Valleywood
Member
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2013
- Messages
- 24
Warning, Will Robinson ! WARNING !!
Not much negative in this post.
My wife and I have retired where we wanted to retire. We have built a new home. I now have the shop of my dreams and confess that it is my fantasy. (My fantasies when I was young were different) I no longer have to make a living, and can build furniture, virtually everything a one-off. I acknowledge that I do not face the pressures of many professionals who must weigh every single cost/benefit of tool purchases. I also confess that I am frequently called upon the carpet by She Who Must Be Obeyed when Her Majesty sees credit card charges she does not like. However I manage forgiveness frequently. Those things said, I am not made of money and weigh carefully what I purchase.
The judgement of what to / or if to buy tools is made infinitely easier by places like this. In fact, I consider the FOG to be the premier place to ask questions, seek help, or search out answers to questions presented by others. I post very infrequently, but when I do it is with considered intent. My lurking habits are however frequent and formidable here. It seems however to my untrained eye that the number of negative posts regarding applicability or quality of Festool products is moving to exponential frequency. I'd like to offer perhaps my own views to be weighed by the FOG.
I began woodworking many years ago. The ONLY drills in our shop were the little hand crank jobbies for twist drills and a a brace and bit for larger bits. Contrary to the current romance notions, they were hideous. They were slow and terribly imprecise. I still own Skill, Black and Decker, and Porter Cable solid metal 1/4" corded drills. I still own my father's 1/2" electrical drill. I still own my original Milwaukee Hole Shooters in 1/4" and 1/2". Bear in mind that Hold Shooters came along MUCH later than the all metal "quality built" stuff from the '50s. They were ALL (including Hole Shooters) inferior, in some cases shockingly inferior to today's tools. I own many (I cannot define that because I don't know how many) "great" Stanley planes. I used to keep them tuned and waxed. But they are not as good as Lie Nielsen bevel down smoothers and I greatly prefer Veritas bevel ups.
I don't know bleep about Festool previous to ten years ago (roughly) because I owned none. Today I own a few. I prefer my DeWalt track saw to Festool. I still prefer my Bosch jig saw (more on that later). For serious work all my cordless stuff is Makita because they make good stuff and they so far have maintained their battery footprint. Why change?
My sanders are all Festool because they work well, dust control is excellent, and my internist has insisted on them for my health's sake. I own the Kapex because sometimes I have to cut long stock to make it manageable for my projects. It is dead on perfect and I admit it is roughly eight years old. Perhaps that is outside today's complaints? Even the laser is dead on. Once every couple years I re-zero the blade and laser and they stay put. It cuts nothing but hardwood. I own one Festool router (1010) because so many here bragged about it. That was a good decision ! On a trip to see my granddaughter, I was presented with a doll house needing assembly. It required roughly one gazillion screws for assembly. Because I trust Festool I raced out and bought from a local supplier in New Jersey the CXS Li 1.5. I stripped only two screws going into hardboard ! That drill has the greatest clutch control I have ever seen. I own the Domino. 'Nuff said. I want the MFT but it is simply too expensive so I will build my own platform and just buy the plate. I came to that conclusion based upon what I read here on the FOG.
I prefer my router table to Festool's. I find nothing attractive about Green jigsaws. I think the lighting system and radio is silly. I really wish Festool would re-design and sell more current offerings in work producing tools. If I could find a cordless jigsaw that holds 90 with a positive lock I would loosen my wallet. I own a load of Bosch blades so I may revisit Makita's cordless or buy the corded D-handle Bosch again if it is Swiss made. I buy Green what I choose and buy the competition what I don't. That is the ONLY way headquarters will find out I don't like some of their offerings.
My point is this: Today we have open honest critique of woodworking practices and equipment I never dreamed of when I was young. What one can learn on the FOG about Festool products is a wonderful array, pro and con. We can learn of competitive products and still have folks who drink green Koolaid by the gallon. That is a good thing. Peter Parfitt has taught me so many cool tricks and shown me the bright spots of Festool. There are folks here who really REALLY love green and I suspect their glasses are maybe tinted a tad dark. That's okay. In fact it's great !
We also have a significant and perhaps growing crowd of folks who are becoming disenchanted with Festool. I am glad to hear from them because they bring up pitfalls and weaknesses of the Festool stable that I would never have considered. It makes me a better buyer. Are you disappointed with Festool products? Let us know ! Bless you for telling us. But if your message has become so negative that you can no longer offer criticism but have moved past into the land of rage then I offer that perhaps you are hurting yourself more than Festool. Nobody goes to hear a piano concerto when only one note is played on those 88 keys.
Meanwhile, ROCK ON !
p.s. If anyone knows of a jigsaw that truly locks at 90 and doesn't require proprietary blades would you please speak up? Extra points awarded if the jigsaw is cordless. FWIW, I despise the cordless Green. What lousy design! And worse they feel lousy in my hand. End of my whining on that .......... dreadful saw.
Not much negative in this post.
My wife and I have retired where we wanted to retire. We have built a new home. I now have the shop of my dreams and confess that it is my fantasy. (My fantasies when I was young were different) I no longer have to make a living, and can build furniture, virtually everything a one-off. I acknowledge that I do not face the pressures of many professionals who must weigh every single cost/benefit of tool purchases. I also confess that I am frequently called upon the carpet by She Who Must Be Obeyed when Her Majesty sees credit card charges she does not like. However I manage forgiveness frequently. Those things said, I am not made of money and weigh carefully what I purchase.
The judgement of what to / or if to buy tools is made infinitely easier by places like this. In fact, I consider the FOG to be the premier place to ask questions, seek help, or search out answers to questions presented by others. I post very infrequently, but when I do it is with considered intent. My lurking habits are however frequent and formidable here. It seems however to my untrained eye that the number of negative posts regarding applicability or quality of Festool products is moving to exponential frequency. I'd like to offer perhaps my own views to be weighed by the FOG.
I began woodworking many years ago. The ONLY drills in our shop were the little hand crank jobbies for twist drills and a a brace and bit for larger bits. Contrary to the current romance notions, they were hideous. They were slow and terribly imprecise. I still own Skill, Black and Decker, and Porter Cable solid metal 1/4" corded drills. I still own my father's 1/2" electrical drill. I still own my original Milwaukee Hole Shooters in 1/4" and 1/2". Bear in mind that Hold Shooters came along MUCH later than the all metal "quality built" stuff from the '50s. They were ALL (including Hole Shooters) inferior, in some cases shockingly inferior to today's tools. I own many (I cannot define that because I don't know how many) "great" Stanley planes. I used to keep them tuned and waxed. But they are not as good as Lie Nielsen bevel down smoothers and I greatly prefer Veritas bevel ups.
I don't know bleep about Festool previous to ten years ago (roughly) because I owned none. Today I own a few. I prefer my DeWalt track saw to Festool. I still prefer my Bosch jig saw (more on that later). For serious work all my cordless stuff is Makita because they make good stuff and they so far have maintained their battery footprint. Why change?
My sanders are all Festool because they work well, dust control is excellent, and my internist has insisted on them for my health's sake. I own the Kapex because sometimes I have to cut long stock to make it manageable for my projects. It is dead on perfect and I admit it is roughly eight years old. Perhaps that is outside today's complaints? Even the laser is dead on. Once every couple years I re-zero the blade and laser and they stay put. It cuts nothing but hardwood. I own one Festool router (1010) because so many here bragged about it. That was a good decision ! On a trip to see my granddaughter, I was presented with a doll house needing assembly. It required roughly one gazillion screws for assembly. Because I trust Festool I raced out and bought from a local supplier in New Jersey the CXS Li 1.5. I stripped only two screws going into hardboard ! That drill has the greatest clutch control I have ever seen. I own the Domino. 'Nuff said. I want the MFT but it is simply too expensive so I will build my own platform and just buy the plate. I came to that conclusion based upon what I read here on the FOG.
I prefer my router table to Festool's. I find nothing attractive about Green jigsaws. I think the lighting system and radio is silly. I really wish Festool would re-design and sell more current offerings in work producing tools. If I could find a cordless jigsaw that holds 90 with a positive lock I would loosen my wallet. I own a load of Bosch blades so I may revisit Makita's cordless or buy the corded D-handle Bosch again if it is Swiss made. I buy Green what I choose and buy the competition what I don't. That is the ONLY way headquarters will find out I don't like some of their offerings.
My point is this: Today we have open honest critique of woodworking practices and equipment I never dreamed of when I was young. What one can learn on the FOG about Festool products is a wonderful array, pro and con. We can learn of competitive products and still have folks who drink green Koolaid by the gallon. That is a good thing. Peter Parfitt has taught me so many cool tricks and shown me the bright spots of Festool. There are folks here who really REALLY love green and I suspect their glasses are maybe tinted a tad dark. That's okay. In fact it's great !
We also have a significant and perhaps growing crowd of folks who are becoming disenchanted with Festool. I am glad to hear from them because they bring up pitfalls and weaknesses of the Festool stable that I would never have considered. It makes me a better buyer. Are you disappointed with Festool products? Let us know ! Bless you for telling us. But if your message has become so negative that you can no longer offer criticism but have moved past into the land of rage then I offer that perhaps you are hurting yourself more than Festool. Nobody goes to hear a piano concerto when only one note is played on those 88 keys.
Meanwhile, ROCK ON !
p.s. If anyone knows of a jigsaw that truly locks at 90 and doesn't require proprietary blades would you please speak up? Extra points awarded if the jigsaw is cordless. FWIW, I despise the cordless Green. What lousy design! And worse they feel lousy in my hand. End of my whining on that .......... dreadful saw.
