The long wait for the Festool sliding miter saw may actually be over. Distributors are taking pre-orders, and they expect the tools to arrive by early July. But some Toolmongers may still be a bit skeptical, and rightfully so — Festool first teased us with the KS 120 about a year ago, and since then we’ve only had a few pictures and wishful thinking to go on.
If you’re thinking of buying directly from the Festool site, you’d better hurry — they’re closing the virtual doors on their web catalog April 1st. This comes as a bit of a surprise, but we’re guessing the tools aren’t flying off the shelves directly from the site.
So if you haven’t found a local Festool dealer, you’ve got about three weeks left to get your Net-shop on. We understand why they’re going this way, but it’s always nice to have the option of going straight to the source, especially if you aren’t close to a dealer.
Press Release [Festool USA]
A look at the Festool site will have fans of the green and black drooling over the May release of the MFK 700 multi-purpose routing tool. The 700 features a quick-change base that switches from vertical to horizontal mode in about six seconds and requires no additional tools.
The video on the Festool site makes the unit seem pretty slick. The MFK 700 features good stuff like a 10k - 26k RPM motor and a connection for a dust collection attachment. The unit will weigh in at 4.2 lbs and will ship with the adjustable base attachment. Nothing on price yet — but if it follows general Festool pricing, “cheap” won’t be the word to describe it.
MFK 700 [Festool]
Festool’s Domino joiner has seen a lot of positive press this year — from us and others. It was even included in PopSci’s Best of What’s New 2007, with our hearty recommendation as part of the selection committee. But those of you who read past the basics know that you’ll need a variety of various-sized cutters and Domino tenons to really make use of Festool’s new rig. Thankfully, they now offer a sweet case to store your collection in a style worthy of this high-buck tool.
Why detail sand by hand when you can buy a power tool to do it for you? To mimic hand sanding, the Festool Duplex LS 130 EQ linear sander’s head reciprocates in a straight motion. This allows it to sand with the grain, which leaves less visible scratches. And when you consider the advantages of finishing the job up to three times faster and landing most of the dust in your dust collection system instead of on you, its price of $290 doesn’t sound so high.
When I visited my local Rockler shop this weekend, I noticed Festool products randomly littered through the store. Then I saw a very large half-assembled Festool display case. So I asked the sales guy about it, and he confirmed that on September 11th, Rockler will start selling Festool Power Tools in their retail stores.
Most drill chuck clutches stop when the drill applies a certain measure of torque. If you’re using all the same fasteners and driving into exactly the same material, that translates to approximately the same drive depth. But Festool’s new FastFix “depth-stop” chuckstops at a fixed depth every time — no more worrying about variations in wood density.
Above, you’ll find an artfully-posed photo Festool’s entry into the miter saw world: a $1,758 monster loaded with all sorts of kick-ass features you wish you had. We’ll write more about this when we have time to digest the spec sheet that’s as long as my, um, arm. But in the meantime, drool away.
This sander from Festool offers the ability to switch from a “rotary” mode — which removes lots of material — to a random orbiate mode that’s appropriate for fine sanding and polishing. Add to that a tool-free disc change system and you have one interesting little sander.
Festool will soon release their new “domino” joiner system, and as we’re always pretty excited to see new power tool systems on the market, this is no exception. Festool is kind enough to provide some great info about the new joiner right on their website, so we took a gander.
The new domino system uses a router bit which both spins and sweeps from side to side to carve out a mortise in which you insert a solid beech tenon. There are three width settings which allow you to use the Domino for exact registration or a looser fit for easier assembly. It can join members that are as small as 7/8” by 5/8”, and you can use the largest tenon or combinations of tenons for larger furniture pieces.
The big news, though, is that unlike normal “biscuit” joints, the joint in this case is square, domino-shaped solid beech tenon, which Festool claims has a greater sheer strength and larger glue surface for a more solid joint.
Nothing sucks more than over-driving a screw and screwing up (yuk yuk) a pretty piece of woodworking. While Panasonic’s worked to prevent this error electronically, Festool’s got a simpler mechanical method. Their Depth Stop chuck is designed to stop at (imagine this) a fixed depth, eliminating the need for torque stops.
Though it looks a bit like a droid from Star Wars, the CT Mini is actually a dust collector — the smallest vacuum/dust collector bearing the Festool name. If it looks a bit familiar, that might be because the CT Mini is pretty much just like some of the other Festool Vacuum models, except it’s a bit smaller and lower priced.
The C12’s been around for some time — it was part of PopSci’s Best of What’s New 2003 — but it remains one of the most versatile cordless drill kits available. Now Festool’s offering a $400 set that comes with all four interchangable chucks: straight standard, straight quick-connect, right angle quick-connect, and eccentric quick-connect. (Previously you received only one additional chuck.)
Switching between tools takes time, and if you have to set up the tools as well, that time can seem like an eternity. We come from the “if I have to stop to reset at all, that’s too long” school of thought.
Now that you you know how impatient we are, you can see how the Rotex RO 150 FEQ from Festool appeals to our inner “lazy.” (You know, like those really freaky Volkswagen “fast” commercials? No? Oh well.) It switches from random orbital sanding to rotary sanding, which means you can take off a little or a lot without swapping tools.
With the TS 55 EQ circular saw, the German company Festool claims to “bring the accuracy of a panel saw to any site” through two unique features: the EQ’s 55″ guide rail, which gives you 30+” more guide rail than with other circular saws, and its retractable blade design which — as opposed to the standard pendulum-type retractable blade cover — allows you to make plunge cuts. Essentially you can start and end your cut anywhere in the material, which means you can use the EQ to cut apertures and false joints.
Other features include:
The TS 55 EQ lists for $430, and street pricing is similar.
The Circular Saw TS 55 EQ [Festool]
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