DOH! What's your worst/stupidest/most embarrassing Festool moment yet?

V

vanderpooch

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Joined
May 7, 2007
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52
Rrrrh.

I'll get the ball rolling. Realized today that when I drove away from the jobsite on Friday, I left my 4 foot guide rail sitting on top of the truck rack. %*&#! The worst part? I would have found the rail useful but not absolutely necessary for the job I'll be on the next couple days, but what I really need are the couplers stored in the track to join my remaining two rails together. I wonder how long the friction strips held it up there before it blew off? I don't remember hearing any honking...

So, what the stupidest thing you've done with your Festools recently?

Come on now, fess up.

-Kit
 
I waited too long to buy one.  I'm sure some stupidity will ensue.  ;D
 
easy one.
Plunged through a carcase side first thing.

or was it picking up my CT22 and dumping a liter of paint chips out onto the driveway (just cause it picks them up well doesn't mean it always hangs onto them).....
 
Plunge-cutting a sink hole with my TS55 into a solid timber worktop, without clamping the rail or using a limit stop, and using a blade which I knew wasn't very sharp anymore....

End result - a kickback, a gouge in the leading edge of my guide rail, a ?250 bill for a new length of worktop, and a full day of downtime waiting for the replacement to come. :-[ :-[ :-[
 
My very first experience with the ATF, Guide bar and MFT.

I had brought the whole pie of godies home, set them all up, read the directions, etc.

i had been familiar with plunge cutting with circular saw for many years having used such a method for years of form building and scaffolding constrution.  Very often a notch was necessary in a sheet of ply or even into a rough board.  All one had to do was tip the heel of the saw plate into the air, start the blade whirling at full speed and lowe the saw.  Altho I never got a kick back that way, I was always very carefull to position my self so if it did happen, the saw did not aim itself toards any part of my body. Usually my legsand feet were in the closest proximity to danger.  I knew an experinced carpenter who had had the misfortune of experiencing his saw climbing his leg from doing just the same operatin as i have described.  Not a fun thing.  I was always very carefull. There are those who read this who might say it was never being careful if such an operation was even attempted.  It was an expediency of neccesity in the interrest of production.  Money did not come in until concrete was in place, or the chimney was finished and so on.

Once i had my saw set up and ready for the first cut, even tho i knew how the saw operated, it prooved to be a bit difficult to shake off old habits.  I was so excited, i simply picked theback of the saw up until the plate rotated off the guide bar.  As soon as I had "proper" elevation, I engaged the power and lowered the saw.  In far less time than it takes to tell the story, i had acquired the nice suvineers of a great gouge across the top of my guide bar and a slice out of the rubber guide strip.  From that point on, my old habit was discarded.  It is so nice to just set the saw into the grooves and set the depth.  no need to raise the saw before starting.  i will keep that olsd style bar for as long as i have a Festool saw, and i will not realign the rubber strip.  The gouges and the chunk of strip tat is no longer there are good reminders of stupidity grouped with rush.
Tinker
 
Forgetting to set the plunge depth on my OF1400 while using the hole drilling kit and only realizing that I was drilling all the way to my bench on the fourth hole  :-[
 
Knocking my 1 day old of2000 router off the workbench. It landed on the top of the motor housing.... cracking the cap. A quick call to Festool service had a new cap on the way.

In the end, nothing hurt but my pride.

Ed
 
Forgot to reset the depth on the Domino :-[ Plunged through the part into MFT :-\ Then did it again later. Doh
 
Mike Chrest said:
Forgot to reset the depth on the Domino :-[ Plunged through the part into MFT :-\ Then did it again later. Doh
Click to expand...

Been there, done that, my homemade sysport has a small plug on the side that proves it.

Fred
 
Complaining on this forum that the "plug-it" cords suck because they don't stay attached, when in reality I just wasn't twisting them on far enough.  DOH!!

TP

kit camp said:
Rrrrh.

I'll get the ball rolling. Realized today that when I drove away from the jobsite on Friday, I left my 4 foot guide rail sitting on top of the truck rack. %*&#! The worst part? I would have found the rail useful but not absolutely necessary for the job I'll be on the next couple days, but what I really need are the couplers stored in the track to join my remaining two rails together. I wonder how long the friction strips held it up there before it blew off? I don't remember hearing any honking...

So, what the stupidest thing you've done with your Festools recently?

Come on now, fess up.

-Kit
Click to expand...
 
Not ensuring the the guide rail on my MFT 1080 was sitting properly on the support on the front rail of the MFT. The pin on the guide rail support, rather than sitting in the groove on the underside of the guide rail, had got caught on the rubber strip to the right of the groove. I didn't notice until I started my cut ... into the gruiderail support! Yow! Broke several teeth off my sawblade, and took a chunk out of the support. Still have all my fingers. Lesson learned.

Poto
 
The other day I was cursing the saw for not picking up dust very well.  Wondering if the green tab thing was positioned correctly, wondering if I should get the face plate, and then realizing the vac hose was not connected to the saw.  DOH!
 
Ah, It's nice to see I'm not the only screwup out there. Hope to hear more, misery loves company, my friends.

-Kit
 
Now I can admit to mine, since Tinker said it perfectly first.  EXCEPT, I don't have the reasonable excuse of years of habit.  In my case, just sheer stupidity and carelessness.

 
Kit,
You only lost a 4' rail. I did the same thing with a 2700/2 rail.

Eiji.

PS - hey! I thought the MFT top was supposed to be sacrficial.

 
I couldn't help scrounging a large crate that formerly held a refrigeration unit at a grocer store. The word "FREE" was sprayed on the side making it even more desirable. Once I got the pile of (s)crap home I put my new Panther blade to one of the 2x4's and pretty instantly heard this really sickening sound. I had hit a screw that I stripped the head off and even put a big fat circle around it so that I wouldn't hit it later. So much for saving money.
 
Well, this should be  worst/stupidest/most embarrassing Festool moment, while NOT using a Festool tool. My Mom asked me to come over her house, remove the wallpaper in the pantry, scrape off the backing, prime and paint. Small area, maybe 100 square feet. Ok, why scrape the backing, when with the Rotex 150 is at hand? I am a Festool dealer, for heaven's sake! Packed up the CT MINI, RO 150, Deltex 93, LS 130 with the scraper with every sort of  paper. I could have sanded sidewalks with what I had. Made the 25 mile, 1 1/2 hour trip to Brooklyn. Ok, so far untill I opened the RO and LS systainers only to find that I did not have the Plug-it cords. The only sander able to work was the Deltex. Just not a good day!

Bob
 
Now this wasn't my error when using this tool. But i had to post this once again. We had a customer come in two days after buying a new ras. He says he let his employee use it on the first day. Now if you know what the ras looks like new you will be able too see how horrible of a mistake this is. Once again i must say. WE DID NOT DO THIS ONE! remember to always lock the little green level before running the ras! Crazy thing is the guy said his employee just kept sanding away for about twenty minutes before realizing what he was doing wrong. The boss heard clanking, scratched his head and walked into the other room. Advice, never give your festool to an $8 an hour employee!
 
Eiji F said:
Kit,
You only lost a 4' rail. I did the same thing with a 2700/2 rail.
Click to expand...

Eiji,

Ooch!  At least you then became the owner of a custom "cut to length" Guide Rail.  You have my sympathy on that one.
Dave R.
 
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