Advice from Festool

[AtomicRyan]

Hey guys, I recently posted this on the general discussion forum:
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tools-accessories/a-fresh-start-with-festool/

As you can see, I got a lot of great help from a few members of FOG. I was hoping I could also get direction from Festool USA as well? What direction would you guys recommend we go?

 

[TylerC]

I saw your post yesterday, and I've been putting some thought into it. My quick take is that you'll be well served with the CT 36, TS 55, MFT/3, Rotex RO 150, and OF 1400 router.

I've passed this along to a few other Festool folks, and I'll post a more detailed response to the original thread once I get their feedback.

 

[AtomicRyan]

I saw your post yesterday, and I've been putting some thought into it. My quick take is that you'll be well served with the CT 36, TS 55, MFT/3, Rotex RO 150, and OF 1400 router.

I've passed this along to a few other Festool folks, and I'll post a more detailed response to the original thread once I get their feedback.

Thanks man... If I do this, it would be nice to have Festool's opinion on the manner as well!

 

[Holmz]

...I was hoping I could also get direction from Festool USA as well? What direction would you guys recommend we go?

What do you want to hear? "Spend as much as you can".

You are going to need to root through it all in some dispassionate way.

 

[bobfog]

I'd value the impartial, non payroll advice of the general forum members, far more than that of Festool.

 

[Holmz]

I'd value the impartial, non payroll advice of the general forum members, far more than that of Festool.

Is the non-payroll group is non-partial?
[wink]

 

[TylerC]

[member=60286]bobfog[/member] [member=40772]Holmz[/member] Yep, I was planning to recommend the "1 of Everything Package". Busted. Thanks for being vigilant.

Seriously, the OP already has a dozen responses from "non-payroll" members, and I assume he's smart enough to consider our recommendation without letting fill his shopping cart for him.

 

[Holmz]

[member=57769]TylerC[/member] usually the FT is a pretty safe bet And we are all biased to some extent.

 

[AtomicRyan]

I'd value the impartial, non payroll advice of the general forum members, far more than that of Festool.

I absolutely do... That said, I'm planning on using this project as a feature on garagejournal.com. As such, I need to do my due diligence with every aspect of the tools that I pick and choose for my audience's sake. A part of that is discussing the tools with both the people that make them and the people that use them.

Plus, being new to Festool I think it's reasonable to go to the source to hear about the benefits of the system as a whole rather than individual tools. You know what I mean? From what little I know, it's almost as if Festool has an ecosystem built around their products making them work well together.

And a little more brown nosing... The fact that Festool actually maintains a forum is pretty amazing to me. And not just a forum - it seems like a community where people are free to constructively crit the products and recommend alternatives. To me, that shows a great deal of confidence. I like that.

Of course, that open attitude also allows a guy like me to get on here and find alternatives, ideas, etc... to work with from guys that aren't affiliated with Festool.

Point is, it's all good.

 

[Poindexter]

Ryan - first off, good for you!  And thanks for keeping the Garage Journal a killer place all these years.  You should leverage your brand and assets to work as best they can for your personal life while creating new content along the way.  This is how the world/Internet works.  I do this in the automotive industry (not the fun of cars; the business of selling & servicing them) and only wish I could make it work for my personal life.

I stayed as far away from Festool as possible until last October.  Ignorance was bliss and my wallet was a lot fatter.  In the past 3 months I've gone absolutely nuts with 3 sanders, a TS75, Domino 700, and Carvex plus vac while picking up, seemingly, every accessory for each tool and five billion boxes of sandpaper plus polishing applications.  By the way, Surfix is AMAZING! 

And then my appreciation for German tools led me to Felder, and my wallet is now feather light!  So enjoy, and try to resist the addiction.

 

[JonSchuck]

Translation of first three posts:

AtomicRyan:  Hey Festool.  As I recently posted on the general discussion forum I am going to do some home remodeling and am thinking of buying some Festools.  I have two large journals and "I figure it would be a good chance to kind of journal my experience for other mostly metal guys to see how it goes."  Anything you could do Festool?

TylerC:  Why, Yes.  I saw that thread, checked on how many subscribers you had and talked it over with the guys in the office.  We think we could probably do you a CT 36, TS 55, MFT/3, Rotex RO 150, and OF 1400 router.  Details to be worked out.  Also pending approval from higher up.  I will be in touch via pm.

AtomicRyan:  "Thanks man... If I do this, it would be nice to have Festool's opinion on the manner as well!"  And if we don't do this, there are other companies.

Actually, I am not opposed to this at all.  Sounds like a good deal for both parties.  There is only one thing that bothers me and it is only distantly related:

Peter Parfitt.  He undoubtedly makes millions for Festool and has to borrow tools to make a video about them.  What's up with that?  If Festool gave him one of every tool they make he would still be underpaid.  I understand that there is a lot of work in making and editing videos.  Plus he is so good and thorough at what he does and comes across as such a likable guy.  Then to hear he has a deadline on returning the tools....  If there were justice in this world, he would get to keep the tool and about $10,000 per video.  Much cheaper than an advertising agency. 

Good luck AtomicRyan.  I envy your shop.  Make them throw in the domino too.  It is a very good machine that is unique to Festool.  Then go watch some Peter Parfitt and Paul/Marcel (half inch shy) videos to learn how to use them all. 

 

[Paul G]

Jon, gotta admit it could be an interesting advertising opportunity for Festool since they also target the automotive industry.

 

[JonSchuck]

Jon, gotta admit it could be an interesting advertising opportunity for Festool since they also target the automotive industry.

Yeah, they should have thrown in a few things like the shinex.

 

[AtomicRyan]

Translation of first three posts:

AtomicRyan:  Hey Festool.  As I recently posted on the general discussion forum I am going to do some home remodeling and am thinking of buying some Festools.  I have two large journals and "I figure it would be a good chance to kind of journal my experience for other mostly metal guys to see how it goes."  Anything you could do Festool?

TylerC:  Why, Yes.  I saw that thread, checked on how many subscribers you had and talked it over with the guys in the office.  We think we could probably do you a CT 36, TS 55, MFT/3, Rotex RO 150, and OF 1400 router.  Details to be worked out.  Also pending approval from higher up.  I will be in touch via pm.

AtomicRyan:  "Thanks man... If I do this, it would be nice to have Festool's opinion on the manner as well!"  And if we don't do this, there are other companies.

Actually, I am not opposed to this at all.  Sounds like a good deal for both parties.  There is only one thing that bothers me and it is only distantly related:

Peter Parfitt.  He undoubtedly makes millions for Festool and has to borrow tools to make a video about them.  What's up with that?  If Festool gave him one of every tool they make he would still be underpaid.  I understand that there is a lot of work in making and editing videos.  Plus he is so good and thorough at what he does and comes across as such a likable guy.  Then to hear he has a deadline on returning the tools....  If there were justice in this world, he would get to keep the tool and about $10,000 per video.  Much cheaper than an advertising agency. 

Good luck AtomicRyan.  I envy your shop.  Make them throw in the domino too.  It is a very good machine that is unique to Festool.  Then go watch some Peter Parfitt and Paul/Marcel (half inch shy) videos to learn how to use them all.

Man... you are quick to jump to assumptions! I like your gusto! Wanna job?

Seriously though. The world as I know it doesn't really work that way. Either that or I've been doing it wrong. I've ran TGJ for almost 15 years now and I've been given a handful of tools. Typically, when we do a review - we have to give the stuff back when done. Seriously. Sometimes it's a joy to give back and other times it truly sucks... and I end up shelling out cash.

In any case, I kind of pride myself on doing super honest reviews. If you are familar with TGJ, you know I don't shy away at all from bashing stuff that I don't like... or gushing on stuff I do. Our editorial is not for sale and never has been. It's even a tag line of ours.

Now that all being said, if Festool wants to pony up and outfit me free of charge... well then... I guess I owe this John guy a commission!

 

[JonSchuck]

Translation of first three posts:

AtomicRyan:  Hey Festool.  As I recently posted on the general discussion forum I am going to do some home remodeling and am thinking of buying some Festools.  I have two large journals and "I figure it would be a good chance to kind of journal my experience for other mostly metal guys to see how it goes."  Anything you could do Festool?

TylerC:  Why, Yes.  I saw that thread, checked on how many subscribers you had and talked it over with the guys in the office.  We think we could probably do you a CT 36, TS 55, MFT/3, Rotex RO 150, and OF 1400 router.  Details to be worked out.  Also pending approval from higher up.  I will be in touch via pm.

AtomicRyan:  "Thanks man... If I do this, it would be nice to have Festool's opinion on the manner as well!"  And if we don't do this, there are other companies.

Actually, I am not opposed to this at all.  Sounds like a good deal for both parties.  There is only one thing that bothers me and it is only distantly related:

Peter Parfitt.  He undoubtedly makes millions for Festool and has to borrow tools to make a video about them.  What's up with that?  If Festool gave him one of every tool they make he would still be underpaid.  I understand that there is a lot of work in making and editing videos.  Plus he is so good and thorough at what he does and comes across as such a likable guy.  Then to hear he has a deadline on returning the tools....  If there were justice in this world, he would get to keep the tool and about $10,000 per video.  Much cheaper than an advertising agency. 

Good luck AtomicRyan.  I envy your shop.  Make them throw in the domino too.  It is a very good machine that is unique to Festool.  Then go watch some Peter Parfitt and Paul/Marcel (half inch shy) videos to learn how to use them all.

Man... you are quick to jump to assumptions! I like your gusto! Wanna job?

Seriously though. The world as I know it doesn't really work that way. Either that or I've been doing it wrong. I've ran TGJ for almost 15 years now and I've been given a handful of tools. Typically, when we do a review - we have to give the stuff back when done. Seriously. Sometimes it's a joy to give back and other times it truly sucks... and I end up shelling out cash.

In any case, I kind of pride myself on doing super honest reviews. If you are familar with TGJ, you know I don't shy away at all from bashing stuff that I don't like... or gushing on stuff I do. Our editorial is not for sale and never has been. It's even a tag line of ours.

Now that all being said, if Festool wants to pony up and outfit me free of charge... well then... I guess I owe this John guy a commission!

I didn't mean to diss you in any way.  If you are running two full time journals it is probably a full time job.  It appears to be successful and you deserve sponsors.  If you can get Festool to sponsor you, I am all for it.  And. like Paul G said, they should throw in some car tools.  Festools are really good stuff.

 

[AtomicRyan]

Translation of first three posts:

AtomicRyan:  Hey Festool.  As I recently posted on the general discussion forum I am going to do some home remodeling and am thinking of buying some Festools.  I have two large journals and "I figure it would be a good chance to kind of journal my experience for other mostly metal guys to see how it goes."  Anything you could do Festool?

TylerC:  Why, Yes.  I saw that thread, checked on how many subscribers you had and talked it over with the guys in the office.  We think we could probably do you a CT 36, TS 55, MFT/3, Rotex RO 150, and OF 1400 router.  Details to be worked out.  Also pending approval from higher up.  I will be in touch via pm.

AtomicRyan:  "Thanks man... If I do this, it would be nice to have Festool's opinion on the manner as well!"  And if we don't do this, there are other companies.

Actually, I am not opposed to this at all.  Sounds like a good deal for both parties.  There is only one thing that bothers me and it is only distantly related:

Peter Parfitt.  He undoubtedly makes millions for Festool and has to borrow tools to make a video about them.  What's up with that?  If Festool gave him one of every tool they make he would still be underpaid.  I understand that there is a lot of work in making and editing videos.  Plus he is so good and thorough at what he does and comes across as such a likable guy.  Then to hear he has a deadline on returning the tools....  If there were justice in this world, he would get to keep the tool and about $10,000 per video.  Much cheaper than an advertising agency. 

Good luck AtomicRyan.  I envy your shop.  Make them throw in the domino too.  It is a very good machine that is unique to Festool.  Then go watch some Peter Parfitt and Paul/Marcel (half inch shy) videos to learn how to use them all.

Man... you are quick to jump to assumptions! I like your gusto! Wanna job?

Seriously though. The world as I know it doesn't really work that way. Either that or I've been doing it wrong. I've ran TGJ for almost 15 years now and I've been given a handful of tools. Typically, when we do a review - we have to give the stuff back when done. Seriously. Sometimes it's a joy to give back and other times it truly sucks... and I end up shelling out cash.

In any case, I kind of pride myself on doing super honest reviews. If you are familar with TGJ, you know I don't shy away at all from bashing stuff that I don't like... or gushing on stuff I do. Our editorial is not for sale and never has been. It's even a tag line of ours.

Now that all being said, if Festool wants to pony up and outfit me free of charge... well then... I guess I owe this John guy a commission!

I didn't mean to diss you in any way.  If you are running two full time journals it is probably a full time job.  It appears to be successful and you deserve sponsors.  If you can get Festool to sponsor you, I am all for it.  And. like Paul G said, they should throw in some car tools.  Festools are really good stuff.

I didn't take it negatively at all man. No sweat. Now about that job... you work for cash under the table or?

Seriously though, all good. I think my job sometimes seems just a little more romantic than it is. I pay for my tools like everyone else. I try to get discounts where I can for sure, but only on big projects that I'm fairly confident in.

 

[Holmz]

You will have a bigger audience with Festool.

As far as the ecosystem, back in the day no one else was doing a HEPA vacuum. Festool used the Nilfisk I believe.

The TANOS made sustainers are now used by many manufactures now.

The good news is that just about any manufacturers tool plugs into their own, or into a Festool vacuum. And my systainer stack has a mix or colours/brands... But the classic sustainers need to be on the bottom.