Replies

1. 
   CRAIGCONEY_M | Dec 07, 2004 09:35pm | #1

   Does the festool website have any info on Canadian dealers? 

2. 
   MatthewSchenker | Dec 08, 2004 12:26am | #2

   Scott,
   I suggest you come on over to the Festool Owners Group on Yahoo. If you are getting into buying Festool tools, this is a good place to get a lot of answers. It's been around about three months, and growinf fast.

   Here's the link to join:
   http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FestoolOwnersGroup/

3. 
   Andrew | Dec 08, 2004 01:09am | #3

   I was debating buying the festool saw a while back, but decided to build my own jig instead. With a high quality blade and a well built guide, I couldn't justify spending almost $1000 canadian on a circular saw. The cuts were straight and smooth enough for a glue joint.

   Unless you just plain want the saw, and have the extra $$$ laying around, I can't see the festool saw being worth it. Sure it's a very nice saw, but it would have to be around $ 400- 500 for me to consider it a worthwhile investment, as other high quality "conventional" circular saws cost around $200.

    

   BTW great tip in the latest FWW. I've started to build one for my own shop. Do you leave the glue in yours, or clean it out every time you've finished with it? I'm going to design some custom nozzles for my one too.

   Andrew

1. 
   MatthewSchenker | Dec 08, 2004 03:45am | #4

   Andrew,
   The Festool saws with guide rails are really more like panel saws, and they are not really like most circular saws. They also have no measurable runout, and they have amazing dust collection. With the Festool saws, hooked up to a vacuum, you get about 95% dust collection. Also, the Festool guides make perfect cuts very easily. But yes, there is a difference of about $250 when compared to a lot of circular saws.

2. 
   tatlin | Dec 08, 2004 05:09am | #5

   I learned a trick from our contractor, being a newbie earning sweat equity. He cuts his kitchen cabinet face-frames out of 3/4" Baltic Birch ply. You use most of the cut-outs reinforcing the carcus. Anyways, the Festool is a plunge circular saw, instead of a pendulum circular saw. You can get near seamless cuts with the festool plunging into any part of a solid piece of sheet goods, in either direction, with absolute accuracy using their guides. I rip rough boards to get one true edge, using the combination of the two, & the accessory clamps, which fit into the underside of the guide in a track. Its variable speed. I've had mine two years now & use it instead of my Delta table saw half the time. You get dead square crosscuts using the guide as well. Its an ingenius design that works to a T. Just my two-cents.

3. 
   SCFrankland | Dec 08, 2004 02:56pm | #6

   Thanks to everyone for the feedback I have some money to burn so I think I may have to look a little closer at the saw. I will check out the Yahoo group on my next days off.Andrew as for my air power glue applicator I leave the glue in it all the time. I do how every let the pressure out between uses though. The tip needs to be cleaned after each use or the glue sets inside the tip and makes it a little harder to clean the next time you use it. I usually wrap mine in electrical tape after each use and have yet to have a problem with the tip. As I forgot to mention in the article you need to use pipe that can withstand a few psi. I have attached a picture of my test applicator. The new one I am build is made of stainless steel.Scott C. Frankland

   Scott's WOODWORKING Website"He who has the most tools may not win the race of life but he will sure make his wife look like a good catch when she goes to move on."