Festool Guide Rails

[Alf]

Woody, I was joking. Hence the winking smilie, see? :roll:

Cheers, Alf

No Besseys either btw.

 

[Anonymous]

Yes Tony i am sure in your case this is true, but in my case if i did everything with hand tools my family would soon go hungry and i would go bankrupt.
Don't get me wrong there is something very special about a piece of furniture made solely by hand, but i am afraid that in the cutthroat world of business its just not realistic.

Couldn't agree more woody - I did not intend my post to come over as any kind of critisism, certainly was not meant to be

Tony wrote:

Mid range power tools do as good a job as Festool and all the others once you put a decent blade in it- at least thats been my experiemce.

As you can see from above with circular saws i have found this to be the opposite. But in the case of routers both the Dewalt (625EK) and (Bosch GOF1300 and GOF900) have given me first class service.

I guess there is more variability on quality in mid range if your business depends on it then buying the best has to be good advice - Festool would be my choice if my living depended on it.
To be honest woody, I forgot you were using it for business and my post was really more to do with hoobbiest use

While on the subject of clamps what about the price of Bessey? £20, £30. £40, a time yet

Don't get me started

 

[Woodythepecker]

Chris wrote:

Woody,
I think the fact that a working pro like you buys and uses these tools says pretty much everything that needs to be said!

Quite right too.

Tony, Alf, I guess that i find it hard to have to justify the amount i spend on the tools of my trade. But on the other hand, i too often forget that the vast majority of members on UK Woodworking are hobbyists who have families, and as such cannot always justify spending many hundreds of pounds on one tool.

Alf wrote:

But it does seem that once Festool have got you in the loop the prices for extras are a bit, erm, cheeky

I realise what you are trying to say. Some manufacturers give me nightmares with there extras as you call them. For instance a few years ago after getting a quote to erect our conserverty i decided to do it myself and SWMBO bought me a Paslode nail gun. It was a great help and i was chuffed to bits until i ran out of nails and had to go and buy some. 5000 nails and 5 fuel cells "£148" I don't use it much now but every time i do it hurts.

Regards

Woody

 

[Mcluma]

Try this for an alternative

I have this with the guide rail and I wouldn't look back at anything from Festool.

 

[Adam]

Try this for an alternative

I have this with the guide rail and I wouldn't look back at anything from Festool.

Why because you can't see the point of paying additional money to get something that performs so similarly or becuase you think Mafell offer a higher quality product than Festool or another reason?

Adam

 

[Mcluma]

I was just bringing an alternative to Festool on the table (forum), with whom i have a very good experience, Mafell brings the same range as Festool to the woodworkers. That's all :lol:

I have looked and worked with both products and feel that the Mafell range is as good, and in my opinion a better constructed machine

And yes i do believe in paying more for the correct tool, I do it all the time (you can ask the wife) :wink:

 

[RogerS]

Which Festool are we talking about? The ATF55EB Plunge Saw? Protrade have it on 'special' (I think) but 110v.....

or the TS55EBQ Plus Plunge Cut Saw ?

 

[Woodythepecker]

Hi rsinden,

We are talking about the TS55EBQ-Plus-FS GB plunge saw and yes Protrade do have it on special at the moment.

Regards

Woody

 

[Midnight]

Add to this the fact that in the last 6 months both a Dewalt and a Bosch have broken down on me, and you will see why i want something that will last.

Woody..

don't panic... I'm not gonna touch your saw / guide selection...

reading the above, I was struck by how much it rang true with my own experiences... It's one thing having a kick *** tool, toy or whatever, but for me, the difference between good and great isn't so much with its reliability (although that's a primary consideration) as with its after-sales..

Even Rolls Royces break dow.. Ahem.. I mean fail to proceed (I believe they call it)... what matters is how quickly they can be got going with reliability again... My auld Landrover is a classic example of that.

In your situation, allowing for my limited knowledge of the tool type, I'd be more comfortable with the likes of Makita, DeWalt et al simply because I know I've a service centre covering both that's local to me; if they can't fix it it's beyond fixing... I can't justify the same faith in Mafel, Festool et al simply because I don't know about their service network, although I've read nothing to cause doubt over the build quality and performance of the tool...
History is full of great tools / vehicles / widgets that performed brilliantly straight outa the box only to fade into obscurity through lack of back up... I hope this isn't the case here; the advances that these designs have brought have the capacity to bring the whole tool class along in its evolution... I hope they stand the test of time...

 

[Woodythepecker]

Mike, you are of course 100% correct, if customer service or backup is not spot on then it does not matter how good the tool is. If i have to chase either of the above up then it takes the shine off their product.
It does not matter if we are talking about woodworking tools/machines, cars, or the humble tv, it astounds me how these companies can improve their products year in and year out, yet when it comes to dealing with the very thing that keeps them in business eg "the customer", a great deal of companies are wanting, in fact some of them appear to be still trading in the dark ages.

We all like the red carpet treatment from a company, where it is plain to see that the customer comes first, (yes there are a few companies out there). But in reality all i want is for my problem to be dealt with promptly, and if they tell me that so and so will do this and that by such and such time, then i want to see them keep their word.

Thats my rant over with.

Regards

Woody