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Author Topic: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!  (Read 8123 times)

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Offline Jason White

  • Posts: 303
Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« on: January 25, 2007, 07:24 PM »
Hi all!

Santa brought me a new Festool TS55 plunge-cut saw.  Needless to say, my life has changed dramatically.

I'm not a builder, nor a serious woodworker.  Just a home-shop guy who likes to fix up his house and build simple furniture using high-quality power tools.  I started with Sears "Craps-man" tools a few years ago and learned my lesson!!

Anybody here got a slick jig for making dados in plywood with the TS55?

Also -- why does the Festool vacuum cost the same or more than the damned saw??  This makes no sense to me.

TP
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- Jason White
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Offline Michael Kellough

  • Posts: 5023
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #1 on: January 25, 2007, 07:42 PM »
Toolpig asked, "Also -- why does the Festool vacuum cost the same or more than the damned saw?? "

Because a Festool dust extractor is as much better than a common Shop Vac as the TS55 plunge saw is better than a common circular saw.

They have quiet variable speed by-pass motors and in general are much better designed and built (3 year warranty). Also, try balancing a tool box on top of a Shop Vac, let alone putting a stack of Systainers on top and rolling it down the drive.
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Offline Jim Dailey

  • Posts: 278
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #2 on: January 25, 2007, 08:39 PM »
Hi "Toolpig" !!

Just to give you feedback on the CT 22 compared to the Fein Turbo another quality vacuum. 

I own both.  Both are very quite shop vacuums.   Both can be triggered by a power tool plugged into them.  The Fein I've beat the heck out of for years, it is a durable vacuum.  I have a 2nd Festool hose for the Fein to connect it to my Festool power tools.  However between the two, I prefer the Festool CT 22 because of it's variable vacuum control, larger wheels, & I can stack my Systainers on it.  The Fein is still used regularly, but mostly for course, rough work.  The CT 22 is dedicated to my Festool sanders etc.  Bags in the CT 22 last amazingly long when used just for collection of sanding dust, but you can reuse the bags a 1/2 doz. times.

The Festool vacuums;  Expensive... yes.  Worth the price... Absolutely for me.

Hope this helps, jim
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Offline HowardH

  • Posts: 1313
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #3 on: January 25, 2007, 10:11 PM »
How do you reuse the bags?  I have a ct-22 and just bought a 5 pack of extra bags but I wanted to be careful about filling them up.  I was told they are single use only.  What gives?
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Howard H
The Dallas Texas Festool Fanatic!

Mark Twain:  "I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a letter approving of it." "If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything."

mft1080, P1cc, MFT/3, T15, TID-18, RO150FEQ, MT55cc, RTS400, CT22, CT36E, 800, 1080, 1400, 1900 rails, OF 2200, OF1400, CSX, C18, VacSys, Vecturo, Qwas dogs, Parf Dogs, Zobo's, Syslite Uni, CMS GE. Mafell DDF40, Sawstop contractor, PM 1500, Shaper Origin.

Offline Jim Dailey

  • Posts: 278
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #4 on: January 25, 2007, 10:54 PM »
Hi Howard,

Since I primarily use my CT 22 for sanding, the dust is very fine & very consistent.  Thus it is fairly easy to "dump" the waste out of the bag's fill hole. 

Perfect... No     A little messy..... Yes    Result.... about a $1 per use when you get 1/2 doz. trips to the garbage & the bag is replaced.

Hope this helps, jim
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Offline Dan Clark

  • Posts: 540
    • talkFestool
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #5 on: January 25, 2007, 11:45 PM »
I think the TS55 is great!  Excellent tool.   Cuts great!    So, do I use it when sanding?   Uhh, nope.  Do I connect it to my jigsaw?  Uhh, nope.   Does it clean the floor.  Uhh, nope.   Do I connect it to my rotozip?  Uhh, nope!    How about hooking it to my router?   Uhh, nope!   My planer?   Nope!  My Makita belt sander? Not hardly! 

Hmmm...  So how about my CT22?   Oh yeah, all of the above!

The CT22 is quiet, very powerful, HEPA (no dust) and the center of my no dust strategy.  Because it's relatively quiet, small, powerful, and portable, the CT22 goes everywhere and is ALWAYS, repeat ALWAYS connected to my dust producing tools.   

I think the TS55 with guide rails is one excellent tool, but the CT22 is the KEY to doing serious work on site.    Below is a pic of my "table saw" in my master bathroom (I'm building the shower stall).   See that CT22 thing in the background?   That's five feet from the door into my Master Bedroom.    And how much sawdust does Dan drag into the Master Bedroom.   You guessed "zip"?  Winner!!!   And does the love of my life bitch about the dust?  NO!!!   Am I still amongst the living and are all of my male body parts still intact?!?  YES! YES!!!  All present and accounted for!

So the TS55 does great work.   It is worth every penny!  But the CT22?  It keeps my body parts intact!!!  ;D  For that reason alone, it's PRICELESS!

And that's one man's opinion.

Dan.
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Offline Dan Clark

  • Posts: 540
    • talkFestool
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2007, 11:59 PM »
Hmmmm...   So you and I are building around the house.   Hmmm....   And you are makin' dust!   Hmmm...   And YOU don't have a high quality portable DC that you use ALL the time!   So, inquiring minds want to know...   Has the LOL roughed you up?   Are YOUR male body parts intact?!?  Do you sing soprano now!?!?!    AND YOU ASK IF THE CT22 IS WORTH THE PRICE!?!   ;D

I can guarantee you one thing - When you try a Festool DC, you will NEVER use your old vac!

Dan.
« Last Edit: January 26, 2007, 12:01 AM by Dan Clark »
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Offline Dan Lyke

  • Posts: 321
    • Flutterby.net
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #7 on: January 26, 2007, 12:12 AM »
Quote from: Dan Clark on January 25, 2007, 11:59 PM
I can guarantee you one thing - When you try a Festool DC, you will NEVER use your old vac!

Anyone want a Kirby G4 upright with all the fixin's?

No, seriously. Brought the Festool C22 home, my sweety used it to clean up some sawdust after a project, and promptly retired our Eureka el-cheapo (which actually worked better than the Kirby), and it's prompted us to clear up a little bit more closet space. So we've got this behemoth high end vacuum we really need to get rid of

So, yeah, not only is it a great dust collector and shop vac, but the $80 or whatever it was for the standard vacuum attachments have replaced a... gee... we inherited the Kirby, so we've no idea what it cost new, but my impression is that those things are "second mortgage" territory.

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Accomplished computer geek, novice woodworker, road cyclist, in Sonoma county, northern California.

Offline Jim Dailey

  • Posts: 278
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #8 on: January 26, 2007, 12:20 AM »
Dan you gave me a good laugh  ;D

All this time I though I bought the CT 22 with the HEPA filter to keep my lungs intact....  

Instead I find out the CT 22 was keeping my " all of my male body parts still intact?!?  YES! YES!!!  All present and accounted for!"    This was the real tangible benefit of owning a CT 22 with HEPA filters.  ;)

jim  
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Life is just a series of projects...

Offline Dan Clark

  • Posts: 540
    • talkFestool
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #9 on: January 26, 2007, 12:26 AM »
I'm getting to the age where keeping everything together is important!    :D

Dan.
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Offline Lou Miller

  • Posts: 480
  • North Wales, PA
    • Some of my work
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #10 on: January 26, 2007, 12:49 AM »
While I don't have the Festool vac (I have the Fein, which I bought long before I started buying Festool gear), I can vouch for why they cost what they do. A high quality vac is one of the best tools you can have for working on site. The typical shop vacs that are far less in terms of cost are nothing but ear piercing screamers that tend to put as much dust back into the air as they collect. Most of them don't have the suction levels that the high end vacs have either, so you're going to see far better performance out of the Festool vac.

I take my setup inside customers homes all cut indoors. It works that well and the reduce noise doesn't drive the customers out their minds either. While performance on my Fein and the Festool are about equal, I really wish I had the ability to lock systainers on top of my vac. That alone is something that will have me really looking into getting a CT33 when the time comes for me to add another vac to my tool lineup.

Is the cost high on these things? Maybe. You get what you pay for though. The cost of the CT vacs is in line with most of the other high end vacs on the market if you consider the extra features that come with them. Like most Festool stuff, they aren't for everyone, but if you want the best... If you're content with a typical shop vac, then go that route. I personally find the difference to be enormous and would never go back to a regular shop vac.
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Offline John Langevin

  • Posts: 245
  • Springfield, MA
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #11 on: January 26, 2007, 11:33 AM »
 :D
Bravo! Dan Clark, I couldn't agree more. I use mt CT-22 with all my power tools and relegate the SHOP VAC to cleaning the garage floor. I have the boom arm for use in the shop and sometimes take it off for site work. Scribing-in countertops in a customer's home leaves the homeowner amazed at the absence of dust as well as how quiet it is. In the shop it allows the use of shelving versus closed cabinets because there is very little dust. I will be adding a ceiling mounted air cleaner for finishing purposes but it probably isn't absolutely necessary. I notices in your picture what looks like a wooden attachment on the side of your saw (I presume to enhance dust collection even further); can you elaborate on it?
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Offline Dave Ronyak

  • Posts: 2234
  • Flyin' from NE Ohio
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #12 on: January 26, 2007, 01:14 PM »
Quote from: Dan Clark on January 25, 2007, 11:59 PM
I can guarantee you one thing - When you try a Festool DC, you will NEVER use your old vac!

Dan.

Dan,

I own both a Fein Turbo II and Festool C 22 (w/Hepa).  As others have said, both are quality machines.  In my home both my wife and I prefer the Fein for most uses - its quieter (and its predominate noise frequencies less abrasive on our ears), it has a longer, larger diameter yet FAR MORE FLEXIBLE hose, it rolls easily around the house and its softer wheel don't scratch the varnished wood floors, it comes with a reusable 5 micron filter bag, and large disposible paper bags also last a long time and cost less than those from Festool.  Despite the fact that the 16 ft Fein hose is not claimed to be anti-static, I have yet to get "zapped" by it like I do from my Craftsman shop vac (which is so bad I can even get a static shock in the humid Ohio summertime when cleaning the garage/shop floor!)  But the variable speed, locking wheels (except that they will then slide on my floors), positive "off" switch, heavier and longer power cord, and top storage features of the Festool vac make it a winner, too.  FWIW, my daughter thinks the C 22 looks much better than the Turbo II.
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Offline Dan Clark

  • Posts: 540
    • talkFestool
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #13 on: January 26, 2007, 01:45 PM »
Quote from: John Langevin on January 26, 2007, 11:33 AM
:D
Bravo! Dan Clark, I couldn't agree more. I use mt CT-22 with all my power tools and relegate the SHOP VAC to cleaning the garage floor. I have the boom arm for use in the shop and sometimes take it off for site work. Scribing-in countertops in a customer's home leaves the homeowner amazed at the absence of dust as well as how quiet it is. In the shop it allows the use of shelving versus closed cabinets because there is very little dust. I will be adding a ceiling mounted air cleaner for finishing purposes but it probably isn't absolutely necessary. I notices in your picture what looks like a wooden attachment on the side of your saw (I presume to enhance dust collection even further); can you elaborate on it?

John,

The "wooden attachement" is actually a phenolic cover plate attachment for the TS55 (TS75 too?) that improves dust collection.   It works pretty well and does improve dust collection especially when shaving narrow slices from a board.    It's downside is that you have to remove the green plastic splinter guard, which means that you'll have a bit more tearout.   

It depends on your priorities.   Right now dust collection is a higher priority for me.   When I'm working with fine woods where I'm looking for the best cut possible, I'll swap it out for the splinter guard.   Both the splinter guard and the cover plate are attached by knobs.    It takes about 30 seconds to swap.

Here's a link to the accessory on Bob Marino's site: http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/product_detail.html?sid=6ad0293bf7118acef407f3fad3fdd12d&pid=491750.

Regards,

Dan.



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Offline Michael Kellough

  • Posts: 5023
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #14 on: January 26, 2007, 04:29 PM »
Quote from: Dave Ronyak on January 26, 2007, 01:14 PM
Quote from: Dan Clark on January 25, 2007, 11:59 PM
I can guarantee you one thing - When you try a Festool DC, you will NEVER use your old vac!

Dan.

Dan,

I own both a Fein Turbo II and Festool C 22 (w/Hepa).  As others have said, both are quality machines.  In my home both my wife and I prefer the Fein for most uses - its quieter (and its predominate noise frequencies less abrasive on our ears), it has a longer, larger diameter yet FAR MORE FLEXIBLE hose, it rolls easily around the house and its softer wheel don't scratch the varnished wood floors, it comes with a reusable 5 micron filter bag, and large disposible paper bags also last a long time and cost less than those from Festool.  Despite the fact that the 16 ft Fein hose is not claimed to be anti-static, I have yet to get "zapped" by it like I do from my Craftsman shop vac (which is so bad I can even get a static shock in the humid Ohio summertime when cleaning the garage/shop floor!)  But the variable speed, locking wheels (except that they will then slide on my floors), positive "off" switch, heavier and longer power cord, and top storage features of the Festool vac make it a winner, too.  FWIW, my daughter thinks the C 22 looks much better than the Turbo II.

I have both those vacs and the WAP Turbo as well. I find the noise from the WAP most palatable of the three and agree that the Fein is less annoying than the Festool, which is an order of magnitude quieter than a common Shop Vac. Both the WAP and Fein Turbo vacs consist of a big cross-linked polyethylene plastic tub with a motor housing fitted to the top. There are very few parts to vibrate compared to the Festool vacs. By decibel meter they may all have the same value (I don't have a meter) but the Festool makes many different sounds compared to the simpler Fein and WAP vacs.
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Offline Lou Miller

  • Posts: 480
  • North Wales, PA
    • Some of my work
Re: Greetings from a first-time Festool owner!
« Reply #15 on: January 26, 2007, 05:30 PM »
Quote from: Dan Clark on January 26, 2007, 01:45 PM


The "wooden attachement" is actually a phenolic cover plate attachment for the TS55 (TS75 too?) that improves dust collection.   It works pretty well and does improve dust collection especially when shaving narrow slices from a board.    It's downside is that you have to remove the green plastic splinter guard, which means that you'll have a bit more tearout.   

It depends on your priorities.   Right now dust collection is a higher priority for me.   When I'm working with fine woods where I'm looking for the best cut possible, I'll swap it out for the splinter guard.   Both the splinter guard and the cover plate are attached by knobs.    It takes about 30 seconds to swap.

Here's a link to the accessory on Bob Marino's site: http://www.bobmarinosbesttools.com/product_detail.html?sid=6ad0293bf7118acef407f3fad3fdd12d&pid=491750.

Regards,

Dan.





I have the cover plate as well. I use it mostly when I'm cutting MDF. It really makes a huge difference in the amount of dust that escapes. I leave it off the majority of the time though. For me tearout is more of a concern than dust.
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