Festool will not cover repair of jigsaw at 1year into a 3 year warrenty

[Kevin McConville]

Is it just me or does anyone else think that it would be reasonable to give a company, any company a chance to look into something and try to resolve it before all these conclusions are drawn?  This post was made at 12:04 am on a Sunday, the OP certainly has a right to post any time he wants but wouldn't it also be true to give a business a chance to review it during business hours, talk to the employees and customers involved and then respond.

So far only one side of the story has been posted and on the face of it I would agree that the tool should not have been damaged by this.  But it's only one side of the story and surely we can wait a day or so before condemning the company and vilifying the named (now removed - as it should be) employee.

 

[rljatl]

The Festool  repair dept. said "it would cost 355.00 to repair the saw". I said "why should I pay 355.00 to repair a 350.00 saw?" He said "I abused the saw by hitting a screw". He said "I should have used a metal blade".

If you look at the Carvex drivetrain, it's actually pretty robust. (see below). I don't know which part broke, but my first guess is the pin that the cam bearing is secured to, holding it to the main eccentric gear.

[attachimg=1]

$355 to replace a pin is expensive.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

    Damage caused by misuse, abuse, accident, impact, abnormal wear and tear, improper storage and/or exposure to the elements, or neglect
    Damage caused by anything other than defects in materials and workmanship
   

Pretty self explanatory. The damage due to a nail is NOT covered under Festool's Warranty, like it or not.  Feel sorry for you, but it ain't Festool's problem!

Cheers,
Frank

I would be worried if hitting an imbedded nail or screw, is considered "accident, or impact" damage. I would sort of consider those terms to be referring to dropping the jigsaw or any other tool, into a saltwater fishtank, off a roof, or accidentally running a tool ver with a car or truck. Cutting thru a metal fastener is pretty standard when working on older buildings, and can even happen with new construction. Refusing to replace a blade would be according to the warranty.

 

[Rip Van Winkle]

If you look at the Carvex drivetrain, it's actually pretty robust. (see below). I don't know which part broke, but my first guess is the pin that the cam bearing is secured to, holding it to the main eccentric gear.

[attachimg=1]

$355 to replace a pin is expensive.

My guess would be the problem might not e that a pin broke, even if it did. The force of breaking the pin, if that's what happened, could cause damage to other gears, if a broken piece got pulled thru them. The force of breaking a pin could also cause damage to the cast alloy gear case, which in many cases is one of the most expensive replacement parts.

Alternately I wonder if the motor and electronic could have somehow been damaged, since according to Ekat those are the most expensive components.

 

[rljatl]

If you look at the Carvex drivetrain, it's actually pretty robust. (see below). I don't know which part broke, but my first guess is the pin that the cam bearing is secured to, holding it to the main eccentric gear.

[attachimg=1]

$355 to replace a pin is expensive.

My guess would be the problem might not e that a pin broke, even if it did. The force of breaking the pin, if that's what happened, could cause damage to other gears, if a broken piece got pulled thru them. The force of breaking a pin could also cause damage to the cast alloy gear case, which in many cases is one of the most expensive replacement parts.

Alternately I wonder if the motor and electronic could have somehow been damaged, since according to Ekat those are the most expensive components.

If hitting a screw can cause that much damage, it is a poorly designed jig saw.  Hitting a hidden screw with a jig saw blade should have been anticipated by the designer of the tool.  Usually, something like a pin is designed to break first in order to save the rest of the tool.

 

[SittingElf]

Just based on this thread, I would imagine that we'll see some kind of post from Festool in the next day or two to clarify the issue.

I agree that $355 seems excessive, and likely a mistake, but I still stand on what I posted earlier that I don't believe Festool is liable under their warranty to repair for hitting a nail.  They might repair it for the sake of Customer Service as they have done for others in the past, but I don't think they are legally required to do so.

In my case, should something happen to my Carvex, I'm screwed, because I bought mine in Germany while it was still NAINA, and I would be required to send it across the pond for warranty service. THAT is an issue I have with Festool's warranty. I believe the warranty should be worldwide if the product is offered in the country where it currently resides.

Cheers,

Frank

 

[peter halle]

[... if you want an interesting forum keep it lively let people express their thoughts without getting personal. Taliban tactics are just a turn off.

Our primary purpose here is to provide educational help for those looking for it when it comes to Festool products.  Interest or educational is in the eye of the reader.

Regarding the second sentence quoted, if you have an issue with moderation here, as evidenced by your rather insulting comment, every moderator or Admin person is available via the PM system.

Peter Halle - Moderator

 

[John H]

Some of these "Koolaid Drinker" responses are actually funny

So if your cutting a board that has a lot of internal stress or perhaps a hidden knot and the blade suddenly stops - thats considered abuse and since the Festool can't handle anything difficult like that - stand by to pay for a new tool...  [eek]

I guess I better sell my Trion before I try to use it again and while it is still in good shape or it may self destruct in my hand!

 

[rizzoa13]

I don't know man thats pretty standard scope of work for a jigsaw. If this one jigsaw broke from hitting a nail id lean heavily towards a defect in the tool.

On the other hand people shouldn't go nuts over this without more information either. This could be 1 employee using his own discretion in the matter. It could be a miscommunication. Or it could be a straight up lie from the OP, fact is we have no facts just hearsay so take it all with a grain of salt for now.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Hitting a screw is a little different then a nail.

 

[Throwback7r]

What blade were you using .. I cut through some metal and I did not even really know it with my carvex . I did have a festool blade on it, don't know if that matters

 

[DB10]

[... if you want an interesting forum keep it lively let people express their thoughts without getting personal. Taliban tactics are just a turn off.

Our primary purpose here is to provide educational help for those looking for it when it comes to Festool products.  Interest or educational is in the eye of the reader.

Regarding the second sentence quoted, if you have an issue with moderation here, as evidenced by your rather insulting comment, every moderator or Admin person is available via the PM system.

Peter Halle - Moderator

I apologise Peter if you found my comment insulting. It certainly was not my intention. I just find sometimes that if a thread goes slightly off topic because that's how people are steering it then it's relevant and should be left to just flow or fizzle out by its self. anyway back to the jig saw.

 

[Julian Tracy]

The carvex manual specifically and clearly states that for the best possibly cut, the user should precut the surface with a Bosch jigsaw.

JT

 

[waho6o9]

Thanks for the laugh.

 

[Cheese]

On the other hand people shouldn't go nuts over this without more information either. This could be 1 employee using his own discretion in the matter. It could be a miscommunication. Or it could be a straight up lie from the OP, fact is we have no facts just hearsay so take it all with a grain of salt for now.

[member=20320]rizzoa13[/member]
Agree, there's just too much active aggression on this issue. Seems like when this website went dark today, people, out of frustration, just started drinking green koolaid and anti-green koolaid and when the site came back on-line, the gloves came off and the gauntlet was thrown down. My suggestion would be to never let this website go down again because it ain't purty.  [eek]

Let this tool take the path it needs to take. Send it back in, get a written estimate for repair/warranty and go from there. Actual facts are what we should be dealing with. When an estimate comes back from Festool, and also their version of the story, that's when we should weigh in. Otherwise it's all " he says, she says". Tough to diagnose a problem or any warranty issues with a tool, just over the phone.

 

[Bigchasbroon]

I am a serial jigsaw abuser. I've had the exact same thing happen to me 3 times on a 400 and a 420 carvex. I was told by festool that there's a pin designed to shear in such circumstances to protect the motor. I've had it fixed under warranty every time. I've also had my brother drop something on it and break the casing and had that repaired under warranty.

 

[semenza]

[... if you want an interesting forum keep it lively let people express their thoughts without getting personal. Taliban tactics are just a turn off.

Our primary purpose here is to provide educational help for those looking for it when it comes to Festool products.  Interest or educational is in the eye of the reader.

Regarding the second sentence quoted, if you have an issue with moderation here, as evidenced by your rather insulting comment, every moderator or Admin person is available via the PM system.

Peter Halle - Moderator

I apologise Peter if you found my comment insulting. It certainly was not my intention. I just find sometimes that if a thread goes slightly off topic because that's how people are steering it then it's relevant and should be left to just flow or fizzle out by its self. anyway back to the jig saw.

      Relevant to the topic or not has nothing to do with the reason it was suggested to keep that  (or any other thread) on topic. The path it was taking was headed into, politics, and world views that can be very controversial subjects. Those subjects are not allowed on FOG. Because they nearly always devolve into arguments, bickering , personal attacks, etc. All hallmarks of forums that go down the tubes and people avoid or avoid posting. Personally I think that this forum has an extremely wide latitude considering that it is owned by a power tool company. The fact that criticism of Festool is allowed and not censored is quite remarkable.

Seth

 

[Red Devil]

I think festool will look after this.
Agreed thst they should be given Some time to respond.
Interesting....
Balls in your your court green guys.
I my opinion hitting a nail should not break a 300+$ saw. I have hit many a screw/nail with my old bosch jig saws. Do I need to wrap my trion in cotton wool?
I will be disappointed if the dsmage is not covered.
My 2 cents.

Nigel

 

[PreferrablyWood]

Nicking a nr 5 screw or running into the center of a 8mm bolt are two different conditions, so it's hard to know exactly what is going on sight unseen.. One things for sure most times I've hit a nail with a circular recip og jig saw I didn't even notice til after I was finished the cut, so for the Jigsaw to actually stop dead seems weird and unusual..

 

[SittingElf]

Not that it applies to the repair being discussed, but I don't ever cut any wood or material that I haven't run my hand-held metal detector over. It has saved MANY blades over the years. It's the first thing I do even when buying lumber from big box stores, and certainly from lumber mills directly.  Amazing how many nails, staples, and other metal I've found in supposed "clean" wood.

Cheers,

Frank