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Festool

Windows

Windows

Old Oak
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If one were interested in purchasing Festool equipment, what useful tips would one need to know? For example, how frequently do they introduce new models? What time of year are new models introduced? Do they have sales? Are there particular retailers that provide good deals? Is it worth buying multiple items at once or is it better to create multiple purchases? Are there exchange rate savings to be had by purchasing from a continental retailer? Are there particular models that are known to be less reliable? How do people feel about their battery tools vs wired power?

I’m interested in router, saw, dust extraction and to a lesser extent oscillating multi tool, so if anyone has any comments on those specifically, that’d be great.
 
I can't answer your specific questions, but I recently needed a new drill and Googled a lot, finding a good deal for what I was after which was significantly cheaper than everywhere else. Initially this made me a little nervous but Googled a lot and found reviews and feedback so went with it and it was all fine.
 
There are only very rarely discounts available.

Festool kit sells very well on used market so the cost of ownership tends to be low if you eventually dispose of tools.

My in laws live in Germany and Son in Nederland. It's not cheaper to buy there any more.

Service back up is good.

IMO the oscillating multi tool is the best on the market. Ive had Fein (2 failed), Makita (awful), De Walt and Festool and the latter is much the best: low vibration, quiet, powerful and very controllable at low speed. The jigs are useful.

I like my big Festool trade vac, but it is said that most vacs are made by the same form and rebranded. Get the smooth hose, not ribbed.

I think the drills are excellent, but spendy.

I decided against the Kapex sliding mitre saw as the 12" Bosch had better capacity for me. Each has pros and cons: Festool has better extraction (still not great) and better handling. (Used one quite a bit. If you are left handed the Festool is miles better.)

Prefer Mafell track saw to Festool. Much of a muchness though.

Never had a Festool router.
 
I tend to use in no particular order

https://www.kelvinpowertools.com/festoo ... tools-b-21

https://www.powertool-supplies.co.uk/

https://ffx.co.uk/Search/Refine/_B=Fest ... =Home+Page

FFX have their online show coming up in 11 odd days simply register & the deals are emailed you over the week, I used to go to their Maidstone show (sadly not happened since covid) & they had some good deals.

I’ve also bought from the D&M show but that’s not till October, if you’re buying a few things I find a show better as you’re dealing face to face usually with a rep & they tend to throw in stuff depending on how much you are spending.
Another idea if you’re buying a few tools is to email your list to a few suppliers & ask for their best price, if you’re spending a few grand then they may well come down a little on their prices.

They’ve just updated their track saw, the 1010 router has been updated a while ago as I believe were the extractors. I can’t comment on the multi tool though it’s fairly new & I believe it’s made by Fein but like a jigsaw I think of it as a roughing tool so won’t spend a lot on one.

I really like their cordless drills but that in part is down to their centrotec bits system which is excellent as is their drywall screw gun.
I’ve never had a problem with their batteries but only use them on the four drills & radio I have every thing else is 240v but then again most of my gear is over 10 years old. HTH
 
FFx were very good and offered a good price when I bought the wee Kapex saw a few years back. I guess it is a matter of searching and waiting for the offers.
 
Yep, the Festool Ventura is made my Fein. However, it's made to an industrial standard and is built like a tank. Doug is right though that they are never precision tools. The Festool comes closest because the speed control and low vibration is great. Contrast the DeWalt - cordless and the speed is controlled by trigger pressure. This seems like a nice idea until you actually use it and want to run consistently at low speed in a tight spot. Near impossible. Festool is a rotary dial and it just does what it's told.
 
You won't go far wrong with any of the Festool kit, extractors, saws and routers are all things they do well.

Regarding special offers, they sometimes have a promotion on cordless tools where you can claim a free battery but that's about it.

Festool don't introduce new models as often as the bigger manufacturers, some of my Festools are 15+years old and you can still buy the same model today.

According to the FOG (Festool Owners Group) new tools to expect soon are a couple of cordless drills, a reciprocating saw and a track saw incorporating a scoring blade.
 
Thanks everyone. That’s really helpful, useful info. It doesn’t sound like there’s rumours of a battery powered Festool router in the near future then?
 
FOG has no rumours of a battery router that I have seen.

Interesting that they are finally putting a scoring feature on the track saw. This is one of the best features of the Mafell. I know Peter...(cant think of his surname) had trouble with about 0.2mm offset on his, but mine has been dead on. Really useful when cross cutting baltic birch ply or any kind of laminate. Zero chip out.
 
AJB Temple":31il3hu0 said:
I like my big Festool trade vac, but it is said that most vacs are made by the same form and rebranded.
Click to expand...

I would not be surprised by this. When I bought my shop vac there were several other brands that had almost exactly the same casing but in different colours. I went for the Nilfisk. Nilfisk have been around since 1906 and I suspect they make shop vacs for many other companies. Their own branded stuff is normally less expensive though.
 
That's the one. When I bought my Mirka Deros set up, the shop had Mirka branded vacs, but the tool supply bloke there who is a decent chap said that it was made by Nilfisk. Ended up buying a barely used second hand Festool trade one from eBay, that has been brilliant. Has a Hepa filter and large capacity, which is good. Lots of suction so I usually hook it up to the Bosch chop saw when I use that, as sliding compound mitre saws do create lots of airborne dust.
 
I have a couple of the cheap plasticky Nilfisk shop vacs. They’re really noisy. Are the Festool vacuums likely to be noisy like that? I’d be disappointed to pay Festool prices for that level of noise.
 
Windows":1jhzlb1k said:
I have a couple of the cheap plasticky Nilfisk shop vacs. They’re really noisy. Are the Festool vacuums likely to be noisy like that? I’d be disappointed to pay Festool prices for that level of noise.
Click to expand...

Which model have you got? I have a Nilfisk Alta Aero 26 and it’s not loud as at all. You can easily check the sound output, most manufacturers list it in the specifications. I bought my Aero 26 from Screwfix when it was on special offer and it had rave reviews at the time. The quietest shop Vacs I’ve heard are the CamVacs but they were fitted with “silencer” boxes on the output hose. You can also just poke the output hose out of the door! :lol:
 
I’ve got Nilfisk Buddy II 18 wet and dry vacs. The price was right at the time, but if I end up using these more frequently, I’ll have to do something about the noise.
 
I wouldn't say mine is noisy. But it usually has a tool plugged in and the tool starts and stops the vac. Generally the tool is noisier than the vac.
 
AJB Temple":3uty399w said:
I wouldn't say mine is noisy. But it usually has a tool plugged in and the tool starts and stops the vac. Generally the tool is noisier than the vac.
Click to expand...

Same with mine (Nilfisk Aero). I'm usually wearing ear defenders because of the tool noise. The vacuum noise doesn't seem bad at all to me.
 
I’ve got the Nilfisk Attix 33 which is not as quiet as my large chip extractor, but it isn’t massively loud either. With the power take off and ear defenders for the tool attached it doesn’t bother me at all. If just vacuuming up the garage it’s okay with out ear defenders, but not really quiet. It’s only 60db.
 
I see that the home & garden Nilfisk vacs like the Buddy II are 74, whereas in the pro range, the Aero 26 is 64, and the attix and others are 60, so much, much quieter than my vacs. I should have done more (some) research when I got them, but I was in a bit of a rush. Good to know that almost anything is going to be quieter though!
 
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