On Feb 22, 12:13*am, r payne wrote:
Leon wrote:
"r payne" wrote in message
...
My point, if I have one, is once you go beyond some price for a given
thing you
are no longer paying for an increase in quality. *As a carpenter I've used
Bosch, Makita, DeWalt, Ryobi, Rigid, Craftsman, Porter Cable and others.
Some
are better than others and in general the better once cost some more. *But
from
what I've seen there is not enough improvement in Festool to justify
costing so
much more than what else is out there. *That is why I asked for opinions
from
those who have used them.

Well the Festool line of tools are not what I could consider "carpenter
tools". *Carpenters generally don't require the precision unless they are
getting into built in cabinets. *With the Festool line one could get closer
to furniture grade wood working and maybe with out the need or a TS or RAS.
The way you are speaking it seems that you have not actually used a Festool
tool. *For the most part Festool is not so much the single tool as much as
it is a system that permits sawing, sanding, or routing inside someone's
home. *In addition to the perceived limited increase in quality that you
mention the tools tend to out perform as well.

I thought I said I had not used them. *And I have done built in cabinets and
worked on million dollar houses. *In my experience a top quality blade and good
straight edge makes more difference than brand of tool if there is a minimum
level of quality. *Bosch, Rigid, Makita, Porter Cable and DeWalt generally meet
that minimum quality. *Older Craftsman do as well. *The rest is the skill of the
user and I don't see any improvement short of a panel saw that will compensate
for that.

I'm not trying to run down Festool even if it may seem that way, I'm just trying
to understand the expense of the tool, is there that much bang for the buck?

ron

The quality increase, relative to dollars spent, seems to be
exponential.
Is a Festool worth the money? Absolutely.
It all has to do with what a tool is worth to you. If you have the
damn thing in your hands all day, and you want consistent and reliable
results, what is an extra couple of hundred dollars over the life-time
of the tool?

Having said that (Strunk & White roll over in their graves every time
somebody say that, btw) I don't believe that ALL Festool tools are
worth their premium. The Bosch jigsaw comes to mind, so do misc.
cordless drills/drivers. Nice, but too rich for my blood.
Plunge saws and sanders, and even that # 2000 router, well, there
simply isn't anything that compares.