What is Festools Greatest Achievement?

[woodshopdemos]

Sticking to their business model.

If this was a American company, long ago we would have seen share holders
screaming and Festool competing on the shelves of the Borg. Sacrificing and circling the drain.
Per

  The man has truth and logic on his side...hard to say it better. Having had too many years in product development and marketing, I witnessed my products and those of the competition take a dive because we didnt have the margin to keep the quality up, the supply adequate, the parts and service available. These were products that had an important part in a key market only to be eradicated by cheap, inferior products that would get specs listed in major bids and we get blown away...or have to bring out a model just for the bid...at the expense of the dealer and our profit margins. (but we were good at getting UL approval.) I even had a product that sold to the military and there was no competition...so the government paid $100,000 to two of our competitors to make a generic version. Yikes...I couldnt believe it then and I can't now...but the truth. Both companies took the money and then developed products (given our plans) that wouldnt hold up.

  So I absolutely agree with Per. And Bob re. Christian O.  I have a mentor of many years who is a close friend and business boss from way long ago. He can do no wrong in my eyes. If Christian were older than me, I would have him as mentor - he is that fine a caliber person. When we say he is president and CEO and real leader of Festool USA, it is an understatement.

 

[Dan Clermont]

Creativity/ Thinking outside of the box

SO many of todays companies simply want to match their competitors and very few thrive to be creative.

Festool has such products as the following

- Plunge cut saws with riving knives
- sanders like the RO-150 with excellent dust collection
- Routers with ergonomic controls, dust collection, and plunging with very little effort.

Let's not forget to mention how well you guys in the US have it when you compare your prices compared to the rest of the Festool world and the fact Christian has 150 ISA's working hard to keep everyone happy. Yesm Christian deserves allot of credit for the success in the US and is an excellent example of how to run a thriving company

Dan Clermont

 

[Michael Kellough]

Depends on how you define "greatest achievement".

To me, the most brilliant thing they've done is also the simplest,
putting a strip of rubber on the business edge of the guide rail.

Maybe sending men to the moon was our greatest achievement but
learning to cook food is what boggles my mind.
In this context I guess the Domino would be the greatest but...

 

[clintholeman]

What does everyone think was their greatest advancement.

What makes Festool unique is their system - it all works together as a complete woodworking system.  It allows users to, in a very value driven way, to have the best system for making a huge variety of wood projects.

All the tools are designed to work in concert with the woodworker, and each other for efficient, accurate and repeatable woodworking.

 

[Gary K]

;D I would say that Festool's greatest achievement is having hundreds of people dish out $1000 for a tool that they never had in their hands. Now, before you  all  get your dander up, let me explain.`How many tool companies can hype a tool for months and get so many woodworkers all stirred up?  Not many....if any at all.

        It is a testimony of their reputation for manufacturing quality tools. I only have their 15.6 cordless drill in my possession, but I can honestly say that it is the best drill I have ever had in my hands. I only hope that this is a tool ( Domino)  that can be benificial in the long run and not be a bisquit joiner on steroids.
        Gary K.

 

[Per Swenson]

Rest assured Gary,

I have a Domino in my hot little hands.

It's physical appearance may resemble a biscuit jointer and

if you have used a biscuit jointer for any time at all, then

the learning curve for this tool is ten minutes.

After that, think bicycle=Ferrari.

Per

 

[Loren Hedahl]

I got to try one at my local dealer the other day.  The thing I noticed was the accuracy of the mortise to tenon fit. 

You just position the tool, push it into the wood like you would a biscuit joiner and a perfect mortise happens. 

No careful measuring.  No special setup.  No jigs.  No paring.  No sanding.  No shimming.  No fudging.  No hammering.  No chiseling.  No chips.  No sawdust.  No sweating.  No splitting.  No worry.

Did I miss anything?

Loren

 

[Bob Marino]

I got to try one at my local dealer the other day.  The thing I noticed was the accuracy of the mortise to tenon fit. 

You just position the tool, push it into the wood like you would a biscuit joiner and a perfect mortise happens. 

No careful measuring.  No special setup.  No jigs.  No paring.  No sanding.  No shimming.  No fudging.  No hammering.  No chiseling.  No chips.  No sawdust.  No sweating.  No splitting.  No worry.

Loren,

Did I miss anything?

Loren

Loren,

No you didn't !! That's the genius of this tool - the utter simplicity, yet amazing accuracy, right out of the box.
A month or so ago, I did a demo at a cabinet/furniture shop, using the Domino for attaching slats to a rail and when I attached the two they were off by a tad. Surprised, I looked closely at the benchtop we were using - and the problem was that there was a couple of drops of dried glue under the slat. Moved to a more "pristine" flatter area and the joints were finger touch perfect. That's how tight the tolerances are for this tool.

Bob

 

[Michael Kellough]

I got to try one at my local dealer the other day.  The thing I noticed was the accuracy of the mortise to tenon fit. 

You just position the tool, push it into the wood like you would a biscuit joiner and a perfect mortise happens. 

No careful measuring.  No special setup.  No jigs.  No paring.  No sanding.  No shimming.  No fudging.  No hammering.  No chiseling.  No chips.  No sawdust.  No sweating.  No splitting.  No worry.

Loren,

Did I miss anything?

Loren

Loren,

No you didn't !! That's the genius of this tool - the utter simplicity, yet amazing accuracy, right out of the box.
A month or so ago, I did a demo at a cabinet/furniture shop, using the Domino for attaching slats to a rail and when I attached the two they were off by a tad. Surprised, I looked closely at the benchtop we were using - and the problem was that there was a couple of drops of dried glue under the slat. Moved to a more "pristine" flatter area and the joints were finger touch perfect. That's how tight the tolerances are for this tool.

Bob

I got to handle the Domino this weekend and the thing that impressed me that I haven't seen other people mention so much is how snug the Dominoes are in the mortises. (everything that has already been said about this tool also impresses me) I have been frustrated by the conventional biscuit's loose fit to the point that I used dowels on one project that required tight registration and the ability to do secure dry fitting of parts. Dowels did the trick but they require absolute precision in 2 axis on all parts or the parts won't fit. The Domino is at least as good as dowels for dry fit and is less than half as difficult to use since it eliminates the alignment requirement for 1 axis and the fence makes alignment of the other axis automatic, unlike some dowel jigs. In fact, the Domino is easy to use.