A Slippery Slope from WoodCentral
Over at WoodCentral, they also had a few choice things to say about the company, starting with their sanders. – Editor
"Try a Festool sander, and there's no turning back. You've started down the slippery slope." – Jesse
"I wish a sander was a sander and a saw was a saw. I would've spent much less on my shop over the years. Compared to [the other] sander I have , the Festool sander is much smoother running and quieter. The [other sander] makes my fingers numb and eventually hurts my wrist that already has problems from repetitive stress. I can run the Festool all day without a problem. Hooked to a shop vac, the sander was pretty good with [dust collection], but the Festool is better. Just being able to run it all day without buzzing hands, earplugs, or dust masks makes it worth the money for me." – Jay
"What Jay said, plus a couple of other things I really like: there is no static electricity (anti-static hose) like on a shop vac, so no shocks whenever you touch the vac; the paper is great - doesn't load, extra holes improve dc; both the sander and the vac have speed control; some of the sanders have dual mode as very aggressive orbit or gentle orbit; the vac comes on automatically when I turn on the sander and stays on 10 seconds after the sander is off to get those last few bits of dust, the vac has bags that seal easily so you are not emptying the vac into a trash can and making a cloud of dust, and if you use the saw, too, everything is already there and set up. Just swap the electric plug and the hose." – Jesse
It's not just sanders they like. Comments about other Festool offerings also showed up on this thread. – Editor
"I've heard lots of good comments about the sander, but I have my eye on the 12v C12 drill/driver. With the offset drive head additions it looks like something I would love using in the shop. I recently purchased a Festool TS 55 circular saw with guide rail to cut sheet goods. So far, I have been very pleased with both the performance of the saw and with the accurate cutting I can do with it. I have a small shop and no room for a slider. This has been a good alternative for me." – Tom
"The Festool TS55 is great for cutting sheet goods. I bought mine thinking I would use it to break down the sheets into manageable pieces and then do the finish cuts on the table saw, but it's so accurate, I have no need for the table saw. And with Festool dust collection, I can break down half a dozen sheets and have maybe a tablespoon of dust on the floor!" – Jesse