Boom Arm Review

[Dan Clark]

Hi.  This is my third and last review today - the Boom Arm Review.  If you've looked at the other two, you'll see that the Depth Stop Chuck and the Host Garage reviews were different.  And this is a different review from those to.  With the Depth Stop Chuck, my reaction was "Yeee Haaa!!!  Is this thing wonderful or WHAT!?!".  With the Hose Garage, my reaction was that it's a nice accessory.  But the Boom Arm...

It's a different animal.  At first, with the lack of documentation, I was irritated.  And I had the boom pointed toward the wall.  So, I kept hitting things and I struggled with it.  Then I moved the boom to the right side and installed the hose clamp.  Better, but still not great.  But then...

I thought, "Hey stupid, turn it around!"  So now it's turned 180 degrees and here it sits:

So all day yesterday (I took Friday off) and today I worked on the bathroom, cleaning, straightening up, installing sheet rock, all sorts of mundane things.  I didn't think about the Boom Arm much.  Or the CT22!  Or cleaning up!  And that's the point...

They all faded into the background!  My work space got easier to work with.  Messes were much easier to clean up.    No more tripping on or fooling with hoses and cords!    My work space got cleaner.  The work was easier.  And all I did with it was to use it as a vacuum.  I haven't even had the opportunity to use it as a DC! 

It's not that I get a massive emotional charge out of the Boom Arm.  I don't say, "Wow, what a tool!"  It's just that it makes my life easier.  Here are my two favorite pics of the Boom Arm:

And

In the first pic, I just got finished vacuuming sheet rock dust off of the MFT.  Notice the Boom Arm just hangin' there.  No cords and hoses to trip over.  IT IS SITTING PATIENTLY, WAITING TO BE USED. 

Now take a look at the second pic.  They look the same don't they?    Not quite.  To take a better pic, I swatted the hose with my hand and it swung to the mid point of it's arc OUT OF THE WAY.  No effort involved.  No thought.  No planning.  Just a hand swat.

If I wanted, I could have tossed (literally) the hose another 2-3 feet farther towards the far wall.  Again, no thought.  No effort.  NO INTERUPTION OF MY WORK FLOW OR THINKING!

Are your starting to get it?  It's like that comfy pair of old shoes that FIT your feet perfectly.  You don't think how great they are; they are just part of your life.

Here's my favorite feature pic of the Boom Arm:

I'll bet you're thinking something like "Huh?".  Take a good close look.  You can see the hose and wire being held out of the way, but take a look at the plastic thing...  That's the bearing that the Boom Arm swings on.  SMOOTHLY!  The little silver screw controls the motion.  Those two little black knobs?  If you remove them, the Boom Arm breaks down and can be stored so that's only about 3-4 feet tall.  And what you can't see...

If you remove the two black knobs and lift out the top half of the Boom Arm, you'll see the inside of the bottom half of the Boom Arm.    If you stick your finger in that hole, you'll feel smoooooooth.  The INSIDE of the Boom Arm is glass smooth.  Combined with the plastic bearing that you see, the smooth inside contributes to an almost effortless movement of the Boom Arm.  Which is one of the reasons why you don't think about it - you push it a little and it's out of your way. 

I hope I've been able to impart the great warm fuzzies that I feel for the Boom Arm.  It's my nice old pair of shoes (that happen to be three days old) that I won't part with for anything.

Overall Grade: A+++

Dan.

 

[Per Swenson]

Great review Dan,

Greatest thing (the boom) since sliced bread.

Any hoo, here is a tip. The wire loop  you have, I passed the

the large hose through it on its way up the arm.

This helps in mobility, yours and the arms.

Kinda takes the sag out to the left and adds a few inches in reach.

Like I have said before, two minutes after I started using mine, I

cursed myself for thinking for a year that this was a unneeded

extravagance.

I need another.

Per

 

[bill-e]

Great review Dan.  By the way, mine came with adequate documentation so it seems you're was may have been an anomaly.  Did yours come with a plastic bag for the documentation and all you had was the parts list or was that bag missing?  The long top of my box had the tape pulled away so that bag could have easily fallen out.

 

[Steven in Iowa]

Bill,
  I plan/intend on purchasing a boom arm for my CT 22.  What is the total height you measure to top of the boom?  I have 8' ceilings with fluorescent lighting below that.  Thanks for letting me bother you.

 

[Dan Clark]

Great review Dan.  By the way, mine came with adequate documentation so it seems you're was may have been an anomaly.  Did yours come with a plastic bag for the documentation and all you had was the parts list or was that bag missing?  The long top of my box had the tape pulled away so that bag could have easily fallen out.

Bill,

Hi.  Mine came with a plastic bag of parts, but no docs.  (I think I have all the parts.)  And the box was taped shut securely.  Oh well.

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Dan Clark]

Bill,
  I plan/intend on purchasing a boom arm for my CT 22.  What is the total height you measure to top of the boom?  I have 8' ceilings with fluorescent lighting below that.  Thanks for letting me bother you.

Steven,

I measured mine.  The top-most part of the hose fitting at the top of the Boom Arm is slightly less than 82 inches (actually about 81-3/4).  Unless you florescents are more than a foot thick, you'll be fine.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[Dan Clark]

...Any hoo, here is a tip. The wire loop  you have, I passed the
the large hose through it on its way up the arm....

Per,

Thanks. 

Regarding "wire loop", if you mean what looks like a hose clamp, I used that to lock down the boom arm so that it wouldn't come out of the socket.  If it's something else, I didn't get one.  In any case...

My hose droops a bit too.  It's not a big issue, but I thought about using a plastic wire tie to keep it up there.  I'll try that and add it to the review.

Again, thanks!

Dan.

 

[bill-e]

Bill,
  I plan/intend on purchasing a boom arm for my CT 22.  What is the total height you measure to top of the boom?  I have 8' ceilings with fluorescent lighting below that.  Thanks for letting me bother you.

Steve, What Dan said

 

[Steven in Iowa]

Thanks Dan and Bill.  I needed that.

 

[Per Swenson]

Dan,

No, this thingy here..

Pass the hose straight through it.

P.

 

[Per Swenson]

Thanks Ned..

That was amazing.

Really.

 

[Ned]

Thanks Ned..

That was amazing.

Really.

Per,

Wrong

thread.

Ned

 

[jimg]

[/quote]

Per,

Wrong

thread.

Ned

[/quote]

Matthew, could you please add a category for poetry?  ;D

 

[jimg]

Dan,

No, this thingy here..

Pass the hose straight through it.

P.

Does the boom arm come with that hose holder?

 

[Dan Clark]

Dan,

No, this thingy here..

Pass the hose straight through it.

P.

Per,

That's one of the first things I did - pass it through the "Schlauchhalter" (love that name).   But the hose got in the way in that configuration - it blocked access to the drill sortainer.  

Hmmm...  Since the CT is in a different position, it may work better now.   I'll give the Schlauchhalter another go.

Thanks,

Dan.

 

[Dan Clark]

Dan,
No, this thingy here..

Pass the hose straight through it.

P.

Does the boom arm come with that hose holder?

Jim,

No. It's a separate item.  I bought this several months ago.

Dan.

 

[Corwin]

I had purchased the handle and hose holder when I first ordered my vac, so it only seemed natural to continue to use the holder for the hose with the Boom Arm.  I also lead the power cord through the hose holder.  Keeps everything in place.  Now, if they only made a sweeping 90 to use where the hose connects to the vac -- not that it is really needed, just would prevent some damage to the hose if you bumped into something.

With the Boom Arm I also purchased the Y adaptor based on someone's recommendation that it would take out some of the bend where the hose is connected to the vac.  For me, however, the setup works almost better without the Y. 

Corwin

 

[Corwin]

I like your take on how the Boom Arm has made your work space easier to work with.  But I especially like the way you discussed individual aspects followed by a grade in your review of the Hose Garage -- made that review rather fun.

To continue this review of the Boom Arm, you may wish to also include a few more items:

The overallhight has already been addressed, but you could also note that if one needed the hose brackets could be mounted below or to the side to gain additional room.  Specific measurements here for both overall hight and the disassembled hight for transport will be most useful to those with these concerns.

It also should probably be noted that the D27 can be readily installed or removed with the hose brackets intact, but these brackets have to be disassembled to install around the larger D36 hose.  The D36 is held somewhat snuggly within these brackets, which is fine, but without the ability to easily change between hoses one will probably want to leave the larger hose mounted and simply use ties to hang the smaller hose from the power-cord hooks during sanding operations.

You might also discuss the stabilizing feet that come with the Boom Arm.  I see that several of us with Boom Arms are not deploying these feet -- Hmmm, don't want to be one that later regrets that choice...  

These reviews are a very helpful tool in deciding on particular products -- especially when you consider that many may have no other option than to purchase 'site unseen'.  After all, had it not been for Jerry Work's great review, "Getting the Most from the MFT Multifunction Table", there would surely be at least one less Festool owner.

Keep up the good work!
Corwin

 

[Per Swenson]

About those feet,

I often swing the arm (pull pin, rotate) 180 degrees over

the handle. This gives you a longer reach.

But when you do this, the feet are a must.

Also I set them a 1/4 inch off the floor.

Thats the way I roll. (I had to use that line)

Per

 

[Corwin]

Also I set them a 1/4 inch off the floor.

Thats the way I roll. (I had to use that line)

Per

Sweeeeeet!  I probably never would have thought of that!  I was thinking of only deploying the feet while in the extended-reach mode, as you described -- with this in mind, I may take the more cautious approach more often.  Priceless!

And Thanks!
Corwin