Is it sacrilegious to use Festool for construction work?

[Bluenose]

I just got my new TS 55 & CT 22 from Bob and they are sitting in the living room until I can enclose my shop. My building job today is cutting & hanging 1/4 inch plywood. Is it wrong to think of using the new stuff?

It "almost" seems to nice too slog through construction grade plywood. Bill

 

[Steve Jones]

As long as it's wood you're cutting - the worst that can happen is you need to get the blade sharpened.

 

[Dan Clark]

Bluenose,

As a framing saw for rough construction, you might want to use a nice Makita hypoid saw.  For rough routing, there are several routers that will work fine.  For almost everything else including finish carpentry, your Festool stuff will do a great job.

FYI, probably the single largest group of non-amateur Festool users are finish carpenters (these are the guys that actually make your house look great). 

I've used my Festools a LOT for what you would refer to as "construction work".  I love 'em! 

Dan.

 

[Frank Pellow]

At least a third of the work that my Festool tools have done since I acquired my first on a little over four years ago could be classified as construction work.  They excell at it and there is no reason to use them that way (as long as you do not misstreat them).  Of course, it's best to do things like use less fine blades on your saws, use thougher sandpaper, and use cheaper bits on your routers, but you should do that with any tools.

 

[Fred West]

Bluenose, go to it the tools work great with all kinds of work and as mentioned just make sure you have the right blades or bits for what you are doing. I have even used them for plumbing work. Fred

 

[nickao]

These tools can handle anything you can throw at them. Use them and have fun!

Nickao

 

[danrush]

Day in - day out my stuff lives on the contruction site.  Hard part is keeping them clean!!!!

 

[Qwas]

I use mine all the time for rough construction. I figure the more I use them, the better I get. And I become that much more familiar with the tools and their features.

 

[Eli]

I use them for everything. Everything.

 

[Chris Hughes]

    I was wondering how many Festooligans were in the field.  For the last year I've been working in comercial, a Walmart of all places.  Nobody on my site has seen such an array of tools.  I know that if I did not have Festool my job would be much more difficult.  Chris

 

[Fred West]

Chris, I am quite often in the field at our clients houses and my Festools that are needed for that job are always there.  Fred

 

[pteubel]

I just got my new TS 55 & CT 22 from Bob and they are sitting in the living room until I can enclose my shop. My building job today is cutting & hanging 1/4 inch plywood. Is it wrong to think of using the new stuff?

It "almost" seems to nice too slog through construction grade plywood. Bill

I hope not. It's all I ever use for ANY construction. I prefer a guide rail to a chalk line anyday. Obviously you wouldn't want to throw it around like a cheaper saw but they are meant to be worked hard.

 

[GreenGA]

At JLC this past weekend, the construtions guys, and gals, were lined up so they could to get their hands on the "toys" at the Festool booth.  Almost every overheard remark was they loved the tools and wanted to get their hands on whatever it was they were playing with.  I recall overhearing what looked like a couple of hardcore professional builders, and they were discussing ideas on how they could get the funds to buy a Kapex, CT12 and a 75.  So, no, "I" do not think it blasphemous to use Festool on the job site.  Just don't leave them unguarded, even for a moment.

I bought a Bosch Digital Laser Range Finder Kit.  I "had..." intentions of putting it through its paces and writing a report.  Well, somewhere between the time I bought it and the time I got to the car for the trip back to Jersey, it walked...  So, you can take your tools to the job site, just keep them within your sight.

JMTC.

 

[Bluenose]

Thanks for all the great comments. It was raining on and off today so it remained a Bosch  cordless day. But the Festools will be coming off the bench Soooon!

 

[Christian93117]

I couldn't help to chime in here. Very interesting question!

It looks like Festool has a different image here in the US than it has in Europe.

When I was a kid, I was working every summer in a company that did rough carpentry. Most of the tools they had were Festool tools (back then Festo). Helmut, the owner of the company, always said he buys Festool because they are tough and outlast all other tools. They were rough on the tools.

Every time I see somebody in Germany working with a Festool product, I ask them why they bought Festool. In most cases I am told "because they last, they are tough, they get the job done".

Many of our customers in the US seem to see Festool products as "delicate, high precision instruments". For them, Festool tools are the tools you "only use for fine finish work". And in a lot of companies only "the boss" is supposed to use "his Festools". When the "boss has made that one critical cut on that expensive mahagony door", the tool is wiped off and goes back into the Systainer. The crew keeps working with "the other tools".

I understand that everybody has to decide for him-/herself, what a Festool tools is being used for. From a product standpoint, I can say this: The tools are made to withstand long and heavy use, in the shop and on jobsites. They are precise, yes, but they are also tough.

If you think a Festool product makes you work faster, easier and smarter, take your Festool for construction work or other heavy duty applications. The tool might not last as long as the one that lives most of the time in its Systainer. But the time you save will pay in most cases easily for the replacement tool.   

Bottom line: When you are asking yourself if you should use Festool for construction work, the only deciding factor should be
if the job gets done faster and easier with Festool and if it makes sense to use Festool for the job (I wouldn't use the TS55 to rough cut 2x4s). If yes, use Festool. On the other hand, the question if the tool will last should not be a deciding factor, because the tools are designed to last. It takes Festool about two years of testing before the market introduction of a new tool, and Festool has more rigorous tests than other tool manufacturers. They are also designed to be repaired very easily and with minimal cost (example: almost all parts are available as a single part, you don't have to pay for spare part groups).

I hope this didn't sound too much like a marketing rant. It was not my intention. It is just interesting for me to see how different the image of Festool is in the US compared to Europe.

Thanks.

Christian

 

[nickao]

Well said

 

[Dan Clark]

At JLC this past weekend, the construtions guys, and gals, were lined up so they could to get their hands on the "toys" at the Festool booth.  Almost every overheard remark was they loved the tools and wanted to get their hands on whatever it was they were playing with.  I recall overhearing what looked like a couple of hardcore professional builders, and they were discussing ideas on how they could get the funds to buy a Kapex, CT12 and a 75.  So, no, "I" do not think it blasphemous to use Festool on the job site.  Just don't leave them unguarded, even for a moment.

I bought a Bosch Digital Laser Range Finder Kit.  I "had..." intentions of putting it through its paces and writing a report.  Well, somewhere between the time I bought it and the time I got to the car for the trip back to Jersey, it walked...  So, you can take your tools to the job site, just keep them within your sight.

JMTC.

GreenGA,

It's nice to hear that the Festool booth did well at JLC Live, but hardly surprising.  The boys and girls at JLC are some of the most avid Festoolians outside of fog.  There are several JLC veteran posters who also post here.  But that's because buying Festool is a rational thing to do...

For example, consider a finish carpenter who walks into a two million dollar home and the homeowner looks up at his library's 10-11 foot ceiling and says, "Do you think my library would look nice with wainscoting, some better quality built-in bookshelves, and a coffered ceiling?"  The finish carpenter gives him or her a figure that would make most of us faint, but the HO of this house says, "No problem!"  Come the following Monday, two things could happen:

A) The finish carpenter shows up with a trailer load of table saws and miter saws and spews sawdust all over the house and lawn.  And then spends a lot of time cleaning it up. Or...

B) The finish carpenter shows up with a trailer load of well planned tools (which might include a table saw and miter saw), but everything is planned so that sawdust is minimal and the intrusion on the HOs lifestyle is minimal.  Work is performed quickly and cleanly, and every night the carpenter goes home they leave a clean, organized workplace behind them because it's little effort to do so.

So WHO do you think the HO would be happier to hire?  (Duh!)  These ladies and gentle of the fine woodworking arts are NOT stupid.  They know that the HOs hate dust and noise, and they know that a clean, well organized environment makes a better impression, and they know that an efficient dust-free environment is better and easier for them.  At the end of the day, they spend minimal time on cleanup which make everyone happier.  When the job's complete and the customer is happy with the result AND the process that got him/her the result, the finish carpenter has a much higher chance of getting a good referral.

While many of the folks at JLC appreciate Festool tools for their own sake, they look at them as a way of making their life easier, producing better quality with less work, and ultimately making more money.  They are VERY rational people.  To many of them, Festool just makes good business sense.  IMO, that's why they swarm around the Festool both.

Regards,

Dan.

p.s I was at JLCLive in Seattle.  I couldn't spend much time, but it was a great experience.  Here's my review of that: http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=1914.msg18827#msg18827.

p.p.s. I wrote the above while Christian was writing his post.  I take the same view point about my Festools.  Here's my C12 Depth Stop Chuck review:http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=331.  See the drywall I'm installing?  See the studs behind my hand in one of the pics?  What do you think installed those screws?  Scroll down to reply #2.  See those big honkin' 3" x 5/16" lag screws?  What do you think installed those screws?  (Not bad for a TWELVE VOLT DRILL!)  Now scroll down the to reply #3.  See all those screws in the TOP layer of sub floor?  How about the screws in the BOTTOM layer (which you can't see)?  What do you think installed those screws?  Now take a look at this pic:http://festoolownersgroup.com/index.php?topic=791.msg8093#msg8093.  In this pic and all the other pics, you'll see lots of dirt and scars on my C12. 

I have pounded the cr@p out of my C12.  Virtually all of this work would be classified as construction.  And all of this is from a tool that is probably considered the "lightweight" of the entire Festool line! 

 

[Fred West]

Dan, Christain, et al, from my standpoint any tool that works as well as the Festool tools do will ALWAYS be the first tool I pick up and use. I take very good care of my tools but in the end they are still tools and are meant to be used. I am an avid collector of tools but ONLY if they can be used. Fred

 

[dsweetser]

My son and I us our festools on the job every day. All our equipment is housed in a 14' box trailer. I have always believed in buying the best tool possible for the job, even it it is only used once a year.  We use the 55, ct12, 33, & trion almost daily. We also have the rotex, domino, planer & stand (takes the place of a joiner on site), dts 400 & 150/3.

We are remodeling contractors who face different tasks daily. The festool system has made those tasks easier.  The dust extractor makes a safe work environment & the customer  happier.

Our Festool tools are for go, not show.

 

[John Langevin]

Bluenose,
  Since I discovered Festool three years ago; I have sold off any duplicate tools (or not replaced them when they died). So the bulk of my tools are Festool, consequently they get used for everything I do! I am finishing up the 2nd floor shop in my barn and have cut all the Luan paneling with my TS55 and Trion saws using the guide rails. I perhaps could have done it more quickly (and less accurately) with a circular saw and homemade cutting guide or chalk line. Instead I saw it as an opportunity to gain proficiency with the tools using inexpensive material for a not so critical task. As a result I attempted cuts and close fitments I would have shied away from if it was a furniture or cabinet project.
  I also do light landscape construction (raised beds, walkways, tree rings etc.) when my CSMS died last year and I didn't relish paying $500-600 for a new one I used my Trion instead. I gained experience from doing the work in a new way with a different tool. I also think that by having only one set of tools I tend to take even better care of them, this (along with the high quality results) has also helped convince my wife of the wisdom of this path.
  So go for it!

P.S. Picture Cop - Yes, barn pics will be forthcoming.