So I have $5000 to outfit the studio with Festools

[PeterK]

As to where to purchase from ---
I have done virtually all mine from Bob Marino for many many years. I think he started selling Festool when they were first made in 1912!!!  [eek] His service has been fantastic and shipping is super fast. I have purchased some smaller stuff from large online stores - McFeelys and others - but the shipping was never timely and I got charged for shipping so I stick with Bob. Bob is in New Jersey somewhere still digging snow.

Tom Bellemare is a dealer in Austin TX and posts here daily like Bob. Tom always is informative and contributes useful info. I would have no qualms ordering from him.

If you have the shop space, 2 or 3 MFTs would be really beneficial. Try to take advantage of package deals. It would be wonderful to have 2 vacuums - a CT26 and a Midi maybe. A Dust Deputy from Oneida will greatly reduce bag changes and will save you money.

Give a call to Bob and or Tom and get their advice. Bob was a huge help to me with sanders and paper recommendations as he is a woodworker as well as a dealer. Tom is obviously knowledgable as well. Good luck!

 

[Deke]

Since I have spent about this much over two years, the Domino and the accessory kit is a no brainer. The vac is also a must. If you get a kapex, I would have it's own dedicated vac. However, do not forget that if you get a mft, buy the various clamps - they make the bench.

 

[Mavrik]

Why does the Kapex needs its own vac?  [huh]

 

[fdengel]

If you are getting the RO 150 (Rotex) sander, the ETS 150/3 would be a better choice than an ETS 125 as a finer-finish sander... but don't bother with the ETS 150/5 since the Rotex makes it redundant.

The RO 150 is just awesome; best sander I've ever been able to get my hands on.  If you only ever own one powered sander, that is most definitely the one to have.

 

[ajones]

Why does the Kapex needs its own vac?  [huh]

Because we are all lazy and dont want to move a dust extractor from one tool to another best to have at least 4 dust extractors I,m using three at the mo. [doh]

 

[Sparktrician]

On the question of who to buy from online... well, everyone charges the same price, so its up to customer service.  I have dealt with Bob Marino for 5 years now - in true Festool mode, not everything has been perfect, but Bob has gone the extra distance plus some to make it right.   Wouldn't hesitate to drop $5k on Bob.   Also look at other dealers who participate on the FOG and judge by their words and actions.  Can't go wrong dealing with someone who has a public track record on this board.

Of course, you probably want to find a dealer in another state so you don't pay sales tax.  Try both phone and online, some do much better on one media or another.

And even though you are making a 'big buy', don't expect a deal.  Not the Festool way.

Let us know what you come up with! 

Concur with Jesse.  Since you won't get any price breaks on Festool unless approved by Corporate, the main differentiator comes down to attitude and service.  There's a "dealer" one mile from my home that doesn't show me a thing, who never participates in the FOG or demonstrates any perceptible interest in the product line, and as near as I can tell, is on-line order only, and offers no apparent service pre- and post-sale.  There's Woodcraft which is less than 15 miles away, and if they have an item in stock, they may know where it is, but likely won't know how to use it, and if ordering is necessary, I'm stuck in their process time and have to make two trips plus paying for special orders, not to mention my time, fuel and taxes.  Then there are dealers like Bob Marino where you can't get any better service before and after the sale, and who make delivery happen about as fast as it can humanly be done.  If I order on Monday, the item(s) I order are usually here on Wednesday, no special trips, no taxes, no muss, no fuss.  Guess where I'll be spending my money?  

[smile]

 

[fshanno]

Furniture projects?  How will you get the wood flat and square and to the proper thickness?  Can you buy hardwood lumber that is very flat and square and the exact thickness you need?  Flat is the most important thing.  S4S lumber is rarely flat enough for furniture or picture frames.  So unless you plan on buying your lumber from another woodworker you will need the trinity, a jointer a planer and a table saw.

 

[ZenMystic]

"So unless you plan on buying your lumber from another woodworker you will need the trinity, a jointer a planer and a table saw."

Thanks for the input.  I'm actually going to buy my own small planer or possibly a jointer/planer combo in the coming days. I already own a table saw.

Realize that I'm not aspiring to become a production furniture or frame shop and have limited space in my studio.

Mainly, I work on several pieces at one time under no production deadlines. Fortunately, so far, I haven't had any problems getting things flat, proper thickness or square to this point for my projects.

But, I do know that I need a jointer and planer in the shop to prep my lumber to take stuff to the next level.

Any recommendations? Small and efficient....

 

[Sparktrician]

"So unless you plan on buying your lumber from another woodworker you will need the trinity, a jointer a planer and a table saw."

Thanks for the input.  I'm actually going to buy my own small planer or possibly a jointer/planer combo in the coming days. I already own a table saw.

Realize that I'm not aspiring to become a production furniture or frame shop and have limited space in my studio.

Mainly, I work on several pieces at one time under no production deadlines. Fortunately, so far, I haven't had any problems getting things flat, proper thickness or square to this point for my projects.

But, I do know that I need a jointer and planer in the shop to prep my lumber to take stuff to the next level.

Any recommendations? Small and efficient....

The planer I seem drawn to is the DeWalt 735 - http://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DW735-13-Inch-Benchtop-Planer/dp/B0000CCXU8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1293729821&sr=8-1.  The reviews I've read seem complimentary. 

[smile]

 

[davee]

I have the Dewalt 735 and have used it extensively for quite a few years. I've been very pleased with the product.  It has very limited snipe (somewhat technique dependent).  The blades are sharp on two sides to allow rotating before replacing.  I don't often use the two speed feature as I don't think the slower speed offers that much of an improvement.  The Rotex makes up the difference fast enough.

 

[nickao]

If I had to get another bench top planer it most likely would be this Makita. I had a 735 and mine had issues. Read the reviews at Amazon for more info, not good. A few people got some good 735's  I guess.

http://www.amazon.com/Makita-2012NB-12-Inch-Interna-Lok-Automated/dp/B000051ZOO/ref=sr_1_3?s=hi&ie=UTF8&qid=1293731361&sr=1-3

Using the 735 and having issues is what put me over the top to just get a full blown 3HP planer.

Oh I did like the Rigid planer as well, until mine started on fire after 4 hours continuous use!

 

[junk731]

I had a 735 for a short time and while the cuts were good, the blades will put you in the poor house. It cost $80.00 for replacement blades on this side of the border and I'd be lucky to get 300 board ft of cherry/maple done before a complete blade replacement. Never owned it long enough to have any of the other issues they talk about. In my opinion its a good planer if your not processing a lot of wood. I use a Hammer A3-31 now.

John

 

[GPowers]

Hammer A3-31 is almost $4,000 [scared] That is a lot more then the bench units

 

[fshanno]

"So unless you plan on buying your lumber from another woodworker you will need the trinity, a jointer a planer and a table saw."

Thanks for the input.  I'm actually going to buy my own small planer or possibly a jointer/planer combo in the coming days. I already own a table saw.

Realize that I'm not aspiring to become a production furniture or frame shop and have limited space in my studio.

Mainly, I work on several pieces at one time under no production deadlines. Fortunately, so far, I haven't had any problems getting things flat, proper thickness or square to this point for my projects.

But, I do know that I need a jointer and planer in the shop to prep my lumber to take stuff to the next level.

Any recommendations? Small and efficient....

I'm in the market for a new planer too.  I have an old Ryobi that's served me well.  I've been looking at the Steel City 13" with the helical head.  Reviews say it delivers a good finish, it's fairly quiet, dust collection is not great.  The inserts are HSS, not carbide.  Here's a link.

I have the little Ridgid 6" jointer.  Bought it used for a song.  Nice little jointer for small parts, cabinet door parts mainly.  Successfully jointed 80" oak boards for doors for a floor to ceiling pantry unit.  Started with 5/4 because I knew it would be a bear.  Speaking of bears, Grizzly has good prices on jointers.  You might look at one of those. 

 

[nickao]

The steel city is made by the same people who make the Rigid and is the same unit as the Rigid, except the steel city adds a helical cutter to it. The Rigid proved to be a good unit for a long time for me, until I abused it a bit.

 

[junk731]

Hammer A3-31 is almost $4,000 [scared] That is a lot more then the bench units

Just a little bit more, but it was a long term decision. I figured what the 735 cost, the rate the 735 was going through blades and what a 12" jointer would cost, I could pay the Hammer in about 2 years and have both a jointer and a planer just in blade savings. My cost on the unit was 3500.00 CDN.

John

 

[mouppe]

In the same class as the DW 735, but quite a lot cheaper, is the Ridgid 4330 which I have had since June. I wrote a review of it here.

http://festoolownersgroup.com/other-tool-reviews/ridgid-r4330-planer/

Since I wrote the review I can reiterate that I am really happy with it. I have replaced the blades once since then, and they are pretty cheap, significantly cheaper than the DW 735. With the shop vac connected, there is virtually nothing to clean up. I have planed walnut, cherry, maple, purpleheart. Even birdseye maple. No major problems apart from the birdseye maple and ready for finish planing or sanding.

There has been a small learning curve but I like the planer even more than when I wrote the review.

I am a major Festool aficionado, but even if they brought out a benchtop planer I would not see the need to buy it to replace the Ridgid. I can't make a bigger recommendation than that!

 

[Ken Nagrod]

I've been seriously thinking of buying the DeWalt DW735 to replace my Delta 22-580 "traveling" planer.  I don't care about the weight.  It's come in very handy on jobs.  As I understand it, from my research, DeWalt improved the knives so people don't go through them so frequently and carbide knives are available aftermarket for around $150.

 

[peter halle]

I've been seriously thinking of buying the DeWalt DW735 to replace my Delta 22-580 "traveling" planer.  I don't care about the weight.  It's come in very handy on jobs.  As I understand it, from my research, DeWalt improved the knives so people don't go through them so frequently and carbide knives are available aftermarket for around $150.

Ken,

I don't use my 735 very often, but yesterday was one of those days.  I was planing padauk for my aquarium stand - finally.  Whereas I don't have a shop, I have red grass and pink snow!  I am glad that you don't care about weight, it is heavy.  One day I will get carbide knives.

Peter

 

[junk731]

I've been seriously thinking of buying the DeWalt DW735 to replace my Delta 22-580 "traveling" planer.  I don't care about the weight.  It's come in very handy on jobs.  As I understand it, from my research, DeWalt improved the knives so people don't go through them so frequently and carbide knives are available aftermarket for around $150.

Ken,

I don't use my 735 very often, but yesterday was one of those days.  I was planing padauk for my aquarium stand - finally.  Whereas I don't have a shop, I have red grass and pink snow!  I am glad that you don't care about weight, it is heavy.  One day I will get carbide knives.

Peter

Gentlemen

I would do a little more research about carbide knives, while they have increased durability it comes at the cost of cut quality. One reason the Dewalt knives gave such a nice finish was the soft steel (HSS) they were made of could be super sharpened but again at the cost of durability. Thats one reason why you don't see carbide blades for hand planes.

John

John