Festool Seeking Member Feedback on Tools

[Dave Ronyak]

Jonny,

That port is (I think) referred to as the exhaust port.  One purpose would be to use it to vent odors outside of the work environment when on the job site.  It's available on the 22/33 extractors.  Great feature and I agree that it should be better documented.  We are committed to providing better information about the products, their features and accessories -- it will just take time to produce that content.

Shane

Great idea.  I think I just reversely connected the hose when I clogged one of my hoses and sucked the clog right out.
When is Festool coming out with a spray gun that can utilise that CT exhaust blower stream?  Its HEPA filtered, right, in the CT 22 and CT 33?  It is dry air, and the blower is variable speed, just like Turbinaire, and the CT machines have a by-pass system so use with a non-bleeder gun wouldn't overhear the motor.  Hmm, where's my wife's mother's old Electrolux sprayer (like a giant sized siphon-type air brush gun)?  It certainly ought to work for low viscosity liquids such as alcohol base stains and wash coats of shellac, if not more.

Dave R.

 

[enderw88]

I have been pondering the idea of putting that exhaust port to use to create a positive flow back to the housing under my router table. That is, to create a siphoning effect for evacuating chips. I might be all wet but I think strategic placement may provide more airflow and better pick-up. Problem is, too many experiments get in the way of cutting wood.

A few years back I was cleaning out my wifes vacuum cleaner and had it all torn apart.  Without thinking too much I decided to use the suction pump to vacuum the inside of its own housing.  The motor lasted about 4 seconds before the windings overheated since I essentially short circuited its cooling.  I don't think I ever actually explained what happened, I just bought her a new vacuum.

I mention this because I think you would have some substantial heating problems if you recirculated the CT flow like that for very long.  I am not near my CT to check, but I bet the output is pretty warm, and would heat up pretty quickly if you hooked the suction up the the exhaust!

 

[CharlesWilson]

Fortunately, I think the CT's shut down when overtemperature is detected. I, for one, however, will not test out that theory with the output hose connected back to the input.

Charles

 

[semenza]

Hi,.

        The blower port and exhaust are not the same thing on the CTs. The exhaust comes out of vents on the sides of the CT, which are angled down to prevent air shooting all over the place. The blower port is a round hose connection on the bottom, center, starboard side. And it does not blow air unless a hose is connected.

Seth

 

[greg mann]

Good point, but I believe the cooling system for the motor is separate from the air going through the bag. The air coming out of the exhaust port is a little warmer than upon entry but I have, until this time, assumed that was just from molecular friction. The issue that was more prescient to me was that this slightly warmer air would not be too good for the router motor. The analogy that comes to mind is the plumber on DIY cautioning folks to use cold water when using their garbage disposal to keep from overheating the disposal motor.

Presently, I have a Woodpeckers RT with their shroud. For those of you who haven't seen this set-up it has a small door for access to the router with a 4 inch dust port on the opposite side. The bottom of the shroud is sloped toward the dust port. They also have an extraction port at the end of their WonderFence on the outfeed side. If one were to utilize both ports, which for dust control would seem most desirable, it is possible the lower port might get starved for flow. Who knows? Airflow is a funny thing. There could be eddy currents that trap debris with this technique. It shouldn't be hard to try and it shouldn't be hard to abandon if it doesn't work, or if the air gets too hot.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I frequently hook up my vacuum to both the DC port in the end of the fence on my JoinTech (much like Incra's fence and machine), and to the base outlet of the enclosure surrounding my table-mounted router, using Festool's Y-connector, or to my Oneida cyclone.  No problems with either setup.  I have also hooked the hose between inlet and outlet of my Craftsman vacuum machine to help collect the initial squirt of dust that otherwise occurs from the outlet after dumping the collector drum.  No problems in >20 yrs of doing that, but of course, I don't run it very long in that mode.

Dave R.

 

[bill-e]

Hello,

Thank you for all your feedback.

What I'd like to get out of this post in addition to all the feedback is a list with questions you have about the HL850 planer and its use.

What are your top 5 questions on the HL850 you would ask if you had an HL850 expert to talk to?

Thank you.

Christian

I guess if I was to add anything to the discussion, I see Festool products being particularly well suited for use on the job site and because of that, it is advantageous to have tools that can be used for many purposes even if sometimes they aren't the best tool for the job.  A lot of people who only work in their shop could probably never fathom using the HL-850 for anything but trimming doors.  I mean why use it to flatten or thickness a board when you have a jointer and planner?

So for me, I'd like to see the tool pushed to the limit of its usability and an emphasis being placed on portability and cleanliness.  The HL-850 has intrigued me for just that reason but I've not seen much in print or on the web about it's use.

 

[Gene Howerton]

I would like to see other uses as well.  I have a one car garage as a shop, I have a thickness planer and but not a jointer, I like to build smaller furniture pieces with most of the pieces be less than 5' long.  I wonder if this tool would work for me in the bench top mode and edge joining board and such.  That way I can save floor space on tools , which is important, since I have a small space.  A Jerry Work piece on this tool probably could get me to buy one.  After I read one of his manuals or check out Woodshop Demo's I end up with another Festool.

 

[vanderpooch]

Gene,

I have the planer as well as the bench stand. I bought it after thinking about it for a while and then seeing Jerry's write-up. In use, I find it a bit awkward and the fence flexes a bit too much for my liking, even under it's limited use of short, narrow pieces. Part of the awkwardness comes from the fact that the fence is on the left, opposite of a regular jointer. I haven't been able to get used to that yet. The planer leaves a great finish because of the spiral blade.

I have a lot of experience with many different jointers, and I don't think it's a good replacement even for a small shop. In my area (San Diego) I see lots of older 4" Rockwell jointers on Craigslist. Usually they are $150 or less. I'd recommend checking around for something like this. I think you'll be happier with it and you won't spend much more than the outlay for the stand, assuming you already have the planer.

Here's what I'm talking about:http://portland.craigslist.org/clk/tls/523762662.html

I have a one car garage shop, too.

- Kit

 

[Mike_Chrest]

The best use of the handheld joiner is when the work is too big for a stationary joiner.

[attachthumb=#]

I needed to plane the edges of these half columns(they are 10' long and 18" at the base) before I glued them around the posts. Made an outrigger for the planer that rides on the opposite edge so the edge I was planing would be in the same plane. Worked like a dream.

A friend made some stack laminated handrails (about 20' long) for a small bridge across a creek. He borrowed the HL 850 to plane the sides after glue up. It did a real nice job. Faster and less dusty than a belt sander.

 

[paulgordon]

I am but a simple state school graduate, not Berlin Polytechnik.  The Germans seem to have every feature under the sun in these tools, but they are not obvious to me.  Please consider my novice experience in the instructions.

 

[Eli]

Did you want something explained Paul? You must be doing alright with the tools if you made it here!