Does Festool make you money???

andy5405

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Joined
May 14, 2011
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I've been a Festool owner for 3 years but until recently only had the PS300. I have recently bought the TS55 (why did I wait so long?), CT26 and EBL65. I knew the stuff was good as I had the PS300 but I have only really fully got the whole Festool thing after my recent purchases. So I'm fully hooked now and that's great. The theory is I can do better work, be more efficient and put loads more money in the bank. What concerns me is that theory is flawed as I have already earmarked all future anticipated spare cash for more Festool gear. I'm currenly spending all my spare cash putting all my tools in T-Locs and when I have finished doing that I want an MFT, and OF1400 and the list goes on and on. So do you ever get to a stage where Festool actually earns you money or do you just end up spending the extra money it earns you on more Festool gear?
 
All I hear is cha-ching.

Hehe, but I'm a hobbyist.  What it "makes" me is time.  Time saved = more WW'ing time, and more time with the kids and fam-dambly.
 
Hi Andy,

The simple answer to your question in my case is YES. 4 or 5 years ago i bought a TS55 for a specific job. The  ts55 was so good that it saved half the material price of that job  and 40% of the labour,(compared to another guy doing it). Based on that alone I got all the work on that job and it got me a very good customer.That has lead to work in  hundreds of thousands since (with that customer). The rest of the system has lead to other opportunities and the dust extraction alone gets me work. I have a totally ,where I can, use Festool exclusively. I have spent thousands on festool gear and it has repaid many fold.

John
 
I would say guys + tools - cash = a never ending circle.  Enjoy your ride on the merry-go-round!  [wink]
 
Prior to having the TS55, I would make a cut "proud" of the line, than get the 4"x24" Bosch belt sander and grind the wood to the final size. The Systainers allow me to carry all power tools in one trip from van to site. Yes, Festool makes me money
David Werkheiser
 
David Werkheiser said:
Prior to having the TS55, I would make a cut "proud" of the line, than get the 4"x24" Bosch belt sander and grind the wood to the final size. The Systainers allow me to carry all power tools in one trip from van to site. Yes, Festool makes me money
David Werkheiser

Am I reading that correct?  You used a belt sander to sand lets say sheet of MDF/ply or a plank of wood to your required size?   Belt sander?  [eek]    Dont like planners?

JMB
 
The answer th that question is simple, yes AND no.  Although I am a hobbist, as stated earlier - saves time, but as others will attest to that they make money and then buy more toys tools.  It is a very slippery green slope
 
Why yes they do....3 years ago I got my TS 55 and a Midi Dust Collector, they alone changed my cabinet making time by one third easily cutting up sheet good for the carcase and cutting all my face frame work.
Since the I have added a few more of Festool's Goodies and each has greatly enhanced my cabinet making and profit considerably.
It has been a good move to me to join the Festool Family.

Sal
 
I cant really say Ive made money with them,

But it is enjoyable using them.
It makes life easier and challenging in some cases.  

The paralell guides took some getting used to .

But now I enjoy them.

Challenging because their is a learning curve with some of them which I enjoy and get frustrated at the same time.

But I do like them
 
Let's just say that as a contractor I will never regret my decision to embrace the Festool line and the system.  The tools perform as advertised for me allowing me to do many tasks easier, faster, and better than with other tools.  I tend to plan purchases and have what I believe to be the core of the system plus a few others.  In my work the core gets used constantly, the others as needed.

Plan your purchases based on your needs versus your wants and over time you will make money I predict.

Peter
 
I would say they definitely make me more money.  No reservations.

Anyone that's on this forum has a desire for, probably an obsession with, high quality and results as close to perfection as humanly possible.

The only tool company that helps you get those results that you obsess over is Festool and in some situations Mafell.

Not only are their tools able to give you incredible results, but they do so efficiently and after some learning, with ease.

The mistake that I've made is thinking that I need every single Festool offering at some point, but the reality is that I need to make sure a tool is going to benefit ME before I invest in it.  I probably have one more Festool sander than I need and it's fun to think that it might hit a home run in that one situation that it's geared for, but I need to be faithful to my tool purchasing policy...

If you are trying to run a business and make money... Don't buy a tool until you absolutely need it.
 
Shane good one!

Yes they pay for them selves over and over again. Just an example I get more drywall patching jobs due to the vac and sander. Dustless drywall repair sells the job all the time and at a good price.

My built in business. Is much more streamlined due to all the Festool  efficiency

The problem is I just buy more !  But actually that is a great problem!
 
I guess I have mixed feelings on this one.
Can Festool make you money? Sure.  But I think it's the product you produce as a contractor that make money.  If you do good work, it will lead to more work. Your client will pass your name and number to friends and family if your work it good.  A guy can have all the Festool tools in the world but that doesn't mean he can turn out a good product.  Yes Festool makes our job easy, saves time and everything,  But there are guys still producing great work without Festools.  Just because a guy has good tools, doesn't mean had does a good job. 
 
I wouldn't own them if they did not make me money.

Why they make me money;

1. They last
2. They perform everyday like they are new
3. They come with a storage system that makes handling, packing, storage, transport easy
3.5 Their storage system has a place for everything....you know if you have it all or not... no more lost tools
4. They are apart of a system that allows use of common elements
5. They all attach to one extractor
6. They save at least one hour of clean up per crew person per a day
7. They can do things that other tools can't
8. They impress clients with their precision and lack of dust created
9. They let me do the job I want to do at the quality level I need to perform at
10. they make me happy!

Cheers,
Steve

 
I will say that I find my self doing minor clean up if any at the end of each day compared to the pre-Festool days!
 
Many, many times on FOG and other woodworking web sites I have said that I originally purchased my first TS55 and companion CT22 because I was convinced they could make really good and accurate glue-ready cuts as well as any of the expensive table saws I had ever owned. The thing is back then, January 2006, I had no space for even a small table saw.

At that time I had 3 weeks left on my annual vacation, with several projects I needed to make for myself. The price of the Festools seemed fair and fortunately not a burden.

After that vacation, people who saw the projects begged me to build them custom cases and cabinets. By then I had added an OF1010 router and the complete LR32 kit to effectively make adjustable shelf holes without my former line boring multi-spindle machine. To speed up sanding, I had bought a RO 150. I started building those commissioned jobs before and after work. My Festools saved me so much time I was making far more profit than I expected on every job. By March 2006 things slowed enough at my job I became a hero by volunteering for a leave-of-absence to save the career of an executive with much less seniority.

Immediately I let my satisfied clients know I could take on more jobs. I also started making deals with friends who had spare space in their shops. I bought several extra guide rails, so I did not always need to bring them with me. Those shops were large enough I could use 2700mm and 3000mm rails. My Systainers easily fit in my Grand Am. Renting shop space also gave me access to decent table saws, joiners and thickness planers.

When business returned to normal at my actual job, I returned to work for several months, doing my woodworking as before early and late every day, in those rented shops.

As needed I added more Festools until I owned almost all the sanders. When the Kapex reached the USA I bought one of the first in Los Angeles. Same for the Domino.

After I retired I resumed building custom projects full time, with a few part-time cabinet makers as employees, still renting space in shops. It was the profits from using all those Festools that convinced me to buy my own factory-sized building. It took forever to find the right building on the right lot in an industrial zone with enough 480v 3 phase power. Then there were delays bringing that building up to current codes such as ADA. My new large machines started arriving in August 2010. My own auto bander has been on back-order, so we have been using a rental unit. Our own is due mid June.

All of this efficient space and all those machines were paid for by my Festools!
 
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