Cheese said:
grbmds said:
While I would guess that there have been portable, on-site power tools used heavily on a daily basis by contractors, cabinetmakers, remodeler, carpenters, etc., that have lasted 10 years and are still accurate viable tools, I would also guess that those tools are the exception.
Here’s a photo of a Milwaukee drill purchased in 1948 by my father. He used it for over 45 years on a daily basis as he was a “tin bender” or rather in today’s vernacular an HVAC installer.
It’s had 5 sets of brushes installed over its lifetime. That’s it...no new armatures, bearings or field coils, it still works today as it should despite its anemic 2.6 amp power draw.
I have lots of Milwaukee tools that are 25-35 years old and they function flawlessly. Ten years of service should not be the maximum anticipated limit of usefulness, rather it should be the minimum anticipated limit of usefulness.
For the price that Festool charges for their gear, they could easily justify a 5 year warranty and to gain themselves some marketing advantage over the competition, they should bump it up to 8 years. If as a company you want to pound your chest and pronounce how great your tools are compared to the competition, then back it up. A long term warranty is the first step.
Think about all these Kapex issues...if these were backed up with an 8 year warranty, the problems would all be background noise.
In this day and age when we expect 20 years of service from our refrigerator and central air conditioner that’s used 24/7, why is 3 years service life acceptable from a miter saw that’s used 8/5?
Guess you haven't bought a refrigerator, washer, or dryer recently. None of those appliances is built to last 20 years. You can expect it, but you won't get it. We bought the number one rated washer and dryer brand. The belt on the dryer lasted 5 1/2 years and I was told that we were lucky since most only last 3 - 4 years. Then the washer is front loading and has "shock absorbers" supporting the drum on 4 corners. They also wore out after 5 1/2 years and again I was told most are replaced in less time than that. We don't use these appliances very heavily. When you buy a refrigerator these days, the usual expected life is around 8 - 10 years partly because the compressor kicks on and off more to keep the temp constant and use less energy. I'm not saying this is right. In fact, it's wrong in my mind. However, it is that way I've found out the hard way.
I had a Makita plunge router I bought in the 70's which was still working and mounted in an old router table. I sold it for the router table and replaced it with a non-Festool alternative because, while I already had an OF1400, I wouldn't even consider burying a high quality, dustless router like that in a table. So I buy what I think I need and there are definitely high quality, less expensive, non-Festool options out there for many tools. So, for me, Festool doesn't exclusively have me as a customer and never will.
I'm not sure why these threads about Festool quality and service go on and on. They are just a company who makes tools; generally speaking higher end, high quality tools with a good warranty and, in my experience, good service. However, some of their tools aren't innovative, the best on the market, and certainly not less expensive. No company will survive if their tools don't last, their service deteriorates, or they just don't innovate as well as other companies. Companies like Dewalt, Makita, and Bosch have gone in the direction of making more reasonably priced, generally solid tools with great battery systems. That endears them to the people in this world who use their tools everyday on the job. And it should. I wouldn't think of replacing my Dewalt cordless drill/drivers with a Festool. It doesn't make sense for me as the Dewalt are very usable, high performance, and much less expensive for my use in a home wood shop.
For me, it's about personal preference for whatever I feel I need. I did embark on a Festool buying spree over the past several years, but it started because of what I wanted to do with my shop; get rid of a table saw and use the TS55/MFT combo in place of it. Didn't work out that way, but in the process I found unique, high performing, essentially dustless tools from Festool that I felt, and still feel, are superior to any others out there; again for my use. I have no problems with their sanders, CT, TS55, MFT, VacSys, Dominos, and OF1400. I love their sanders but have at least 2 I could get along without right now. Yet I wouldn't trade any of these tools. They work well, perform well, make woodworking essentially dustless, and a couple are so unique I couldn't buy them from any other manufacturer. If I had the problems that appear in these posts and Festool didn't fix them as alleged in the posts, I wouldn't ever buy another and, in fact, would attempt to sell them and buy other brands.
Enough said, except Festool doesn't have a corner on the market for power tools, especially in the US. They will live or die based on their innovation, service, quality, warranties, availabiity, and usability just like any other company. They owe nothing to their user public, including information about performance and failure, except production of the high quality tools and availability of the great warranty and service that made them what they are today. If that disappears, they won't make it and their expansion will be for nothing. Let them do what they do and consumers will do what they do best; buy what products work and perform well for them.
