What Festool accessory or tool would you not purchase?

[Jim McFarland]

For me it's the OF1400 table widener (p/n 493233).  The accessory is probably useful but I think the $99 (USD) price is outrageous.  Could be I'm too cheap and someone will say it's worth every penny -- if so, I'll certainly listen!

 

[Lou Miller]

I personally would never purchase the jigsaw or any of the cordless drills. I've used them several times and just don't think you get enough for the cost of them.

With the jigsaw, there's no question in my mind that the Bosch 1590 and 1591 are not only substantially cheaper, but they are better saws to begin with.

With the drills, they are very very nice drills. However, considering what the competition has to offer for dramatically less money, buying one of the Festool drills is foolish, IMO. You can buy two Makita "kits" (drill, impact driver and light) for the price of one Festool drill if you shop around carefully. Makita makes an excellent tool. No, they probably aren't as well made as Festool's, but there are tons of them in heavy duty use on jobsites all over the world and their track record is outstanding. I bought my Makita kit for $150 two years ago and it might be the best tool purchase I've ever made (its a toss up between the TS55 and the Makita kit). Festool has those really cool attachments for their drills, but 99.99% of the time I wouldn't have any use for them. I just need a plain drill and an impact driver. The impact driver is a MUST! Once you get used to using one, you'll never go back to using a cordless drill as a driver again. I absolutely HATE driving drywall screws with a cordless drill, so the attachment they sell for that would be a huge waste of money for me. For what they charge for the attachment alone, I can buy a dedicated drywall gun that works at least ten times better anyway. Even if someone gave me one of the Festool drills, I'd probably sell it and buy something else with the money. I just see no point in a drill that is so over engineered that it costs a fortune.

I also don't think I'd ever buy one of the vacs at full price. If I could still get a CT33 demo for 20-30% off, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Not at full price though.

 

[Eli]

Yes, a European Kapex can run on U.S. power with no difference.

Now how would you know that for sure Rick?  ;D

Looking forward to reading the manual.

 

[woodshopdemos]

  Oh so many Festool products I will patiently wait for. What I dont need even with forthcoming UL approval, is the center draw shop hand cleaner tissue dispenser. It is a me too product and may work better and with less waste but only being able to handle the metric Festool green striped replacement rolls is a let down, not to mention expense. It is not a good substitute for No 2 square drive bits.

 

[rodwolfy]

I also don't think I'd ever buy one of the vacs at full price. If I could still get a CT33 demo for 20-30% off, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Not at full price though.

Lou, 

I'm just wondering why this opinion? Is there a comparable vac on the market that will work as well for less? Aren't the CT's the only vacs on the market with speed control and HEPA? I'm assuming that you use a Fein? Do you have the boom arm? I'm thinking about saving the $300 by rigging a metal boom out over my workbench with the hose attached to it.

Rod

 

[Lou Miller]

I also don't think I'd ever buy one of the vacs at full price. If I could still get a CT33 demo for 20-30% off, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Not at full price though.

Lou, 

I'm just wondering why this opinion? Is there a comparable vac on the market that will work as well for less? Aren't the CT's the only vacs on the market with speed control and HEPA? I'm assuming that you use a Fein? Do you have the boom arm? I'm thinking about saving the $300 by rigging a metal boom out over my workbench with the hose attached to it.

Rod

Yes, I have a Fein Turbo III. IMO, the Fein is actually a stronger vac, has a lot more capacity, and its much quieter. Hepa filters are available and I have zero use for speed control. The boom arm is a very expensive luxury that I don't need either. I think you need to be fairly realistic when it comes to tools. Luxuries are nice, but the essentials are what matter the most. For me, I simply want a vac that works very well and is relatively quiet while doing so. The rest of the stuff, I just don't need, and see no point in spending all that money for it. I paid $200 for my Fein and could get another TIII tomorrow for $250 if I wanted it.

 

[mastercabman]

lou,  fein turbo 3 for$250.00!?    new?  my turbo 2 cost me $300.00.where do you get fein tools that cheap?

 

[Lou Miller]

There's a local place that I have done a ton of business with over the years. The owner told me that when I'm ready for another one, that's the price I can have it for. The one I got for $200 years ago was through Amazon. I have seen Fein vacs go on sale for numbers very close to the deal I have promised to me though. It just doesn't happen often.

 

[Fred West]

I would probably not buy the power hand planer as I very much enjoy using my hand planes. However this is no slam on the Festool planers as I have not used them just don't see a need for them in my shop. Fred

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I also don't think I'd ever buy one of the vacs at full price. If I could still get a CT33 demo for 20-30% off, I'd do it in a heartbeat. Not at full price though.

Lou, 

I'm just wondering why this opinion? Is there a comparable vac on the market that will work as well for less? Aren't the CT's the only vacs on the market with speed control and HEPA? I'm assuming that you use a Fein? Do you have the boom arm? I'm thinking about saving the $300 by rigging a metal boom out over my workbench with the hose attached to it.

Rod

Rod,

I have both a Fein Turbo II with full tool kit and a Festool CT-22 with HEPA and full SS tool kit.  I personally prefer using the Fein because it is much quieter, doesn't rattle or resonate like the Festool, and the Fein hose is 16 ft long, larger diameter than the Festool 27mm hose, and the floor sweeper can be used in my shop and on hardwood and carpeted floor, and the angle of the floor sweeper unit is MUCH MORE convenient and rational than that of Festool.  And if I need to reduce the vacuum, all I have to do is open slightly the slide valve in the Fein angled tool adapter.  And the Fein tools and hose fit on the Festool vac and on the Festool hoses.  And of course, the Fein is less expensive and rolls aound much easier on the floor (which I normally want) and its wheels don't scratch a varnished hardwood floor.  And the Fein comes with a reusable, indefinite life cloth filter bag.  That bag is rated to 5 microns, not submicron, but a HEPA filter can be added if you want to match Festool's clean air output. 

Dave R.

 

[rodwolfy]

Rod,

the floor sweeper can be used in my shop and on hardwood and carpeted floor, and the angle of the floor sweeper unit is MUCH MORE convenient and rational than that of Festool.  And if I need to reduce the vacuum, all I have to do is open slightly the slide valve in the Fein angled tool adapter.

Dave R.

Dave, what is the "floor sweeper"? Is is part of an aftermarket kit? Also, what is the "Fein Angled Tool adapter" - do you have a couple of photos?

I was checking out the Fein on Amazon and they have an aftermarket kit for the Fein that includes a SS section for like $67. A lot cheaper than the $250 I was looking at for the Festool kit and some extras.

Rod

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I have Item # 454767, the SS    Cleaning set for workshop, D 36 WB-RS-Plus.  It is well made and all the wear parts of the HD nozzle are separately replaceable, but expensive, and in my opinion, a bit awkward to use compared to the Fein and any household floor sweeper I have used.

The kit I purchased for my Fein cost about $80 (5 years ago) and included SS extension tubes, too.  It's floor sweep nozzle is narrower than that of the Festool kit.

Dave R.

 

[Eli]

So have you just kept writing? It must be four hundred pages by now.

;D Let us know when it's available for download

 

[rodwolfy]

I have Item # 454767, the SS    Cleaning set for workshop, D 36 WB-RS-Plus.  It is well made and all the wear parts of the HD nozzle are separately replaceable, but expensive, and in my opinion, a bit awkward to use compared to the Fein and any household floor sweeper I have used.

The kit I purchased for my Fein cost about $80 (5 years ago) and included SS extension tubes, too.  It's floor sweep nozzle is narrower than that of the Festool kit.

Dave R.

Dave,

I read over your post and a couple from earlier disscussions that we were having. I think that I recall seeing that you have an OF1400, a Fein II, a CT22, the nice floor kit that I was looking at, the Fein floor kit and the boom arm. As this is a duscussion of what I would not buy again, do any of these items qualify?

Right now, the Fein III is about $360 and the HEPA Filter is around $100. That would seem to put the CT22 and the Fein III at the same price. The Fein doesn't have the variable speed of the CT22, the bigger wheels, nor the systainer storage cabability. I have heard that the Fein is quieter and it does have a lot more capacity. I don't know about the differences between the variable amperage draw of the "auto on" feature. Do you think that you'd get the Festool or the Fein?

I looked at the Dust Deputy and it seems very convienent to empty, compared to pulling the Fein or Festool apart. If I got one of these, it would negate the storage capacity difference between the two.

About the SS cleaning kit w/ aluminum floor sweem. You mention that the Festool floor sweep is awkward. How so? Is the smaller Fein one just as good, at less than 1/2 the cost? I recall you saying that the tubes are larger on the Festool and less likely to clog. So, would you get the Festool kit again? Or only the SS tubes and use the Fein kit? I currently use a lot of the accessories from our old house vacs on my Fein. They connect in with the neoprene connector.

In the other post, you mentioned needing to use the 36mm hose to collect the dust from the OF1400, if you didn't want to clog up the hose. Is there any special attachments needed?

I liked your idea of hooking up the "Y" connector to your router table. Currently, I took an old 8' vac hose I had laying around and hooked it up to the top of my router table. The hose is like 2 1/4" or something. It plugs into my Fein II at the body with only friction and works perfectly. The only problem is that I still have to vac out under the router table. I was thinking that your set up with the Y and the DD would be perfect for this.

The last question is about the Boom Arm. In going with the "I wouldn't buy that again" idea, what do you think? Given that the boom arm has gone up in price and that you have to have the handle and the boom arm ($293 combined), is it worth it? I will use the vac about 90% of the time in my own shop. I was thinking that a ceiling hook or a wall mounted homemade boom would be considerably cheaper (although, likely not as purdy).

Just for the Festool vac & fittings, I was looking at over $1000. Trying to figure out ways to cut costs...

Thanks for sharing,
Rod.

 

[Lou Miller]

Right now, the Fein III is about $360 and the HEPA Filter is around $100. That would seem to put the CT22 and the Fein III at the same price.

If you really want the Hepa filter and that's the best pricing you can find, then I'd get the Festool vac instead. I use the 1micron filters instead of the Hepa (I personally see no difference between them when in use) and they are typically a little under $40. You can do better than that $360 price, but you might have to be a little patient. Call some local places instead of looking on the internet and you'll find you can usually grab them for a good bit less.

Like I said though, if it were me, and that was truly the best price I could find on the Fein, I'd buy the Festool. Well, maybe some hearing protection too

 

[Lou Miller]

I just checked on Coastaltool and you can get a Fein with a 1 micron filter for $396, plus delivery. So you're probably looking at $415 or so ( I know you can get a better deal elsewhere though, that's just the first place I looked). The Festool CT33 is $510. Each have their merits and drawbacks. The Fein is stronger, has a lot more capacity, its cheaper, and is quite a bit quieter. The Festool has some cool features like being able to clip a systainer to it, bigger wheels (not always a plus though), and speed control if you really need that.

Both are good vacs, just get the one that works best for you.

 

[Brad Evans]

Well, since we're talking about Fein and Festool vacs...

I have a Fein II with HEPA filter, a PC 7810 (both around 7 years old), and was looking for another vac; either a CT Midi or a Fein Turbo I.  I'm a vac nut and have multiple work areas...  However, I recently received a CT Midi as a gift - in essence making that decision for me.

Unfortunately (cuz I'm a big Festool fan) the CT Midi is going back.  First time ever for a Festool product for me.

Compared to the Fein I, the CT Midi is $100 more, is smaller in capacity, has less suction, is not as quiet, and has a hose that's shorter and smaller in diameter, The Fein comes with a brush and wand.  I can live with all that, preferring to buy Festool (cuz my saw, MFT, router, and sander are outstanding).  Both vacs are good European quality.

But the real clincher is having no HEPA filter option.  That's just not negotiable at any price considering my health and lungs are at stake.

 

[Brice Burrell]

Brad, in all fairness, the CT mini/midi filters to 1 micron. As far as vacs go that is very good. For anyone is doesn't already know, HEPA is 0.3 microns.

 

[Brad Evans]

Brice, I know what the filter specifications are - and the health effects of inhaling fine wood dust.  I'm choosing HEPA.

Perhaps you are suggesting the standard HEPA filtering on the CT-22 and CT-33 is unnecessary and of minimal value?

 

[extiger]

I've got the Fein Turbo II. Given that I have several Festool tools, I got the Fein knowing that the Festool hose would fit right on and hook up to Festool dust ports on the business end. My wife steals my Fein weekly to clean our house. The hose seems a bit long for my shop purposes, but I guess everyone's needs are different.

Amp limitation on the auto-start feature is 16 amps. I have only used one bag in the year I have had the machine. That includes general shop cleanup and cleaning my 1800 ft/sq house with it. I don't have the shop-vac attached to any stationary machinery. But I do appreciate the quiet factor when a tool and the vac are funning simultaneously.

Gary Curtis