Anyone Else Have Buyer's Remorse?

[Kitteh]

Approximately 3 months ago, I purchased the Festool CSC SYS 50 table saw. REGRET!!! Upgrades and accessories are so limited! I'm also limited on what size of material I can cut. It's not the worst tool I've ever purchased but it's close. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have bought it. This mobile table saw is NOT innovative and does not inspire.

 

[squall_line]

It's a portable battery-powered saw.  I'm curious to know what size of material you're trying to cut that is limited?

This is likely one tool that I would try to use extensively during the 30 day return period to know if it was suitable for my use case.

 

[onocoffee]

A few months ago, I was also thinking about my first table saw and the SYS 50 was a top contender. Got a great deal on a used SawStop CTS so I went with that. What I know now that I learned since that time was a lot. The SYS 50 definitely does not have the capacity of the CTS and I think now that I would have been a little hampered. Not stopped but it would have called for more creative thinking on my part to cut the sheet goods I cut early on.

I don't know if I would say that any of the tools I own have necessarily "inspired" me and the work I've done. It makes it easier/simpler, but I feel that inspiration comes from elsewhere. I presume that you considered the size and capacity before making the decision to buy the SYS 50 and then realized it wasn't for you.

The best thing is that it's Festool. Since you're unhappy with it, put it up for sale. With most of the three year warranty still valid, you should be able to get a good price on it. Certainly more than enough to buy a new CTS or at least a good chunk of cash to get the Jobsite or Contractor saws.

 

[luvmytoolz]

Nope, not me! As mentioned in the other thread you posted I love mine!

 

[Chainring]

No buyers remorse here.

I purchased a DeWALT 7491RS before getting a track saw. I thought I'd need the larger table and rip capacity for sheet goods. After getting a track saw, I never broke down sheet goods on the table saw. Plus, breaking down sheet goods on a table saw is sketchy unless you have big options for infeed and outfeed, which I don't.

I thought having capacity for a dado stack would be great. Never used it. Any dadoes I've needed to do were handled by the OF 1010 or OF 2200. Glad I didn't purchase a dado stack.

The 7491 was a great saw, but I ended up selling it and purchased the CSC SYS 50. I love that little saw.

 

[Cheese]

Approximately 3 months ago, I purchased the Festool CSC SYS 50 table saw. REGRET!!! Upgrades and accessories are so limited! I'm also limited on what size of material I can cut. It's not the worst tool I've ever purchased but it's close. If I knew then what I know now, I would never have bought it. This mobile table saw is NOT innovative and does not inspire.

Upgrades and accessories for the saw ARE necessarily limited because it's a new release...if that's important to you, just give it some time.

What sizes of materials are you trying to cut? It's a small saw, with a small footprint designed to cut small stock...think trim and the like. It wasn't designed to cut down sheets of plywood...that's the domain of the track saw.

You did have the option of returning the saw but you're well past that option now.

 

[Imemiter]

I was almost certain that I'd regret getting a CTC SYS, but I'm enjoying it muchly. Its maiden voyage was cleaning my truck and the very second I finished the job, both batteries died. Which was perfect! Since then I've used it on two small grab and go glazing jobs, and one day long trim out installing a custom water table and belly band. It will never replace a Midi but it doesn't have to.   

 

[PaulMarcel]

I was almost certain that I'd regret getting a CTC SYS, but I'm enjoying it muchly. Its maiden voyage was cleaning my truck and the very second I finished the job, both batteries died. Which was perfect! Since then I've used it on two small grab and go glazing jobs, and one day long trim out installing a custom water table and belly band. It will never replace a Midi but it doesn't have to. 

But you would have regretted buying that CTC SYS to cut trim  [tongue]

 

[peter halle]

I haven't had buyer's remorse.  Perhaps that's because:

1.  I don't rush out and pre-order a new introduction
2.  I always look at the total purchase price which equals tool + accessories + consumables and then do the mental math about cost vs my anticipated usage
3.  I wait to read and watch what real reactions are about the tool - good and bad
4.  I recognize that real reactions typically aren't illustrated by those who have a tool wall of shame and are continually producing videos showing 5 second snippets of using tools while wearing hats, t-shirts, pants, etc emblazoned with the logo of the tool maker they are demoing.
5.  I contemplate whether of not I need or want the tool.  Want = wait longer.  Need - will happen at the correct moment

I have more tools than I need or use anymore but still purchase when there is a need, but rarely when there is just a want - especially if the tool is more than a couple hundred $.

I have often written that my Domino is my least used Festool.  I have no remorse buying it.  It does exactly what it is designed to do and it does it well.  I just haven't to this point of my life been in the mode to use it much.  But when I get to that point (and it has been used before) it will be there and I'll smile.

Everyone has their own decision making process. 

 

[luvmytoolz]

I haven't had buyer's remorse.  Perhaps that's because:

1.  I don't rush out and pre-order a new introduction
2.  I always look at the total purchase price which equals tool + accessories + consumables and then do the mental math about cost vs my anticipated usage
3.  I wait to read and watch what real reactions are about the tool - good and bad
4.  I recognize that real reactions typically aren't illustrated by those who have a tool wall of shame and are continually producing videos showing 5 second snippets of using tools while wearing hats, t-shirts, pants, etc emblazoned with the logo of the tool maker they are demoing.
5.  I contemplate whether of not I need or want the tool.  Want = wait longer.  Need - will happen at the correct moment

I have more tools than I need or use anymore but still purchase when there is a need, but rarely when there is just a want - especially if the tool is more than a couple hundred $.

I have often written that my Domino is my least used Festool.  I have no remorse buying it.  It does exactly what it is designed to do and it does it well.  I just haven't to this point of my life been in the mode to use it much.  But when I get to that point (and it has been used before) it will be there and I'll smile.

Everyone has their own decision making process.

I usually just go with "ooohhh shiny"!

My precious!

 

[jeffinsgf]

I haven't had buyer's remorse.  Perhaps that's because:

1.  I don't rush out and pre-order a new introduction
2.  I always look at the total purchase price which equals tool + accessories + consumables and then do the mental math about cost vs my anticipated usage
3.  I wait to read and watch what real reactions are about the tool - good and bad
4.  I recognize that real reactions typically aren't illustrated by those who have a tool wall of shame and are continually producing videos showing 5 second snippets of using tools while wearing hats, t-shirts, pants, etc emblazoned with the logo of the tool maker they are demoing.
5.  I contemplate whether of not I need or want the tool.  Want = wait longer.  Need - will happen at the correct moment

I have more tools than I need or use anymore but still purchase when there is a need, but rarely when there is just a want - especially if the tool is more than a couple hundred $.

I have often written that my Domino is my least used Festool.  I have no remorse buying it.  It does exactly what it is designed to do and it does it well.  I just haven't to this point of my life been in the mode to use it much.  But when I get to that point (and it has been used before) it will be there and I'll smile.

Everyone has their own decision making process.

I usually just go with "ooohhh shiny"!

My precious!

I was thinking the same thing...Peter is no fun at all!

I'm joking actually. I follow a very similar path. The only Festool I fell for immediately was the track saw and I've been using it without the least hint of buyer's remorse for about 25 years. I did become disenchanted with a Festool cordless drill, but that was so long ago that the battery systems are completely different today.

What I think goes on in North America is that Festool's reputation is for quality tools...not quality jobsite tools. Personally, I would never look at that battery powered table top table saw and say to myself, "That's the centerpiece of my woodworking shop." On the other hand, if I were a professional remodeler, I would likely already have one.

 

[Packard]

Also consider if marketing has imposed some artificial design constraints that will compromise the usefulness of the saw.

Apparently, it was established before any design was done, that the saw had to fit into a Systainer.  It was very cool.  But compromise upon compromise was the result.

It is like taking the Luna Rover, a vehicle designed to operate on the moon, and then complaining that it does not work very well on Earth.  The design constraints worked against it being very useful on our planet.

Table saws benefit from being large and stable.  It used to be that there would be a cabinet saw in the shop and a light weight saw used on the jobsite. 

I would venture to bet that if the marketing people had not imposed the Systainer mandate, the saw would have been vastly improved by making it just 20% larger (and still highly portable).

 

[woodferret]

I guess it depends on which marketing shtick hit you.  If an influencer influenced you to buy it, I'm sorry.  I have no remorse on mine because it fits what I want to do, and I knew the limitations of it being a small compact saw.  I did have squint eye though on the mfg QA.

edit: I also would not have bought it if I couldn't stack it. 

 

[Packard]

I recall seeing contractors with their Delta Contractors’ II saws in the bed of their pickup trucks. It took two guys to lift it into the truck and to take it out.  But it was a full size; full capability saw that could rip, cross cut, cut dadoes or grooves—pretty much everything that a cabinet saw could do (except for dust control).

I think it was DeWalt that popped that bubble with their fully capable transportable saws.  Still kind of big and heavy, but capable. 

Reduce that saw about 20% in all dimensions (and weight) and a skilled engineering department could make a really capable saw.  But force it to fit in a Systainer and it will be compromised.  I think history will treat that saw harshly.

By “history”, I mean looking back 10 years from now. 

 

[luvmytoolz]

[member=74278]Packard[/member] Sorry but I disagree, the SYS 50 is a purpose designed saw based on some specific criteria, and as such is exactly what was delivered. The fact it had to be a systainer form factor is not a negative as I see it, but an aspect that increases the appeal for the intended market and I suspect one of the main reasons for it's incredible success. Again, Festool products are all about cohesion and interoperability, so this is taking that principle to the next level for a tool like this.

If it was 20% bigger, heavier, whatever, that would tip it over into the mobile contractors saw arena, which makes zero sense given the Sawstops already in that place and would therefore dramatically affect sales adversely being a competitor to more capable contractors saws.

As it is currently, is it perfect, no, the dust extraction could be better, capability for longer fences with stops would be desirable, etc, but the fact that Festool couldn't manufacture these fast enough for the market demand shows they hit the target and the right demographics on the head.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

No. The only remorse I have ever had with Festool, is the things that have been discontinued. I definitely would have purchased another RAS115.
As far as the CSC SYS 50, I don't have one, for a reason. I don't do enough of the "small parts and trim" where it excels. I see it as a companion to a track saw, not a "core of the shop" that would be a cabinet saws place. The one place where a track saw struggles, is with small parts or narrow strips.
It can be adapted (workaround) but a small table saw makes it much easier.
Small enough to be portable (easily) and fitting within the Systainer footprint? Fantastic, in the right application.
In my not so humble opinion, a guy buying this saw should already be in the Festool battery platform. This is an addition to a system, rather than a solo tool purchase.

As I see it, this is a square peg/round hole situation. Nothing wrong with a square peg, just don't buy one to fill a round hole, you'll be disappointed.

My first Festool tool was a DF500. It falls right into the overused term of "game changer", for me, but that is not the case for everyone either.

 

 

[Econoline]

Don't even get me started...
Festool abandoned the CMS concept, which was hands down, one of the most innovative tool systems ever made. But the only remorse I have is not buying more of the CMS tools before the safety heads in the EU started dumbing everything down. The SYS 50 is just a silly toy compared to a TS75/TS55 mounted in a CMS table.

E.

 

[cpw]

In the shop I have a Sawstop, I also have the smaller of the two Dewalt jobsite saws.  I want something small enough to easily lift into my truck bed.  The weight is my biggest complaint about my 12" slider.

For bigger sheet goods, I will use an HKC55 if not in the shop anyway; so the capacity of a job site table saw is secondary to the ergonomics for me.

I can see how the compromise of the systainer is perfectly reasonable from a transport perspective.

I don't do enough site work to justify the Festool cordless saw.  As the market is currently, I don't see replacing what I have; but if the CPSC does mandate safety technology, then I expect to buy a replacement mobile saw after a year or two when competition between manufacturers drives the price of a blade brake down.

 

[luvmytoolz]

I forgot to mention earlier that 99% of the reason I bought the SYS 50 is because the slider fits almost all of my smaller work needs beautifully.

The fact they built such a useful and capable slider into a machine like this is invaluable to me. The form factor and digital control are just the cherry on top. The extension table also isn't flimsy or an after thought, and is very well designed and implemented.

 

[gsdvorak]

I have 2 cabinet saws- SawStop PCS and Delta Unisaw (which I kept after buying the PCS) but purchased the CSC 50 to cut small parts which I do as often as larger pieces.  I'm shop based for the most part- the portability and battery operation are nice for times I need to take to an installation- but the primary reason is to cut small parts and trim with ease.  The electronic blade control is a luxury and for my use is not necessary, but it is very nice!  I compare the saws to the routers I have:  sometimes the OF2200 is the best choice, most of the time the best choice is the 1400, but there are some things the 700 can do so much better than the other two.  For saws, the TSC55 breaks down sheet goods, the PCS rips hardwood lumber, the Unisaw cuts dados, and the CSC Sys 50 for small parts, trim, and install site use.  If it was my only table saw, it wouldn't be my first choice, but I'm fortunate to be able to pay $$ for having options for ease of use. 

Sorry it doesn't work for your purpose- hope you find the unit that fits your needs.

Regards,
Gerald