New FOG member and buyer of 7 festools rather quickly.

[Bryston]

Greetings from se Louisiana. I've had a 600 sq ft shop since 88 and got into woodworking in 95' with the purchase of Delta machine tools.  Roofing and sheetmetal are my trades. 

Turned my nose up at Festool when I seen the prices probably 12 years ago. (Never knew what a Domino  was till last year)

Just last year started watching some woodworking vids on YouTube and every one I see there is a stack of Festool systainers in most videos, and I recently met an old man and visited his 1200 sq ft shop and he was showing off his many festools, once he showed me the quality of these fine tools I knew I had to spend some money.

I purchased a CT 36 and and an RO 150 and received a John Deere kids bike from Hartsville Hardware off Amazon, in place of the 36, man was I mad as hell. I told them to cancel the order and I was gonna send the sander back as well. A lady from the store reached out and gave an apology and said we will immediately re-ship the vacuum and you can even keep the bike,  give us another chance! Ok. Glad I did.and I have now purchased a 1010 and 1400 router, Tid 18 and T 18 plus3, Ro 90, ets 125, 2 sys of sand paper, starter set sys, and sys 4 TL, Bluetooth remote for the vacuum and some other smaller items.

If I didn't have two other trac saws I'd have the Festool by now. Next purchase is gonna be a Kapex 120 and DF 500

 

[semenza]

Welcome to the forum!  [smile]

    Glad you didn't let the bike incident ruin it for you.  Maybe you can tow the vac around with it  [big grin]

Seth

 

[Peter_C]

Welcome to the FOG Nice first purchases!

Mistakes happen, it is what one does about them that matters, and it sounds like Hartville Hardware did the right thing. Plus you got a John Deere out of it!

 

[Ron B]

Hartville has sent me the wrong item twice.  They are quick to fix the mistake, and both times told me to keep whatever it was that they sent me.  At least you got a bicycle, my wrong items were not something I had an use for. 

 

[Bryston]

I donated the bike to a poor kid or else I was scammed, had it listed on CL for 50 bucks and a guy who represented a childrens home asked about it and I gave it to him. Seemed legit?

I talked to Beaver tools and there out of stock on the kapex, said there waiting on 450 to be delivered, I asked her to repeat that number,  She said yes 450 to be delivered, sold several over the weekend.  seems like an awful lot of them? Is that really the amount of these things flying off the shelf?

 

[semenza]

I donated the bike to a poor kid or else I was scammed, had it listed on CL for 50 bucks and a guy who represented a childrens home asked about it and I gave it to him. Seemed legit?

I talked to Beaver tools and there out of stock on the kapex, said there waiting on 450 to be delivered, I asked her to repeat that number,  She said yes 450 to be delivered, sold several over the weekend.  seems like an awful lot of them? Is that really the amount of these things flying off the shelf?

  Hard to know / speculate on that sort of thing. Could also be a big build up of orders over the last couple years.

Seth

 

[Ron B]

If you are in Louisiana, a Festool dealer I bought from once was Industrial Supply that I believe is in the New Orleans area.  I think it was three items, and some were backordered, but they were good keeping me posted.  Their logo is an alligator. 

Another dealer that gives superb communications is Tool Nirvana in Chicago.  I sent a question one time to them at 10 pm, and got an answer within minutes.  They are also very quick to ship. 

Be aware that the Kapex changed a couple of years ago, and you do want the new model.  If you run across an used one, be aware that the older model had electrical problems that you do not want. 

450 sounds like a lot-even with supply problems, but what do I know?  As far as getting scammed, I do not know, but it is good to know there are still decent people out there willing to give a bike to a kid. 

If you are looking for a Kapex, call around to some local dealers.  The packaging on the Kapex has much to be desired, weight is very lopsided, and it is heavy enough the delivery men are not too kind with that box.  If you buy from a local dealer, it prevents you seeing the abuse the packaging takes, and hopefully they have addressed any issues.  A local dealer may have one in stock. 

 

[batmanimal]

I laughed at your subject line bc that sounds like me

Started w the Midi vac in January…

Then Kapex + extension wings (got an open box deal on the wings from Hartville Hardware - definitely worth the $$ if you get the Kapex)
Then Domino 500

Followed by:
- CMS router table
- 1400 router
- Vac Sys
- 150/5 ETS EC sander
- STM assembly table
- 1010 router (the new one)
- another Midi (for the Kapex)
- a bunch of storage accessories, Sortainers, Sys Roll, etc

Oh and I just ordered the C18 kit, so I’m sure that’s gonna open up a whole new rabbit hole

I have been 100 percent happy and actually delighted with each tool and accessory. Part of me wishes I had been disappointed in SOMETHING, would be much easier for my wallet.

 

[Bryston]

Alligator supply in New Orleans with the alligator and there is another supplier in Hammond who I visited last year and they have a whole lot of Festool tools and sell many a tool, it's the largest woodworking store I've been in with many large tools on display. The name escapes me but I'll call them today.

I'll definitely want a new model and heed the advice of having one shipped.

I won't need the stand, it'll be on a bench in my shop and not portable.

What's the best smaller version of vacuum for dedication to the Kapex to go under a bench?
I forgot to mention but I have the CT-Va -20 also, I don't think I should've bought that.

 

[cpw]

The CT15 is cheaper; but I would go with one of the new MIDIs that has a bluetooth remote.  It is super convenient to be able to clean up by just pressing the button near the end of the hose rather than turning the knob on the vac.  The size is pretty much the same between a MINI and a MIDI, so I would go with the bigger one.  The size may not actually matter though if you're going to use a cyclone anyway; so you could save a few bucks.

 

[Bryston]

Ok thanks. I have the remote on the other vac and your absolutely right it's the only way to go.

 

[Bryston]

I'm not gonna use the cyclone with the miter saw setup. I have the cyclone on a 36 and a remote for that one. I was thinking of using a 575280 ct sys hepa with the miter saw so it would fit under the bench on a shelf. The midi your talking of is 20'' by 32'' by 25'' it's a lot larger and has wheels. Is it a 574837 part number you mention?

 

[batmanimal]

I'm not gonna use the cyclone with the miter saw setup. I have the cyclone on a 36 and a remote for that one. I was thinking of using a 575280 ct sys hepa with the miter saw so it would fit under the bench on a shelf. The midi your talking of is 20'' by 32'' by 25'' it's a lot larger and has wheels. Is it a 574837 part number you mention?

I haven’t seen the CT SYS used with the Kapex - my suspicion is that it would be a little under powered.

Do you have space for the CT15? It’s just over 17” in height and that would be my pick since you don’t need BT with the plug it on the Kapex. Unless you’re planning to use the vac for an Al purpose DC (vs dedicated to the Kapex), in which case I’d go for the Midi or Mini. The mini is about 1/2” taller than the CT15 I believe.

 

[Peter_C]

Bryston, dust collection is the single best thing a woodworker can do for their health. Miter saws are one of the worst dust offenders in the shop. A dust hood, be it wood or fabric, makes a huge difference, especially if hooked to a 4-6" dust collector. Although a Festool dust collector will catch a good amount, it takes a lot of air flow to capture dust from a table saw, miter saw, etc. A CT-SYS is not going to flow enough for a miter saw, but is great for handheld sanders. Since the rest of Festool dust collectors have the same specs any would work, but I would recommend using a full blown dust collector and a hood. Even with a Festool dust collector I would still recommend a hood and turn the suction on and leave it on for a couple minutes after the last cut. I tend to hook at Festool dust collector along with a 4" line to my miter saw for extended use.

If you don't have one already a dust particle monitor is awesome to have for your health protection. I never knew how dirty my air got until I bought a Dylos Pro air quality meter. No longer do I sweep anything other than larger metal shavings as the air meter spikes, but a Festool dust extractor does a great job of sucking up the dust for disposal.

 

[Bryston]

I have a Kapex on order now and I'm not gonna bother using a cute little vacuum the size of a systainer, to exhaust a miter station. I need a whole shop extractor.

I've sold a light duty shaper, a 14'' band saw and a 24'' scroll saw (All old Delta machines)this past month trying to make some more room.

Every now and then I re-read Bill Pentz info on dust collection, if you notice all the units clearvue sells have a 5 hp motor! Pentz says only a five hp motor and a certain size impeller will catch the fines. but me, I'm gonna go with a 3 hp Oneida and install it outside and not use a filter. Only because I don't want to run a five Hp single phase or Id get the Bill Pentz branded clearvue! I highly recommend reading Bill Pentz.