Peter Hamilton-Scott
Member
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2009
- Messages
- 145
I spent a very pleasant hour or so at one of my local Festool dealers who arranged for Festool to show their products. I have to admit, I was really impressed with the kit on show. I did not buy anything but I've made a commitment to get a Rotex 150 in a few weeks or so. The chap from Festool (I think his name was Barry, if I recall) was a very friendly chap and you could see that Festool was in his blood as was the dealer's employee Andy. You know, I've never come across such enthusiastic Festoolians in person before. They had most things on show but unfortunately not the CMS/router. They had the CMS/TS55 attachment and my first impressions of the CMS were, yup, you know quality is part of the deal. I'd also never seen the vacs in use before. Hooking up the vac to automagically start and stop when you use the tool is a masterful concept. That's old hat to you seasoned users but it was a gob-smacking revelation to me.
They also had the MFT vacuum attachment on the table. I have to admit that was seriously clever and it held a large piece of MDF without a problem. I'm not sure I'd have a need for such a thing but I can appreciate that some will find it very useful. I also liked the piece of oak and some granite that had been prepared and smoothed using nothing more than the Rotex. I could almost see my reflection in the oak and seeing some of the 5000 grit sanding discs was astonishing. Like the dealer told me, you may pay more for a Rotex but compare that to what you save on having to buy other sanders to achieve a similar finish. That's a fair point.
I went to see the CMS and I was not disappointed. It fully complements the MFT as did the Kapex 120 which was fitted to its own table. The complementary product range seems to suggest that Festool have covered all the bases. Walking away without buying anything was hard and very painful. I swear the Rotex winked at me as I left the shop and I'm convinced I heard seductive whispers from the Festool display stand. I have now established a list of what I want. Getting it all is something else. The dealer had lots of attachments for the various tools on show and that was nice seeing photos in the catalogue closeup in the flesh. I was tempted to see if the Festool rep had left the keys in the van... [wink]
They also had the MFT vacuum attachment on the table. I have to admit that was seriously clever and it held a large piece of MDF without a problem. I'm not sure I'd have a need for such a thing but I can appreciate that some will find it very useful. I also liked the piece of oak and some granite that had been prepared and smoothed using nothing more than the Rotex. I could almost see my reflection in the oak and seeing some of the 5000 grit sanding discs was astonishing. Like the dealer told me, you may pay more for a Rotex but compare that to what you save on having to buy other sanders to achieve a similar finish. That's a fair point.
I went to see the CMS and I was not disappointed. It fully complements the MFT as did the Kapex 120 which was fitted to its own table. The complementary product range seems to suggest that Festool have covered all the bases. Walking away without buying anything was hard and very painful. I swear the Rotex winked at me as I left the shop and I'm convinced I heard seductive whispers from the Festool display stand. I have now established a list of what I want. Getting it all is something else. The dealer had lots of attachments for the various tools on show and that was nice seeing photos in the catalogue closeup in the flesh. I was tempted to see if the Festool rep had left the keys in the van... [wink]
