Festool End-User Training ? Participants Needed for Trial-Run

[Neill]

I've been selected.  I look forward to meeting everyone!  Thank you, Festool!

Joe

Joe,

Are you gonna take Rudy with you?  Congrats and have a great time.

Neill

 

[Administrator_JSVN]

I think I speak on behalf of all of my colleagues when I say that we are genuinely looking forward to meeting you all on Monday.  ;D  It's going to be a great event having you guys here next week.

 

[ForumMFG]

Shane,

I can tell you that since I found out that I was going, I feel like a little kid with Christmas approaching.  Counting down the days.

 

[bruegf]

Me too!  This will be great!

Fred

 

[Wonderwino]

Actually,

The good thing about going to this training class is that Festool USA does not have a retail store for us to buy anything.  What a blessing. ;D

I bet if you call in an order to your favorite dealer, they'd have no trouble drop shipping to the back of your truck!  :

 

[peter halle]

My bag is packed.  Airline etc. booked.  Tomorrow I get to take all my festools out of the truck and pack them in the trailer so as to leave them at home.  Don't want to risk them disappearing at the airport.  That would be RUDE!  Maybe I'll leave my Hitachi SCMS as bait?  Can we say Kapex?

I look forward to meeting all and learning so that maybe I can provide more input on this Forum.

See you guys soon.

Peter

 

[Frank Pellow]

Have a great time folks!

I wish that I was going to be there.  (maybe sometime I will be)

 

[ForumMFG]

Man.. This message board is dead while the 10 of us are at Festool USA ;D

No I'm just kidding, just wanted to give you guys a update since some asked for one.

The people here are just full of so much knowledge that 2 days is not enough.  The hospitality is nothing short of the best and we are learning some pretty cool tips and tricks which is why I personally came to this event.  So I'll have to share them with you guys when I have more time.

-Dave

 

[EcoFurniture]

Stop teasing us! Tell us what you guys did today... What new tools did you see? Pictures?

 

[ForumMFG]

We covered the Kapex, Jigsaws, CT's, MFT/3, TS saws today.

What do you mean did we see any new tools? ;D  Lots of pictures where taken but I didn't take many, just some.  Others were trigger happy so I am sure someone will post something shortly.

 

[EcoFurniture]

We covered the Kapex, Jigsaws, CT's, MFT/3, TS saws today.

What do you mean did we see any new tools? ;D  Lots of pictures where taken but I didn't take many, just some.  Others were trigger happy so I am sure someone will post something shortly.

Ok, that means you already covered everything ;D  Tell us, are there any new tools on the horizon?

 

[ForumMFG]

Nothing that we all dont already know about.

 

[peter halle]

Sorry guys, I was mid way on a post and got interrupted.  Saved as a draft and now have no idea on how to find my draft.  HELP!!

To quickly answer the burning question about new tools.  Dessert comes at the end of the meal doesn't it?

If I can find my draft I'll post other stuff sooner.  If I have to start over - it will be later.

SHANE!!  Help !!

Peter

 

[peter halle]

Found the missing draft.  Back to work.

Peter

 

[EcoFurniture]

Ok, I'm waiting : ;D

 

[peter halle]

Sorry, even I needed to sleep.

My draft did disappear.  I have suggested that the draft feature be turned on for all members.  It was previously a feature that was only available to contributors.  I must have been overlooked because I was a late contributor.  So I had to start over.

Day One

First of all, if any of you get an opportunity to see the facilities here in picturesque Lebanon, Indiana, do it.  If you ever get the opportunity to meet any of the Festool family ( as they refer to themselves) do it.  What a bunch of classy and fun people who really care about us as end users.  One of the first things they told us as attendees was that if we - OR YOU - ever have concerns, ideas, questions, etc, that they are there to listen and help.  The door is always open; even for visits.  On more than one occasion the topic of this forum came up and believe it when I say that they take this forum and the comments from the Foggers seriously; not just in Indiana but across the ocean as well.  I personally thought that was worth mentioning lest anyone thinks otherwise.  It is a conduit of thoughts.

The group attending is diverse, as was intended.  There are users who use the tools to earn a living as well as those who use the tools for their own personal enjoyment as well as the enjoyment of others.  We have been instructed to give real feedback at the end of the class so that this first end-user class can be used as a tool in the development of future classes for others - maybe you.  The basis of the class material is the training that is given to the dealers but then modified to better suit the end user.  What is given in the future, and I believe that there will be other classes, may be quite different from what we are seeing over the two day period, so don?t draw any negative opinions based on my writings rather.

There are many tools and much that can be learned about each.  Much too much for two days so in depth to this point hasn?t been a reality - it?s impossible based on time constraints.  I suspect that everyone will have gained a little better understanding of the ?system? and then absorbed bits of information that they felt will / would be beneficial in the present or the future.  Here are mine:

Festool makes it easy to make end user adjustments on things that can get out of adjustment.  It was far easier to see those adjustments in person and understand them than it is to read it in the manuals of all types or reading about it here.

Properly adjusting the blade guides on the jigsaws is essential to getting perpendicular cuts.  Using the clear disposable zero clearance plates on the jigsaws is essential to getting a splinter free cut.  Users need to pay attention to the way that they push the saw in order to get great cuts.  Wayne has announced that he might even try his saw again after seeing these tips.

The parallel guides are much easier to set up and use than I had thought.  I have been on the fence regarding these, but can definitely see many more possibilities than before.

One of the things that I asked about was whether or not there were plans for a longer fence extrusion for the MFT/3 so that more flip stops could be used.  It turns out that the fence system for the Kapex can be used but there is the issue that it can not slide under the rail due to its height unless a sacrificial piece of material is added under the piece to be cut so that the rail can be raised up.  I will probably look at that again on a break.  There are not that many fence systems out there for the Kapex system, so with its added versatility it might make more sense.

The dust collection with the Kapex is better than I thought.  I?ve been on the fence since the beginning.  I did tell them that although Christian explained that the tools are designed to be used, and not babied, my current SCMS?s had suffered damage from transportation, not use.  I suggested that they look into some sort of case to protect the saw in transport.

Guys, I am sitting here writing this the next morning.  My mind is still absorbing.  It takes a little time to formulate and then wring out the sponge.  I will post more later.

Today should be more fun.  Domino, routers, maybe a sneak peak into the future.

Gotta go.

Peter

 

[justinmcf]

thank you very much peter for taking the time to report back to the rest of us.
it sounds like you are having fun and learning a lot. i will take another look at my own jigsaw and do some adjusting. thanks for the tip.
keep up the good work!

regards, justin.

 

[Bob Marino]

Sorry, even I needed to sleep.

My draft did disappear.  I have suggested that the draft feature be turned on for all members.  It was previously a feature that was only available to contributors.  I must have been overlooked because I was a late contributor.  So I had to start over.

Day One

First of all, if any of you get an opportunity to see the facilities here in picturesque Lebanon, Indiana, do it.  If you ever get the opportunity to meet any of the Festool family ( as they refer to themselves) do it.  What a bunch of classy and fun people who really care about us as end users.  One of the first things they told us as attendees was that if we - OR YOU - ever have concerns, ideas, questions, etc, that they are there to listen and help.  The door is always open; even for visits.  On more than one occasion the topic of this forum came up and believe it when I say that they take this forum and the comments from the Foggers seriously; not just in Indiana but across the ocean as well.  I personally thought that was worth mentioning lest anyone thinks otherwise.  It is a conduit of thoughts.

The group attending is diverse, as was intended.  There are users who use the tools to earn a living as well as those who use the tools for their own personal enjoyment as well as the enjoyment of others.  We have been instructed to give real feedback at the end of the class so that this first end-user class can be used as a tool in the development of future classes for others - maybe you.  The basis of the class material is the training that is given to the dealers but then modified to better suit the end user.  What is given in the future, and I believe that there will be other classes, may be quite different from what we are seeing over the two day period, so don?t draw any negative opinions based on my writings rather.

There are many tools and much that can be learned about each.  Much too much for two days so in depth to this point hasn?t been a reality - it?s impossible based on time constraints.  I suspect that everyone will have gained a little better understanding of the ?system? and then absorbed bits of information that they felt will / would be beneficial in the present or the future.  Here are mine:

Festool makes it easy to make end user adjustments on things that can get out of adjustment.  It was far easier to see those adjustments in person and understand them than it is to read it in the manuals of all types or reading about it here.

Properly adjusting the blade guides on the jigsaws is essential to getting perpendicular cuts.  Using the clear disposable zero clearance plates on the jigsaws is essential to getting a splinter free cut.  Users need to pay attention to the way that they push the saw in order to get great cuts.  Wayne has announced that he might even try his saw again after seeing these tips.

The parallel guides are much easier to set up and use than I had thought.  I have been on the fence regarding these, but can definitely see many more possibilities than before.

One of the things that I asked about was whether or not there were plans for a longer fence extrusion for the MFT/3 so that more flip stops could be used.  It turns out that the fence system for the Kapex can be used but there is the issue that it can not slide under the rail due to its height unless a sacrificial piece of material is added under the piece to be cut so that the rail can be raised up.  I will probably look at that again on a break.  There are not that many fence systems out there for the Kapex system, so with its added versatility it might make more sense.

The dust collection with the Kapex is better than I thought.  I?ve been on the fence since the beginning.  I did tell them that although Christian explained that the tools are designed to be used, and not babied, my current SCMS?s had suffered damage from transportation, not use.  I suggested that they look into some sort of case to protect the saw in transport.

Guys, I am sitting here writing this the next morning.  My mind is still absorbing.  It takes a little time to formulate and then wring out the sponge.  I will post more later.

Today should be more fun.  Domino, routers, maybe a sneak peak into the future.

Gotta go.

Peter

Pete,

Thanks for the update. One of the first things you notice (after those huge beams on the outside) is that family and friendly attitude that exists at the headquarters. It's for real, it's not for show...and it's not by acicident either. Have fun.  Bob

 

[peter halle]

Before I go back to my computer to draft up my remembrances of today I wanted to get something off my chest about the last two days here in Lebanon.  I want to tell you about someone who is the perfect example of Festool.

Her name is Minnie Gleb.  Minnie is the first face you see when you visit Lebanon, Indiana and stop by Festool USA.  She is an ambassador.  She is a magician.  She is one of those people that if you ever meet her you?ll remember her.  At the risk of upsetting her boss, she is an unsung hero who needs to be recognized in the outside world and would be an asset to any company.  It is apparent that she is an essential part of the Festool Family, and cherished.

You all know the type.  The kind of person who is so nice to be around.  The kind who makes your life easier, but does it in a way that you will never notice.  Never notice until she goes away for two week vacation and then things come to a screeching halt.  The kind of person who knows your name without you even telling her.  Mention your dog?s name once and eight months from now will ask if little Kapex the Golden Doodle is still chewing on your Festool catalog as she hands you a new one - with an article tucked inside on how to cure canine behavior problems. 

Minnie, if you get the opportunity to see this - thank you for all your efforts to make our visit wonderful.  You went the extra mile and it was so appreciated.  I only hope that other members of this Forum and the Festool users community get an opportunity to meet you.  It is an experience in itself.

I don?t know if it is allowed, but I?ll try anyway.  On behalf of all of us whose experience you helped to make even more memorable, I would like to nominate you as an Honorary Member of the Festool Owners Group and urge all of you other members to take a moment to remember someone you know just like this and thank them in some little way. 

Peter

 

[EcoFurniture]

I'm glad you guys are having a great time with amazing folks! I love supporting great companies