Festool youtube review - Please provide your thoughts

[Yxoc]

Firstly, let me assure you, I am NOT trolling here.

I am looking to buy my first power tools (other than an electric drill and a bench drill press given to me by my father) and want to buy good quality. I work in solid wood and fairly large sections, hence I have been looking at the Festool HK 85. I resent Festools exorbitant pricing and I loathe their "Apple - Style" price fixing where no one will do deals (even if you plan to purchase a number of items). But I would forgive all this if I knew that (at a price) I was getting something well engineered, high quality, innovative and cut with high precision (I am looking to do lots of compound cuts).

But looking at these youtube videos, the internals, honestly don't seem to be anything special. I don't agree with all of his comments and I don't believe all the things that he points out are disadvantages, but bronze bushings? uncoated field windings? A blade lock that keys into the plastic fan blade?

To be honest I am unimpressed. If it is as bad as it seems then I can see myself springing some extra money for a Mafell KSS80 Ec. It would cost me $500 AUD more and I would have to import it myself (and change the plug) but I would happily do this if the quality was significantly better.

So please - fire away, flame me to a cinder, but if you seriously believe that the FESTOOL is high quality then please explain why you feel that way.

Thanks in advance and here are the youtube videos:

  Moderator note ....... non-functional links have been removed. For a full read on this particular topic see this threadhttp://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/ts55-teardown-on-youtube/msg412654/#msg412654  Also it was locked for a reason.  [poke]

Seth

 

[Stone Message]

I see that Britain's Got Talent is amongst the links that you have provided - I will check the show out next Saturday !

Perhaps you need to be more specific about what you are trying to achieve.

What tools have you tried and what are your thoughts about them?

Peter

 

[Yxoc]

Peter,
Thanks for the reply. Something funny has happened to the links I attempted to post. Clearly there are some forum rules that prevent the posting of youtube links? Please, if you search on "BOLTR: Festool TS55 Teardown Test" in youtube you will find exactly the video I am referring to. The same member has a follow up test after reassembly that is also very educational.

What I would like is to hear if forum members feel the criticisms made in the videos are valid. I am trying to determine if I am buying anything more that a brand name when I buy Festool. I simply want to buy only good quality tools and I am happy to pay the money if that is indeed what I am getting. But if I'm not getting that...

I have not used that many power tools, I have mostly worked with hand tools to this point but I want to purchase a few specific tools to help speed up some of the more mundane prep work.

Regards

Derek

 

[GarryMartin]

You'll find these videos have been discussed previously by people with far more skill and engineering capability than those making them.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/ts55-teardown-on-youtube/

 

[mattmass]

You'll find these videos have been discussed previously by people with far more skill and engineering capability than those making them.
http://festoolownersgroup.com/festool-tool-reviews/ts55-teardown-on-youtube/

Well said and completely true. Those videos are garbage.

 

[ear3]

Festool has a 30 day trial period -- you could get the saw and see for yourself how it performs, and then return it if you don't like it.  As far as the issues that the reviewer points out, I'm not an engineer so I'll defer to the assessments made by FOG members in the other thread discussing the review, but I don't recall over the last 3 years seeing on this forum any failures/problems with the unit in any way related to what he brings up.  Occasionally some complaints about bevel setting or about cutting thicker material, but these more often than not turn out to be end user issues (improper technique, dirty/dull blade, etc.).  Keep in mind that Festool has a robust 3 yr. service guarantee on all its tools.

Peter,
Thanks for the reply. Something funny has happened to the links I attempted to post. Clearly there are some forum rules that prevent the posting of youtube links? Please, if you search on "BOLTR: Festool TS55 Teardown Test" in youtube you will find exactly the video I am referring to. The same member has a follow up test after reassembly that is also very educational.

What I would like is to hear if forum members feel the criticisms made in the videos are valid. I am trying to determine if I am buying anything more that a brand name when I buy Festool. I simply want to buy only good quality tools and I am happy to pay the money if that is indeed what I am getting. But if I'm not getting that...

I have not used that many power tools, I have mostly worked with hand tools to this point but I want to purchase a few specific tools to help speed up some of the more mundane prep work.

Regards

Derek

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi,

I'll give you my thoughts - and it's really nothing more, just my thoughts.

From all TS55 videos that can be found on youtube it is this teardown video that is most often brought up by people questioning if they should buy Festool tools or not.

If someone starts a tool "review" by labeling a product "the Louis Vuitton of those woodworking types" and does so in a certain tone >>I

 

[JLMS2010]

One thing I noticed when looking at the Mafell saw was it came with a 1 year warranty.  Festool comes with a 3 year warranty.  The tools are expensive, but they are the best tools I've used.  I haven't used Mafell, but have used Porter Cable, Dewalt, Rigid, Makita, Milwaukee.

As the other member mentioned above.  You can try any tool for 30 days and if you don't like it you can return it. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

What I would like is to hear if forum members feel the criticisms made in the videos are valid.

The words "Don't believe everything you see on the internet." apply here.

The guy of the video somehow pretends to know it all, but he simply doesn't.

 

[mattmass]

The guy of the video somehow pretends to know it all, but he simply doesn't.

I think even this is being charitable. The guy spent half of his time attempting to melt the inside of the handle.

 

[Svar]

Most of that teardown commentary is just easily refuted nonsense. I look at it as simple entertainment and a chance to look inside.
One odd thing though was bronze bushing on the far end of arbor shaft. Most saws have needle bearings there, TS 75 and the entire Mafell line have ball bearings. However, considering TS55 proven service life and performance it makes no difference.

 

[Stone Message]

The videos made by these people are done with one aim and one aim only - to make money by getting people to watch them. How else could they afford to destroy so many beautiful tools? Lets hope that this thread is not making them more money !

I think that Oliver [member=61712]six-point socket II[/member] has nailed it - just ignore the obvious "sea are aye pea".

Peter

 

[Svar]

The videos made by these people are done with one aim and one aim only - to make money by getting people to watch them.

Most of youtube videos have that same aim. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[curiousdork]

Firstly, let me assure you, I am NOT trolling here.

I am looking to buy my first power tools (other than an electric drill and a bench drill press given to me by my father) and want to buy good quality. I work in solid wood and fairly large sections, hence I have been looking at the Festool HK 85. I resent Festools exorbitant pricing and I loathe their "Apple - Style" price fixing where no one will do deals (even if you plan to purchase a number of items). But I would forgive all this if I knew that (at a price) I was getting something well engineered, high quality, innovative and cut with high precision (I am looking to do lots of compound cuts).

But looking at these youtube videos, the internals, honestly don't seem to be anything special. I don't agree with all of his comments and I don't believe all the things that he points out are disadvantages, but bronze bushings? uncoated field windings? A blade lock that keys into the plastic fan blade?

To be honest I am unimpressed. If it is as bad as it seems then I can see myself springing some extra money for a Mafell KSS80 Ec. It would cost me $500 AUD more and I would have to import it myself (and change the plug) but I would happily do this if the quality was significantly better.

So please - fire away, flame me to a cinder, but if you seriously believe that the FESTOOL is high quality then please explain why you feel that way.

Seth[/color][/color]

I'm a woodworking n00b who started in July 2016.  I already own 3 Festool tools: the TS 75, the CT MINI, and the DF-500 Domino.  I'm not gonna do a full review on the tools but I will say that the Festool green makes knowing how to operate the tool a lot easier.  The TS 75 makes really clean rips and cross cuts and the CT MINI does a spot on job with dust collection.  I love my Festool tools becasue they're super easy to use and give amazing results.

 

[tony_sheehan]

Funny tho' isn't it- 100 people say something is good, one person says it's crap and everyone pays  more attention to the bad review?!

 

[jediknifefight]

about the videos: AvE isn't horrible. interesting to see what goes into things. Go digging for his second video on the TS55 where he puts it back together and puts it on the scope. Its a little more informative. (I am by no means an expert on any of this, so grain of salt)

About the TS55 from my own experience: Its nice. Worth every penny. I was using a Milwaukee skill saw before and the amount of dust it would kick out while breaking down sheet goods was insane. With the Festool, I have very little dust. My Milwaukee would also give me an edge with so much tear out that I would lose a decent sized strip of material  near the cut that would have to be removed on the table saw. I am sure you have heard of rough cuts with the skill saw, and finish cuts on the table saw. With the TS55, the cuts are amazingly clean. I haven't had my stuff for that long so my jaw still drops at how clean the cuts turn out.
The TS55 is so nice that I would go on a limb and say that with the MFT one could probably get away with not buying a table saw. (in fact, in the morning, I plan on using the TS55 to do some cross cutting on some cutting boards that are too wide to cross cut on my table saw safely)
My only gripe with the TS55 is that the location of the plug it connection is awkward. Of all the tools from festool I have, (domino, sander, router, vac and the saw) this one is the one that gives me the feeling that its going to break.

On festool in general: I love it, the dust collection is amazing. I have transitioned from a garage shop that had so much airborne dust in it that I had to wear a respirator all the time, to a shop that is starting to look like no one works there cause of the lack of dust. Its amazing.  I just bought the ETS 125/3... sanding without dust, is like a dream come true.  What an amazing system.

I have no experience with the HK saws, other than I would personally get a track saw over that style of saw.

 

[Yxoc]

Thank you all for your input,

Firstly I should have realised that this video would have done the rounds and tried to search for it first, might have saved us all some time...

I will say that I have watched a few of AvE's videos and I believe that he is very knowledgeable in some areas and my guess would be that he is an accomplished engineer of some flavour. He admits that he is not a woodworker and I agree that some of his comments regarding the tools are misguided, largely because he is coming at it from a non-woodworkers perspective. He has a deliberately kooky and abrasive sense of humour which I enjoy but I see how it could annoy some people. As others have mentioned, if you watch the sequel to the first video you will agree that he know's his maths and sciences.

I will agree that Festool have many strong points, namely their excellent ergonomics and clever, thoughtful integration of all their systems. Dust collection also, is often offered as an important strong point and I will agree. That said, I feel that when one pays a certain price for a tool I expect very robust construction - maybe over engineered is the best term to apply. An attitude that using a bit more than required will cost only a little bit more at the manufacturing stage but will pay off handsomely in extra longevity. From looking inside the Festool track saw I did not get that impression. I will have to politely disagree with many posters here in that AvE's points have not been effectively rebutted/refuted - people have mostly just stated that he is wrong or silly (and worse) without providing solid evidence to the contrary. Yes I am aware that bushings are used in internal combustion engines but from my memory of High School motors and machines, they also have channels where oil is fed at high pressure into the mating surfaces. In any case there is a reason that bearings have come into common use, if bushings are better why don't we still use them for everything?

Further when I look at uncoated windings, weak plastic for external components, and a blade lock that keys into the plastic cooling fan, I can only think that Festool did this to economise, and for the kind of money we're talking here I don't expect corners to be cut in that way. Yes you would not expect the end cap of the motor to receive knocks but for the sake of a few cents/dollars per unit it could be made with a much higher grade of plastic - just in case!

I have had a good look at the HK85 in the shop, it looks very decent and the track system/accessories as you all already know, are great, but I could not convince myself that it was constructed to the standard I would expect for the money and I have put my money down for the Mafell KSS80. I feel it will be a notch higher but I will freely admit that, delivered to Australia, it has cost significantly more so you would expect so. It also has a couple of mm of extra cut depth (3.5 to be exact) which, while not a deal breaker, is very useful for my circumstances.

Thanks to all and good luck. I may come back and give my thoughts on the Mafell when I've had some time with it. Soon I expect I will be looking at a router and I have not discounted the 1400 or 2200 yet, so you may see me back

Derek

 

[LJD]

I never ever trust any of the "Paid for" Festool reviews .Far too many seem to be the type that would use festool toilet paper if they got paid . No Matter how good they are .I expect to see a real Pro pick tools that do the best job rather than  a "one brand work shop" .
Its obvious what are the top festool items are .And I agree with a few and own them.  . But the rest .....!

 

[Jmacpherson]

Many contractors the world over make their living using the TS55 or other tools from Festool and swear by them.
Many others use different brands and will swear by them and naturally you will always have brand loyalty.
You are on a Festool forum so you would think members here would be biased however FOG members are quick to point out pro's and con's of any tool they own and use - nobody makes a perfect tool or makes a perfect lineup of tools

However one major benefit that Festool does offer (I don't think anyone else does this) is their guarantee of replacement part availability for a minimum of 10yrs, from the Festool website itself:

"There's no such thing as 'No longer in stock'.
10 year spare part availability
That's how long we keep every part in stock for your device – at least. And if, against all expectations, it should ever be unavailable, you will receive a new replacement device, free of charge. Festool tools are designed for long and intensive use. You can rely on that. Even after 10 years."

Somehow I doubt they are making inferior tools with that sort of backing and statement.

 

[estley]

i enjoy AVE's videos, i can't say i understand much of what he says technically so wether or not he's competent is not for me to say, he is however entertaining. Here's the thing about his videos, he's explicitly looking for defects and "problems", he also seems to hold the higher end brands to a different standard. So, if one of the higher end brands uses the same component that a big box brand would use the comment is "i'd expect to see something better". the question with that mentality is, is EVERY SINGLE COMPONENT in a high end tool supposed to be better? does it really matter?

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