My first sip of green kool-aid

[Mike Dowell]

I treated myself to a track saw. Sure, I have two circular saws already and sure, I can clamp a straight edge down and saw along it, but today is different... for today, I'm fancy.:cool: This is my first Festool and I don't know if it will be my last. I sort of feel like the TS55 is the only Festool worth the huge amount of money this company sells their tools for. Of course, I cannot speak from experience, as I'm sure many of you have many Festool products, but for me, this is my one and only so far.

Fellow TS55 owners, what are your likes and dislikes of this tool?

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[Prashun Patel]

Love your pic, Mike. FWW just came out with a review of the major track saw brands. I'm back and forth with this decision myself and will be reading this thread eagerly. For me, the big thing is depth of cut. I'd like to use a track saw to process longer, thicker slabs. What is the DOC on the Festool?


"...the only Festool worth the huge amount of money...", unless you play dominoes.

[Scott Brandstetter]

Congrats Mike. I don't have the track saw but have several sanders and I have to warn you, don't try them because you will want them as well. Keep us updated after you get a chance to use it.

[Mike Dowell]

What is the DOC on the Festool?


I just measured 2 3/16" DOC.

[Mike Dowell]

Congrats Mike. I don't have the track saw but have several sanders and I have to warn you, don't try them because you will want them as well. Keep us updated after you get a chance to use it.

I'll definitely post my opinions once I use it a bit. As far as a sander, I bought a Mirka Ceros a while back after scouring this forum. The Ceros is an amazing machine, but I've heard the same about the Festool ROS's too.

[Mike Henderson]

I have the TS-55 but I haven't used it a whole lot. I find it's pretty easy to put the track down and that most of the time I don't need to clamp it down. I haven't cut really thick stuff so I haven't run into any power issues. It does make a good cut and an accurate cut - just get the track into position accurately.

But all of this is based on limited use of the saw and without any use of competitor's saws.

I don't have a lot of Festool stuff - the Domino, the track saw, and the Kapex. I bought their small drill and found I preferred the DeWalt I already had - so I sold the Festool drill. I also bought the corded Festool jigsaw but decided my DeWalt cordless got a lot more use - I sold the Festool jigsaw. I've used the Festool sanders in school and didn't think they were better than the PC sanders I have.

Mike

[Denis Kenzior]

Depth of cut on the ts55 is 55 mm. 75 mm on the ts75. Festool model numbers have direct correlation to their relevant mm size. E.g. ETS150 = 150 mm or 6"

I have the ts75, and would recommend that one over the ts55 if you are going to cut 8/4 hardwood. The TS75 is a bit underpowered to rip 8/4 hard maple, but with the right blade and slow speed it can be done.

[mreza Salav]

Domino is the most "worth it" tool in Festool line, for me at least.
I have had their TS55 and now TS75 as well. The smaller one is under powered for 8/4 hardwood IMO.

[Susumu Mori]

I have purchased several Festools in the past. The only game-changer was Domino.
Others are somewhere between much better - slightly better than other offers I have used.
So, they are all good, but $ considered, I think some of them are in the territory of luxury.
I think they really shines for those who need to move around their tools, but my tools are stationary. So, it takes away some of the real advantages of Festools.

As for TS55, I used to use it a lot. At one point, I got ride of my Ryobi BT3100 because I no longer used it and TS55 + MFT were the center of my shop. TS55 is now retired but MFT is still mighty useful and with a tandem arrangement, it is close to the domino territory.

[Jim Becker]

While I don't use my TS track saw "much", when I do use it, it's because it's uniquely suited to the job at hand and provides excellent results. My most used Festool product is my drill/driver followed by the 150/3 sander followed by the jigsaw followed by my OF1400 router...and then all the others. :)

[Mike Dowell]

While I don't use my TS track saw "much", when I do use it, it's because it's uniquely suited to the job at hand and provides excellent results. My most used Festool product is my drill/driver followed by the 150/3 sander followed by the jigsaw followed by my OF1400 router...and then all the others. :)


HOLY SMOKES! Festool should give you a job!

I do agree though, the track saw is uniquely suited for certain tasks. In terms of your other Festool products, what is so great about them that caused you to spend the money? For example, the Miter saw looks nice, and while I've never seen it in person, I just can't for the life of me, imagine it being so amazing that I would pay $1200. As I'm thinking here, you probably have the dust collection unit, and that hooks into all of your tools seamlessly, so I suppose that is an attractive feature. Again, even there, I don't see how the dust collector is better than a shop vac, and the same thing goes for the $600 dust collector Mirka sells for the Ceros.

[Mike Dowell]

Tell me, if a fellow didn't want to spend $80 for a set of Festool track clamps, what smart options have you all come up with?

[mreza Salav]

Makita clamps fit fine on Festool track I have them along with the 118" Makita track (again works with Festool) at less than half the price.

[Prashun Patel]

Mike, for most of their tools, I personally believe other options work 'well enough'. I mean, a Bosch sander or drill is more like an Acura - not a Yugo - to Festool's Mercedes. But for the Domino, the functional (not just quality) differential between the substitutes is greater than for other Festools.

I know CMT makes Domino bits, and Seneca Woodworking makes some auxiliary tools for the Domino and MFT, so you may look into those for alternatives to your clamps.

[Hoang N Nguyen]

From what I've read, the Dewalt track clamps should work with the festool tracks.

I'm a big Festool fan but only buy what I feel I need, I don't have a wall lined with systainers like others.

I love my TS55, that's a big game changer for me. I've cut 8/4 hard maple with it with no issues. Like all other saws, it's all about the blade. You need the right blade for the right cut/material. I no longer need to try and man handle sheet goods onto my tablesaw to make cuts. I have all my sheets on saw horses when they come home and I just slide them onto my large outfeed table of the tablesaw and cut it on there. Check out the Oshlun blades, their about 1/4 the price of a festool blade. They don't stay sharp as long but they don't dull 4 times faster either. I'd say the festool blade lasted about 1.5 times longer than the Oshlun blade, both of which were 48T blades.

The domino is another game changer for me, love it and use it a ton. It paid for itself when I redid my wifes walk in closet. I went through 800 dominos on that project and it saved me countless hours of having to try to deal with dados and what not. Dust collection on this machine is 100% effective.

I also have their OF1010 router, it's a nice powerful router but I wouldn't say it's worth 4 times that of a PC router. Dust collection on it is great though and I don't have to sweep up the floor after routing. In a way, that's also worth the extra cash since I hate cleaning up every night when I'm done for the day.

I have their ETS EC 150 sander and would say that I'll buy it again in a heartbeat if mine were to crap out. I no longer have to were a respirator when sanding since the dust collection on it is amazing. I have different sanding pads for different operations and can get a table pretty dang flat with just the sander along. Haven't touched my supermax drum sander ever since.

MFT table is a must have with the track saws. I put off on it for so long but now that I have it, I wish I would have gotten it sooner. At first I built a MFT style top, had it cut out on the CNC at work and thought I could get by with that. It worked some what but no where near as nice as the MFT so I just coughed up the money for it. Now this table is just used to break down sheet goods as mentioned above as well as serve as my outfeed table on the TS.

The Kapex.... Oh boy, this discussion can get as ugly as the sawstop ones (which I also own). I've only had my kapex for about 2 month now so I don't have much experience with it. From the little use I've had with it, I can say that it's a super nice saw. Cuts very cleanly, dust collection is lights years ahead of other saws and the slides on it is butter smooth. I will have to say it seems a bit under powered, now this could be due to the fact I have the stock blade on it. Like I said with the TS55, you need the right blade for the right cut/material. I was breaking down some 8/4 popular with it and I can hear the motor bog down on me. I was cutting it with the 60+ teeth blade that came with it and that could be the reason why. I plan to buy a lower teeth count blade for future cuts like this to see if it does better.

Lastly, I have the CT36 with the boom arm. I love it as well and the boom arm keeps the cord and hose off the edge of my table when cutting and sanding. It doesn't ring your ears like a shop vac does, the tools will make more noise than the vac.

I know this was a long post but I hope it helps.

[Susumu Mori]

Yep, they are seemingly unjustifiably expensive. As for the Kapex, I believe some of the cost went for engineering to build a light-weight, yet highly accurate saw. This is a moot point if we don't carry them around. There are so many "good enough" alternatives with much less cost out there and this is how all the manufacturers went oversea. Then once in a while (or may be "often") we find poor quality tools, get disappointed, and wonder where high quality tools are. Then we find European tools with eye-popping prices. Unfortunately, our market seems polarized without many options in between....

As for DC, putting side-by-side, the difference is obvious; quieter, not blowing the air into your face, clearer exhaust air, but with a ear muff and a mask, I don't think we can justify the 5x price difference. Again, for pro constructors, these could be highly important because they may not want to spread fine dust into other rooms of the house.....

[Ben Rivel]

So when I was considering what track saw to go with I of course ran the numbers on the Festool but ended up finding the DeWalt to be a much better deal.

OP: did you consider the DeWalt and if so what pushed you to choose the Festool over it?

[Richard Young]

I have the TS55 and am pleased with it, but I bought it as a "refurb" tool. For what I paid for it, I think it was worth it, but I had decided before that I just couldn't see paying full price. It does seem a little underpowered compared to my circular saw but not to bad. The only real issue I have is that it seems like the bearing "whines" a little more than you would think it should. It does not appear to be a loose bearing because it has no play in it, just noisier than others. But as I said I am pleased with it's cutting and performance, just not convinced that it is worth full price, but everyone has their own expectations.

[Mike Dowell]

the 118" Makita track (again works with Festool) at less than half the price. <palm/face>

[Ronald Mancini]

I have a TS55 and I think it is great; much better than any other tool Festool makes. I use a lot of rough cut wood straight from the sawmill, and getting a straight edge was hard work with a jointer because some boards were warped half an inch. Now I just plop my track down, no clamps, and saw a straight edge on the boards. And did I tell you, the edge is near perfect---no sanding. This saw has saved me so much time it is unbelievable. Now I cut doors to size, cut edges on two inch oak, etc., etc. Other track saws may do as good a job as Festool, but not hqaving used them I can't speak about them.

[Mike Wilkins]

Congrats on a new toy for the shop. Got my own 55 several years ago after making a mess of some pricey oak plywood with a small circular saw and a 2x4 that was not as straight as I thought is was. I only have the one 55 inch rail, but is all I need for now. My only complaint was the dust port; I had to purchase a rubber adapter for in order to use it with my Porter Cable vac. Couple of hose clamps later and I am collecting dust like a champ.
Get yourself a couple of the Festool clamps to clamp the rail to the wood. I do not trust a rubber strip to hold the rail in place.

[Mike Cutler]

Congrat's on your new saw Mike. It's a very nice tool.
For a guy working alone in a garage type shop, it's very versatile and will make some jobs actually safer for you to accomplish.
I have the Festool TS75, OF1400 and OF2200 Routers, and their Jigsaw. All are fine tools, but the OF2200 is my favorite. For a router to be as big as it is, it is very smooth and easy to operate. It was designed to be used by hand.

Mreza Salazar

Thank you for that tip!!!:cool:

[Mike Fritz]

I starting drinking the green kool-aid over the last 12 months and have what I consider a great set where the benefit of the sum is greater than the individual tools because they work well together. I have a CT36 dust extractor, the TS55 track saw, the OF1400 router, an MFT/3 table, and the Domino.

I'm building two bath vanities right now - mostly plywood construction with cherry trim on all the visible edges and door/drawers. With my Festool tool set it represents a different way of working for me - bringing the small tool to the big piece of wood/plywood that is clamped in a stationary position. It's a slightly slower work process, but more accurate, and almost completely dust free.

Whenever I buy plywood now I slide it off my pickup onto a portable cutting table and break it down into almost final sizes with the tracksaw. Then I can easily carry smaller pieces like 12" by 48" upstairs to my shop where I cut it to final width on the table saw and final length on the MFT table with the tracksaw. Cutting a 12" by 48" piece down to a final length of 47.5" with a perfect right angle on the MFT is a game changer for me. Very hard to do accurately and safely on the tablesaw, and my sliding Bosch miter saw could never cut it at perfect right angle no matter how much I tried to adjust it.

Today I was cutting dados on these same side pieces. I used to do this on the table saw - imagine cutting dados by sliding a 12" by 48" piece of ply and please don't cringe I did it for years. Now I lay them on the MFT and clamp them into place, set up my stop so I can do this on multiple boards. Then I take 5 minutes to set up my router and away I go cutting dust free dados. I used to be tired after a long dado session - partly because of the stress of doing it dangerously on the table saw, and partly from breathing in dust even with my overhead dust hood over the blade. Yesterday I'm sure I took longer, but I was actually still feeling fresh at the end and I know my dados were much more accurate.

For me it all comes down to thinking about the process differently - can I bring a small tool with great dust collection to a large piece of wood and do the operation needed. Is it done more safely, accurately, and healthy. That makes the high price of some of the Festool products worthwhile, and it has totally changed how I think about my construction steps.

Enjoy your track saw and don't wait 10 years before you buy an MFT/3 table. It makes accurate cross cutting a pleasure.

- Mike

[Mike Dowell]

Enjoy your track saw and don't wait 10 years before you buy an MFT/3 table. It makes accurate cross cutting a pleasure.

- Mike

I've got to know more about this table. Why not just use your crosscut sled? I can't imagine cross cutting plywood and dadoing plywood any other way than on my TS with a crosscut sled.

[Ben Rivel]

I've got to know more about this table. Why not just use your crosscut sled? I can't imagine cross cutting plywood and dadoing plywood any other way than on my TS with a crosscut sled.
Watch some videos on it. It takes a whole rethinking as to how you do common woodworking tasks. If you already have typical shop tools, have no need to be portable and are comfortable and like the way you do these tasks then you might not see a need for several popular Festool products. That or the cost might drive you away. However if you are just starting out, dont have any/many tools, have a need to be portable, have lots of money to blow then the Festool line up can be a very convenient option.

[Mike Dowell]

OP: did you consider the DeWalt and if so what pushed you to choose the Festool over it?

Ben, I did a small to medium amount of homework on this before my purchase, and while I did find happy owners of the Dewalt and Makita saws, ultimately, I found that the majority of feedback I saw was for the Festool. The message I sort of got(and I actually may have read this word for word somewhere) was that if you want a track saw, there is only one choice - the Festool.

I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with the less expensive offerings from Dewalt, Makita, or even Grizz ($230 or something like that). I'm very allergic to buyer's remorse, and so I figured, psychologically, I had better just get the Festool. To illustrate this point, I have now read in this thread that some folks prefer the bigger brother to the TS55, the TS75 which I never knew existed, and this sent me straight to amazon to investigate. I thought "oh crap, should I have gotten that one? What if I bog down with 8/4 material?" - such is my personality, and it plagues most aspects of my finishing business on a daily basis.

One more thought on this, and I'm going to piggy back off of what someone else in this thread was talking about when it comes to quality, overseas production, and exorbitantly priced European tools. I'm going to make the argument that 10 years ago, if you went to HD to buy a new drill, you would be seriously comparing the Milwaukee, Dewalt, Makita, etc.. Nowadays, in my opinion, all of those brands are the same quality. My 2012 Makita drill is nowhere near the quality that my 1996(ish) Makita drill was. So in this regard, it was easy for me to convince myself that in the world of track saws, there are two major brands - "Festool" and "not Festool". God, that sounds so snide. I'm much too humble to make a statement like that, but that statement best describes my thought process, so I'll keep it posted. In the end, I'll admit that my statement of "Festool" and "not Festool" may not be valid, that I've just smelled too much green Kool-Aid and therefore I'm subject to the Festool Fanboy Bias Syndrome. I'm willing to accept that I foolishly spent $660 for a tool which accomplishes its task no better than the competitor's tool which is hundreds less. But, if this is true, and I am a fool, LET IT BE SO! Otherwise my buyer's remorse will set in, and that isn't pretty.

All of that said (and it really was a lot), I'm not $660 impressed with some of the design elements of this saw. I'm still very happy with it, but some of the engineering concepts leave me wanting more. Right off the bat, the rubber strip on the edge of the guide rail is awful. My first thought was "this would be nice if I made a wood guide track for it. The aluminum is nice, but there's rubber at the most critical line of the entire guide rail - RUBBER!

[Chris Fournier]

If green Kool Aid makes you a better woodworker then I think that it is worth it for you. If not, there are other beverages out there where the buy in is not so dear and will get you to the same place.

[Mike Fritz]

I have many cross cut sleds, but when the size of the plywood gets too big, the sled and plywood can be a lot to handle. I have a hard time getting a consistent depth of cut for dados using this setup on the TS. It is much easier for me to clamp the plywood piece to the MFT, drop down the track that can be set up perfectly perpendicular to the ply, and dado away with my router. Just easier pushing a 10 lb router that is locked into my track with two guides, than handling my biggest sled that is large enough to handle bookcase sized pieces of ply.

I have a large shop for one person 30 x 40 in a barn with all kinds of traditional large tools from all kinds of different brands. I am certainly not a Festool junkie - I only have 4 sys containers for the TS, Router, Domino, and assortment of dominos. But I am starting to rethink when to use the big tools and when to use the portable tools.

Go on to Youtube and search on MFT.

[Neil Gaskin]

My only dislike is the depth and very seldom is that a problem. Occasionally I wish we would've bought the larger model. In terms of their other products there sanders are good but I'm not a fan of the routers. Their dust extractors/vacuums are top notch as well. You should consider the vacuum for use with the saw it makes a huge difference

[John K Jordan]

...I'm sure many of you have many Festool products, but for me, this is my one and only so far.

I have a total of one green tool, the plunge router. What a great router! When I grow up I want to buy the track saw.

I was visiting some friends in the far north of Italy last month and he took me to see his garage, the base of operations for his remodeling, construction, painting business. It was Festool, Festool, only Festool! He showed me specialty Festools I had never heard of or seen when browsing their product line. The only tools I saw that were not Festool were things that Festool doesn't make. He also buys the systainers for spare parts and supplies.

He spoke very little English and I have no Italian but I think I understood him to say he buys Festool at a good discount somehow. Everything is 220v.

This picture is probably 1/4 of his Festool/systainer storage area:

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His business seems to be thriving. Somehow I don't think I could afford to hire him!
Yikes, he's going to come visit next year. Maybe I can borrow some Festools for a few days...

JKJ

[mark mcfarlane]

One note on Festool tracksaw dust collection. Dust collection works great if you are cutting an inch off the end of a board, but if you are shaving a sliver off the edge of a board there will be dust spewed out 'everywhere', just like with most other tools and edge cuts.

[Andy Giddings]

Have a TS55 which I got after comparing other track saw systems. For me the dust collection was the key difference. As Mark states, if you are shaving the edge its not effective. I also think that the TS55 is easier to handle (weight, ergonomics) than the Makita I used before. I have two 55 rails and never clamp them as the rubber coating underneath has never allowed the track to move. I did buy the DeWalt track clamps which work fine and are a lot cheaper. Will probably use them if I need to use the rails with a router

[mark mcfarlane]

... I have two 55 rails and never clamp them as the rubber coating underneath has never allowed the track to move. ...

I added an additional middle row of the black rubber strip to the bottom of my Festool track. It sticks even better without clamps, and its now grips narrower pieces of wood better. $30 or so for a roll from Festool, has enough length to redo several small tracks (I don't remember the exact length).

[Mike Cutler]

To illustrate this point, I have now read in this thread that some folks prefer the bigger brother to the TS55, the TS75 which I never knew existed, and this sent me straight to amazon to investigate. I thought "oh crap, should I have gotten that one? What if I bog down with 8/4 material?" - such is my personality, and it plagues most aspects of my finishing business on a daily basis.

Mike. Yes, the TS75 is a larger saw, but the TS55 is a very capable, well built saw, and each person has to look at their needs, how they work and their materials of choice. It's not so much as "prefer" the TS75, over the TYS55, but as what is the normal, intended end use of the tool.
I primarily like to use tropical hardwoods. Very heavy! I like to get the material in as big a dimension as I possibly can. 8/4-12/4, and up x15"+ and 12'+ long and always rough cut. I have to be able to cut at least 2".

In the world of track saws, there are two major brands - "Festool" and "not Festool". God, that sounds so snide. I'm much too humble to make a statement like that, but that statement best describes my thought process, so I'll keep it posted.

There's nothing wrong with this statement. As of right now, Festool is the standard. All of the other track saws, and systems, are compared to the Festool. A side by side comparison can be made for the others, but in the end they are all judged against the Festool.
It is the same with many things, whether we agree with it, or not. All cell phones are judged against the iPhone. Production line guitars are judged against Martin Guitars. Mechanical tools are judged against Snap-On, and there are many other examples.

I'm willing to accept that I foolishly spent $660 for a tool which accomplishes its task no better than the competitor's tool which is hundreds less. But, if this is true, and I am a fool, LET IT BE SO! Otherwise my buyer's remorse will set in, and that isn't pretty.

No need for buyers remorse. I have sent DeWalt, Makita, Ryobi, and Porter Cable products ,to the landfill, and flat out given them away, still in working condition. I've thrown away enough DeWalt drills through the years to have bought the most expensive drill out there.
Buy the best tools that you can afford and buyers remorse will be much less part of your decision

All of that said (and it really was a lot), I'm not $660 impressed with some of the design elements of this saw. I'm still very happy with it, but some of the engineering concepts leave me wanting more. Right off the bat, the rubber strip on the edge of the guide rail is awful. My first thought was "this would be nice if I made a wood guide track for it. The aluminum is nice, but there's rubber at the most critical line of the entire guide rail - RUBBER!

Give it some time, and a work out, and I think you'll come to appreciate that rubber/plastic strip. ;)

[Jim Dwight]

I'm another DeWalt user. I like the OP's explanation of why the Festool. Makes sense to me. I like finding cheaper ways to do things. I sometimes waste money that way but I am happy with the DeWalt track saw - and the Rigid shop vac with quasi HEPA filter and dust deputy it is attached to.

Mainly I am posting this to suggest the OP check out the FOG - Festool Owners Group. Your logic may keep you with the MFT but there is a portable MFT type table you may want to consider, a slab configuration you use on saw horses, and workbench type setups by Ron Paulk (my choice). You should also google "getting the most out of your MFT" to find a very informative piece on it's use. Plenty of good ideas out there.

[Mike Dowell]

While I'm thinking of it, when you connect two guide rails together, are they perfectly straight? I have two Festool 55" guide rails, because when I ordered the second rail, I didn't realize that the Makita 118" rail was compatible. Am I good to go with two 55" rails?

[Andy Giddings]

Mike, based on what I read over on the FOG, the advice seems to be leave a small gap between the ends and tighten while butting the sides against a long straight edge (I use a long good quality level). This works for me every time with two 55 rails. You can buy a specially made jig to help with straightening but its expensive and I've never required one.

[Mike Henderson]

While I'm thinking of it, when you connect two guide rails together, are they perfectly straight? I have two Festool 55" guide rails, because when I ordered the second rail, I didn't realize that the Makita 118" rail was compatible. Am I good to go with two 55" rails?
Festool has a 30 day return policy but I don't know if that applies to things like rails. If it does, return one of the 55" rails and get the longer one - the Makita if you want.

While you can put two rails together, it's easier and less error prone to have a long rail.

Mike

[Justin Ludwig]

My FS TS55 has paid for itself 10 times over both in the shop and on job sites. Can't imagine not having it.

[Jim Becker]

HOLY SMOKES! Festool should give you a job!

I do agree though, the track saw is uniquely suited for certain tasks. In terms of your other Festool products, what is so great about them that caused you to spend the money? For example, the Miter saw looks nice, and while I've never seen it in person, I just can't for the life of me, imagine it being so amazing that I would pay $1200. As I'm thinking here, you probably have the dust collection unit, and that hooks into all of your tools seamlessly, so I suppose that is an attractive feature. Again, even there, I don't see how the dust collector is better than a shop vac, and the same thing goes for the $600 dust collector Mirka sells for the Ceros.

LOL. I already have a great job that I'm in my 20th year selling telecom solutions. But early on, I struck up a relationship with Bob Marino (da best Festool dealer on the planet!) and that offered the opportunity to try out a lot of things in my own shop as well as sponsoring a "Fest-Tool-vil" in my shop where a bunch of friends came to try things out, too. (There's a thread here about that from long ago)

To your question, when it comes down the bottom line, the three things that made me feel good about the investment were 1) The System 2) The Quality and 3) The Precision. Yes, Kapex is not inexpensive (I actually don't own one), but for folks who want or need the precision it brings, it does pay for itself for commercial users. The collection is "better" than a shop vac in the sense that it was designed for small tool collection and it's far quieter than the average shop vac. To get a comparable unit from other manufacturers, you'd be putting out similar money. When I buy a tool, either because of a need or because of a want, my plan is to buy it once. To-date, that's held true for me when you consider how long I've had my original and subsequent Festool purchases. And since I sometimes to home improvement, the portability, dust control and precision has also been extremely helpful to me. But like anything, value vs cost is a very personal thing.

BTW, I do have two of the shorter rails, but ultimately purchased a long one for convenience during home improvement projects. (~8') I've only used it a few times, but again, it was the right tool for the job. Joining two shorter ones together works but yes, it's a proverbial hair less precise than a single longer rail. Also, my two shorter ones are "different generations" and not totally identical.

[Mike Cutler]

While I'm thinking of it, when you connect two guide rails together, are they perfectly straight? I have two Festool 55" guide rails, because when I ordered the second rail, I didn't realize that the Makita 118" rail was compatible. Am I good to go with two 55" rails?

Mike

Mine do not form a perfectly straight 110" edge if just butted up against each other. I leave a small gap, and use a 6' straight edge to align them.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Tell me, if a fellow didn't want to spend $80 for a set of Festool track clamps, what smart options have you all come up with?
http://www.rockler.com/universal-fence-clamps

Someone posted here at SMC that the Rockler clamps above work with Festool track.
I haven't used mine to check if that's true or not.

They look like they should work fine though.

[Mike Henderson]

Jim mentioned accuracy of the Kapex. I bought a Kapex. I was making a shop made dovetail jig and needed to cut each side at 7*. When I set the saw to 7* on one side, I got a 7* angle. When I set the saw to 7* on the other side, I got less than 7*. I had to set the saw to 7.5* on that side to get a 7* cut. I only discovered this recently and need to go check my 45* presets on both sides to see if they're accurate.

Mike

[Gene Takae]

Love your pic, Mike. FWW just came out with a review of the major track saw brands. I'm back and forth with this decision myself and will be reading this thread eagerly. For me, the big thing is depth of cut. I'd like to use a track saw to process longer, thicker slabs. What is the DOC on the Festool?


"...the only Festool worth the huge amount of money...", unless you play dominoes.


If you want to cut thicker material then get the TS75

[Larry Frank]

One thing I appreciate about Festool is they are easier on my hands. As I get older and struggle with arthritis, the weight, grip and vibration have become critically important.

The TS55 is comfortable to use. The sanders are also easy to grip and low vibration. I will pay the extra just for these things.

[Mike Dowell]

Festool has a 30 day return policy but I don't know if that applies to things like rails. If it does, return one of the 55" rails and get the longer one - the Makita if you want.

While you can put two rails together, it's easier and less error prone to have a long rail.

Mike

Well I buy almost everything through Amazon, and they have a no questions asked return policy. So, and I can't believe I'm openly admitting this, I returned the extra 55" rail, and ordered the 118", and not the Makita. I read the reviews on the Makita and there were many folks complaining that it was not dead straight, out by as much as a 16" of an inch. I know that doesn't seem like much, but I bought this saw for a reason, and bowed cuts from a track saw won't do.

I was going to just connect the two 55" rails together, but I thought about it, and for as much as I paid for this saw, I figure I'm already all in. Crazy?

[Mike Dowell]

@ Mike Cutler


Love the response. You're such an enabler!

[jessie hachey]

I hav enot had the track saw, but have tried it on site when another contractor let me use it. Great tool for on site work. However, Im not sold on festool for my shop applications. In the case of sanders, they don't even make a pneumatic sander, and when it comes to shop sanders, and a sander you might have to operate 10 hours straight, you need pneumatic for comfort and speed. I have had dynabrade, and 3M sanders. Performance equal but 3M was lighter on the wrist. However I am considering trying a Mirka. I just can't justify $650CAD on a new top grade festool sander when its still electric and bulky compared to pneumatic when I already have air supply (and lots of it).

[Andy Giddings]

Jessie, Festool do make air sanders as well - not saying they would be cheaper or better but they are available. The range is called LEX

[Jim Becker]

Jessie, Festool do make air sanders as well - not saying they would be cheaper or better but they are available. The range is called LEX

Very true. We just don't hear much about them because the overwhelming market is for portability and that's not something that air tools provide because of the compressor demands. But the Festool air sanders are likely every bit as capable and quality built as the electric tools.

http://www.festoolusa.com/search?q=Lex&catname=Sanders

[Mike Cutler]

@ Mike Cutler


Love the response. You're such an enabler!

That's what were supposed to be here for. Kinda like an online, tool junkie's, support group.;)

"Hi, my name is Mike and I bought a ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,," :D


PS
You made the right decision on that longer rail. Putting the two 55's together "works", but it's easy to knock them out of whack if you're not careful. The extra 8" will come in handy for support when you cut sheet goods along the length.

[Dan Borello]

The domino is another game changer for me, love it and use it a ton. It paid for itself when I redid my wifes walk in closet. I went through 800 dominos on that project and it saved me countless hours of having to try to deal with dados and what not. Dust collection on this machine is 100% effective.


Pictures? Perhaps my wife needs a new closet, and I need a domino.

[Kari Ahonen]

Congrats Mike. I don't have the track saw but have several sanders and I have to warn you, don't try them because you will want them as well. Keep us updated after you get a chance to use it.

I thought I just get the TS55..... seems I was wrong too, since then I "had" to get the 1400EQ router and it "needed" MFT/3...and clamps and... (more and more grey boxes) :-)

Anyway Congrats Mike for your purchase - sure "green things" are expensive, but very well made tools...

K