Boom arm question again.

oradba69

Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2009
Messages
58
I received one for my birthday and has set it up to point backwards but was wondering if facing forward over the vacuum is not a better idea? Am I also the only person battling to roll up the powerchord now since the pipes of the handle and feet are in the way?
 
Sparktrician said:
Mine hangs over the vacuum, and I ditched the feet after I had tripped over them a bunch of times.  Mine rolls nicely under one of my MFT/3s, and even better without the feet. 

[smile]
 
+1
 
Mine faces forward over the vac which sits under the MFT, but I often swing it all the way back when I working on my workbench. I raised the feet so they are 1/2" or so off the floor- this way they do not impede the CT's movement but are there if the other thing suddenly wants to topple backwards.

You are not alone in having powercord problems. Mine is a complete PITA. The cord storage is without doubt the weak point in the CT's design. A retractable cord would be much better.
 
Thanks guys. Maybe some day when I have time (aka never) I will put some wood block spacers between the wire blocks and the vacuum.
Not sure why another set accompanies the boom arm kit since the vacuum already had a pair on.  ???
 
For me the boom arm is for stationary use so I do not see the need for a cord wrap. If I want to move the CT I take the boom arm  off completely(making wrapping the cord a cinch). What a hassle moving that thing with the boom arm on especially if the base supports are on, took mine off long ago.

A retractable cord would still be nice, especially since I never use the lower storage and it seems plenty of room to have the cord retract into.
 
If you are a Festool addict as I am the WCR1000 has some hooks on it where the cord can be stowed. I just roll up the excess cord length and hang it off of a hook on the back. Regarding the extra support legs the weight of the WCR1000 balances the CT36 with boom arm coming over the front well enough that I folded them tight to the side of the CT as they were always catching on things, feet table legs etc. So buy yourself a WCR1000 and enjoy this and it many other benefits. Places for tools in use, handy shelfs for small tools, pegboard for small accessory packs.
 
Similar to what Tom mentioned, I use a retracting power cord hung on the ceiling (a Rockler reel) and bring it to the CT-22 instead of the CT's cable to the plug.  Hang the reel's cord over the sander hook and plug into the CT.  In my case, I put a short T-extension so the CT plugs into the T and the T is what is plugged into the reel.  This gives me a couple other plugs there for other stuff.

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oradba69 said:
I received one for my birthday and has set it up to point backwards but was wondering if facing forward over the vacuum is not a better idea? Am I also the only person battling to roll up the powerchord now since the pipes of the handle and feet are in the way?

Whether you position the Boom Arm backwards or forwards is up to you, and what the current situation may call for.  As to having problems rolling up the power cord, I have to assume you have an older CT22/33 model otherwise you wouldn't have anything to wrap the cord onto with the handle installed.  If this is the case, you should have plenty of room to roll up your power cord if you have the brackets to those stabilizer legs positioned outward, rather than pointing back.  Also, you might want to consider one of these options:

CT26, Boom Arm and Power Cord

CT Handle
 
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