Festool Too Cool

[Dave Avery]

Just received, unpacked, and started to appreciate my new Rotex sander and vacuum. Everything is incredibly well designed and intuitive. The manual is short but well done. Haven't had a chance to use the sander yet....... I'll report in after I've done so.

Also, on a related note, Bob Marino, the Festool sales rep who others have spoken well of is every bit as nice and helpful as has been reported. I ordered everything at the last minute on Tuesday and the order (all of it) arrived today. Absolutley excellent advice and service. Anyone contemplating a Festoll purchase should definitely talk to Bob. Dave.

[Dave Hammelef]

Thanks Dave;
I ordered my Late Tue also. Wonder who was later? Bet it was me. Anyhow, Lucky you live closer to the east coast warehouse. Cause mine did not make it here Fri. A whole weekend of waiting. Monday will be a busy night should get the tools, corvair shop manual and maybe a few other vair books. As the saying goes when it rains it pours.


Dave

[Bill Esposito]

Dave,
How quiet/noisy is the vac?

[Jim Becker]

How quiet/noisy is the vac?

It's not quite as quiet as the Fein, but is queter than any of the tools you'll be hooking up to it! Both companies have done a great job at eliminating the whine typical of the universal motors in shop vacs.

And Dave, I'm jealous of that sander...of the three I tried when Bob visited a few weeks ago, I enjoyed the Rotex the best. Awesome machine.

[Charles McKinley]

How can I get a hold of Bob. My friend is considering getting a new jig saw.

Thanks

[Jim Becker]

How can I get a hold of Bob. My friend is considering getting a new jig saw.


He's a member of SMC...you can send him email or a PM right from this site!

[Charles McKinley]

Bob sent a PM to me before I logged back on this afternoon!

[Keith Outten]

Charles,

Here is the link to Bob's SMC Member listing. Bob's email address and Private Message links are listed.

Click Here (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/member.php?userid=897)



How can I get a hold of Bob. My friend is considering getting a new jig saw.

Thanks

[Gene Collison]

Dave,
How quiet/noisy is the vac?

Bill,

I have both of the vacs, the Fein is a little quieter flat out. I say flat out because the Festool has a variable speed control dial, you can throttle it back when you use it with a sander and the air going through the hose seems to make the most noise, you can hardly hear it.

Gene

[Dave Avery]

Bill, The vac and sander together are pretty quiet. I'm a hearing protection nut, so I wear protection with the vac and sander, but most people probably would say that they're quiet enough so that you don't need to. Certainly MUCH quieter than a shop vac/genie/ridgid/craftsman type vac.


Jim, I'm lucky the local tool consultant is nice - and that I have an October birthday - thus, the Rotex. With the vac+Rotex+paper deal that they were running, the Rotex wasn't too much more than the lesser models.


First quick impression...... I used the Rotex to sand in-between coats of varnish with 320 grit paper. Easy to control with the T-handle support attached, very good dust collection - a quick wipe down with mineral spirits took care of the small amount of fine dust that was left. Haven't tried the sander in aggressive mode yet. Dave

[Todd Burch]

Dave, just a thought on your wipe-down between coats. VM&P Naptha (VM&P stands for Varnish Makers and Painters) leaves less of a residue than mineral spirits, and dries faster too. FYI. Todd. (factoid courtesy of Bob Flexner's book - Understanding Wood Finishing")

[Dave Avery]

Todd,

Thanks for the tip - I'll give it a shot. And..... perhaps it's time for me to re-read Flexner's book :)

Dave.