damaged systainer

[mikeyr]

Hi, new guy here...I have wanted a domino for years but since I am a hobbyist now and no longer work wood for a living it was hard to justify the cost.  For Christmas I decided to buy myself a domino, went to the store and came home with a CT36 and cleaning systainer, Domino and of course the domino systainer and lastly a sander and a systainer for the sanding discs...oops I went over budget

Came home and found that the sander systainer is damaged, it has a small crack in the lid and the hinge pin is sticking out, I can't seem to get it back in or pull it out, it still works and I was going to live with it but after a week I started thinking that for the cost it should be perfect.

This systainer has the sander model and serial number on it, so I don't know how the store would change that out or do they care ? I don't know how Festool would want to handle this either and guess I can call them.  I would go back to the store where I bought everything but they are a half hour away and I think sending a snail mail letter with insufficient postage to Festool in Germany will likely get me a faster reply than the store.

The crack in the lid is barely visible in one pic but its there and I now worry it will get worse over time, would you send it back or at least try to get a new one or live with it ?  *sorry iPhone pics came out sideways*

 

[geoffshep]

Take it back - as you say, at the price it should be correct.  I had one arrive (in UK) slightly damaged and they sent me a new one and didn't want the old one back. 

I'm sure they would rather replace the sustainer than have to take the whole thing back under your 30 day return policy.

 

[waterloomarc]

Send it back. If it's the systainer that came with the sander then the whole thing will be covered by the 30 day exchange anyway. Given the way most retailers work these days they'll probably just swap out the whole thing sander and all. A call to festool itself may be able to get you the parts you need for repair yourself. To get the pin out you need to remove that cover plate that spans along the back wall between the hinges and then pop the hinge out from the inside. They're damn near impossible to pull out from the outside. (I broke a lid a while back and had to replace it)

 

[semenza]

[member=63564]mikeyr[/member]  Welcome to the forum!  [smile]

  Dealer should be able to take care of that.  Either tool exchange or maybe just swap the lid and pin for a new one. Not sure how they will handle it.

  I have a couple of damaged pins like that just from removing them to make my own lid swaps. Have not found damaged hingepin heads to be a problem. I would be a bit concerned that the crack in the lid near the hinge might expand over time.

  I'd get it taken care of.

Seth

 

[mikeyr]

Well I guess a road trip is in the works for me on Saturday back to the dealer...my wife said she will go with me this time so I don't come home with a TS55 and MFT/3, she was not the happiest wife in town after my last trip to the store.

I just assumed that since the serial number is on the systainer that the store could not give me a new systainer for the sander and i have used the sander quite a bit in the week between xmas and new year since I was off work so I also assumed they would not swap it.

(and to the mods who moved my thread, Thank You and sorry, I thought I had put it in the right forum since this one is about tools and there is nothing wrong with the tools, just the box.)

 

[semenza]

(and to the mods who moved my thread, Thank You and sorry, I thought I had put it in the right forum since this one is about tools and there is nothing wrong with the tools, just the box.)

Bit of a coin flip on the board location.  [wink]

Seth

 

[flair woodworks]

I'd also suggest that you contact the store for a solution.

A few other notes:
1. The labels actually come off quite well with the aid of a sharp tool (chisel or plane blade work great).
2. The easiest way to remove hinge pins from Systainers with a reinforcing bar blocking access is to drive a screw into the end of the pin and yank it out. Pins with a screw hole work fine, and they are cheap to replace if you don't like seeing the hole.

 

[ben_r_]

Take it to the dealer, let them figure out how to fix it.

 

[mikeyr]

so I took it to the dealer...sales girl told me to call Festool, I said fine I want my money back on this one and will buy the new one on the shelf.  She then told me she can't take it back because I had already said there was nothing wrong with the sander itself.  I very calmly explained that I was within my 30 days and Festool had a 30 day money back guarantee, she called the manager and he told her to swap the systainers.  So I came home with my used and perfectly functioning sander and a systainer off the shelf from a different sander.  Now the serial number of the sander does not match the label on the systainer but that is super minor, if ever I needed repairs they would use the number on the tool itself and not the box.

Overall, I was not pleased at all with the service from this dealer.  It took 3 calls from the sales girl to the manager to get this resolved and I was there well over an hour, there was more discussion then I just described.

But one good thing happened, I had not researched this ahead of time and purchased my original Festool's from this dealer who is 30 miles away, I thought he was the nearest Festool dealer to me, while at the store a customer quietly told me about a dealer in my town and he had all the goodies I wanted, the LR32 which forced me to buy a OF 1400 router (and my PC router is only 3 years old   ), the LR32 track and I also got the MFT/3 and TS 55 (had to order the TS 55), clamps and really nice clamping elements and my wife was ok with me spending this fortune.  I didn't even know a thing like the LR32 existed, I was still doing shelf holes on a drill press with a worn out template.

In 3 weeks time, I went from not owning a single Festool on Dec. 23 all the way to needing to go to meetings and say "Hi, my name is Mike and I am a Festoolaholic"

 

[SS Teach]

Welcome to FOG. It me 5 years to get to the point you reached in a month. I would suggest you watch a lot of YouTube videos on using your new Festools. They are very helpful. If you don't have any sanders yet be forewarned they seem to multiply once you buy just one. Fortunately you have an understanding wife. Enjoy your new Festools.