Rate Festo circular saws

[Andy Pullen]

Why is a Festo circular saw worth 3 times the price of most other industrial rated ones such as Hitachi. I have never been able to see what you get for the extra money. A poor view of the blade means it isn't going to be very useful free hand as you can't follow a pencil line easily and i would have thought that its brush motor couldn't match a saw benches induction motor for quality of cut, i used a supplied one recently and the cuts in melamine certainly weren't chip free but the blade wasn't 100% either. I am not setting out to criticize them but would like an owner to explain just why they are worth it. Regards Andy

 

[Anonymous]

It is not worth 3 times as much, it just costs 3 times as much because it is rated for heavy use (professional duty cycles) and comes with guide rails.

I use a B&Q one that cost £35 and a Trend clamp guide - cuts perfectly good enough for me (I fitted the Festool blade which reduced breakout to zero)



Edited to say that I misread your post, i thought you were talking about Festool saws, not Festo

 

[Andy Pullen]

I own an Hitachi C7BU myself and think it is an excellent saw at around £120. The brake is very useful when stopping mid cut to adjust position or when setting down , not realising the guard is stuck and the blade exposed because it has stopped rotating by the time it touches the floor. Very nice cuts too considering that like all hand held circular saws it has a brush motor. I am still intrigued by the Festo's though. Regards Andy

 

[Andy Pullen]

I just looked on the Festo site for a 48 tooth blade and it is priced at £76.80+vat !!! I am now going to get a dish cloth and wipe the tea of my monitor.

 

[the_g_ster]

I think the cost is very high indeed, but worth remembering that:

- You get 3 years warranty

- The brake is very handy

- The enclosed blade is great for a safety viewpoint

- Dust extraction is first rate

- Blades are pretty good

For me the big thing was safety. I am no pro, I got the festool as the rail system is safe, you can place it well and for me I am happy to pay a few quid extra having seen an old 999 with Micky Burke telling us all about a guy who had a saw go up the inside of his leg and try and knock the boys out the barracks. :shock:

 

[engineer one]

they are now called festo not festool.

i think the answer is not that it is worth 3 times others, but that festo are not aiming to be all things to all men, except their dealers.

festo is really the only brand of power tools which maintains a proper margin for the retailer. for instance with dewalt, many retailers find it cheaper to buy from a wholesaler than direct because of the way in which dewalt black and decker are seeking volume sales, not profitable sales.

like the mafell, the festo is a better made saw which is quieter, and more accurate in both assembly and basic manufacture than many others.

since both are made to go with their own rail systems they are not necessarily designed for freehand use, although they will work that way.

paul :wink:

 

[tim]

they are now called festo not festool.

Paul - not sure that's quite correct...

Re the question - seems to me that most folk who own one think they are worth the money and those that don't, don't. I have one and the amount of time and effort it saves me in terms of quality of cut and dx means that it has paid for itself several times over.

Cheers

Tim

 

[engineer one]

yes tim,i know i thought halfway through the night that i had got it backwards.
festo is the high tech part of the same group now. and festool is the brand.
why they could not change more dramatically but who knows????

anyway your comments are i think right on you either love them or just lust after them seems to be no middle ground :roll: :lol:

paul :wink:

 

[George_N]

With regard to the name Festo or Festool have a look at this.
As far a following pencil lines freehand, the saw is designed to work with the guide rail system and, together with the zero clearance base on the saw gives a high quality cut. This is not from personal experience, I don't own a Festool saw, just from what I have read. Several members of this forum are now using the Festool system in place of a table saw, mainly because of space constraints I think.

 

[Anonymous]

So, they are still called Festool then?

 

[engineer one]

touche :lol:

paul :wink:

 

[Loz_S]

I have a TS75 and I love it! It is easy to convince yourself that an expensive purchase is worth it when you have absolutely nothing to complain about after using it.

The "feel" of it just exudes quality. It is extremely well made and sturdy construction. I've rarely had any problems with splinters as long as the rubber edge on the guiderail and the plastic "foot" next to the blade are both undamaged, and you use the right blade of course.

Maybe there are other circular saws that have a sprung riving knife and perfect plunging action but I doubt if any other make combines all of these things or does them so well. It is relatively quiet, makes very little dust, cable and hose never get in the way, the blade stops within the blink of an eye and can be removed in a few seconds. The blade even has a clutch, should the blade ever get stuck the throwback is absorbed by the machine!

I think I should probably stop there as I'm beginning to sound like I work for Festool :roll:

...did I say that I like it?

 

[ByronBlack]

If you have to complain about the cost of the festool, then you can't afford to buy the festool.

Not my words! Just a phrase someone said to me. However, I ponied up the cash and now use my festool inplace of my tablesaw, my mitre saw, and its way better than the hitachi - I had one, and it's not a patch on the festool.

The price is not just for a saw, but a buy-in to a system that works perfectly together, the rails, clamps, tables, other tools etc..

It's like anything in life, the best things cost the most money (in 90% of the situations)

If you want an Aston Martin - you pay the monies! Is it 10x better than a ford? No - of course not, but is it 10x the car? Damn right it is!

 

[Anonymous]

Byron, your point is not well made about the cost. I could easily afford to buy one, as could many others, but I want value for money and a cheap B&Q saw cuts well enough for my furniture projects. I have tried the Festool saw a couple of times and it is noisy and feels 'rough' and industrial to me.

Whilst it may be part of a system, £400+ is a lot of money for a circular and guide rail :-k

Andy, a note of caution
We had a member a while back who made kitchens for a living. He sold his table saw and swore the only thing worth owning was a Festool TS55 saw and guide rail. It was fantastic and the only saw worth owning - he told everyone this whenever the subject of tablesaws or circular saws came up.
Well, pretty soon, he had worn it out and sent it off for repairs.

After using the second one for a while, he bought a new tablesaw..........

 

[Adam]

seems to me that most folk who own one think they are worth the money and those that don't, don't.

Bow down for the first person to notice this! Its actually true of nearly every product we discuss. Got a Tormek - its the best thing since sliced bread. Not got a Tormek - think its over priced and a waste of money. Ditto the Festool parts, ditto LN etc etc.

Adam

 

[Anonymous]

seems to me that most folk who own one think they are worth the money and those that don't, don't.

Bow down for the first person to notice this! Its actually true of nearly every product we discuss. Got a Tormek - its the best thing since sliced bread. Not got a Tormek - think its over priced and a waste of money. Ditto the Festool parts, ditto LN etc etc.

Adam

Spend £400 and you won't be telling everyone your new XYZ is a pile of junk eh? :lol: :lol:

 

[Adam]

Spend £400 and you won't be telling everyone your new XYZ is a pile of junk eh? :lol: :lol:

Exactly, if you own a product, can you review it fairly after you have already invested in it. To what extent does it bias you. Does it affect everyone to the same degree.... questions.....questions.....
Adam

 

[ByronBlack]

Byron, your point is not well made about the cost. I could easily afford to buy one, as could many others, but I want value for money and a cheap B&Q saw cuts well enough for my furniture projects. I have tried the Festool saw a couple of times and it is noisy and feels 'rough' and industrial to me.

Whilst it may be part of a system, £400+ is a lot of money for a circular and guide rail :-k

Andy, a note of caution
We had a member a while back who made kitchens for a living. He sold his table saw and swore the only thing worth owning was a Festool TS55 saw and guide rail. It was fantastic and the only saw worth owning - he told everyone this whenever the subject of tablesaws or circular saws came up.
Well, pretty soon, he had worn it out and sent it off for repairs.

After using the second one for a while, he bought a new tablesaw..........

TS55 + Guide Rail + 48 Tooth Blade = £379 NOT £400 + not sure where you get that from?

And since when is it a lot for a circular saw? How much does a good Tablesaw cost? How much does a Lamello biscuit jointer cost? It all depends on how much you value the features.

Not sure where you get 'rough and industrial' from either. It's the smoothest cutting circular saw i've tried, and the finish is way superior than the Hitachi I owned, so I would say it's good value for money, the finish is so good that I can often joint boards up straight from the saw.

At the end of the day there is no right or wrong answer to this debate, you either want to pay the money and be happy with your choice, or you don't and you have to be happy with the purchase that you feel represents value TO YOU - it's all subjective.

BUT quality does cost, simple as that.

 

[tim]

What I find so extraordinary about this (lets be honest) oft repeated debate is the vehement way that some non owners say don't buy one. Surely its all about personal choice - I couldn't give a monkey's who buys what tool - that's up to them.

can you review it fairly after you have already invested in it

Good question - I think I can. If I didn't think it was worth the money I would have got rid of it.

It gives a fantastically clean and smooth cut and is best at preparing sheet stock using the rail system -its depth of cut is a little shallow to be really useful for a lot of thick stock prep. When mine goes to its maker I will replace it with the 75.

I would never say that it replaces my tablesaw but it makes breaking down large heavy sheets much easier than trying to move them over a tablesaw especially if you work on your own. However my tablesaw isn't portable and the 55 system is and is less expensive and more versatile than a lot of the good portable tablesawss.

The dust extraction is excellent - a real benefit when working in customers' homes.

I agree that it does sound rough but once you realise that its the way the gearing mechanism is supposed to sound and doesn't in any way affect the high quality cut then it seems a red herring.

Is it noisy - probably but I always wear ear defenders when using powertools anyway so that doesn't bother me.

Is it worth the money - thats again down to personal perspective. I make my living woodworking and I am happy that it helps me work faster and more accurately than other circular saws I've used - therefore to me it is. If you do woodwork for a hobby then you may well have a totally different set of criteria to judge by.

Hope that helps Andy.

Cheers

Tim

 

[Neil]

What I find so extraordinary about this (lets be honest) oft repeated debate is the vehement way that some non owners say don't buy one. Surely its all about personal choice - I couldn't give a monkey's who buys what tool - that's up to them.

I couldn't agree more, Tim - well said =D>

Cheers,
Neil