Festool vouchers / alternatives

[LarryS.]

Hi all,

I'm going to buy a festool TS55 kit 4 (two rails, 2 clamps), and on the weekend found a good price with FFX - which turned out to include a 5% discount. However i didn't realise the offer was ending on the sunday night.

So does anyone have one of the feited festool vouchers they don't need - or know any tool websites that offer sign up discounts or anything similar ?

thanks


Paul

 

[shed9]

Not seen vouchers come through the box for a while. The ones that do these days are mostly about an extra battery if you buy certain kit, haven't seen the old £50-off for over a year myself (at least).

That FFX price isn't too bad. I normally get my Festool from Nuts & Bolts (http://www.powertool-supplies.co.uk/) but have seen their prices creep of late. Service from Nuts & Bolts is however way above FFX in my opinion so this isn't a decider to move away from them. You could ask on the FOG, Festool may be able to help in response.

I would add, the only regret I have with my TS55 is I sometimes regret not going the TS75 route. I usually only use it for breaking down sheet goods but sometimes it would be good to be able to cut more than two layers in one pass. I would also say that if you get one, try the Trend equivalent blades before buying Festool replacements. Usually a third of the price and just as good.

 

[LarryS.]

thanks Shed, Nuts & Bolts are a couple of quid cheaper so i'll likely go with them then (your note on customer service also helps swing it). TS75 i hadn't considered, but i've already crept up from buying an Erbauer to Festool !! Don't want to creep any further ;-)

 

[Jamied]

Sorry Shed, but I was very disappointed with the trend blades. I tried them to save money but they were not up to the job cutting consistent clean cuts on laminate panels on site for kitchens .
Even after sharpening I use them now for cutting rougher sections in the workshop.

 

[Distinterior]

I had a similar experience to Jamied.... I tried cheaper options than the Festool blades, but when cutting finished gloss and matt lacqured panels such as common nowadays in modern kitchens, the Festool blades performed better.

I've recently had a load of saw blades and router cutters sharpened. I collected them yesterday and the company that sharpened them told me that the Festool blades were of a top quality....

I don't think there are any Festool £50 vouchers that are currently redeemable against the cost of what you are looking to purchase.....

 

[shed9]

Must admit, I never used the Trend blades on laminate or coated panels.

Worth knowing that they are not up to that task.

 

[Shytot]

Sorry Shed, but I was very disappointed with the trend blades. I tried them to save money but they were not up to the job cutting consistent clean cuts on laminate panels on site for kitchens .
Even after sharpening I use them now for cutting rougher sections in the workshop.[/quote
Peter Millard did a YouTube video today testing track saw blades . Festool was the best and the Trend & Axminster ones seemed quite poor .

 

[petermillard]

Peter Millard did a YouTube video today testing track saw blades . Festool was the best and the Trend & Axminster ones seemed quite poor .

It was a follow-on from Part 7 of the Tracksaw Workshop series where I tried 48T blades from Trend, Axminster, Key blades and Festool in the cheap Aldi saw. The Trend and Axminster were particularly poor, little better than the 24T Workzone blade that came with the saw. On a whim I tried the same blades in my Festool and the difference in the Axi and Trend blade performance was striking. But the Key blades & fixings blade was the real winner re price/performance.

Video #284, may be worth a watch if you’re interested.

 

[Doug71]

Festool blades are made by Leitz, well known for their premium quality blades.

 

[Trevanion]

Although I don't own a track saw I've heard the CMT blades for them are outstanding.

 

[Distinterior]

I have heard good things about those Key Blades......There has been quite a lot of mention of them on the Fesdrool Facebook page. I will have to give them a try.

PS. Thanks for the 10 Minute Workshop videos Peter, I always enjoy your no nonsense approach. =D>

 

[shed9]

Will have a look at Peter's vid when I get chance.

Have to say for breaking down sheet I've not had a problem with Trend 48T's in the TS55. I originally tried them to cut down a fair bit of MRMDF as I knew it would dull the Festool blades quite quickly. They worked well with similar(ish) results to the Festool ones in my opinion. At £11 a blade they make sense for some tasks I think.

Interested in the other opinions and feedback here.

 

[Distinterior]

In my experience, cutting up Ply and MDF is far more forgiving with the more affordable blades.
I think, where you can really see the difference in the quality of the blade & cut, is when cutting and processing the types of material that Jamied and I mentioned in our earlier replies.

I wonder if Peter could do a very short follow up (sorry Peter......!) showing similar cuts on a piece of MFC or Gloss faced material..?

 

[shed9]

I wonder if Peter could do a very short follow up (sorry Peter......!) showing similar cuts on a piece of MFC or Gloss faced material..?

I would be very interested in that.

 

[petermillard]

Cheers all. I don’t actually have any MFC or hi-gloss offcuts right now, or I would have used them to test! A birch plyncrosscut was the next next thing lol!
@shed9 Where do you get the Trend blades for £11? All the ones I used were in the £20-30 range. Thanks! P

 

[shed9]

@shed9 Where do you get the Trend blades for £11? All the ones I used were in the £20-30 range. Thanks! P

Ebay is generally where I buy them. I'll often barter with sellers offering to buy a few to drop the price further. Makes sense for them as they save on postage and get the sale.

Never paid over £11 each (Even in single quantities). At £20-£30 I wouldn't bother as I can get Festool blades somewhere nearer that price. I think the most I've paid for genuine Festool blades is about £35. I can see the argument of not using Trend if this is what some people have or are paying.

I would add that I have picked up 60T non Festool blades for similar prices (£10+) with very good results. Sure they aren't Festool but for some materials and some cuts it makes no sense to use an expensive blade. Cheap enough to use for that one job.

 

[adt]

You should be able to get 5% of any purchase over £100 from anglia tool centre using the code below. Not having seen the original ffx price I’m not sure how they compare but the current kit price seems comparable with what ffx have on their website now.

https://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/festool-561583-ts55rebq-kit-160mm-plunge-saw-240v-with-2x-1-4m-rails-2x-connectors-rail-case-and-t-loc-case-pid39388.html

Discount code: 64X41L7

 

[LarryS.]

You should be able to get 5% of any purchase over £100 from anglia tool centre using the code below. Not having seen the original ffx price I’m not sure how they compare but the current kit price seems comparable with what ffx have on their website now.

https://www.angliatoolcentre.co.uk/festool-561583-ts55rebq-kit-160mm-plunge-saw-240v-with-2x-1-4m-rails-2x-connectors-rail-case-and-t-loc-case-pid39388.html

Discount code: 64X41L7

Thanks for the reply adt but unfortunately that code seems to have expired


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[adt]

How about this one? I used it for a new plunge saw back in December.

KATKBPX

 

[LarryS.]

How about this one? I used it for a new plunge saw back in December.

KATKBPX

Expired too unfortunately but thanks for trying


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