Festool Carvex PSC420 Review - Video

[green fever]

I would compare the 400 to something like this http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/sawing/jigsaws/350W-Jigsaw-10957575  [blink]

got to laugh at this for just under £13. 00. It has an on board Allen key !! 420 £300+ ? where did I or festool go wrong ?

 

[neth27]

I would compare the 400 to something like this http://www.diy.com/nav/fix/power-tools/sawing/jigsaws/350W-Jigsaw-10957575  [blink]

got to laugh at this for just under £13. 00. It has an on board Allen key !! 420 £300+ ? where did I or festool go wrong ?

It gets better reviews than the carvex, 80% of people would recommend it to a friend  [big grin]

john..

 

[ldmillar1981]

Got my 420 friday, today i cut a 370mm hole in a 44mm fire door for a glazed port hole, with the circle cutting attachment, i know the manual states not to use the attachment on materal thicker than 20mm but it cut through fine and square. makes my life easier as now i down have to set the router up for this task.

also got the ctl 26 with boom arm has changed my work, no more hose wrapped around my arm.

Leigh.

 

[jmbfestool]

[sad] Still waiting for my Carvex 420   its coming from Germany.  No big deal luckily I have two spare jigsaws innit!

Ill put it to test straight away.   tik tok tik tok tik tok tik tok ill wait.

I have got a letter in my post box saying unable to deliver because no one was in  it could be the carvex?!?!  Dont kno always have stuff delivered all the time.  

JMB

 

[Stone Message]

Got my 420 friday, today i cut a 370mm hole in a 44mm fire door for a glazed port hole, with the circle cutting attachment, i know the manual states not to use the attachment on materal thicker than 20mm but it cut through fine and square. makes my life easier as now i down have to set the router up for this task.

also got the ctl 26 with boom arm has changed my work, no more hose wrapped around my arm.

Leigh.

Hi Leigh

Yes, the 420 does cut circles well. I have not tried anything over 20mm yet but I spoke to a fellow woodworker at the D&M show last week (actually he came up to me as he recognised me from the videos - I went red with embarrassment). He had taken delivery of his 420 the day before the show and did a circular cut in 40mm workstop with no problem.

I have had a few more goes with the machine on some solid oak that I am using for a built-in desk and cupboard. The machine performed really well. I had a long meandering cut along the 20mm thick oak top for the desk where it fits against the wall. The cut was with the grain (which is where I have found other machines can let you down) and I was following a scribed pencil line. The line was easy to follow, the cut was square and it made a good job.

Peter

 

[ldmillar1981]

Hi Peter,
I too went to the d & m show, I had a go on the 420 there and then ordered from my local dealer last Monday, they had sold out at the show, I got the accessories systainer also. The chap doing the demos at the tool fair kindly gave me a demo voucher in exchange for one of my daughters wine gums. Bargin!

I am very happy with the 420, many thanks for your excellent review and helping me sway to the green side. Next on my list is the mft/3 I have a birch ply kitchen to built in 2 weeks time, I know the mft would be invaluable for that but it may have to wait until the new year after last weeks large festool spending. (420/acc's, ctl 26 & boom arm)

Regards
Leigh

 

[Stone Message]

Hi Leigh

When I made my initial purchase of Festool kit I did not include the MFT3 or the TS55. At that stage I could not see how the MFT3 was anything other than an expensive portable table - oh how I was wrong. I was lucky enough to have seen a few threads here on the FOG as well as a couple of videos. It may seem strange to say this but, as luck would have it, my Radial Arm Saw (RAS) was getting a bit old and sloppy (a bit like me) and I needed to get a new one. I spent a few days doing some market research and knew that I needed to spend well over £1300.

Thanks to the information from the FOG I realised that the MFT3 and the TS55 would almost completely replace the functionality of my RAS and in so many ways be more capable. The two would be under £1000. I agonised over the cost of the MFT3; sometimes I convinced myself that it was right, then I changed my mind. In the end I bit the bullet and have not regretted buying it for one second. I now have it in the middle of the main room of my workshop positioned like an island unit in a kitchen. The only things that I avoid doing on it are gluing up and applying finishes - I have an iroko topped bench especially for those two operations. the clamping options, the ability to use the saw and guides with it and its versatility are brilliant. I rarely use the guide rail supports and things as I now use Bench Dogs and Parf Dogs for almost all of my 90 degree cuts.

The MFT3 (and all of my Festool tools) fit in the back of my tiny Yaris and there is still room for a passenger - a really impressive travelling workshop.

If you can get the MFT3 in time for that next job you will not regret it.

Peter

 

[jmbfestool]

I got my Carvex to day!  YAY!!!  

Not sure if its me  or because I have been using my other jigsaws while I was waiting for the new Carvex  but it feels heavier than the previous model I wish I had both to compare does any one have both to hand???  

New carvex  420 with battery+charger and T-loc and couple blades!   Amazing!!!  Brilliant service!!

I have had a go with it just very quickly  not to happy about the Alan key storage thing but I can live with it (I hope)  

Any way just did two cuts 400mm long each through 30mm redwood  and I noticed a difference in cutting straight away from my old Carvex 400.  While cutting with the Carvex 420 it just felt a lot more firm like the blade and carvex where working together while cutting the curves.

I felt with the carvex 400 when I turned that the blade just wanted to go its own way and come out of its V groove and move about.

So.. so far so good for the 420.  Happy  [big grin]

Like I said ill do some videos as usual jmb style  (no talking)

JMB

 

[Stone Message]

I have started work on my second Carvex 420 video. I will be covering detail work using the splinter guard and demonstrating cutting to a scribed line. I kick myself for not filming the construction of a built in oak desk that allowed me to have a really good play with the machine - particularly getting the solid oak desk top to fit perfectly between 3 walls (in an alcove).

Peter

 

[jc]

My TS55 cuts perfectly square. It can do this because it has an adjustment mechanism as part of the design. The squareness of the cut can be adjusted and set. Anyone who expects a 100% square cut from a tool out of the box that doesn't have any adjustment mechanism is nuts.

If you want a 100% square cut, use a tool designed to give you one!

As I said in the video - people expect too much from jigsaws. If one wants a 100% square cut in kitchen work top then use the TS or take a worktop jig and use a router.

Peter

I feel we have come to discount tools based on their previous incompetencies.  We should not say a jigsaw would not cut square, don't be daft.  We should instead say Festool, with all your engineering prowess design me a jigsaw that does cut square.  That's innovation that we have come to expect from the big green, no? 

 

[Stone Message]

Hi JC

I take your point. I have just been doing the filming for the second PSC420 video and the more I use the machine the more I am convinced that Festool have done a brilliant job. The cuts are really clean and square. I have an old Stanley professional jigsaw which cost an arm and a leg (shouldn't use that expression for a cutting tool) and I have always hated using it because the cuts were so inconsistent. I love the new machine and am convinced that it will satisfy even the most critical user.

Peter

 

[jc]

looking forward to it...

 

[neth27]

Neth 27 I would like you to please take the time and review the carved 420 and show us your views if you would not mind , I am all for honest reviews be it good or bad , I have found Peter parfitt to be honest in the reviews , perhaps you may like to highlight some where he should have been more objective unless Peter has not reviewed the tools you do not favour , I myself have certain views on a few festool tools and have read on this forum about them but I can't recall Peter posting about them but how many people have reviewed the festool FAKIR ? I doubt Peter cherry picks the tools he reviews and I have to trust him on what I have seen thus far , Peter well done in getting this video on the forum , green

I have just ordered the 18v version.... I just need a cordless jigsaw.... I hope it works okay.. If it does not, everyone on here will soon know about it  [big grin] [big grin]

John..

 

[neth27]

Got it... Hopefully give it a try on Monday..

 

[neth27]

Used it today for a short while on 18mm and 25mm (3/4 and 1"  [smile] ) kitchen panels.. Everything seemed to work very well.. I just need to try it on 40mm worktops next, but up to now im impressed (apart from the battery does not last very long)  For the price they should supply 2 batteries..

John..

 

[Stone Message]

Used it today for a short while on 18mm and 25mm (3/4 and 1"  [smile] ) kitchen panels.. Everything seemed to work very well.. I just need to try it on 40mm worktops next, but up to now im impressed (apart from the battery does not last very long)  For the price they should supply 2 batteries..

John..

I agree. I think that I said something about that in my review. For me the 240volt machine would be ideal but if you have to have batteries for mobility then you do need two. However, quite a few guys have more than just the one cordless machine and the batteries are interchangeable.

Peter

 

[neth27]

I do have a corded 110v Bosch jigsaw but just needed a cordless instead of humping around a transformer.. I dont have any Festool cordless tools, i wonder if i can ram a Hilti 22v battery on to it  [big grin]
I could sell the Bosch, but it just does not feel right to sell the top of the range Bosch jigsaw to pay for a spare battery  [blink]

John...

 

[neth27]

First problem [crying] the led lights seem to have a mind of there own. Sometimes they come on sometimes they don't..

John..

 

[jmbfestool]

First problem [crying] the led lights seem to have a mind of there own. Sometimes they come on sometimes they don't..

John..

I have yet to make a video but I have used it a few times now definitely an improvement over the old carvex.

As to the LED lights  what is different to the old   when you tip the Carvex upside down  both on the OLD and NEW carvex the LEDS would switch off automatically BUT with the New model if you turn the jigsaw the right way up again the LEDS stay switched OFF   the old one they use to come back on again.   If I want the LEDS to turn back on again on the NEW carvex I have to switch the Carvex OFF and back ON again.

No big deal.

Does your dust cover at the front slide down on yours Neth?!  As mine I have tried and tried and I can not get it to slide down.  
For me its a Bonus as my old one use to slide down on its own so I stuck tape across it as I never use it any way.

JMB

 

[neth27]

First problem [crying] the led lights seem to have a mind of there own. Sometimes they come on sometimes they don't..

John..

I have yet to make a video but I have used it a few times now definitely an improvement over the old carvex.

As to the LED lights  what is different to the old   when you tip the Carvex upside down  both on the OLD and NEW carvex the LEDS would switch off automatically BUT with the New model if you turn the jigsaw the right way up again the LEDS stay switched OFF   the old one they use to come back on again.   If I want the LEDS to turn back on again on the NEW carvex I have to switch the Carvex OFF and back ON again.
 
No big deal.

Does your dust cover at the front slide down on yours Neth?!  As mine I have tried and tried and I can not get it to slide down.  
For me its a Bonus as my old one use to slide down on its own so I stuck tape across it as I never use it any way.

JMB

I have never tried to slide the dust cover down.. The same as you i would never use it.. The one thing which would come in handy is a battery level indicator, especially as theres only one battery..

John..