Why Festool?

[Ron Hedrick]

I am new here and very much a novice where it concerns woodworking. I'll ask a really stupid question. I see the posts about Festool products. What I would like to know is what makes Festool Products so desireable.

And yes I'm prepared to be flamed for asking the question.

[Ted Miller]

Ron, I myself was thinking about the Festool products for quite sometime. Last weekend I went to work on a side job with a friend of mine who does cabinets and he wanted me to build all the shelving in this finished garage some 40' long ceiling to floor. Simple open shelving 3/4" melamine no doors on anything just edgeband. He told me he had a surprise for me when I got there. Well as I drove up to his clients small home at 6800 sq. ft. he had two stacks of these green and white rolling thingys. Well it was all Festool stuff so after about an hour figuring out what he had and how they work I got to work. Man the saw and guides were awesome. I figured I needed about 4 days to finish the shelving but got it all done in 2 days. I was very impressed by how the tools worked and just how simple they were to use. He let me bring home the router and sanders and I used them in my shop this weekend on some cabinets. So yesterday I took the plunge and put in a order with Bob marino. Yes I am a toolaholic and I need help...

[Al Willits]

Think Snap On and you have it, other tools will do the job as well, but are probably not quite as well made, and Festools do seem to have a bit more engineering to them, the Festool mob will tell you life is over with out Festool.
I'm not so sure, but I do like some of them, but rather not spend the money, as I don't do this as a business and I do not have unlimited funds.

Nice if they fit your budget, just like Snap On....

Al....who ducking the incoming......

[Jim Becker]

No flaming necessary. Festool produces high quality tools with high level features. They are not for everyone. But for the most part, folks who purchase swear by them rather than at them...

[Don Bullock]

Originally Posted by Jim Becker

No flaming necessary. Festool produces high quality tools with high level features. They are not for everyone. But for the most part, folks who purchase swear by them rather than at them...

Great quote Jim. I'll have to use that for the LOML when I get to the point when I need to buy my first Festool product (that won't be for a while because this year she's letting me buy a SawStop with an Incra fence).

Ron, I'd suggest that you search through the fourm for comments on Festool. If what people say about them seems to speak to your needs, and you can afford the high price (yes, it will be high) then they are for you. From what I've read they are excellent. Like Jim states, however, they are not for everyone, just like Harbor Freight (the other end of the spcetrum perhaps) is not for everyone. I've found that the posts here can be very valuable when it comes to deciding about tools. Here I only hear from people who are actually using tools to make sawdust. It's amazing the amount of experience that one can tap into here.

[Bob Childress]

Ron,

That is not a stupid question. Far from it. Everyone's reply so far has been on the money, IMHO. Think about it this way:

Festool is targeting the trades, not the DIY market. All the whiz bang engineering, superior dust collection, accuracy and portability is so that trades can work on a job site and produce excellent results. For them, it is a simple cost/benefit analysis and if the types of jobs they do justify the expense (or even almost require it), then that's what they buy.

For the hobbiest, it's a different equation, I think. The price alone mitigates against mass marketing. They have no huge advertising budgets in the U.S. It's mostly word-of-mouth, places like this one, and a few dealers (although that seems to be expanding). But if, like Ted, you ever get your hands on any of the Festools, you will be sorely tempted to take the plunge. They just feel "right." But they are not, indeed, for everyone and you can produce mighty nice projects without a single one.

On the other hand, I keep looking out the window to see if my Domino is here yet.

[Jason White]

Not a dumb question.

If you've done a lot of woodworking without Festool machines in the past, you will appreciate how many operations are faster, easier, safer and cleaner with Festool tools.

I suggest you spend some time at your local Woodcraft store and play with the machines a bit before buying anything. Also watch the "test drive" video at www.festoolusa.com.

Can you make nice furniture without Festools? Absolutely! But I consider my Festool purchases as serious upgrades to machines I already own (except the plunge cut saw, which is in a class of its own).

JW

Originally Posted by Ron Hedrick

I am new here and very much a novice where it concerns woodworking. I'll ask a really stupid question. I see the posts about Festool products. What I would like to know is what makes Festool Products so desireable.

And yes I'm prepared to be flamed for asking the question.

[Dan Lyke]

Disclaimer: my sweety and I own a bunch of Festool products.

If you want to see people raving about the features of Festool, you might also try dropping over to the Festool Owners Group. The key selling point for us was dust collection, but like all products they come with a set of trade-offs, and you have to figure out which trade-offs are important to you; in Festool's case the primary trade-off seems to me to be price.

But I'd also point anyone interested in Festool to look at various other options, including the EZ Smart rail system, because everyone has a different set of features and trade-offs that make something the "best" for their needs. For instance, I love my Festool jigsaw, but I sometimes end up removing the dust collection and anti-tear-up guards so that I can better see the line I'm following. Different strokes etc.

[Bob Reda]

Festol is definetley for the trades. I was working in a church on a time schedule. And I was working on the main alter when the heavens opened up for three days of rain. If it wasn't for the festool dust collection system with their tools I would never have completed it before services on Sat. I actually cut in the main Santuary with very little dust.

Bob

[Stan Tillinghast]

I am a brand-new Festool owner--just the 55 saw for now.
I can tell you the things that attracted me after first hearing 'Festool' here and then reading more on the web:
1. Safety - the plunging blade, and the guide rail which provides control
2. Accuracy - the guide rail provides more accuracy than one can achieve with just a straightedge or ordinary guide
3. Quality - always love great tools--it's almost the end product!
4. Cleanliness - I have a problem with allergies, so like to keep dust to a minimum. Seems like the Festools are great on this.
5. Noise - less important, but still--lower noise contributes to the feeling of control and safety.
6. Cool.

I'm hooked. Absolutely satisfied with my the saw; MFT is pending; can't wait for the router and dust collector.

[Wilbur Pan]

I don't have any Festool tools (yet), but I'll tell you the main reason why I would consider a Festool circular saw/router/sander over any of the other makers.

Dust collection.

None of the other manufacturers, as far as I can tell, does a better job with dust collection for these types of tools than Festool.

[Aside: I've noticed that on the power tool side of the woodworking spectrum, people often get flamed for advocating the purchase of a Festool product, but in the hand tool world, no one gets flamed for buying a Lie-Nielsen plane.]

[Pete Brown]

I have the Festool TS55 and extra rails, as well as their accessory pack and some clamps. I also have their MFT (Multi Function Table). I have the Domino and the large vac on order; they should ship in about two weeks. I'm really REALLY looking forward to getting both of those

I have been extremely impressed with the quality of the tools. Everything feels solid and well-made. In addition, everything works together as a system. There are lots of manufacturers that can make one or two excellent tools, and some duds. There aren't many that can produce a ton of successful products and then make them all work together in a system.

I agree with the other poster on the EZ-Smart system. Take a look at that as well if your needs are primarily within its capabilities.

On my Festool wish list:
- 8' guide rail (joining the two smaller rails and keeping them straight can be time-consuming as the ends of the rail are not quite square to the side)
- The medium-sized router (1400 eq)
- Router template system
- Sanders

Pete

[Pete Brown]

Originally Posted by Stan Tillinghast

5. Noise - less important, but still--lower noise contributes to the feeling of control and safety.

Good point. The saw is so quiet, that I thought it was broken at first (you have to get used to the soft-start sound). My regular P&C circular saw, on the other hand, is probably the noisiest tool I own.

Pete

[Dave Falkenstein]

I am a hobbyist and semi-professional - i.e., i do work for clients and get paid for it on a part time basis. I discovered Festool about 4 years ago and have added to my collection since then. One of the key features of Festool is the "system" aspect of the tools. Several of the tools work seamlessly with the guide rail and multifunction table. Many of the tools interface with the dust extractor - yeah, I know, vacuum - for an excellent dust collection option. All of the tools are of the highest quality and are designed with tons of ingenuity and detail. Ignore the price and you could become an addict like lots of folks around here. Personally I think the price is justified, IMHO of course.

[Dan Lyke]

Originally Posted by Pete Brown

- Router template system

Pete, I originally built an adjustable rectangle template, and then got an actual MFS, and the utility of such a jig just can't be overstated. I had to knock out a whole bunch of braces with identical square recesses recently, and while I could have done this with my homebuilt one, the fact that the the clamps and everything work so nicely with the actual MFS made this a fast easy process.

And, yeah, I didn't want to ramble too much on why I've got a whole bunch of Festool stuff, but quieter tools (you're never going to make a quiet router, but our workshop is our living room, and sound echoes even with good hearing protection), soft-start and great motor drive electronics, and the whole "system" attitude that pervades the design (ie: the way the through-table clamps fit recesses in the guide rails and the MFS and the side of the table too) makes things "just work".

Having said that, I did recently pick up a reconditioned Porter-Cable detail sander for $50 rather than spring for the Festool detail sander. My blood doesn't completely run green and dark dark blue just yet. But the difference between that sander and the Festool ones is very obvious when I switch between tools.