UncleJoe said:
I was thinking of giving myself a gift of attending some Festool training in Las Vegas. I would like to go to the cabinet classes. I was wondering about the daily schedule. When classes start and end each day and local hotel info. If the evenings are open then I would bring along my wife. She can shop and stuff all day and we can go out to dinner and a show at night. If past attendees tell me that doesn't really work out then fine I know in advance and I can take the wife to Vegas some other time.
Thanks for your help
Hi Uncle Joe,
Having participated in all the End User classes offered at the Training Center-LasVegas/Henderson. let me try to answer your questions.
My most recent class was the Combination Cabinet with Doors and Drawers on 23, 24, 26 and 27 April 2012. There were a total of 6 trainees, divided into 3 work groups, each group with our own set of 3 MFT/3, Kapex and tools.
Yes, one participant did bring his wife. I had several meals with them, so I know she had a grand time.
Festool will make corporate discount reservations for those who want at Sunset Station Casino & Hotel in Henderson, less than 10 minutes from that training center. Sunset Station is a really nice place, with a wide selection of restaurants. They have a 24 hour coffee shop. My personal favorite is the Feast Buffet which runs from 8 AM to 9 PM. DIY self-parking is free.
The first day of class the Henderson Trainer Steve Bace meets all staying at Sunset Station near the registration desk, promptly at 7:30 AM! He drives us in his Festool van to the training center. Any trainees not riding with Steve are expected to be at the center by 7:40 AM. Inside the center Steve provides a Continental breakfast each class day, with non-alcoholic beverages available for free all day long. Also each class day Festool provides a catered lunch, which arrives about noon. We take a break for lunch and as needed in the morning and afternoon.
First thing on Day One we all sign waivers and agreements, plus charge the tuition to our credit cards. Oh, yes, we all also select our lunch choice. We introduce ourselves. Steve outlines what we will be learning. By 9 AM we have moved from the classroom area through the glass doors into the training workroom, with the famous Steve Bace cork flooring. When Festool built the 2010 Training Center on Gibson AVE, Steve lovingly peeled up his personal cork floor and re-installed it in the new place. Heaven is working on that cork floor.
(I need forklifts in my shop, so I cannot have cork flooring. Each time I come to Henderson I am Festool Green with envy!)
An important part of Cabinet Construction class is practice setting up the MFT/3 with its guide rail and fence. Steve pairs off the participants. We all get a chance to practice the efficient ways to set up and use the MFT/3 and all the other tools. Each group has 3 MFT, one with the guide rail. It becomes instinctive how to make best use of the other tables as in and out feed, as well as breaking down full sheets. Each group has all the necessary rails up to 3000mm.
On Day One, which for the combined class is a Monday, instruction lasts until 5 PM or so, depending on the energy level of the class. Personally I take a sit-down break about 3:30 PM, but those with more energy keep on going. Before we leave for the night we clean-up the work space.
Festool hosts us at a Day One dinner. Steve knows all the best places in Henderson. Everyone working for Mimi's Cafe knows Steve. There is a wonderful Mexican restaurant in Sunset Station. In April Steve took us to a BBQ restaurant, which was so much fun.
Day Two Steve picks us up from the special Guest Entrance off the DIY parking lot, which is slightly closer to the training center, again at 7:30 AM promptly. He provides another Continental breakfast, but from there we go directly to work. For safety, no participants may use power tools unless Steve is in the work room. The goal is that we all finish the class with the same number of fingers as when we started the class. Dat Two lunch is also catered and arrives about noon.
When Day Two is also the final day, Steve does ask who needs to go to the airport and when. That decides how late class can go. Once a participant had to be at the airport at 4:30 PM, but another class I attended nobody was flying out before 9 PM, so class ran until 5:30 PM. Festool does not host a dinner on Day Two.
Normally between Day Two of one class and Day One (Thursday) on another class Wednesday is a lay-off day. However last April we did not have our cabinets finished at the end of Tuesday. Those must be finished so on Thursday the Doors can be custom-made to fit. So Steve generously agreed to hold a bonus class Wednesday morning, with our pick-up at 7 AM! He drove everyone back to Sunset Station in time for a no-host lunch.
The same schedule repeated on Thursday, Day One of Doors. Except because all of us had been there on Monday, pick-up was at the Guest Entrance and we had already introduced ourselves and done the paper work. The classroom time was a brief discussion of plans for the doors. Festool did host our Thursday dinner. Friday we finished our doors and learned to make drawers using 4mm Dominoes.
I always drive to Henderson from Burbank the day ahead of class starting. At dawn on Sundays there is little traffic heading to Las Vegas. At dawn on Saturday morning the only traffic is for a few miles, people living in Las Vegas heading out of town. Sunset Station sells an all-day Feast Buffet pass. The Buffet opens at 8 AM, too late for class days. I time my departure for Henderson so that I arrive at the hotel before 8 AM, although I know on Sundays I will need to wait for my room until after noon. I can wash my face in the men's room near the buffet. I tell them that I have a reservation and show my Station club card. Then I eat myself silly. If my room is still not available I go shopping, because Nevada prices are much lower than in California. I go back to the buffet for an early lunch. Registered Guests have a VIP line, so the wait is short. I return for a buffet at Tea Time (4 PM) and then for a bedtime final snack about 8:30 PM. I believe in getting my money's worth at the buffet.