$99 Festool Sander

[Cochese]

2 hours ago, Eric. said:

Festool purchasers are irrational beings.  If the retail price is $300, that's what they'll pay, regardless of whether or not it justifies that price.  How much do Festool drills cost?  Anyone willing to pay that kind of money for a freaking drill will certainly throw the cash away on a sander too...especially one in a ***BLUE*** Systainer.

I must be more sane than most, because the drills don't seem like value at all. For me the Festool system starts and ends with the plug-it. Outside of that I'd just assume look at alternatives.

 

[shaneymack]

3 minutes ago, Cochese said:

I must be more sane than most

Yeah, im sure thats it....

[Eric.]

6 minutes ago, Cochese said:

because the drills don't seem like value at all.

 

That's my point.  But they say "Festool" so people have to have them.

[Cochese]

43 minutes ago, shaneymack said:

Yeah, im sure thats it....

That's what the voices tell me anyway.

[Cliff]

Hmm I hear good things about the CXS. It's cheap enough I'd buy it to see if it blows me away. At worst i could sell it for not a ton of loss. 

[JosephThomas]

Lots of ppl near me are trying to sell the drills and jigsaws on CL and no one seems to be buying... anecdotal data, but still...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[shaneymack]

3 minutes ago, Cliff said:

Hmm I hear good things about the CXS. It's cheap enough I'd buy it to see if it blows me away. At worst i could sell it for not a ton of loss. 

Its one of the most loved Festool tools amongst Festoolians. 

[The Tool Nut]

4 minutes ago, Cliff said:

Hmm I hear good things about the CXS. It's cheap enough I'd buy it to see if it blows me away. At worst i could sell it for not a ton of loss. 

You don't have to sell it for a loss at all.

Festool offers a 30-day money back guarantee on all of its tools. Buy one, try it, use the heck out of it for a month. If you don't like it or it doesn't live up to the hype, return it for a refund. Virtually zero risk.

I would challenge everyone who hasn't given Festool a try and doesn't think the tools are worth the price to give this a shot.

Why not?

If you do invest in Festool power tools and eventually want to upgrade or sell them, they hold their value WAY better than any another tool brand and there's a market for them.

Just my 2 cents.

Shane

[Eric.]

I did the same with memory chips 20 years ago. Now I'm brushing my teeth with baking soda

Yeah items with a short technological lifespan that go obsolete quickly are definitely an exception.

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[Guest]

13 minutes ago, JosephThomas said:

Lots of ppl near me are trying to sell the drills and jigsaws on CL and no one seems to be buying... anecdotal data, but still...

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

I have a trion jigsaw.  It is ok, but nothing special.  

The DC is better than nothing, but clogs easily on bigger chips.   My unscientific analysis is it collects about 20% of the visible dust.  Maybe it collects some fines as well.   I use a CT 36 on full power   

Visibility with the dust shroud/blade guard  in place sucks.  You literally can't see the blade, and 9/10 times I am using it to free hand cut to a line.   Why the cheap bastards at Festool don't invent a clear plastic or include an LED light, I will never know.  

Honestly, the biggest advantage is the plug it cord.  It sounds stupid but I always have a plug it and DC connection at bench.   I save like 30 seconds by not having to unwind and plug in a traditional cord.   But that is the only advantage I see over my Bosch jigsaw.  

 

[The Tool Nut]

6 minutes ago, Mike. said:

I have a trion jigsaw.  It is ok, but nothing special.  

The DC is better than nothing, but clogs easily on bigger chips.   My unscientific analysis is it collects about 20% of the visible dust.  Maybe it collects some fines as well.   I use a CT 36 on full power   

Visibility with the dust shroud/blade guard  in place sucks.  You literally can't see the blade, and 9/10 times I am using it to free hand cut to a line.   Why the cheap bastards at Festool don't invent a clear plastic or include an LED light, I will never know.  

Bosch makes a good jigsaw, no doubt.

The advantages of the Trion are the carbide jaw system can keep the blade 100% perpendicular even in thick cuts and the splinterguard can be used to prevent chipping, which is awesome in expensive ply for example.

Agreed that the blade visibility is obstructed with the chip guard, but it's removable. Also agree that LEDs would help. Both of those are addressed in the newer Carvex jigsaw from Festool.

As for dust extraction... It's not going to be phenomenal with any jigsaw. The dust is going to fall out of the bottom of the kerf. Some folks cut with the jigsaw under the material surface to help with dust collection and to aid with blade/cutline visibility.

At $250, I think the Trion is a solid jigsaw and worth every penny. I own one myself.

[JosephThomas]

24 minutes ago, Mike. said:

I have a trion jigsaw.  It is ok, but nothing special.  

The DC is better than nothing, but clogs easily on bigger chips.   My unscientific analysis is it collects about 20% of the visible dust.  Maybe it collects some fines as well.   I use a CT 36 on full power   

Visibility with the dust shroud/blade guard  in place sucks.  You literally can't see the blade, and 9/10 times I am using it to free hand cut to a line.   Why the cheap bastards at Festool don't invent a clear plastic or include an LED light, I will never know.  

Honestly, the biggest advantage is the plug it cord.  It sounds stupid but I always have a plug it and DC connection at bench.   I save like 30 seconds by not having to unwind and plug in a traditional cord.   But that is the only advantage I see over my Bosch jigsaw.  

 

I hear you on the plug-it...don't lots of people have the cordless one now though? Seems worse to me...when those batteries die it's a $300 paper weight.

[shaneymack]

26 minutes ago, Mike. said:

I have a trion jigsaw.  It is ok, but nothing special.  

The DC is better than nothing, but clogs easily on bigger chips.   My unscientific analysis is it collects about 20% of the visible dust.  Maybe it collects some fines as well.   I use a CT 36 on full power   

Visibility with the dust shroud/blade guard  in place sucks.  You literally can't see the blade, and 9/10 times I am using it to free hand cut to a line.   Why the cheap bastards at Festool don't invent a clear plastic or include an LED light, I will never know.  

Honestly, the biggest advantage is the plug it cord.  It sounds stupid but I always have a plug it and DC connection at bench.   I save like 30 seconds by not having to unwind and plug in a traditional cord.   But that is the only advantage I see over my Bosch jigsaw.  

 

The carvex is the one with the cool led strobe light and all the awesome accesories. I have the carvex cordless version and I like it. No complaints.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, JosephThomas said:

I hear you on the plug-it...don't lots of people have the cordless one now though? Seems worse to me...when those batteries die it's a $300 paper weight.

Agreed.   I have 2 lithium ion drills (one drill, one driver), both bosch, and that is all I keep in my shop.  The batteries last forever and charge quickly. Everything else is corded.   Cordless just doesn't make sense to me in a shop.   I get frustrated keeping track of the chargers and making sure the batteries stay charged.  

I guess the carvex is better, but i really couldn't justify spending that much on a jigsaw    

 

[Cliff]

1 hour ago, The Tool Nut said:

Bosch makes a good jigsaw, no doubt.

The advantages of the Trion are the carbide jaw system can keep the blade 100% perpendicular even in thick cuts and the splinterguard can be used to prevent chipping, which is awesome in expensive ply for example.

Agreed that the blade visibility is obstructed with the chip guard, but it's removable. Also agree that LEDs would help. Both of those are addressed in the newer Carvex jigsaw from Festool.

As for dust extraction... It's not going to be phenomenal with any jigsaw. The dust is going to fall out of the bottom of the kerf. Some folks cut with the jigsaw under the material surface to help with dust collection and to aid with blade/cutline visibility.

At $250, I think the Trion is a solid jigsaw and worth every penny. I own one myself.

I really like my Trion. Compared to every other jigsaw I used, it is amazing. I do wish I had gotten the Carvex, but perhaps that can happen later. 

To me, $300 or less is not a significant amount to spend on a tool (when comparing say.. a bandsaw/TS purchase.) So I'll chance stuff for that price range. Add in the 30-day return policy and it seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Eric.]

I have a Trion but the only thing I use it for is breaking down rough stock and the very rare inter-field cutout.  As much as the Trion costs I'd feel about double the bonehead for spending even more money on the Carvex.  When someone shows me where else a jigsaw fits into a furnituremaker's workflow, let me know.

[shaneymack]

I have a Trion but the only thing I use it for is breaking down rough stock and the very rare inter-field cutout.  As much as the Trion costs I'd feel about double the bonehead for spending even more money on the Carvex.  When someone shows me where else a jigsaw fits into a furnituremaker's workflow, let me know.

Much more a jobsite tool for me.

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[HuxleyWood]

 

If someone wants the very best jigsaw and is not a die-hard D handle fan buy the Mafell it is one of the rare tools that stands head and shoulders above the competition.

The Trion, Carvex and Bosch 572 are all excellent saws and different people will have their opinion as to which they prefer in the 250-350 price range, the last generation Bosch were better than the current ones.  If you like D handle jigsaws the Metabo is better than all three but they only offer it in corded D handle in the US, shame since their barrel grip corded is REALLy nice.  

I use a jigsaw mainly for wasting the inside of patterns before they get cleaned up on the shaper though they occasionally come in handy for the odd cut that just doesn't lend itself to a bandsaw or any other saw.  I had the old Bosch and now have a Metabo and Trion, either is fine for my needs, in fact a Dewalt would probably be fine for me.  

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Eric. said:

I have a Trion but the only thing I use it for is breaking down rough stock and the very rare inter-field cutout.  As much as the Trion costs I'd feel about double the bonehead for spending even more money on the Carvex.  When someone shows me where else a jigsaw fits into a furnituremaker's workflow, let me know.

Before I had a bandsaw, I used my bosch jig saw for making curves.   It was my only choice.   But I could make a template with the jig saw, fair it, and use it for repeatable cuts with a router.  

[HuxleyWood]

I should have added the Trion's blade guides are finicky for some but I find them fairly easy to set and they do an adequate job at the price point but at the $250-300 range I think the Bosch has the best ones, again nothing matches the Mafell.

[Eric.]

11 minutes ago, Mike. said:

Before I had a bandsaw, I used my bosch jig saw for making curves.   It was my only choice.   But I could make a template with the jig saw, fair it, and use it for repeatable cuts with a router.  

Yeah but you could use a beaver's head on a stick for that if you had to because you stay away from your line and then pattern route...so precision means nothing.  Back in the good ol' days I used an ancient B&D jigsaw that I inherited from my grandfather that was the world's biggest piece of trash and even it sufficed for that.  I'm looking for an argument for why I need a $300 jigsaw.  I bought mine when I was a certifiable kool-aid drinker so that's my excuse.  If I could do it over again I'd just buy a Bosch or Makita.

[Chestnut]

Am i "that" guy that thinks beyond $50 is a bit too much for a jigsaw? I NEVER use mine. Router with a circle jig does my inside radius cuts. Outside radius is bandsaw work. breaking down stock is bandsaw miter saw table saw or track saw.

I cut metal with my jogsaw and plastic.

[Eric.]

Miter saw and rough stock are not friends in my neighborhood.

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, Eric. said:

Yeah but you could use a beaver's head on a stick for that if you had to because you stay away from your line and then pattern route...so precision means nothing.  Back in the good ol' days I used an ancient B&D jigsaw that I inherited from my grandfather that was the world's biggest piece of trash and even it sufficed for that.  I'm looking for an argument for why I need a $300 jigsaw.  I bought mine when I was a certifiable kool-aid drinker so that's my excuse.  If I could do it over again I'd just buy a Bosch or Makita.

I totally agree.   My bosch is awesome and more accurate than I needed it to be.  I think it was about $180, but I bought it years ago so can't remember.    The only reason I bought the Trion is because I wanted to leave my bosch at our vacation condo for DIY and crafty type stuff (and I am a recovering Koolaid drinker, i fall off the wagon every once in a while).

   I never had a problem with blade deflection with the Bosch on cuts <1" or so, and I doubt the Trion has the balls to cut much more than 1" anyhow.   Because we all know that balls are in short supply over at Festool HQ (sorry toolnut guy, its an ongoing joke here that all Festool have about 20% less power than they need).  

[bleedinblue]

I have a toy Ryobi cordless jigsaw.  It's a complete joke, and I was going to upgrade it until I realized I don't care.  I have used it twice I think, it's just way down in my list of priorities.