# Festool drills



## mattsk8 (Dec 6, 2009)

The first time I saw the TS-55 saw I thought, who in their right mind would pay $500+ for a frigging skill saw? As soon as I saw what it did I bought one :thumbsup:! Then the RO90. I still haven't picked up the CT26, I actually bought it w/ the RO90 and returned it cuz the wife freaked. I have a nice Dayton dust collector in my shop and I use either my Rigid shop vac or I'll borrow my neighbor's dust collector when I'm working at someone's house. Neighbor's got a smaller one that's supposed to be hospital certified according to him. No idea what kind it is, but it's blue plastic if that helps! Returning the CT26 was one of the hardest things I've done in a while :sad:. Those things are soooo quiet and work sooooo well. Someday....

As far as the wallet goes, I have a Columbia wallet I paid $15 for at an outlet mall 2 years ago and still holds the dust just fine :jester:


----------



## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

I have 4 brand new wallets on the dresser.

I will keep nursing my 10 year old, $20.00 wallet along.

I keep most of my important things is a sys1 anyways.:laughing:


----------



## RS Sam (Feb 9, 2009)

Festool has changed the way I work - all for the better. It is not a luxury or an overindulgence to own smartly designed, time and work saving tools. I have had to take a deep breath when I push the complete order button or sign the check but that pain is soon forgotten when the merit of the tool is so solidly proven. 
If you don't know you really just don't know. :no: 

I bought a new wallet Thanksgiving 2010 to replace the last one I bought in 1989 . I ain't cheap but I am frugal :thumbsup:.

_Oh, and I don't own one of their drills or the RO90, or the Kapex yet, but in time..._


----------



## detroit687 (Sep 4, 2008)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> I could have those 4 doors done in under 20 minutes and not have to work very hard. No real mess to clean up either.


They are cool but not necessary. Range rovers are cool SUVs but I don't need one.


----------



## detroit687 (Sep 4, 2008)

I saw a wallet in sky mall that was stainless steel woven fibers looked cool but I didn't buy it. Too expensive


----------



## Brian Peters (Feb 2, 2011)

OK so how did we get from Festool drills to stainless steel wallets????


----------



## The Coastal Craftsman (Jun 29, 2009)

detroit687 said:


> They are cool but not necessary. Range rovers are cool SUVs but I don't need one.


They ain't really that cool though. They look cool but We had our sport for 6 months and traded in for a merc. Ain't sod all room inside them for one, they riddled with problems and it's in the dealer more than on the road and they ain't cheap at around 75k. Your money really is better spent on a real suv and that's one thing the US know how to build is trucks and suv's

Festool are like the Audi of the tool world. Not the most exspensive and not the cheapest but put out a quality product at a an fair price.


----------



## OilfieldCowboy (Jan 14, 2011)

RS Sam said:


> If you don't know you really just don't know. :no:


This thread just proves the old saying “For those who know, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t, no explanation is possible.”


----------



## clancrawford55 (Nov 20, 2011)

BCConstruction said:


> They ain't really that cool though. They look cool but We had our sport for 6 months and traded in for a merc. Ain't sod all room inside them for one, they riddled with problems and it's in the dealer more than on the road and they ain't cheap at around 75k. Your money really is better spent on a real suv and that's one thing the US know how to build is trucks and suv's
> 
> Festool are like the Audi of the tool world. Not the most exspensive and not the cheapest but put out a quality product at a an fair price.


Range Rover, Festool, designer wallets, is carpentry your hobby when you are not embezzling hedge funds or it there something seriously flawed with our business? 
Audi is just an over priced VW that is half as reliable & twice as costly to fix. Its electronics make Lucas look good!!


----------



## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

OilfieldCowboy said:


> This thread just proves the old saying “For those who know, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t, no explanation is possible.”


I am one that can see the benefit of nice tools. I have been ridiculed on other threads for putting down tools like Ryobi. That being said, it is a foolish thing to assign anyone to a category based on your opinion. Just because someone does not agree with your opinion does not mean they don't understand.

A saying like that is an easy way to right off someone with a difference of opinion. Everyone's perspective is different. I know that my grandfather was a frugal man. He grew up during the depression. Hell when his family moved to Texas from Oklahoma when he was a small kid they did so in a covered wagon. He was a machinist by trade and a carpenter by hobby, but I would hardly call him a hobbiest. He would have never spent the money that Festool asks for their tools. It would have never made sense to spend his money in that manner, even if he was in the trades. His perspective was from a long life of using everything and saving as much as you could. Does that mean he wouldn't understand the value of an expensive, well designed precision tool? No, just that the value didn't match the price tag.

Like it has been said, try it out and see for yourself. If you don't see the value, it doesn't mean you don't understand or can't have it explained.


----------



## Mike- (Aug 20, 2011)

TNTSERVICES said:


> I am one that can see the benefit of nice tools. I have been ridiculed on other threads for putting down tools like Ryobi. That being said, it is a foolish thing to assign anyone to a category based on your opinion. Just because someone does not agree with your opinion does not mean they don't understand.
> 
> A saying like that is an easy way to right off someone with a difference of opinion. Everyone's perspective is different. I know that my grandfather was a frugal man. He grew up during the depression. Hell when his family moved to Texas from Oklahoma when he was a small kid they did so in a covered wagon. He was a machinist by trade and a carpenter by hobby, but I would hardly call him a hobbiest. He would have never spent the money that Festool asks for their tools. It would have never made sense to spend his money in that manner, even if he was in the trades. His perspective was from a long life of using everything and saving as much as you could. Does that mean he wouldn't understand the value of an expensive, well designed precision tool? No, just that the value didn't match the price tag.
> 
> Like it has been said, try it out and see for yourself. If you don't see the value, it doesn't mean you don't understand or can't have it explained.


Well said.


----------



## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

It is funny, no matter what, it always comes down to the price.

I think we make our living with tools here don't we?

I have 4 or 5 of my Grandpa's old power tools and I am pretty sure no one will be passing down any of the big brand power tools to their children and grand children.

There is something to be said about a power tool that is heirloom quality.


----------



## clancrawford55 (Nov 20, 2011)

I will spend the $ where it counts, on quality precision tools like miter saw, hand plane, router, these are tools that need to be of better quality to produce the best quality work. I undestand the want of a smooth drill but it is far from necessay as a Hitachi will drill the same hole as a Festool, a Ryobi SCMS will not however make the same cut as a Kapex.


----------



## TNTRenovate (Aug 19, 2010)

WarnerConstInc. said:


> It is funny, no matter what, it always comes down to the price.
> 
> I think we make our living with tools here don't we?
> 
> ...


But the tools that I have passed down to me, such as my grandfather's old B&D drill, didn't cost buku bucks. The companies back then made tools to last and that people could afford to buy.


----------



## moorewarner (May 29, 2009)

I suspect part of the issue on these "are Festool worth it threads" is that some folks don't seem able to consider that Festool is better than the Bosch/Porter/Milwauki/Dewault that they are runnin' rather than folks simply choosing to go with a lower quality tool.

I find it ironic that folks that say the cost of Festool doesn't provide enough value to price probably aren't running ryobi/BnD/etc for the same rational. I know some are and some love HF.

I also find it ironic that so many that complain about the trades being torn down on price are hell bent on doing the same to the tool manufacturing trade, and justify it cause they need a deal or shouldn't have to spend twice as much to get the same thing. Doesn't that sound familiar.

"How dare a ho try and low ball me", "I need enough to make a living", "freakin' illegals/hacks are destroying the trades", etc. "Hey I need great tools at a cheap price." "why does everything get manufactured in China/India/Mexico?" "Why don't tools last anymore?"

Here is why Festool (like you) is *worth* the money. They produce a kick ass tool (like many tradesmen that produce great work). They cover all the little details to make an incredible system packed with actual useful features that most tradesmen hadn't even considered (like the tradesmen that sweat all the little details to make their work correct/long lasting even though the Ho won't see them or understand why ). Their stuff is made to last (like the work of actual tradesmen that take pride in their end product). They produce in a country that actually pays the ones producing a liveable wage that you can raise a family and make a life on (just like what the tradesmen using tools want for themselves as the fruit of their labor).

If you are in the trades for the long haul you should at least *understand* "why Festool" even if you don't choose it.

Festool is tools made for craftsmen *by craftsmen*.


----------



## moorewarner (May 29, 2009)

TNTSERVICES said:


> But the tools that I have passed down to me, such as my grandfather's old B&D drill, didn't cost buku bucks. The companies back then made tools to last and that people could afford to buy.


Do you *actually know* what that BnD cost your Gpappy, in the price of the time, relative to what the average income was in those day, or are you just saying/assuming that? This is an honest question.


----------



## WarnerConstInc. (Jan 30, 2008)

I know that my 24" planer cost 3200.00 in 1943. That is around 42k today.


----------



## RS Sam (Feb 9, 2009)

OilfieldCowboy said:


> This thread just proves the old saying “For those who know, no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t, no explanation is possible.”





RS Sam said:


> Festool has changed the way I work - all for the better. It is not a luxury or an overindulgence to own smartly designed, time and work saving tools. I have had to take a deep breath when I push the complete order button or sign the check but that pain is soon forgotten when the merit of the tool is so solidly proven.
> If you don't know you really just don't know. :no:


Just to take some of the sting out for those who suggest that I was passing judgement, my comment - in green - was directed at those who don't own any Festool and/or have never even tried one or two but readily write how they are overpriced or overrated. In that context I make no apology for my statement. I reiterate that I have made my own decisions in regards to replacing all my tools with Festool. I haven't! My chop saws are a 7-1/2" Makita and a 14" Hitachi. The Makita in particular is a perfect tool for my needs. I will seriously look at the Kapex if & when my Makita craps out but that could be never. I'm sure I am missing some pretty cool features but they are not enough to prompt me to spend that kind of money. Likewise I own 2 perfectly solid and dependable drill drivers and an impact drill. 2 Panasonics and a Metabo. The Panasonics work & work. They are certainly as good as I need. The Metabo has some of the multiple chuck features of the Festool but I'm sure the Festool would smoke my little Metabo. Nonetheless I am in no need of replacing these just yet. When the time comes - _maybe_ I'll "upgrade" to Festool. 

My point is/was that to my surprise and satisfaction when I have chosen to spend the "extra money" for the Festool the cost has always proven itself secondary to the value added of using such a tool. Until you have really given them a chance you will invariably not get the enthusiasm that I and others express on the topic. I don't care what you all use for tools. I am certainly interested, however, in what you prefer and why as your opinions add to my knowledge and expectations and my ability to make good decisions on my next tool purchase. So I share with you to - no judgement intended :no:.


----------



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

> But the tools that I have passed down to me, such as my grandfather's old B&D drill, didn't cost buku bucks. The companies back then made tools to last and that people could afford to buy.


Not at all, they made tools that lasted that cost a fortune in relative terms.


----------



## Inner10 (Mar 12, 2009)

Here's an interesting example:

According to this article:

http://www.asktooltalk.com/articles/toolhistory/divide.php



> What is also amazing is that the price for a Model 77 has not changed much. A unit in 1941 cost $105; today, the saw is about $130.


I can't find the Average Wage for 1941 but for 1951 it was $2799.16

In 2010 it was $41,673.83

So assuming the price was still 105 in 1951 that's about 3.75% of yearly income.

In 2010 it would be 0.312% of yearly income.

Although this is an extremely isolated example which ignores any other elements I'd think that the relative price of tools has dropped.


----------

