In With the New, Out With the Old

[Waka]

This is not a GLOAT, I've not yet done the GLOATING 101 that takes place in Poole Dorset.

I know that there has been previous threads on Festool, but I'd like to add my three penith.

I recently bought the Festool plunge saw, guide rail and the CT mini vac and I have to say that I'm so impressed with the performance of both pieces of kit.

I never realised that I could get such accurate cuts on sheet material, lets just say that accuracy with my old Black & Decker, no matter what type of guide I used was not something that this saw understood.

The chip/dust collection is also extremely robust enough to handle the hand tools, I can also rig this up to my Mikita Compound Mitre Saw and PC Biscuit Jointer, thereby reducing the amount of sawdust for HID's to sweep up.

Overall impressions are, if you think you can't afford this then save that little bit longer and I know that you won't be disappointed.

 

[Philly]

Sounds good Waka!
(And don't worry about the beginners gloating course-you can start on the advanced one, as you obviously have the basics down! :lol: :lol: )
Cheers
Philly

 

[johnelliott]

Overall impressions are, if you think you can't afford this then save that little bit longer and I know that you won't be disappointed.

Absolutely correct. Take advantage of the fact that in woodworking normal people CAN afford the best. (Try that with photography, motoring, holidays, clothes, the list goes on and on)

John

 

[Aragorn]

"Not a gloat" (Snigger) 'Course not! :wink:
Glad you like the setup. Brilliant isn't it!
The only niggle I have is that the D/E hose always gets caught up on everything because it is so ribbed. Might not help much that I'm left-handed too, so I'm probably on the other side of the saw to most people.
Anyone else find this problem?

 

[Neil]

Hi Waka,

I bought the plunge saw recently too, and I agree completely with your glowing report! As Chris (Waterhead) said in his review, it really is a miracle. The quality of cut is unbelievable, and the ease of use is amazing. I only have a yucky shop vac at the moment, but even with this almost all of the dust is extracted.

I was doing some angled cuts the other night - 45 and 22.5 degrees - and the fact that I could still just line up the edge of the guide rail with the line of the cut made me very glad I chose the Festool rather than the Mafell.

I've also done some fairly dodgy cuts on short solid timber, and I've been amazed how well the rubber strip on the guide rail grips the work.

I was considering the CT Mini, but I'm just a bit put off by the size of the bags (7.5L I believe) - have you found that you are going through them at a great rate?

The only niggle I have is that the D/E hose always gets caught up on everything because it is so ribbed. Might not help much that I'm left-handed too, so I'm probably on the other side of the saw to most people.
Anyone else find this problem?

Aragorn, I have this problem with the hose on my shop vac - have you considered getting the little plastic guide to go on the end of the guide rail? I'm going to try making one when I get a tuit.

Neil

 

[Waka]

The only niggle I have is that the D/E hose always gets caught up on everything because it is so ribbed. Might not help much that I'm left-handed too, so I'm probably on the other side of the saw to most people.
Anyone else find this problem?

Aragorn

You are correct the hose does get caught up on the work, I'm also left handed. I haven't figured how I can modify that yet, if you come up with a decent solution maybe you can post it.

Neil Wrote

I was considering the CT Mini, but I'm just a bit put off by the size of the bags (7.5L I believe) - have you found that you are going through them at a great rate?

I haven't yet filed up my first bag yet, I have cut three 8x4 sheets and a fair bit of hardwood. The capacity is 7 litres. The next size up is 33 litres which I did consider but its nearly twice the price and its not as if I'm using the vac continuously as it's only for hand tools.

I'm not to sure but I think if you are carefull it may be possible to use the same bag more than once. I'll get a better feel for the amount of use per bag as I use the machine.

I think one of the things that I am most impressed with is the quiteness of the machines when running, I had an old one a whaile ago and you certainly needed ear protection when this was on.

Let us know Neil if you come up with anything that will help with the hose snagging problem/irretation.

 

[johnelliott]

does anyone have those squeezy type guide rail clamps? I've been thinking of getting some, as long as they work OK, should be quicker than the screw type?
John

 

[CYC]

The CT11 is 14L capacity and would not be double the price from the Mini. I had the pleasure to see it in the flesh and it's very nice.

"One day, she'll be mine, one day..."



The accessory Neil is talking about is this:
http://festool.co.uk/cat_mediando/image ... _z3f_1.jpg
catalogue number 489022

 

[Jake]

Oh I think the larger extractors are quite cheap, if you look in the right places.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... RK:MEWN:IT

Oh damn, I always said I would resist this gloating lark.

Jake

 

[Neil]

Thats the one I was thinking of - thanks, CYC

Shouldn't be too hard to knock up something similar...

John, I almost got the squeezy-clamps instead of the screw-type ones - they look good I think, especially for you as you're working with so much sheet material. About the same price as a pair of screw clamps too IIRC. I decided against them in the end as I also wanted to be able to clamp to boards, for taking off waney edges etc.

Neil

 

[Waka]

The CT11 is 14L capacity and would not be double the price from the Mini. I had the pleasure to see it in the flesh and it's very nice.

"One day, she'll be mine, one day

CYC

When I said Double the price I was quoting the 33 litre, my ignorance I didn't know that they did a 14 litre, I haven't seen that one on either Axminster or Rutlands web.

 

[Jake]

They do the Mini (c£200), CT11 (c£250), CT22(c£300), CT33, CT44 and CT55

 

[CYC]

One for all budgets and needs, Festool thinks of everything :wink: :wink: :wink: hahahaha

 

[Alf]

One for all budgets

Hmm, not sure I quite agree with that one... :roll:

Cheers, Alf

 

[Aragorn]

Indeed!
Didn't think I'd see "One for all budgets" and "Festool" in the same sentence :wink: