Festool

[Rod Sheridan]

Andy, I think you have a drill press addiction :-)

I love the DoALL bandsaw.

Regards, Rod.

[andy bessette]

Andy, I think you have a drill press addiction :-)

I love the DoALL bandsaw.

Regards, Rod.

Thanks Rod. I added another drill press since that photo was taken.

One DP is kept on high speed; one on its lowest speed; another virtually always has a countersink in it. Pretty handy actually.

[Warren Lake]

tool and die maker had a doal roll in saw, Two sizes of Deckel Pantographs large one a human CNC machine and his bridgeport. Often the wrong time is real still the right time. I spy a monarch lathe and while I know zero about lathing probably not a word the Monarchs soar according to one friend.

[James Jayko]

Also, I think the "get off my lawn" aspect of a lot of this stuff is that, particularly with something like the Domino, you're able to replace "experience" and "practice" with a credit card. People who have put in the time and developed skills which, at the time, were the ONLY way to do something tend to find reasons to hate on shortcuts (regardless of quality of the outcome). I mean, half the time I cut mortises and tenons by hand because I'm just a hobbyist and the process of making stuff is most of what I enjoy. But if I need to get something done quickly that I know I can count on to stay together, I'm probably using the Domino.

Lets be 100% clear: if the Shakers were starting their work today, they'd be using Dominos and a Multi-Router and table saws and whatever made the job quicker without sacrificing quality. Everyone has this romantic view of the past but the reality is that people just did the best they could with what they had, which, until ~30 years ago, meant developing skills.

[Michael Burnside]

I mean, half the time I cut mortises and tenons by hand because I'm just a hobbyist and the process of making stuff is most of what I enjoy ... Everyone has this romantic view of the past but the reality is that people just did the best they could with what they had, which, until ~30 years ago, meant developing skills.

I think both these are good points and also part of the problem sometimes. I enjoy woodworking because I enjoy the process and the final product. I couldn't care less if it's by hand or with a Domino or a little bit of both. My problem is that people insinuate what they enjoy on another persons process. Be it technique or tool. It's like they can't seem to understand that not everyone wants to sit and faff about making a dovetail or that somehow using a Domino means they don't have an eye for design or proportions. A nice, clean, hard maple drawer box using blind Dominos looks better to my eye than a dovetail. Doesn't make it right or wrong, it just aesthetic regardless if you used Festool, Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee or hand tools!

[Edward Weber]

IMO, if done properly, you should not be able to tell whet tools were used to build the piece, unless that's your intention.

[Ian Douglas]

When I started out doing carpentry and small reno's I was blowing through cheap tool after cheap tool. And when I started developing severe constant arm and wrist pain from many hours of repetitive work a friend recommended some Festo tools (as the brand was known then), and it was all downhill from there for me, the tools really are amazing, the performance, lack of vibration, ergonomics, and especially the dust collection is out of this world. It's allowed me to work completely ache and pain free for 45 years. And in all that time, I've had only a single tool need repairs, my RS2E 1/2 sheet sander that a lightning strike blew the control board.

So for me I count the health factor extremely highly, along with all the other criteria such as ease of use, smoother and faster work flows, time and effort saved, and the tools themselves are often amazing. I also like that Festool is always upping the game, like with the SYS 50, and the ETS EC range. Absolutely sensational tools.

Probably the only gripe I have is when I was replacing my collated screwguns, the 4500 was and still is the only model available, I would have liked to get the 2500 instead.

I haven't bought into the standard drills, but I would heartily recommend just about anything else they have on offer, especially the OF1400 or OF2200 routers, sensational tools!

[Edward Weber]

When I started out doing carpentry and small reno's I was blowing through cheap tool after cheap tool. And when I started developing severe constant arm and wrist pain from many hours of repetitive work a friend recommended some Festo tools (as the brand was known then), and it was all downhill from there for me, the tools really are amazing, the performance, lack of vibration, ergonomics, and especially the dust collection is out of this world. It's allowed me to work completely ache and pain free for 45 years. And in all that time, I've had only a single tool need repairs, my RS2E 1/2 sheet sander that a lightning strike blew the control board.

So for me I count the health factor extremely highly, along with all the other criteria such as ease of use, smoother and faster work flows, time and effort saved, and the tools themselves are often amazing. I also like that Festool is always upping the game, like with the SYS 50, and the ETS EC range. Absolutely sensational tools.

Probably the only gripe I have is when I was replacing my collated screwguns, the 4500 was and still is the only model available, I would have liked to get the 2500 instead.

I haven't bought into the standard drills, but I would heartily recommend just about anything else they have on offer, especially the OF1400 or OF2200 routers, sensational tools!

Great point about the long term health issue.
I really wish the Kapex had a horizontal trigger/handle. For me, It feels a little awkward to use the vertical orientation

[mike stenson]

I think that has shifted a little, Rich, as there are some quality offerings from others at this point. Mafele, Makita and Milwaukee, for example. But back when I bought my tracksaw, Festool was "the" game in town.

Yea, and yet when I replaced my ATF-55 this year, it was with a TS60. The updates are really impressive... But it's a what, twenty five year difference?

[Jim Becker]

Yea, and yet when I replaced my ATF-55 this year, it was with a TS60. The updates are really impressive... But it's a what, twenty five year difference?

Yes, time flies when you're making sawdust! (If my ATF-55 goes kaput, I'd opt for the TS60, too. It has some nice design upgrades, a narrower kerf blade that's a hair larger in diameter and an increase in dust collection efficiency)

[Ian Douglas]

Great point about the long term health issue.
I really wish the Kapex had a horizontal trigger/handle. For me, It feels a little awkward to use the vertical orientation

I came from an ELU TGS172 that had an even more awkward inline handle, but got fairly used to it over the decades of use, so I although I was surprised the handle on the Kapex was inline, I actually found it pretty natural in use after a short time. I vaguely recall on possibly one of Sedge's videos something about the handle design being more ergonomic for the wrist, and also helps reduce pulling the head off centre compared to saws with perpendicular handles.

[Jim Becker]

Ian, I've read the same that most folks get used to the handle orientation. I can't say that from experience because I rarely use a miter saw in the shop so haven't made the upgrade from my circa 2000 DeWalt CMS, but I suspect my wrist would be happy with the Kapex orientation. That said, people considering the tool do need to consider their comfort in operating it...and there will be some that will, and should, opt to return it if they can't get comfortable with it because that's a distraction that can lead to safety concerns.

[Alan Lightstone]

I have three carts full of Festool stuff. Are they perfect, no. Are they very good to excellent - yes in almost all cases. There, of course, is something to be said for sticking with the same battery system (although I think, depending on need I have three battery systems.)

My TS55 track saw is underpowered for some tasks. I bought a Mafell that is head and shoulders better than it, with a much better track. But at 2-3x the cost.

My Hilti hammer drill is clearly a step above my Festool.

My Rotex sander is just too big and awkward to handle. Plus the rotations are just too uncomfortable. Only used it a couple of times. Wish I hadn't bought it.

I spent a lot of time and thought engineering a better dust enclosure for my Kapex. Yes, it's nearly impossible to make one of those dust free, and I understand it's better than most, but. I wish I had splurged for a high end one like the OMGA. (OK, 10 times the price. Maybe not.)

So, basically, very happy with my Festool tools. I don't worship the brand, but I've been a pretty loyal customer.

[James Jayko]

ALSO, I only used the MFT as an example, I'm sure there are other products that fall short of someones expectations, just like with any other brand.

While this is true, its also an issue of people having the wrong expectation of something. If someone bought an MFT in lieu of a proper workbench with the intention of doing heavy hand work on it, its more an issues of having the wrong expectations. I've done it in a pinch (stick it in a corner where two edges butt up against the wall), but its not a good solution for that. An F150 makes a bad race car. But that also isn't what it "is." Too many people think Festool is the best or only answer to everything. I'd say that in my (limited and hobbyist) opinion, they are the best solution to the questions they're trying to answer. By no means the only, but if you want to spend money to gain efficiency, its not a bad trade.

[Edward Weber]

While this is true, its also an issue of people having the wrong expectation of something. If someone bought an MFT in lieu of a proper workbench with the intention of doing heavy hand work on it, its more an issues of having the wrong expectations. .

Yes, but that's not a defect or flaw of the tool itself, rather the customer.
I can give an honest review of a tool, not a person who doesn't know what they're buying.
If you have the wrong expectation of what a tool is or should do, that's on you. You can't blame a brand for your own incompetence.
This may be a bit of the problem to some folks but it's people who perpetuated the Festool is the best at everything myth around these tools, not Festool.

Festool nor I, ever advocated for using an MFT as a "proper workbench with the intention of doing heavy hand work on it"