Festool

[Rob Luter]

I had occasion to look at some Festool products on a recent trip. Nice stuff. I knew they were expensive but I had no idea . I'm no stranger to paying for quality, and I generally advocate for that approach. That said, is their stuff worth the dough or is it just for cork sniffers?

[Dave Novak]

In my humble opinion the sanders, track saws, routers, domino's and dust extractors are worth the high price. I know if any of these failed on me I'd buy another without hesitation. I've had a couple of drills (years ago) and wasn't impressed.

[Mike Henderson]

The Domino is worth the price. I like the track saw, but from what others say here the other brands are quite good. I'm not so sure about the other stuff. I had one of their drills and sold it. It was no better than my DeWalt.

Mike

[Michael Burnside]

Depends on the tool I think. Domino, sanders, dust extractors and IMHO their routers are better than anything else. If any of them died, I would purchase again without hesitation. Other stuff like track saw, hand drills, miter saw, jig saws, etc. I think other brands exist that can compete in both quality and price, sometimes better on both counts. I've tried both their 18V and 12V installation drill and returned them. IMHO they are woefully inept compared DeWalt and Milwaukee. The Milwaukee M12 installation driver is twice the drill of Festool's competing product at more than half the price. That said, their drills aren't junk, I just don't think the cost vs. quality is there in this case. On many of their products, I do.

If price is the only gripe just remember people that buy them aren't spending your money and vise versa, so calm down and move along ... LOL

[Richard Coers]

First I'm a cross between a craftsman and cork sniffer. In my 52 years of woodworking, I've been a hobbyist and for 24 of those years, a professional woodworker. Trying to start a rift here? When anyone mentions Festool prices and Sawstop safety, it gets blown up and the post goes on for weeks and months. Think anyone will change your mind about the cost? I own a track saw and Domino and I think both are worth every penny. I bought their new cordless table saw and for what I want to do, I love it. The sliding table is like it's floating on air. I smile every time the blade moves electronically to my last favorite setting in the memory. Once again, absolutely worth it to me. My machinery has never cost me money in the past because it made me money. Now I no longer sell flat woodworking, so I buy tools and machinery for the mere joy of it.

[Chris Schoenthal]

In my humble opinion the sanders, track saws, routers, domino's and dust extractors are worth the high price. I know if any of these failed on me I'd buy another without hesitation.

First, I never thought that I would drink the green Kool-Aid, but then I got a chance to use a couple of them and changed my mind.
I own these as well and have the same feeling. These are tools that I use all the time and are worth it to me. Other power tools that I use less frequently, I'll stick with the other major brands.
I've been woodworking for over 50 years and have gone through a lot of stuff to get where I'm at. To me, it's all in what you expect to get out of them. I have a few Harbor Freight tools and knew what to expect going in. They've worked fine for the once or twice that I've used them over the years.

[Andrew Hughes]

I have a Festool router and a domino the small one. Great tools I got no complaints

[James Jayko]

I drank the Kool-Aid pretty hard lol. I'd say the router and the Domino are no brainers. The router is the best I've used, and that it comes with all the accessories in a very low profile form factor is key for me. The Domino is the only thing like it on the market, at least for now. The Kapex is awesome, but its hard for me to believe that its ~3x better than the Bosch Glide or whatever the second best is (I would not be particularly interested in anything that needed to be 2 feet off the wall). The extension wings are pretty great tho and they make a big difference. Sanders, track saw, etc? They're all really nice but they seem substantially overpriced IMO. But like everything, YMMV.

Then again, if you're like me without a true dedicated workspace (I'm an apartment dweller), the integration of everything into one "system" is pretty great. My two cents.

[Michael Burnside]

Then again, if you're like me without a true dedicated workspace (I'm an apartment dweller), the integration of everything into one "system" is pretty great. My two cents.

Interesting point that I think many, myself included, would fail to see without you mentioning it. Certainly this has a "cost" benefit to it. Thanks for the comment James.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Rob, I have 2 vacuums and sanders and a drill.

I would buy another if anything failed.

Regards, Rod

[Jonathan Jung]

Next look at Mafell.

[Chris Schoenthal]

Then again, if you're like me without a true dedicated workspace (I'm an apartment dweller), the integration of everything into one "system" is pretty great. My two cents.

One thing Festool prides itself on is dust collection. I definitely have noticed the difference when sanding especially. Their dust extractor was one of my first purchases.

[Jim Becker]

Festool has been worth it to me...I started out with a lot of their stuff in the mid 2000s and everything still works like new. Where I used to have to replace a sander every few years, not to mention stop sanding every few minutes to get feeling back in my hands, I've only had to replace the hook and loop pad twice on the original finish sander over the years. I scored a current generation not long ago and that's even more comfortable for me. Dominos are 'game changers' for many folks. While there are plenty of track saws on the market now, I'd credit Festool with making the market stand up and take notice. The extractors, while expensive, are excellent. The small CSX drill/drivers fit my hand and are more comfortable because of the lighter weight. Etc. So again, for me, I've gotten more than my money's worth. If I need something incidental, I buy Bauer from HFT. If I want/need something to add to my arsenal for frequent or specialty work, I buy Festool. The system works for me. Yea, not inexpensive, but there are other brands that even cost more!

But I also respect that many others might feel differently. That's ok, too. I do believe that since the world has really gone cordless/battery in the biggest way for so many tools, that it's a best practice to "pick a brand" and stick with it and that brand should also reflect the kind of tools you need/want. Festool isn't the leader in the battery operated space for sure, but they are starting to do more and more. If you need broad battery operated tools, Milwaukee, DeWalt and Makita may be the better choice and Milwauilee seems to be paying attention to Festool, too, and has been adding in stuff that is quite competitive.

[Derek Cohen]

"Value-for-money" and "affordability" are subjective terms. Only you can decide this. "More expensive" is evident but, again, and like other brands, the cost is a personal decision. What remains is "is Festool a good tool and up to the publicity?".

I have a Domino DF500 (the smaller of the two). If you want this type of tool, then it has to be this one as no other manufacturer offers anything similar.

I have had a Festool CT26 E dust extractor for the past 8 years. It runs as-new. This is (was at the time) the best DE on the market. Prior to this I had a Fein, also excellent. The Festool wins. Quiet, powerful, reliable, ergonomic.

I have a bunch of Festool drills. They are good, certainly the small CXS18 is just magnificent in being compact and powerful, but the reason I purchased it recently was also the point Jim made - that I wanted just one battery system.

Now the remainder of my Festool tools are a testiment to their durability and reliability. My tracksaw, ROS, and small DS400 sander are Festo, not Festool, and date from 2000. That makes them all over 20 years old. All run as-new.

I would love the Festool routers, but am loyal to my old Elus, which are at least 25 years old. Great routers, but showing their age in the limited features - the Festool range have far better dust control and fine settings. Add to which Festool routers run on the track.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jack Frederick]

I have the TS55, CT-22, 1400, 500 and finish sander. The 55 & 22 are about 17-18 yrs old now and keep going. Thankful for that as replacement cost of a 22 is pretty stiff. My work has improved with the 1400 and still getting close to the domino. While very pricey, I have gotten good value out of all the purchases. Working toward another sander but Festool purchases have long term plans attached.