Out Of The Loop

[Pilchard]

Hi all, have just arrived.
Ex Antique Furniture Restorer, then Cabinet Maker, then Hand Made Kitchens (hand-cut dovetails etc) & Property Renovation. Had to fit my own kitchens to stop others butchering them, so self-taught electrics water & gas in the process. Deeply regret letting my Corgi Reg. slide instead of going on to be a Gas CH Installer/Engineer. Gradually got absorbed into the modern laminate kitchen game & built a reputation (I never once advertised) for top quality, service & price.
Retired young & spent 5 or so years in Italy getting fat, then bored. Came back & found that moving to London instead of the frozen North did me no favours work-wise, as UK nationality now makes it hard to get work down there, no matter how experienced you are.
Now back in frozen North (the Lakes this time) & getting fitter.
In the 10 or so years I've been "out of the loop" & moved around Europe & the UK, things in the kitchen trade have moved on a fair bit & I've lost any worthwhile contacts I once had.
Am hoping to upgrade my knowledge-base & bring it up-to-date....... suppliers, hardware, accessories, styles, fashions, techniques etc.
Case in point at the moment is the wife is desperate for a kitchen in our new home. The rubbish dilapidated kitchen is about 30 years old & she deserves the best I can give her. More of that later though.................

[Daniel]

Sounds like you could be teaching us a thing or two more like ..... welcome.

[PREM]

Now that is a Hello, wish everyone would put up info like that Pilchard, All we need to know now is inside leg measurement and festool fan or not.

[Alex Morley]

I feel like I have known you my whole life.......OH WAIT....no you just gave you life story. My bad.


Welcome all the same. I think I agree with Daniel, sounds like you have a very strong bow.


On a side note, Prem is the opposite so is often best to ignore all his posts....especially the jokes.

[Pilchard]

Thanks for that boys.
Yes I can sometimes let my literary aspirations get the better of me. Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book, as you seem to have conveyed so much with so few words

Festool.......?? How did I ever function without them?
They ARE very sexy! And work very well. A bit overpriced though, wouldn't you say?
No, I don't own any; never have, & prob never will: I am open to persuasion though. Tell me what I'm missing out on.
I've always bought tools on the basis that they'd allow me to undertake a vital process previously not possible without them; or I felt they'd save me time & money. I'd love to drive a brand new BMW M5 but a humble 10 year old Toyota does the same job for far less money. The Beamer would make me feel good & get me from A to B a tad faster, but I'm not interested in working more hours per week just to maintain a tool addiction.
What is it that you couldn't previously do without them, or...... how much time are they saving you?

[Alex Morley]

Thanks for that boys.
Yes I can sometimes let my literary aspirations get the better of me. Maybe I should take a leaf out of your book, as you seem to have conveyed so much with so few words

Festool.......?? How did I ever function without them?
They ARE very sexy! And work very well. A bit overpriced though, wouldn't you say?
No, I don't own any; never have, & prob never will: I am open to persuasion though. Tell me what I'm missing out on.
I've always bought tools on the basis that they'd allow me to undertake a vital process previously not possible without them; or I felt they'd save me time & money. I'd love to drive a brand new BMW M5 but a humble 10 year old Toyota does the same job for far less money. The Beamer would make me feel good & get me from A to B a tad faster, but I'm not interested in working more hours per week just to maintain a tool addiction.
What is it that you couldn't previously do without them, or...... how much time are they saving you?

Some of the tools arnt worth the money if I'm honest.


I swapped nearly all mind over to festool not to long ago.


The cxs 2.6 drill. WORTH EVERY PENNY kitchen fitting. (Why-because it's so easy to get into tight spaces, it's easy to be super accurate, no stunt screws and all that crap)

Jigsaw- not worth in. I personally thought my cordless makita was better. (Still own the jigsaw all the same.)

TS55- need I say more, amazing, IF and a bit IF you extract it. I have had 3, being honest I have not been as impressed with the amount of Torque on this one.

PDC 18v drill- not worth the money. Same issue as the same. Torque setting WAAAAY too low. Makita and Dewalt are better.

Routers. - amazing. Worth every penny. , accuracy, adjustability, extraction and speed of use.

Sander. - extraction best around.

Planer- has the spiral blade which is brilliant, great extraction, rebate facility is some of the best you can buy.


Kapex.....Still waiting for the whip round. Lol



Overall. The festools that are worth it, I replace every 3 years , the ones that are medeocre, once they are done prob won't get them again.

[Stretch]

TS55- need I say more, amazing, IF and a bit IF you extract it. I have had 3, being honest I have not been as impressed with the amount of Torque on this one.


Overall. The festools that are worth it, I replace every 3 years , the ones that are medeocre, once they are done prob won't get them again.

I find that quite an astonishing statement! When I met you last Christmas Alex I thought you were only about 14 so it seems you were buying Festool since you were 5 years old!!!

Seriously though, without wanting to open the whole Festool vs Mafell debate again (because as forum host I will always win), I have had my far superior KSP55 for about 12 years now, and although it's much like Triggers Broom in the sense that I've bought plenty of blades, changed the cable for a much longer one (after I cut through the old one by accident!!) and replaced the plastic end caps on the guide rail, it's essentially the same saw and just keeps going for ever. I've dropped it, left it out in the rain and it just keeps going......just needs a squirt of WD40 every now and again.

Added to all that, I prefer the plunge action and the fact that I don't need a kickback stop to stop me losing my fingers. I'll bring it along to the next social and convert you all....

[Alex Morley]

TS55- need I say more, amazing, IF and a bit IF you extract it. I have had 3, being honest I have not been as impressed with the amount of Torque on this one.


Overall. The festools that are worth it, I replace every 3 years , the ones that are medeocre, once they are done prob won't get them again.

I find that quite an astonishing statement! When I met you last Christmas Alex I thought you were only about 14 so it seems you were buying Festool since you were 5 years old!!!

Seriously though, without wanting to open the whole Festool vs Mafell debate again (because as forum host I will always win), I have had my far superior KSP55 for about 12 years now, and although it's much like Triggers Broom in the sense that I've bought plenty of blades, changed the cable for a much longer one (after I cut through the old one by accident!!) and replaced the plastic end caps on the guide rail, it's essentially the same saw and just keeps going for ever. I've dropped it, left it out in the rain and it just keeps going......just needs a squirt of WD40 every now and again.

Added to all that, I prefer the plunge action and the fact that I don't need a kickback stop to stop me losing my fingers. I'll bring it along to the next social and convert you all....

I get that a lot. It's because im a retard. I assure you though my drivers licence says I'm allowed a beer.

[Pilchard]

Yes, yes, yes; all very interesting.......... but I refer you back to my original question, which was....... "What is it that you couldn't previously do without them, or...... how much time are they saving you?"

I appreciate that a slim profile drill/driver will get you into corners...... a 10.8 volt Makita will do that & it'll fit in your pocket.
I've never used a Festool router but, if it'll cut a butt or scribe on a 40mm w/top in just one full-depth pass, with no chattering, creating an invisible joint........... then I'd seriously consider one. If not I'll stick to my big old Elu-DeWalt. With that & a new cutter, 3 or 4 passes, I make smooth & invisible joints that never ever need colourfill.
I've never found anything that does a better, quicker or simpler job of work-top cut-outs than my Bosch Jigsaw....... the one that clamps blades with a screwdriver.
The plunge-saw is the only one I really would like to own for it's accurate superfine cuts but a straight-edge & router does that job after cutting with a bog standard Makita saw.

So....... going back to that question again........ what has Festool ever done for you?