Review of Festool Carvex Pendulum Jigsaw (561351)

Man, Does it ever end? Will we ever have every tool we need? Darn. The answer is no. a NO.

I was perfectly happy in my not wanting a Festool jigsaw. Now this.

A PS300 was actually my first festool purchase about 6 years ago. I wasnt impressed and didnt even think of festool until I saw the TS75 a few years later.

The carvex looks to be everything a festool jigsaw should be and will be added to the list.
 
I hate sanding and I don't like jigsaws that much but now I don't know what first to buy if and when they come available: a RO90 or the Carvex.
 
Michael, thanks for the review.  [thanks]

I saw earlier that you had posted it, but was saving it for a treat with my first coffee of the day on a day where I had already done enough work to justify quietly sipping my coffeee and enjoying your review.  Both the review and the saw are great.    [thumbs up]
 
Michael, thanks for the review. I especially liked that the video showed clearly how the stroboscopic effect of the led lights works.

I think that the base you described as being plastic is the one for metal, and the white stuff is just protective film to protect the stainless steel inserts from scratches before you use it.

 
Thanks for the great video, can not wait for the saw to come to the USA. It will be on my buy list.
 
Thank you very much for taking the time to make your videos. Seems Festool has done it again. Now the $64 question, when will we see it in the USA?
 
I love my Festool tools. But I feel Festool USA  could do a better job with future product announcements. While many products are not released in all markets simultaneously, many leading companies will narrow the release date to a certain quarter or year. It is common to hear from other companies that a product will be released in 3, 6, 12 months. A company the size of Festool has a good idea of when a product will be released in a certain market because of the planning and logistics required for a product launch.

Companies keep the product launch date of new products secret so their competition does not have a competitive advantage. But in this case, its a simple matter of when an existing product will be released in a certain market.

The Carvex and Rotex 90 have been released but we have no information about there availability. Those are two tools I would like to buy.
A thread was started on February 8, 2009 asking about availability of the new Cleantex vacuums. Still no answer.
A thread was started on October 18, 2009 asking if a Centrotec set will be offered in North America and still no information has been posted.

It would be nice to simply hear whether or not a product will be offered in a given market and approximately when.
 
Toolfest said:
I love my Festool tools. But I feel Festool USA  could do a better job with future product announcements. While many products are not released in all markets simultaneously, many leading companies will narrow the release date to a certain quarter or year. It is common to hear from other companies that a product will be released in 3, 6, 12 months. A company the size of Festool has a good idea of when a product will be released in a certain market because of the planning and logistics required for a product launch.

Companies keep the product launch date of new products secret so their competition does not have a competitive advantage. But in this case, its a simple matter of when an existing product will be released in a certain market.

The Carvex and Rotex 90 have been released but we have no information about there availability. Those are two tools I would like to buy.
A thread was started on February 8, 2009 asking about availability of the new Cleantex vacuums. Still no answer.
A thread was started on October 18, 2009 asking if a Centrotec set will be offered in North America and still no information has been posted.

It would be nice to simply hear whether or not a product will be offered in a given market and approximately when.
Click to expand...

I completely agree! It would make it easier for businesses to plan the budged .... And we read about it all the time that people get upset when they found out that after spending $$$$$ that their will be a new version available soon...

Of course we can't "demand" those details, but com on we are not asking for any secret new design releases!
 
I agree.  I don't know what the reason is, I know UL is the scapegoat most of the times.

Not enough people to spread the word?  Show them off, get people excited, worried about current tool stock, when to actually order them.

I don't know but, I don't really know what makita, bosch, milwuakee, etc. is coming out with either.
 
Actually, there is a very good reason why they (and most companies) do this even if they are not worried about competitors and UL certification.    It's about revenue flow and inventory balancing.  Consider the Carvex, C12/15 and RO90...

- Carvex replaces Trion
- C12/15 replaces C12
- RO90 replaces Deltex (plus having much more flexibility)

So what do you think would happen to sales of the current products if Festool gave you a specific date?  I'm pretty sure a lot of people would suddenly stop buying.  Sales would probably drop to zero quickly.  While all of us (including the Festool folk) are tool geeks, they still have to keep the money rolling in.  Frustrating for customers, but that's reality for them.

Regards,

Dan.

p.s., In case you haven't seen some of my prior posts, my interest in the Carvex, C15, and RO90 is way past curiosity.
 
A company is aware well ahead of time of a product's release date. Therefore, they can adjust production and inventory of current models accordingly.

No one is asking for specific dates. Rather, many of us simply want to know whether a product will be released, at all, in our market. Secondly, it would be nice to have an approximate release date according to their best assessment. It's ok to say a product won't be released for 18 months. We can't speed up development, production, etc. But at least say something. It is also ok to say a product won't be released at all in a certain market for whatever reason or no reason at all.

I don't think that knowing a product is going to be released in 9 months, for example, would cause sales of the current generation tool to go to zero. I have two very good examples of that. I have known about the new Cleantex vacuums since their release in Europe. That did not stop me from buying a CT 33, why, because I didn't want to wait ad infinitum for their North American release. I have since bought a second CT 33. Similarly, I have purchased two C 12's despite knowing about the new C 15. I will enjoy using these tools and if I want to upgrade to the latest and greatest when they are available, I can sell my current tools for a very good price and do this.

One of the nice things about owning Festool's is their very good resale value. It amazes me when I see beat-up Festool tools selling for as much as they do. Think about that, if they were owned by a professional, he made money with the tools and is still able to get a large percentage of money back when selling them.  

Look at the automobile industry. They announce 6-12 months ahead of time when a redesigned model is going to be released. Not only do they announce it, they show the new model at an auto show up to a year ahead of its release.  Does that cause the sales of the current generation model to go to zero, no. This is a never ending cycle in the auto industry and many others as car companies do a total redesign of a model approximately every 5 years with two facelifts, usually, in between.

The Centrotec set has been asked about many times for many months. It would not be replacing a current set. North America has not had a set for a long time. Why hasn't anything been announced, even if they announce that its a year off.
 
I will give you another example I bought a brand new VW T5 van in 2009 then 2010 they release a new T5.1 and no one mentioned a newer model coming out when I bought my T5  [mad]

Luckily I dont like the new model it looks like a Toyota  [big grin]
 
I got an e-mail from Festool UK today, and there are links to some interesting videos and brochures on the re-vamped Festool UK website.

One of the links refers to the Carvex jigsaw and this takes you to a general introduction main video (seen on FOG before), plus 12 individual mini-videos showing particular features:

Fast-Fix Blade
Changeable base runners
Versatile Quick-change interface
The splinter protection
Stroboscopic light
Dust extraction with anti-static function
Blowing
EC-TEC motor
Emergency braking
Lithium-Ion technology
Speed control
Circle cutter (optional)

Forrest

 
Thanks for the manuals. Is the mention of "usa" in the file name an indication for an already planned delivery to the USA?
 
Wim said:
Thanks for the manuals. Is the mention of "usa" in the file name an indication for an already planned delivery to the USA?
Click to expand...

There's no firm ETA on when we will have these in the U.S.  The filename is probably just to signify the language more than anything.  Traditionally, we have tried to let customers know about product introductions in the U.S. about 3-4 months in advance.  That will probably be the case with this product as well.  I wouldn't expect to see it before late in the year, at best.
 
Shane Holland said:
Wim said:
Thanks for the manuals. Is the mention of "usa" in the file name an indication for an already planned delivery to the USA?
Click to expand...

There's no firm ETA on when we will have these in the U.S.  The filename is probably just to signify the language more than anything.  Traditionally, we have tried to let customers know about product introductions in the U.S. about 3-4 months in advance.  That will probably be the case with this product as well.  I wouldn't expect to see it before late in the year, at best.
Click to expand...

I just read the Carvex USA manual and it speaks about USA specific items and rules like UL and CSA certified extension cords. It also mentions in North America only 120v/60Hz machines are allowed. The other manual is for Europe, including the UK. So even if Festool USA doesn't know any details yet, Festool Germany is at least prepared.

 
Shane said "I wouldn't expect to see it before late in the year, at best."

Thanks for narrowing it down a bit Shane. That is the first estimated time of arrival I have heard and its good to know, it gives us something to look forward to. [big grin]
 
Please tell me this thing will be available stateside in a month... [unsure]  My festool account is getting built up and I want one!
 
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