Festool Garbage?

[deema]

Firstly great video Peter, but boy, talk about a lemon product, well in my opinion. Peter does a good job trying to extol the features of this piece of hay is in my opinion junk. I know, I will have upset the devotees to the brand, but seriously, why, just why would you buy one?

 

[AJB Temple]

Excellent video Peter. The lack of capacity is a clear issue, exacerbated by the sloppy fit of the mitre gauge and fence. Totally agree re the absence of a 240v power supply which means a ludicrous investment in a spare pair of batteries if the saw is to be an all day user. I like the digital adjustment but the absence of saw stop is a real disappointment and the fiddly plastic guard fence is unimpressive. I suspect a lot of potential users will opt for one of the other big brands if they choose a battery saw.

 

[Doug71]

As is often the case with Festool this is a bit of a niche product, I'm sure it will do what it's designed to do really well but won't be for everyone. It's meant to be ultra portable hence cordless and looks a great set up if you get the cart etc that is available. Not for me but I'm sure for some people it will be perfect (fitting parquet flooring maybe?).

I don't understand why but the 240v and battery thing can't be that easy or everyone would be doing it?

 

[petermillard]

As is often the case with Festool this is a bit of a niche product, I'm sure it will do what it's designed to do really well but won't be for everyone. It's meant to be ultra portable hence cordless and looks a great set up if you get the cart etc that is available. Not for me but I'm sure for some people it will be perfect (fitting parquet flooring maybe?).

I don't understand why but the 240v and battery thing can't be that easy or everyone would be doing it?

DeWalt do a mains adapter for their cordless table saw, so it is feasible. But yes, it’s a niche product - though I was told that the initial orders were 20x what were expect hence the supply issues, so perhaps a larger niche than you might expect!

 

[Ollie78]

I am not sure there is much point to this. If I am doing a job that requires a table saw I am likely to already have set up my vacuum with power take off and put down dust sheets/ prepared a work area so could use a cheaper mains powered one anyway.
I do know that sites now don`t like trailing wires so most stuff is going battery but in that case maybe buying a huge battery pack ( which Festool already make ) and use the kit you already have.

Ollie

 

[petermillard]

Excellent video Peter. The lack of capacity is a clear issue, exacerbated by the sloppy fit of the mitre gauge and fence. Totally agree re the absence of a 240v power supply which means a ludicrous investment in a spare pair of batteries if the saw is to be an all day user. I like the digital adjustment but the absence of saw stop is a real disappointment and the fiddly plastic guard fence is unimpressive. I suspect a lot of potential users will opt for one of the other big brands if they choose a battery saw.

Thanks, though I’d say capacity is the least concern of all, for a saw of this type; the lack of mains power is a much bigger barrier, and the sawstop tech would make the saw a lot bigger - even if Festool were able/willing to make it work on this saw.

 

[Ollie78]

DeWalt do a mains adapter for their cordless table saw, so it is feasible. But yes, it’s a niche product - though I was told that the initial orders were 20x what were expect hence the supply issues, so perhaps a larger niche than you might expect!

And Makita do one for their LXT range.

 

[petermillard]

Firstly great video Peter, but boy, talk about a lemon product, well in my opinion. Peter does a good job trying to extol the features of this piece of hay is in my opinion junk. I know, I will have upset the devotees to the brand, but seriously, why, just why would you buy one?

Thanks. Trying hard not to be overly negative about the product whilst being honest about the areas where it could be improved. I laid out my buying decisions pretty clearly in the previous video - I was after a small, quiet, accurate saw with great dust collection, and this does everything I wanted. It’s a great saw and I’m very happy with it, but it certainly won’t be for everyone, and even if your needs align with mine but you don’t happen to be on the Festool battery platform, then it’s a much tougher sell.

 

[Doug71]

DeWalt do a mains adapter for their cordless table saw, so it is feasible. But yes, it’s a niche product - though I was told that the initial orders were 20x what were expect hence the supply issues, so perhaps a larger niche than you might expect!

And Makita do one for their LXT range.

Not seen the Makita version but just had a Google and Hikoki also do one, maybe Festool have a 240v mains to 18v battery converter in the pipeline, would be nice

 

[petermillard]

Not seen the Makita version but just had a Google and Hikoki also do one, maybe Festool have a 240v mains to 18v battery converter in the pipeline, would be nice

I’ve been told they do, so fingers crossed, indeed.

 

[Spectric]

I think it is the dust extraction that makes this a niche product, if you can accept the dust then there will be better alternatives for far less money and again if you have the space and three phase then there are decent old heavy duty sliding table saw bargains to be had.

 

[Hornbeam]

Not my cup of tea and clearly a number of issues. I could see it working if say you were just a dedicated box maker

 

[Adam W.]

I can see a use for it in what I do and I quite like the look of it.

Would I buy one?......Possibly.
Does the battery thing present an issue?.......Not for me.
Do I want a 240 lead?.......No thanks, because that means PAT testing and site power issues.
Is the cost and issue?..........No, I'll just add it onto the invoice in increments as a hire charge.
Can I carry it on my Brompton?.....Unfortunately not, so I'd need the van driver to get it where I wanted it.

 

[deema]

This is my nievety showing through, but what could you do with it that couldn’t be done as quick with hand tools? Small trim bits I have used either a Morso guillotine or a hand saw and a mitre box? It doesn’t seem suitable for tipping anything more than 300 or 600mm with its table length in order to keep it stable / under control. This sort of length takes so little time with a decent handsaw.

 

[bushwhaker]

Introducing price without mains adapter.
Why not give some more money to have it.

 

[Doug71]

This is my nievety showing through, but what could you do with it that couldn’t be done as quick with hand tools? Small trim bits I have used either a Morso guillotine or a hand saw and a mitre box? It doesn’t seem suitable for tipping anything more than 300 or 600mm with its table length in order to keep it stable / under control. This sort of length takes so little time with a decent handsaw.

The saw is really designed to go with what Festool call the underframe. The underframe is like a sack barrow to transport the saw on which also doubles up as a workbench or saw stand, if using it as a saw stand the underframe has parts that then lift up to support longer work pieces whether ripping or crosscutting. As always with Festool it's a system, personally I think it's very clever and innovative.

This short video shows it in action.

 

[Adam W.]

This is my nievety showing through, but what could you do with it that couldn’t be done as quick with hand tools? Small trim bits I have used either a Morso guillotine or a hand saw and a mitre box? It doesn’t seem suitable for tipping anything more than 300 or 600mm with its table length in order to keep it stable / under control. This sort of length takes so little time with a decent handsaw.

I would like to think that it would increase production for me on site. If I'm cutting OSB, which I try to avoid if I can, I would use a battery operated track saw.

I have no proper bench on site, so ripping timber by hand becomes a problem and a small battery powered table saw like the Festool one would make preparing timber for fiddly joinery repairs easier and quicker for me.

I'm not saying it's perfect, but I can see its advantages.

 

[petermillard]

This is my nievety showing through, but what could you do with it that couldn’t be done as quick with hand tools? Small trim bits I have used either a Morso guillotine or a hand saw and a mitre box? It doesn’t seem suitable for tipping anything more than 300 or 600mm with its table length in order to keep it stable / under control. This sort of length takes so little time with a decent handsaw.

It’s intended as a site saw for installers, so ripping a 70mm strip off that length of 12mm board you had sprayed for an infill - or several - would be one application that’s faster than trying it by hand.

 

[deema]

It’s intended as a site saw for installers, so ripping a 70mm strip off that length of 12mm board you had sprayed for an infill - or several - would be one application that’s faster than trying it by hand.

Thanks Peter, for my education, wouldn’t you use a track saw for long straight lengths and say a Mafell jigsaw if making a templated infill in preference? I only suggest the Mafell as it’s cutting accuracy for me seems to be almost as good as a circular saw; in 12mm I can’t detect any variance from say 90 degrees in the cut.

 

[petermillard]

Thanks Peter, for my education, wouldn’t you use a track saw for long straight lengths and say a Mafell jigsaw if making a templated infill in preference? I only suggest the Mafell as it’s cutting accuracy for me seems to be almost as good as a circular saw; in 12mm I can’t detect any variance from say 90 degrees in the cut.

Long straight lengths are a pain to do with a tracksaw, though it’s how I did them, yes. I carried a length of scrap MDF around to use as a spoilerboard, specifically for that purpose; I would have much preferred this saw. Infills are usually cut at 90 degrees to the carcass and angled where they abut the wall or ceiling, to make the scribe easier ie less material to remove, so the perpendicular-ness of a jigsaw cut doesn’t really help.