Jack wrote:
On 9/24/2015 10:58 AM, Bill wrote:

I know one person from the Internet, who, curious about woodworking,
went to a woodworking store in GA and spent about $500 (more or less) on
a Festool jigsaw, as a "first tool". It was clear that the salesman sold
him on its quality. Two months later, his interest was gone. I'm not
asserting anything, it's just a story. If I didn't already have a
decent jigsaw, I might inquire about it! ; )

That story certainly doesn't assert Festools are not quality tools.
As I said above, it didn't intend to assert anything! : )

It could be an example of people with no skills thinking they can
magically gain skills by buying the most expensive tools they can find.
I consider the store at fault for not helping him understand "what he
really needed" (a few decent books?) I think it's a shame that he
could have got off to a better start at any big block store compared to
any woodworking store that I can think of. $500 would go quite a long
way at Home Depot. $15 on a hand saw, done. Bag of hand clamps, $20, done.
When I was a beginner (I surely still am), I went into Rockler or
Woodcraft and explained that I needed twelve 4' clamps, and they showed
me that they would be $67 a piece, nothing else, no other ideas. I
confessed that was a deal-breaker. More obvious to me later, there are
alternatives.

Bill

They usually loose interest after they learn there is a bit more to
it than buying good tools.