In mid-January 2006 I was on vacation, mostly because I wanted to build some projects. My old pal Jesse Barragan had moved his Eagle Tools to a new location. I knew Jesse specialized in really good woodworking tools. I also knew I did not have space for a decent table saw.
Walking into Eagle Tool of Los Angeles that Friday changed my life! There I could use a TS55 with guide rails. Not only were the cuts straight, they were exact and best of all, in 19mm plywood those cuts were glue-ready. With the dust extractor there was no mess, perfect for a spare room in my condo!
Before I left that afternoon I purchased a CT22 w/handle with the TS55, two extra 1400mm (55") guide rails, an accessory kits mostly for the connector bars, 2 extra 48 tooth blades, 2 each Quick and Screw clamps. That Saturday, after studying the Festool catalog over night, I went back for a 36mm x 5m AS hose included with the Tradesperson/Installer cleaning set, a Multi-Purpose floor nozzle, Universal Brush nozzle, 20 filter bags and Suction hose holder.
Although just 2 weeks before I had purchased a Melé vac set, because the CT22 was so quiet and variable speed, it became my primary cleaning vac and well as my dust extractor.
The next Wednesday I went back for an OF1010, an LR32 1080mm (42") rail and the LR 32 Hole drilling set and a lot of other OF1010 accessories.
Well, that was my start. By the time my 5 week vacation had ended I had completed several projects, I had purchased a RO 150 and RTS 400 sanders.
As soon as I returned to work I decided to retire so I could start building cabinets as a business. By the time I did retire in January 2007, I had made arrangements to use space in the shops of several friends, in addition to my condo. I also then started buying even more Festools. My custom cabinet business kept growing and growing. Renting space in other people's shops became a logistical nightmare. In early 2010 I started looking for my own shop building.
By then I was convinced I needed many large fixed machines not owned by people I knew. I wanted a pressure beam saw, which I had read about. Seeing one in action was the deal maker. Several friends had CNC nested routers large enough for 4x8' sheet goods and I learned to use those. Such machines need space. I kept asking my real estate agent to look for increasingly larger buildings. Finally we found a really good building of 12,600 square feet on 30,000 square feet of land running between two industrial streets. In that I would have room for a really large sliding table saw, an automatic edge bander and the other typical shop machines: shaper; joiner; thickness planer; bandsaws; vertical edge belt sander; wide belt sander. I already owned a Kapex and I bought another. I remodeled the building to bring the restroom up to ADA standards, increased the electrical service to 480v 3 ph (1,500 KVA) and added a really sophisticated plant DC system. To handle all the sheet goods efficiently I bought a new electric fork lift and also 2 vacuum lifts to move individual sheets from stacks to the tables of the beam saw and the CNC router. For assembly we have power-driven case clamps.
Just think, it all started with that CT22 and TS55!
