Las Vegas FOG Tool Training!

The trip started for me on Thursday morning, made it to the Sunset Station hotel and casino in Henderson, NV by noon PDT. The hotel is only 15 minutes from the airport and the training center is only five minutes from the hotel. I had a room on the 18th floor of the hotel over looking Henderson and the mountainous desert in the distance. Thursday night the group meet up for dinner at Claim Jumper's restaurant, the place was full with a young crowd. Despite the all of noise we all got acquainted and of course, talked about tools, I believe Ned enjoyed the conversation the most. The Festool staff are really a bunch of down to earth people, they talked openly and candidly about their jobs and the company. Also included in our group were the Woodcraft Festool give away contest winners. It was clear after only a few minutes we were going to have a good time during our trip.

  The next morning the Festool staff meet us at the hotel for breakfast at 7:00 AM. After breakfast and the enjoyable conversation we headed to the training center, in a classroom like setting we got started with introductions.............
 
Gentlemen,

Glad you enjoyed your visit to the training facilities in Vegas.  I see that each of you went away with a wealth of knowledge to share and got a glimpse "behind the scenes", so-to-speak, of the Festool USA culture.  Per is spot on when he says that we all love our jobs (at least I do).  What a fine company to be a part of.  We are all very passionate about the products and our contributions to the brand.  I truly believe that Christian has assembled a team of some of the finest people I have ever had the honor to work with, not a single weak link in the chain. 

It's always great to have the opportunity to meet the folks using the tools in person.  Sorry I was unable to attend and meet you guys.  I would have really enjoyed the opportunity.  Maybe next time...  Any volunteers?  :P

For those who don't know, we have two training facilities, one in Vegas and one in Lebanon, IN.  Steve Bace and "The Sedge" (Brian Sedgeley) have regular training classes which are attended by dealer employees.  These guys are extremely knowledgeable not only about the tools but also applications.  Steve is particularly familiar with the solid surface industry.  Both of them are great guys.  David McGibbon is the "Oracle" of Festool USA.  He is (I believe) the most senior member of the Festool USA team besides Christian and can disassemble and reassemble any of our tools in under 5 seconds while blindfolded and underwater.  It's true! I have to give my kudos to Michael, afterall he hired me :)  And, last but not least, Christian is a phenomal visionary and leader.

I would like to hear about what the things you learned that you did not already know, particularly about the new tools.  Things like removing the head unit on the CT or the exhaust / blower port.  If anyone needs more photos of any of the tools, I'd be happy to do my best to snap off a few hundred if you didn't capture what you were looking for :)
 
I'm very impressed that Festool hosted this event!

When I worked as a software developer at IBM and at Microsoft, we had large user groups and hosted annual meetings that representatives of those groups attended.  It was a great way for us to stay in touch with our users.  It's great to see something like this being done by a tool manufacturer.
 
[humility]
It was a complete surprise to receive the invitation, both that Festool was doing the event and that I was invited.  Matthew, of course, should have been at the top of the invitation list without question.  I knew the other attendees from FOG, and they seemed good choices as well.

Now here's the humble part:  I could name six others who seem to me equally deserving.  And six after that.  And six after that, and so on.

FOG is what it is because of the contributions of many people, including people outside North America.
[/humility]

That said, I wasn't about to give up my seat.  :D :D :D

I think that what we learned in Henderson would be more useful spread throughout the forum in appropriate threads.

Ned

 
Thank you all for the great write ups and pictures. Shane, I would much prefer the tools in my hands rather than the pictures if that is an option? ;) :D 8) Fred
 
I'm still editing and uploading pics, but here are a couple:

Team-FOG lookin' studious:
FOGTeamMinus1.jpg


Pico the FesPoodle in appropriate attire:
PicoTheFesPoodle.jpg


MFK700 from the bottom while cutting:
MFK700Underside.jpg


CT22 with the top completely removed:
CT22WTopOff.jpg


Regards,

Dan.
 
Yep, it is not always like they say in the commercials, "What happens in Vagas stays in Vegas."  Hopefully, we will see most of what happens to come out of your trip will be a good thing.  Then again, some things probably should stay in Vegas; like when Matthew was talking about Hooters and that last photo, well, a CT with her top off!   :o

Bet no one returned home with much in their wallet...   ;)
Corwin

 
Brice Burrell said:
robtonya said:
I would like to hear more about the MFK 700, that tool has really caught my interest. Also I seen Per wasn't wearing a dead animal on his head, was you able to recognize him without it? ;D
Click to expand...

Rob, the MFK got my attention, there is a lot nice features in that router. I want one.

Brian domoing the MFK700 router.
[attachthumb=#]

me too, I was wondering if it would be good fr sliding dovetails, I have a project coming up, and I was wanting to try to make some sliding doves on 3/4" plywood. It looks like it would be perfect, but I don't know if I could get a dovetail bit in 1/4" or 8mm shank ( I haven't really researched it though).
Click to expand...
 
Dan Clark said:
I'm still editing and uploading pics, but here are a couple:

Team-FOG lookin' studious:
FOGTeamMinus1.jpg
Click to expand...

We do look studious in that photo!  You can see all of us saving up some good comments to unleash on the trainers.  Seriously, we were a tough bunch, asking challenging questions and doing everything we could to keep the Festool guys on their toes.  They maintained their grace throughout the weekend, always returning to important details about the tools.  I truly think we all learned something from this event.  The FOG members learned more about old and new tools, and the Festool guys learned what's on the minds of various kinds of tool owners.  Everyone benefits from this.

By the way, for those of you who are wondering, Per does not speak in blank verse.

Shane Holland said:
...I would like to hear about what the things you learned that you did not already know, particularly about the new tools.  Things like removing the head unit on the CT or the exhaust / blower port.  If anyone needs more photos of any of the tools, I'd be happy to do my best to snap off a few hundred if you didn't capture what you were looking for :)
Click to expand...

OK, I picked up a few noteworthy details.  I'll jump in with something on the new tools later, but here's one about an old tool: the CT dust extractors have a neat blower feature.  Most of us probably know already that there is a blower port on the CTs.  What you might not know is that when you plug a hose into the port, the vent fan turns off.  What makes this significant?  Well, you can use the CT to blow fumes to the outside by running a hose from the blower port and out an open window.  Another advantage is that the fans won't blow dust around that is on the floor beneath the vacuum.  This was very interesting to me, and I already came home and did it on my CT 22.

This might be better explained in photos.  Someone, I'm sure, got photos of this?  If not, I can shoot photos of my own CT 22.

Per Swenson said:
Corwin,

You would lose that bet.

By a wide margin. ::)
Click to expand...

But Per, the big question is, did it all go to Clancy's?

Matthew
 
I'm thankful Per didn't wear the dead animal hat thingy (or, if he did, that no one took any pictures of it).
 
Brice Burrell said:
robtonya said:
I would like to hear more about the MFK 700, that tool has really caught my interest. Also I seen Per wasn't wearing a dead animal on his head, was you able to recognize him without it? ;D
Click to expand...

Rob, the MFK got my attention, there is a lot nice features in that router. I want one.

Brian domoing the MFK700 routah.
[attachthumb=#]
Click to expand...

Who are those guys in the witness protection program?  ;)
 
Congrats you guys.  Great selection of FOG contributors.

Would someone put together some tips and tricks for the MFK 700 so I'm ready to go when it arrives (May 2, right Bob?)?

Thanks.  I look forward to learning more from each of you as we go.

Glad this happened.  It will stimulate this already-exceptional forum even more!
 
Dave Rudy said:
Would someone put together some tips and tricks for the MFK 700 so I'm ready to go when it arrives (May 2, right Bob?)?
Click to expand...

Dave / anyone considering the MFK... here's a tidbit for you.  Remember the rotation of the bit is clockwise.  When using the MFK with the vertical base you will want to feed the router left to right, when using the horizontal base feed the router right to left.  When using any of the routers with the MFS, rout in a counter-clockwise direction.
 
peter halle said:
I would not be surprised if I spoke for all fog members - I'm jealous.  but then again, I would say thanks for all that each of the contributors provides to the enormous knowledge base here.  

Finally, for those at Festool USA - what a class act you are...
Click to expand...

I agree on ALL points.

John
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

L
Help needed - RO 150 brushes from a 16 year old Tool
Replies
2
Views
12K
Jim_in_PA
Jim_in_PA
onocoffee
PATINA Tool Show and Auction This Weekend
Replies
0
Views
128
onocoffee
onocoffee
mcfal12
Non FOG Tool Forum Retired -
Replies
3
Views
239
hdv
hdv
onocoffee
Kinda Odd 100
2 3
Replies
42
Views
4K
luvmytoolz
luvmytoolz
Hartville Hardware
Hartville Hardware Fall Tool Sale & Expo!
Replies
0
Views
224
Hartville Hardware
Hartville Hardware
Back
Top