Not very impressed with Festool.
- Thread starter DavidNH
- Start date
AlexThePalex
Member
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2008
- Messages
- 7,808
And an excellent craftsman gets all the most expensive tools and blames them when something goes wrong. [wink]
Brice Burrell
Member
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2007
- Messages
- 7,385
yankee said:
Experienced craftsmen know you'll only get so far with second rate tools.....
- Joined
- Jan 22, 2007
- Messages
- 8,426
A friendly reminder to everyone... please keep your posts polite. Posts that don't conform to this, our most important forum guideline, will be removed. Thank you.
festooldude
Member
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2011
- Messages
- 225
[big grin]
Phil P said:
-Not sure what your on about there Phil, the Skill 77 is the most widely sold professional (hypoid/sidewinder/worm-drive) saw in the U.S.A.- nothing like that little #66 model. I tried Makita's hypoid when they first came out- (early '90s?) too much start-up torquing and too much plastic. I own both the Magnesium Skill model 77, and the standard "Silver Bullet"
If you don't know what the model 77 is, google it.
nickao
Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2008
- Messages
- 4,617
Brice Burrell said:
Well not really true. Some of the best pieces I have seen are hundreds of years old. They hardly had any good tools by our standards. Good tools are that tools, they do not replace experience, hard work or natural talent by any means. I love a great tool, but my finished pieces look exactly the same whether I use Festools or Skill tools. During the process I may like one tool over another, but if the tool is adequate it is the operator and not the tool that makes the difference.
A second rate tool by a Festoolian's standards can get one far, very far! They got me far enough over the years to afford Festools!
GhostFist
Member
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2010
- Messages
- 1,551
speaking on classic masterpieces, no they didn't have the tools we do today but i garuntee they were honed with the utmost care and tuned to the users specific needs. I have the ability to sharpen a piece of rebar and use it as an effective chisel for a period of time but a well made chisel means my job of tuning it to how I like is less, and it will probably take a lot less work to keep it that way. I can cut a fairly straight line free hand with a worm drive or a sidewinder or I can make a simple track to keep me truer to my marks but a purpose built track saw made specifically for clean cuts means that I don't have to make something in order to make something. Any good craftsman will know that a good tool allows them to focus more on what they're really there to do and that's make the bloody thing your being paid to make as efficiently as possible. Old masters would leap at the opourtunity to use the stuff we get to.
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2007
- Messages
- 13,126
GhostFist said:
Totally agree! [big grin]
Jesse Cloud
Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2007
- Messages
- 1,746
OK, can't resist. Here's my 2 cents worth...
On the old masters question - Yeah, you bet they would jump on a modern router. Every one of those router bits we use now, they had a hand plane for, and every blade had to be sharpened and every so often remade when the curves wore down. We can romanticize those days, and I do enjoy using handtools, and sometimes they are the perfect solution to a specific problem, but we have it good guys!
Can crappy tools produce good work? Sure, in the hands of a skilled user who spends the time to check and adjust the settings often and knows how to smooth over little defects. I consider myself a reasonably skilled user , but life is too short to spend time making up for the shortcomings of poorly made tools.
There are people, and some are my good friends, who love to buy crap at Harbor Freight and spend the time to pretty much rebuild the tool, then make something pretty and say "Jess - you wasted your money on Festool - look what I did with my $29.99 HF table saw!" More power to 'em, now where's my Festool catalog?
Is any tool company perfect? Of course not. But when my Festool breaks there's a guy on the phone who knows the product and does what it takes to make it right. My non-Festool bandsaw has been down for two weeks waiting for parts from the manufacturer and the guy who answers the phone for warranty service dribbles out parts - "Well, nobody's ever had that problem before replace this part and if it doesn't work I'll send you the next one." That bandsaw had a good price, but my blood pressure goes way up every time I deal with the company. Last time I buy from them.
Boy this turned into a rant, but I feel better now. [wink]
On the old masters question - Yeah, you bet they would jump on a modern router. Every one of those router bits we use now, they had a hand plane for, and every blade had to be sharpened and every so often remade when the curves wore down. We can romanticize those days, and I do enjoy using handtools, and sometimes they are the perfect solution to a specific problem, but we have it good guys!
Can crappy tools produce good work? Sure, in the hands of a skilled user who spends the time to check and adjust the settings often and knows how to smooth over little defects. I consider myself a reasonably skilled user , but life is too short to spend time making up for the shortcomings of poorly made tools.
There are people, and some are my good friends, who love to buy crap at Harbor Freight and spend the time to pretty much rebuild the tool, then make something pretty and say "Jess - you wasted your money on Festool - look what I did with my $29.99 HF table saw!" More power to 'em, now where's my Festool catalog?
Is any tool company perfect? Of course not. But when my Festool breaks there's a guy on the phone who knows the product and does what it takes to make it right. My non-Festool bandsaw has been down for two weeks waiting for parts from the manufacturer and the guy who answers the phone for warranty service dribbles out parts - "Well, nobody's ever had that problem before replace this part and if it doesn't work I'll send you the next one." That bandsaw had a good price, but my blood pressure goes way up every time I deal with the company. Last time I buy from them.
Boy this turned into a rant, but I feel better now. [wink]
nickao
Member
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2008
- Messages
- 4,617
Oh yeah the old masters would have used CNC if they could as well. 
But no one should be discouraged from woodworking just because they have what others perceive as inferior tools. The woodworker making a tool better for their application is definitely part of it.
But no one should be discouraged from woodworking just because they have what others perceive as inferior tools. The woodworker making a tool better for their application is definitely part of it.kfitzsimons
Member
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2007
- Messages
- 303
Several reasons I've purchased Festool:
1 - Accuracy. Using the TS55 and rails is about as close to using a tablesaw as you can get in a lot less space (although I also use a table saw). Can't take a table saw to the cabin for work.
2 - Festools are good for your health. Dust collection is superb. The Festool sanders are all just about dust free when used with a dust collector.
3 - It's a system. Especially for storage (Systainers), cords, and attachments.
4 - Simplicity. Setting depth on the TS55, Domino and other Festools are very simple and accurate. Very good design by Festool.
5 - Support. Can't beat the sales, service and community support (FOG). The FOG has been invaluable in getting information on techniques and operation of Festools and buildiing techniques and problems.
6 - Value. Yes, value. When one wants to upgrade to the latest and greatest Festool, they can sell their used tool for a much higher percentage of the new cost compared to any other brand of tool. And the buyer of the tool knows they're getting a great tool which can still be serviced if needed. Also, as a hobbyist, I buy the tool once and it lasts a lifetime.
7 - It's a great catalog!
1 - Accuracy. Using the TS55 and rails is about as close to using a tablesaw as you can get in a lot less space (although I also use a table saw). Can't take a table saw to the cabin for work.
2 - Festools are good for your health. Dust collection is superb. The Festool sanders are all just about dust free when used with a dust collector.
3 - It's a system. Especially for storage (Systainers), cords, and attachments.
4 - Simplicity. Setting depth on the TS55, Domino and other Festools are very simple and accurate. Very good design by Festool.
5 - Support. Can't beat the sales, service and community support (FOG). The FOG has been invaluable in getting information on techniques and operation of Festools and buildiing techniques and problems.
6 - Value. Yes, value. When one wants to upgrade to the latest and greatest Festool, they can sell their used tool for a much higher percentage of the new cost compared to any other brand of tool. And the buyer of the tool knows they're getting a great tool which can still be serviced if needed. Also, as a hobbyist, I buy the tool once and it lasts a lifetime.
7 - It's a great catalog!
