New Festool Domino Book review

[Jimhart]

I guess this is an accessory, or it's supposed to be.

I'm a constant reader. Mostly things that are supposed to teach me something I don't know. I believe in some thing called 'the slight edge', basically I'm Ok with reading a book even if I learn one or two small things. They add up, hopefully.

The Festool Essentail books showed up this week. Decided to read the Domino book first. It took about an hour to read every word. Large pictures of very fundamental applications. Unbelievably, I don't think there was anything covered that isn't in the users manual that comes with the tool.  ??? I have cut maybe 100 dominos. Not exactly your seasoned user. Didn't come close to learning a single thing. There's way more info in the free supplemental manual you can download from the web.

The second half of the book is essentially a catalog of dust extractors. Not one word specific to using them with the Domino. There are several pages just like the catalog, where it shows which accessories go with each model. There are 4 or 5 pages showing you how to install the handle. The handle actually comes with instructions comprehensive enough for you to install it.

The capper of them all; the last 20 pages of the book show you how to install the boom arm, another product that ships with adequate instructions.

I haven't looked at the TS55/75 book yet. It also 'features' info on the dust extractors. Would be surprised if it isn't a reprint of the info in the Domino book.

I've ordered an average of 10 books a month from Amazon for many years. I've kissed a few frogs along the way, but have never even considered sending a book back.  This product is a shameless commercial that could only serve to expose someone to this product in the hope that they would buy one. It really shouldn't be sold as book.

I know this is more than a bit harsh, but I feel it's 100% fair. Don't waste your money.

Jim

 

[Joemac]

Thanks Jim, I just canceled my order at Amazon for both books.

 

[nickao]

No you are not harsh, you are only saying what almost every other buyer of that book has said. Paying for an ad is ridiculous. I believe Bob Marino  said dealers can basically sell it for what they want, I thought including it in a purchase for free might be good.

Nickao

 

[Matthew Schenker]

Jim,
Thanks for your honest assessment of the book.  Don't worry about being harsh in a review!  In this forum, honesty is far more important than feeling like you have to say things are great no matter what.  That's the spirit that made this forum a trusted place!

I moved this discussion to the "Reviews" section of the forum.  Also, I edited the description of the "Reviews" board to include books as well as tools.

Thanks again!

Stay in touch,
Matthew

 

[chrisrosenb]

I was very dissapointed in the books also. The saw book is very similar to the Domino book with half of the book covering the vacuums.
I will not say the books should not be sold. They do have a place in the market. The books will be very helpful to a beginner or someone looking for information before buying the tools.
My son will be getting my books. 

 

[TJtools]

You can get them for free somewhere I think.  I just cant think of where.  Oh, well.

 

[James Watriss]

I've read both books. The CT section is included in both. I picked the books up at Woodcraft on the way to work one day. I looked them over during lunch, almost puked up my soup in disgust, and returned them both on the way home, they were so horribly over-priced, and devoid of worthwhile content. Nothing new, nothing more than a simple sales pitch and the same information that's contained in the manuals, or expanded manuals, which are all down-loadable for free.

Considering that all of the information contained in the books is available for download, and there's a lot more information that ISN'T included in those books, and considering that they're basically full color instruction manuals, they're really, really not worth the money.

Honestly, I can understand seeing them on the shelves at Woodcraft or Rockler. They probably contain more information than the average clerk knows, maybe. I was shocked to see some of the more reputable festool dealers selling them, though. And I mean that genuinely, because after reading those books, I felt personally cheated. I implore the dealers... read those books yourself, and ask yourself, honestly, if you feel comfortable accepting money for them.

I'm not talking trash. I value this community, and the people who make valuable contributions to it. Dealers who insist on giving quality for their customers' hard earned money should consider what they're doing to their own reputation by selling these books. People who hear about you in here, and out in the world, will look to your website for guidance, and speaking only for myself, I would think that if it's on your website for sale, it has your personal stamp of approval. Woodcraft, Rockler, and other corporate stores are different... they aren't typically as knowledgeable, and the shotgun nature of their sales tactics reflect that, so I don't expect that everything they sell will be of any worth. It doesn't surprise me when I see steaming piles mixed in with decent tools. But a serious dealer who professes to know his product intimately should think before he puts his stamp of approval on those books. Because you're not corporate, because you profess to know your product intimately, you're going to be held to a more personal, accountable standard.

 

[nickao]

I agree James,

I always thought they should be included in purchase. If they did include them Festool would really have a nice instruction package, better than what is included now. That would make the manuals for the Festools a 4 out of 5 instead of the 2 out of 5 the Festool manuals get now(my rating opinion).

This is one easy way for Festool to make their products better by virtually doing nothing other than adding the mini-books to the box with the tools. I can't see those costing Festool more than 3.00 each buying them in bulk. An 800.00 tool really does deserve a good manual.

 

[James Watriss]

Well, that's part of the problem, nick... if this was a good manual, I wouldn't have felt so cheated. I don't mind paying for good information... but this thing was very, very fluffy, and had nothing of any real value between the covers.

 

[b_m_hart]

Festool needs to cough up some cash money to have someone like Jerry Work (or whomever else of the several folks here that have produced very fine works) create an actual "users manual", rather than the engineer-ese "brochures" they ship with each tool.  Sure, they'd have to pay some cash - but I'm willing to bet that there are willing and capable people out there that would work for tools or consumables.  At that point, it would MAYBE cost them $3 per as Nickao pointed out earlier to print them, and they're paying someone "retail" toys that really are wholesale outlays of cash to them.

C'mon Festool - we know you read these boards.  Show us some love.  Your tools are fantastic, and the applications for them are hindered almost exclusively by the user's imagination.  Cough up some tools for a manual that stimulates the creativity, as well as documents how to insert the hex wrench into the proper hex bolt.

 

[Rob Z]

Guys, thanks for the heads-up on some of these less-than-useful books that I otherwise might have bought.  I just bought the CT22 vac and soon will buy the TS 55 saw and MFT.  All of the apparatus and extra equipment can be a bit intimidating for the novice, and I probably would have bought anything in print that I saw at Woodcraft.

As it is, I am going down there to spend some time with the one associate in the store that really knows his stuff about Festool,and let him guide me through what I need to get and how to get started using it.

I've seen some of what Jerry has written, and it is an incredible amount of time and effort that he has put into the document.  Nice work, Jerry!

 

[GreenGA]

I would also recommend that you hop on over to YouTube and do a search on the keyword "Festool".  There are quite a few videos on using some of the Festool items.  There is one really great one on the MFT.

 

[Rob Z]

Hi GreenGA,

Thanks for the suggestion...I also have been watching the videos at the Festool site.  All the equipment is quite interesting!

 

[ForumMFG]

This is why I love this Forum.  I was going to pick up both books but after reading the comments, I will not buy them.  I will put the money towards a MFT or accessories.

 

[Peter Hamilton-Scott]

This is why I love this Forum.  I was going to pick up both books but after reading the comments, I will not buy them.  I will put the money towards a MFT or accessories.

Me too. The UK Amazon cost of the books will buy me some additional goodies. If I want the very best information available I'll come to these forums for it. The collective knowledge is greater than any book. Such is the value in belonging to the Festool Borg Cube. 8)

 

[mntbighker]

I paid $30 at my local dealer and I don't think I have ever felt this taken advantage of  The book is crap with not one single "tip" or "suggestion" that supplements commonly available knowledge. On top of that it's obsolete already with the new Domino design replacing the old one and the 4mm size missing from the book (real new and not a surprise). The book should be free and then it would be worth "having" at least. The others are right that with such a premium priced tool they should enlist the help of experts to produce books that regular folk would actually benefit from. Then 30 or 40 bucks would be well worth it.