such things, it is far easier to repeat the prior settings than it is with a manual analog height indicator.

[David T gray]

i was at same point as u going between fs-41 and felder 741 or the hammer with silent head. i went with the minimax and bought a mm24 with the savings. here is a pic of quilted maple zero tear out of any kind this is with the hss knifes the machine came with, more or less brand new knifes but u could always keep a set around for certain woods.


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[William A Johnston]

What is the difference between a silent cutter head and a typical spiral head? I have a spiral head on my jointer and its really quite compared to my straight blades on my dewalt planer.

[Peter Quinn]

The first time you have to do a complete knife change on the segmented head you may be asking your self.....what have I done. The guys with the tersa heads will be done in under 5 minutes, it will take you significantly longer. It may be years before you need to change inserts, but when the time comes, it pretty much sucks. Every minute up to that point it will make very much sense from a usability standpoint, and when its over you can carry on in the knowledge that the last 3 hours of your life have not been wasted. To extend the car analogy a bit further, neither the felder nor the Hammer is IMO a BMW...more like a VW and a Audi. If you want a BMW call Martin. There's always a bigger fish. Myself, I'm using a 72' F150 with rusted floor boards, three different colored fenders and a high performance cam. It gets me to work but my friends duck down low when we pass pretty girls.

I kicked the tires on both hammer and felder a while back and my conclusion was like yours, the Felder is the way to go across the line if money is not an obstacle. Its sort of my home shop dream machine really, the thing I'd buy if I were not a wood worker and did something more profitable! So I say you are not crazy at all, and I look forward to living vicariously through your purchase. Enjoy it! PS..the shapers are nice too!

[Patrick Walsh]

Jeez,

That looks pretty good!

Maybe I'm just used to junk hobby machines hence my piss poor results and fear of tear out. Regardless working with extremely hard highly figured woods i change my Dewalt lunch box blades every time i start into a new project with a pile of rough lumber. Pretty much the same on my vintage 6" jointer. Maybe both machines are just extremely under powered for what i ask of them? Anyway i get sick of buying blades!

I have considered i could get two machines or close to it for the price of the one Felder machine. The fact is i also need to purchase a whole shop dust collection system. I am currently a Festool user whom has gotten by with a track saw, band saw, router table and job sight table saw to date.

I just picked up a used ICS SawStop for a very very good price. I have wanted a shop full of actual shop tools but the Festool stuff just fit the bill to date as $$$$ was a concern. Plus my Festools multitask as im a finish carpenter and make a living with them also.

Spending 10k plus on anything for me is a big deal as i only make $65K a year before taxes. Much like my approach to my work "perfection" i also expect the same or as close to it from just about everything in my life. Im not really the corner cutting type hence i just buy the best and buy it once.

After i take delivery of this machine in August i can buy the dust collector the next month. Then i can start saving for a spindle shaper or wide belt sander. Point is i can barely afford the machine but i can afford it. When i take delivery of it the machine will be payed for in full.



The reality is i
i was at same point as u going between fs-41 and felder 741 or the hammer with silent head. i went with the minimax and bought a mm24 with the savings. here is a pic of quilted maple zero tear out of any kind this is with the hss knifes the machine came with, more or less brand new knifes but u could always keep a set around for certain woods.


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[Patrick Walsh]

Yeah i know about Martin but only thanks to the internet ;) Never stood in front of one.

I would call Martin The Ferrari or Porsche of the wood machine world but thats just me.

If you read my last response you will see i am also just a finish carpenter and make very little in the way of money. I do however have no children, have never been married and drive a 2008 Nissan frontier with 67K on it that i just finished paying for last month.

So my overhead is low but regardless my income will never allow for a Martin.

This is no little purchase but i just assume not do something at all if I'm not going to do it right.

Its gonna be hard to sleep the next four months!


i was at same point as u going between fs-41 and felder 741 or the hammer with silent head. i went with the minimax and bought a mm24 with the savings. here is a pic of quilted maple zero tear out of any kind this is with the hss knifes the machine came with, more or less brand new knifes but u could always keep a set around for certain woods.


309963

[Todd Burch]

I bought an AD751 back in '04. Still loving it. Matter of fact, I had to put it in storage for 2 years, and I'm spending LOTS of hours going back over it to get it up to snuff. (It also sat quite a bit, unused, between '07 and '11).

I almost cried when I got it out of storage…

309965

However, after some elbow grease, it's now back to acceptable.

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Then, I turned my attention to the cutter head. Before and after (well, before and during).

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Lesson learned.

[Patrick Walsh]

I don't really know.

In all honesty i think they are pretty much the same. From what i understand the spiral/helical/silent cutter heads on industrial machines are different from what us hobby and or light commercial users are used to. Otherwise from what i read they are all kinda the same with slight differences that add up to little in the way of performance and end product in the form of wood.

Im no expert just a guy trying to make the best decision he can on something way out of his league...



.
What is the difference between a silent cutter head and a typical spiral head? I have a spiral head on my jointer and its really quite compared to my straight blades on my dewalt planer.

[Frank Martin]

Of course it is your decision and about your priorities in life. However, when compared to your income, another $4k is a lot of money. It seems to me you will get 95% of the way with the cheaper, still excellent machine. I know we all wish to buy what we want but I still believe a bit of financial restraint now may make you happier down the line.

For what it is worth I have a Minimax CU300 combo with a tersa head in the jointer/planer that I have purchased used and happy with the performance so far. Have not had any tear out issues, although since upgrading to this machine only worked in walnut.

[Rich Riddle]

Pay the price once; cry once. Many who have used both types do indicate the Tersa heads outperform segmented heads with figured woods. Just know that prior to making your decision. Good luck.

[Rick Moyer]

You have answered your own question, my friend. I assume you wouldn't have started this thread if you didn't have the cash, so I'm ignoring that piece.

Remember that this is a hobby and hobbies are about enjoyment. Thus, the justification should be based on expected enjoyment, and that can come as much from perception as it can from actual functionality.

To extend your car analogy, both the 3 series and the M5 have seats. I assume the M5 seats are made of nicer material, and simply knowing that may give you more enjoyment. It's not an issue of functionality- both hold your butt in place!
Very true, but boy that has cost me money over the years! I'm pretty good at spending more than I really can/should afford for something I really want, but usually haven't regretted too much. I say if you really want the Ferrari but can only stretch the M5, don't settle for the 3 series. :)
btw, I make less than you but have a 3 series, albeit an older used one. Can't afford the Ferrari or the Porsche!

[Rod Sheridan]

The fit and finish was clear as day to me in person. I was able to look at and use both machines.

My only thought is the Hammer machine is nice enough i cant really see the need for more.

The hammer is kinda akin to a BMW 3series with no options and the Felder a BMW M5 loaded.

i really just want the Felder machine and thats the only real justification i can come up with for spending the additional 4K...

As the owner of a Hammer J/P and saw/shaper, you won't be dissapointed with the Hammer machines from a work quality perspective.

You may be dissapointed from a personal perspective. If you can afford the Felder, buy it, you won't regret it...........Rod.

[John Loftis]

I have the Felder AD951 (20" jointer/planer) with a Tersa cutter head. And I have a 20" Jet planer with a Byrd head. Both give great results. I've changed (turned) the carbide inserts twice now on the Byrd in the last 3 years (I go through a lot of very dense hardwoods) and it takes less than an hour per change. Tersa knife changes takes around 5 minutes. So knife changing is a wash, from my perspective. Tersa needs to be changed much more frequently than carbide (assuming you don't go with Tersa's carbide knives, which are EXPENSIVE).

I spent a lot of time with the Felder guys at IWF in Atlanta, and they REALLY try to steer people towards the 'blue machines'. So much so, that I got the impression that they weren't really fans of the Hammer line. They had a hard time not criticizing Hammer. Using the BMW analogy, I guess they've been selling 5 and 7 series for so long that it's hard for them to sell the 3 series.

I don't know that there's much of a difference between the 'silent power' head and a Byrd head. My understanding that the one key thing with spiral cutterheads is to get one that 'shears' the wood, which is achieved in cutterheads where the inserts are slightly skewed. The majority of carbide cutters these days have inserts in a skewed orientation. Shearing is especially helpful in figured woods.

Of course, the fun part about this conversation is the eternal 'need' versus 'want' question in woodworking machines. No, you don't need it. But it sounds like you want it and might be willing to make a real financial sacrifice to have it. I can tell you from personal experience that the Felder will not make you smarter, more handsome, or more charming. It can help you do woodworking better and more efficiently, and it can be very satisfying to own a well-made machine. If those two things are enough for you, then... maybe you should go for it.

[Erik Loza]

Since Minimax got mentioned, I'll say this: In 10+ years, I can count on less the one hand the number of owners who told me they wished they had a spiral head versus a Tersa. And in all those cases, it was commercial shops who were running exotic species for flooring, just feeding the planer all day long. I have hundreds of Tersa machines in the field and never really get complaints about cut quality or tearout. But that's aside from the point, I suspect...

My wife and I bought a new car recently. We wanted something small and good on gas. My vote would have been a Honda Fit but she drove a Mini Cooper and fell in love. The Fit was cheaper, had a better reliability record, and I could do maintenance on it myself. The Mini? Significantly more expensive, reliability a known concern, and the dealer pretty much has to do anything to it. But the Mini is what she wanted so that's what we bought. We all make our decisions based upon emotion and then conjure up arguments to talk ourselves (and our friends) into justifying these decisions. If this wasn't true, companies wouldn't need marketing. They could just post a schematic or explosion diagram and then you would buy based on that. But schematics and diagrams aren't sexy and sexy is what creates lust and buying energy.

I like the Mini Cooper but know that if I had pressured my wife into the Honda, she probably always would have had a "What if?" feeling about that car. There's the real question: Is the amount of money you might save by going one route worth the "What if?" factor you might pay a lot more for? Only each of us can answer that for ourselves.

Erik

[Peter Aeschliman]

I like the Mini Cooper but know that if I had pressured my wife into the Honda, she probably always would have had a "What if?" feeling about that car. There's the real question: Is the amount of money you might save by going one route worth the "What if?" factor you might pay a lot more for? Only each of us can answer that for ourselves.

Erik

Exactly. If this were a business decision, you'd be considering a different set of constraints, needs, and financials. Sexiness/emotion would have little to do with the decision.

The question of "is it worth it?" in the context of a hobby can never be answered by anybody else but yourself. You have to consider your own expectations and have a reasonable sense of self to know what you might regret more- parting with your money, or not getting the best your allotted money can buy. It's much harder than the questions you'd ask as a business, where it's about feed rates, serviceability, continuous duty, price after tax write-offs, etc (pure functionality and price).

[roger wiegand]

The hammer is kinda akin to a BMW 3series with no options and the Felder a BMW M5 loaded.

For $4K difference that is surely a no-brainer!

[Andrew Joiner]

I spent a lot of time with the Felder guys at IWF in Atlanta, and they REALLY try to steer people towards the 'blue machines'. So much so, that I got the impression that they weren't really fans of the Hammer line. They had a hard time not criticizing Hammer. Using the BMW analogy, I guess they've been selling 5 and 7 series for so long that it's hard for them to sell the 3 series.

Or they might be on commission.




But schematics and diagrams aren't sexy and sexy is what creates lust and buying energy.

Erik
I totally agree Erik.

I made a good living woodworking for years. The only splurge I ever made was to buy a new Powermatic 66 in 1971. It was $50 more than the unisaw. I worked it hard enough to replace 3 motors in the years I owned it and sold it for more than I paid for it. I was lucky. I bet the unisaw would have performed the same.

I'd buy the lowest cost machine that would do the job.

I love Peter's comments on his truck. The opposite sex won't care what machines we use. It's a beautifully crafted product they would be impressed by.

[Craig Hoehn]

I'm sure there are guys on here that make much more than 65k a year that have a hard time justifying a 10k+ woodworking machine for hobby use so dont feel bad if you cant afford it because very few can. There are much more financially smarter things to do with your money like paying off your house, vechicle, student loans, saving for retirement, etc. But I think there should be a ballance between being smart with your money and enjoying life while you can. Everytime I try to save up I seem to spend it on something more usefull. I would like a bandsaw but started saving and then my roof started leaking, so I spent the money on new shingles. Sometimes it just sucks being a responsbile adult. I would suggest you save up 100% of the money that the machine costs and just hold onto it for at least a month and then think how you can best use that money, if you find you dont need it that badly then go ahead and buy whatever makes you happy.

[Peter Kelly]

Im about to put a deposit down on a Felder AD741 with silent cutter head, power feed and Euro comfort guard.

The other option was the Hammer A3-41 with silent cutter and digital/manual height gauge.

I also considered Minimax but i in the end i want the silent cutter.

So the question is am i nuts to spend 4K more to have the Felder machine over the Hammer?$4K more including the Silent Power head? I thought the base price of the AD 741 already was over $10k without it. I'd agree with others here, spiral heads are nice but not really necessary for most applications. Light passes with sharp knives on figured wood and you'll be fine.

[Patrick Walsh]

Many good and valid points made.

The fact is whomever suggest that part of a purchase is often emotional would 100% be correct. It is the rare person imop that purchases only from a practical stand point. I know a few and often they have much more $$ than myself and well a lot of $$$ in general. I guess that should tell us all something.

The fact is my house is paid for, like DONE! My truck the same with 67000 easy Nissan miles on it. I don't make much $$$ but Im also not in the poor house. At the moment i don't have tons of cash flow but i never do i make $65K a year.

I guess my question was am i crazy for choosing the Felder over the Hammer for the additional 4K. What i should had maybe asked is if the Felder is really worth the 4K more?

The whole spiral cutter vrs Tersa has got me loosing some sleep so that conversation has my interest and is helpful.

Im going to go Felder. I gave the rep my credit info for the deposit this afternoon. I just need to print out sign the contract scan it back in then email it.

Once it is payed for i know i will appreciate the nicer machine and be glad i just did it right the first time. The fact is when i take delivery the machine will be payed for in full and i wont owe a dime on it. I can at least feel good about this and that im at least not buying it on a credit card with money i don't really have ;)

[Patrick Walsh]

Man im getting lots of feedback on the Tersa being the way to go. Kinda disheartening as when i have prior made Tersa vrs Spiral threads i recieved a even vote on either side. It seems many here and now that i am buying a machine feel Tersa is a better decision.

I believe that with sharp Tersa knives i can get a quality cut on highly figured woods. I also get that i can have a pair to do the meat of the work and a nice new sharp pair for the final passes. My hesitation is with Tersa is my experience with straight blades to date. I just loath buying blades every time i come home from the lumber yard with a pile of lumber that needs planing.

One other consideration is i have to buy a single phase machine. So i can only get a 4.8 horse motor vrs a seven or ten three phase. As i understand it the spiral cutters use or need much less power than a straight knife to get a good cut. I also cant help that my experience to date with straight knives and distain for them has something to do with them being underpowered to start with.


$4K more including the Silent Power head? I thought the base price of the AD 741 already was over $10k without it. I'd agree with others here, spiral heads are nice but not really necessary for most applications. Light passes with sharp knives on figured wood and you'll be fine.

[Larry Edgerton]

I know about the knife thing. I was going to buy another planer for rough stock, but decided that I am just going to buy carbide Tersa knives. I would say the Tersa and a spiral are so close in quality of cut that its a toss up. I guess my point was if you can save a bunch of money by going with a MiniMax with a tersa, cut quality is not the stopper. I work for a living too and when I spent $12k on a planer it was a hard choice to make. So glad I did!

[Eduard Nemirovsky]

It is funny - in last two-three month I was in the same basket, what to choose and why - Minimax Cu300 vs Felder CF 531. Erik Loza gave me very good info about CU300, but I can't find anybody in my area to see one, play with one. But in two hours drive - Delaware Hammer/Felder center with room full of machine to play. And this is what I did.
From money point - Felder more expensive machine. Better - I don't know, but again can't compare. Very minimal info on network about Minimax:mad:. If I would see, play, touch, talk to dealer of Minimax - maybe I will choose CU300. I don't have this option.
Other people opinion is very important, but spending so much money on one saw vs another - subconsciously you may defend you choice?
I just sign order for Felder:):D:D:D , literally, just did it before opening this thread.
And thank you , everyone, for your opinions and time.

Ed.

[Erik Loza]

...Kinda disheartening as when i have prior made Tersa vrs Spiral threads i recieved a even vote on either side. It seems many here and now that i am buying a machine feel Tersa is a better decision....

Take this for what it's worth and what I am about to say has nothing to do with winning or losing sales, competitors, any specific brand of machine, etc. It's about being satisfied with your decision...

Any time a customer starts talking about "putting something up for a vote", "help me fill in my excel sheet of features and comparisons", or otherwise "tell me what to buy", I see the exact same pattern: They spend whatever they spend and then in a few years, end up selling whatever it was that they bought at a significant loss, then just spending more money on something else. And the cycle keeps on going.

Reason being, if you as the owner are not clear on what your needs and expectations are, then you are not really spending money to solve a problem or accomplish a goal. You are spending money to satisfy the buying urge and inventing reasons to justify that. The issue with that, of course, is that the hole this person is trying to fill has no bottom. So more money just keeps getting poured in.

When I worked for the "other company", I cannot tell you how many guys went into buying frenzy mode after they ordered their machine and bought table extensions, digital readouts, extra spindles, etc. Then, talk to them a year later, "Oh, I maybe used it once", or often, never at all. There's nothing wrong with any of this of course: Each of us has our own wallets and we should buy what we want. Heck, I bought the Mini Cooper. Just realize that if a person is trying to justify spending thousands of dollars based on some poll or "what the owner's group said I should do", then the odds of that person being truly happy in the long run are not good. At least not based my 10+ years expience in selling this level of machinery.

Again, just my 2-cents, which may be worth only half that.

Erik

[Patrick Walsh]

Thanks for painting such a nice portrait of me.

I wont even bother to defend myself as its clear you already know my type ;)

Have a good day.


It is funny - in last two-three month I was in the same basket, what to choose and why - Minimax Cu300 vs Felder CF 531. Erik Loza gave me very good info about CU300, but I can't find anybody in my area to see one, play with one. But in two hours drive - Delaware Hammer/Felder center with room full of machine to play. And this is what I did.
From money point - Felder more expensive machine. Better - I don't know, but again can't compare. Very minimal info on network about Minimax:mad:. If I would see, play, touch, talk to dealer of Minimax - maybe I will choose CU300. I don't have this option.
Other people opinion is very important, but spending so much money on one saw vs another - subconsciously you may defend you choice?
I just sign order for Felder:):D:D:D , literally, just did it before opening this thread.
And thank you , everyone, for your opinions and time.

Ed.

[Patrick Walsh]

So nice of you to paint such a nice portrait of me for all to see.

Classy, real classy.

You clearly have me pegged ;)

Be well....



Take this for what it's worth and what I am about to say has nothing to do with winning or losing sales, competitors, any specific brand of machine, etc. It's about being satisfied with your decision...

Any time a customer starts talking about "putting something up for a vote", "help me fill in my excel sheet of features and comparisons", or otherwise "tell me what to buy", I see the exact same pattern: They spend whatever they spend and then in a few years, end up selling whatever it was that they bought at a significant loss, then just spending more money on something else. And the cycle keeps on going.

Reason being, if you as the owner are not clear on what your needs and expectations are, then you are not really spending money to solve a problem or accomplish a goal. You are spending money to satisfy the buying urge and inventing reasons to justify that. The issue with that, of course, is that the hole this person is trying to fill has no bottom. So more money just keeps getting poured in.

When I worked for the "other company", I cannot tell you how many guys went into buying frenzy mode after they ordered their machine and bought table extensions, digital readouts, extra spindles, etc. Then, talk to them a year later, "Oh, I maybe used it once", or often, never at all. There's nothing wrong with any of this of course: Each of us has our own wallets and we should buy what we want. Heck, I bought the Mini Cooper. Just realize that if a person is trying to justify spending thousands of dollars based on some poll or "what the owner's group said I should do", then the odds of that person being truly happy in the long run are not good. At least not based my 10+ years expience in selling this level of machinery.

Again, just my 2-cents, which may be worth only half that.

Erik

[Mark Carlson]

Not me, I'd get the silent power cutter head. I have a jointer and a jointer/planer with byrd heads and couldn't be happier. Get the AD 741 if you can afford it:)


Man im getting lots of feedback on the Tersa being the way to go. Kinda disheartening as when i have prior made Tersa vrs Spiral threads i recieved a even vote on either side. It seems many here and now that i am buying a machine feel Tersa is a better decision.

I believe that with sharp Tersa knives i can get a quality cut on highly figured woods. I also get that i can have a pair to do the meat of the work and a nice new sharp pair for the final passes. My hesitation is with Tersa is my experience with straight blades to date. I just loath buying blades every time i come home from the lumber yard with a pile of lumber that needs planing.

One other consideration is i have to buy a single phase machine. So i can only get a 4.8 horse motor vrs a seven or ten three phase. As i understand it the spiral cutters use or need much less power than a straight knife to get a good cut. I also cant help that my experience to date with straight knives and distain for them has something to do with them being underpowered to start with.

[Lee Reep]

Crazy? No. Poorer? definitely!

I am a hobbyist, so it never has been about an investment that will pay for itself. Everyone has vices (and all of us probably have vises ...) but if it brings you enjoyment, I say it's worth it.

I am ordering a Festool Domino before the 4/1 price increase. Do I absolutely have to have it? Well, in my mind, I do. :D

[Mike Heidrick]

Make yourself happy bro. My opinions wont matter when YOU are running wood across them. Get what makes you happy.

[Rick Moyer]

Crazy? No. Poorer? definitely!

I am a hobbyist, so it never has been about an investment that will pay for itself. Everyone has vices (and all of us probably have vises ...) but if it brings you enjoyment, I say it's worth it.

I am ordering a Festool Domino before the 4/1 price increase. Do I absolutely have to have it? Well, in my mind, I do. :D

Nice! Let's hope we all have more vises than vices. :)