Can a Festool saw & table replace a TS?
epearso
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
…so I was chatting with the guys at my local woodworking store, and they asked what was at the top of my shop wish list. I said I’d like to get one of the new Steel City tablesaws. They asked me if I had considered getting a Festool saw, guide-rail and table, and mentioned it’d be cheaper and that it could do everything a true TS could do, except dadoes. Use a router for that, they said.
It’s an intriguing solution I hadn’t thought of, as my shop is small, 10×18. So what do you esteemed Knotheads think?
thanks–Erik
Replies
Eric,
I can almost guarantee that if you go to Advanced Search and enter festool, you'll find your answer. If that horse hasn't been beaten to death by now there will never be one.
Meant in a positive sense.
Regards,
Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
I've given lectures on this. If I had to do it again, I would have the Festool saw (actually I do), with all the guide accessories. The money you would have then spent After Festool, it's not really a lot left) should go to a great bandsaw, like a MiniMax. And no tablesaw. I say this, even though I have a 12" Felder shaper/saw.
Thanks Bob and Daryl. For some reason I get no results in the advanced search when I enter Festool as the criteria and run the search wide open (all dates, all forums, all folders). Any suggestions?
erik
I just tried 'festool' in advanced search--198 hits. Took a few seconds to get the results in the left pane. I can't contribute to your original post, but it could break the proverbial 300 post barrier, with at least 3 to 4 ejections and penalty boxes galore. You'll probably need Cafe access before it's over.
Good luck on your decision. Enjoy whatever you buy!
;>)
Edited 8/15/2007 10:20 am ET by BobMc
I think it depends on what you do. There are a lot of advantages to a table saw. Making accurate repetitive cuts without repositioning, particularly on small material, using miter sleds, tennoning jigs, as well as angled and compound cuts. The Festool is a very nice set up but I find it more useful for sizing up sheet goods than ripping a 1/16" off a small molding. Routers can do a lot with dadoes and joinery but they are messy and kind of slow in some uses. They also require jigs and fixtures for some work that you can do on a saw. Being able to shim dado sets for odd sizes is more convenient than multiple passes with a router. If you don't have a miter saw, mitering something like beading around drawer fronts is a task. You can handle something like a 1" x 2" x 6" on a table saw but it's difficult with a circular saw. Setting up a work table, hauling the saw with a dust collector hose and extension cord takes quite a bit of room. If you take it apart each time that adds a lot of work to your day. If you are creative enough and don't mind making/buying special jigs you can probably do many things with the Festool but I'd get a table saw first.
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
I agree with Hammer1, if you are simply cutting wood to size, maybe. But my table saw is a joinery machine -- miters, rabbets, tenons, grooves, bevel cuts, large pieces, small pieces, irregular moldings, wedges, tapers, even an occasional dovetail. And the repetitive advantage, "measure once, cut 20 identical pieces."
I have both -- the TS55 and a contractor-style table saw.
The Festool will never replace my table saw. Most of the time, it's much easier to run a piece through my table saw as long as I've got a nice straight edge to run along the fence and the workpiece isn't too big. My tablesaw has a nice, long outfeed support table so long rips are a breeze.
For 4x8 sheets of plywood or MDF, you can't beat the Festool. Technically, I "can" make finish cuts with the Festool, but usually end up breaking the sheet down into managable pieces and then make the remaining cuts with my tablesaw. It's just faster for me to do it that way. With the tablesaw -- I set my fence and can make several "repeat" cuts very quickly. I can't do that easily with the Festool. I can also "joint" an edge with the Festool and then I've got a nice straight edge for running against my tablesaw fence. This is great when you've got a board without a single straight edge.
Dust control is much better with my Festool than with my tablesaw. But truth be told, I'm pretty lazy about hooking up the shop-vac to my tablesaw. Much easier to do with the Festool.
TP
Edited 8/14/2007 5:03 pm ET by Toolpig
I manage a school shop. And for a long time I did with what we had and thought Festool was too expensive for the product. Then I learned about their educational discount which really made it competitive with whats out there. We ordered a table and a plunge saw and a couple extra straight edges. Like everyone else said the system is accurate enough to do great work. But some setups can be tedious. And what it really is great for is cutting down big pieces into manageable chunks. I also found it to be good at miters or angled cuts that are too big for the miter guage or crosscut sled. The product is first rate quality and the engineering and design are superior to anything out there. The students haven't come back yet so the jury is still out on how it'll hold up to some degree of abuse.
I have the TS55 and guide, and a PM 66 tablesaw. I wouldn't give up either, and I use both almost daily.
You could complete almost any function with both, but there are many tasks in both furniture and cabinet making where one tool excells over the other.
I use my Festool for breaking down sheet goods. I use my tablesaw for hardwoods, repetetive cuts, and joinery.
Jeff
I admit,I do use my tablesaw for joinery (quick, but expensive tip-get a Forrest blade with a no. 1 grind, giving you a dead flat grind. You can then nibble lots of shoulders and dadoes without settup), but that can be done with a router table--which is much too useful to not have. The Festool also does a better job on veneer edges BTW. In an ideal world you have both--I do--but if it came to do one or the other, then I would go with the Festool, plus a router and table, and definitely a bandsaw. I would rather a bandsaw and router than the others in fact.
The Festool saw and a quality tablesaw are two completely different animals. They should not be compared. You might as well throw the bandsaw into your equation, it's different and extremely useful also. But this is all a moot point as yours is a "wish" list. So while you're wishing, ask for a larger shop.
Really it all depends on what you want to make, what you use for material, and how you want to work. Better to ask some very specific questions to help guide your wishing.
By the way: I've found the search function on this site works best when limitations are applied. For a hot topic like this, I'd limit the search to the past six months. You should get plenty of hits quickly.
The simple answer is NO. But, if that is all you have..... use it.
Pardon my spelling,
Mike
Make sure that your next project is beyond your skill and requires tools you don't have. You won't regret it.
Erik,
I can store a lot more things on a table saw than on a Festool.
Mel
Measure your output in smiles per board foot.
Erik:
Seems it all comes down to what you want. If you want the fancier table saw functions, you will need a table saw. However, for ripping and cutting, including miter cuts on the edge, and plunge cuts, looks like the Festool is a way to get there with far lower space demands. I am thinking of getting one for just that reason. I do other stuff with hand tools or the router, and as I am not a production shop by any means, the time difference is not especially meaningful.
Joe
Morning epearso...
I was considering taking an oath to avoid that "F" word that has stirred up so much "mumbo-jumbo" recently. But.. after ripping around 2000 linear feet of pecan over the last two week-ends, I'm going to violate that and give my thoughts on why I need a TS for time saved and efficiency.
I rip a lot of stock 6"-10" wide and a large amount with lengths 8' and over. I am sure that if I did mostly panels and didn't have room for a larger slider, I would consider the "F" or the "E" which both are well suited IMO. But.. I mostly work with solid wood and again.. much over 8' in length.
The occasional panel gets cut to size with a circular and a Tru-grip as measuring.. placing tick marks 5" from the line of cut.. tru-grip clamped and a pass with the circular is simple enough to get it to the TS.
The "F" and "E" both are nice and have thier place in the pecking order as I see it, but... neither fits in my shop to meet my needs as current. I need a Table Saw! :>)
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
Hey Sarge,
Your opinion means a lot based on your other postings, and I appreciate that. I also appreciate all the balanced feedback that I've gotten from everyone on this post. At this point I don't honestly know which way I'll go.
Erik
Morning epearso..
Thanks for the kind words.. Just give some thought to what you need now and may need in the future. I think most of us have already been where you are now and made the infamous statement, "I wish I had of gotten ......". :>)
I have a feeling this decision won't be the last time you consider pulling your hair out (for those that have not shed already) and is as much of a growing into the hobby as teens face discovering reality after the "Wonder Years" and reality slaps them smack in the face. ha.. ha...
Good luck with your decision...
Sarge..
While I have you on the horn, so to speak, Sarge,
When are the Steel City granite tops hitting the market? I can't seem to recall what the press release said.
Morning epearso...
From the mouth of Scott Box as we conversed in my shop.. "January" is the current target date they are shooting for if all falls into place as planned!
Regards...
Sarge.. john thompson
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