Festool Gloat: So I went a lil' over budget

[John Maeda]

After getting some good advice from the good folks here at SMC, I bought a router for my needs that left a lot of money in my tool budget.

Add that left over money with price hikes due to a weak $, with my addiction to german engineering, and you get the following result.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Maeda/P1020641.jpg

I have no wood projects ready for sanding as of yet, so I tested this baby on a car that needs to be prepped for paint. I knocked down 3-4 layers of terrible spray-paint/bondo/etc. in about 15 minutes, and a bicycle that needed to be lime green in another 30 minutes.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Maeda/P1020642.jpg
What you get in the systainer for your money

I was a little concerned that the 150/5 was going to be too wimpy for some of the 'other then wood' projects I do, but it seems like if it sands bare metal with this kind of ease we're going to get along nicely.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Maeda/P1020643.jpg
What happens when the tool demons posses you and force you to buy a matching vacuum before the price hike.

I pretty much went over my budget by double. The thought of having a to buy a vac for my sander in a few months for 100 dollars more then buying a package deal NOW, really convinced me.

I don't make a lot of money, so to buy the green and dark blue, hurts, but I'm convinced. Even if this sander never sees a piece of wood, I KNOW i've already saved myself days of sanding and lots of lung damage( don't fret, it'll see wood in about a week). It will be worth the $, and the eating sandwiches for a month or two.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v140/Maeda/P1020646.jpg

It's like i'm living in the future, and everything is made to work, quietly and hyper efficiently so I can spend more time relaxing. I don't think i've ever felt this way about a machine. This is what technology is supposed to be about. :D

[Larry Fox]

Very nice score.

"I was a little concerned that the 150/5 was going to be too wimpy "

Well, I have the 150/3 and I can tell you that you need to be careful when sanding veneer - DAMHIKT. :)

[Bruce Pennell]

Your going to get spoiled now. You really wonder why every tool doesn't have that kind of dust collection. Hope you enjoy! Get ready for more they are addictive....Have Fun...Bruce:D

[Jim Becker]

Congrats. Yes, not inexpensive, but not a purchase you'll have to repeat later, either. At least for that particular sander...LOL...Festool can be habit forming...

[Narayan Nayar]

John,

You did well by yourself. Great choice on the sander and wise decision on the vac. I sawed through some plywood this weekend without the vac and saw for the first time in a long time just how much dust a simple rip cut creates.

Congrats.

[Mike Heidrick]

I thought air sanders were the best for metal/cars. Is that wrong?

[Don Bullock]

Wow John, what a score!!! I've been toying with the same idea of a vac and a different sander, but it looks like my budget is even tighter than yours at this point. If that sander is as good as my RO 125 you'll love it.