Official Luthiers Forum!

Festool has just announced their first laminate trimmer and you can read about it here: http://mfk700.festoolusa.com/

At $525.00 lets see that is 3 PC-310s and some change left over....... Granted the dust collection is very cool if you already have a Fein or Festool vac and I am sure it is superbly designed and made but $525!!!!!

What do you think?

Worth every penny!!
I'm jonesin' for one.

I just bought a new Bosch and I think it's pretty cool. That's a lot of coin for a laminate trimmer. So when are you getting yours???

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

It looks very nice, but not at that price .. for that I can buy another 5 PC7310s that fit all my current jigs .. and never have to change bits, or settings .... but I still have to vacuum.

It probabaly wont take PC template guides either .... more stuff to buy/replace.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

What? With buying a new shop with a house above is Hesh flush with cash?

I do think that is a bit extravagant, although the exchange rate with Euros is pretty high right now!

If I were in the laminate business and were using it as my main tool I would consider it. But then I could buy three PC 310s and hire two more helpers with the same cash.

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Steve Walden
Aspiring Builder,
Bartlesville, OK

Cool but i would think the long back side base plate would maybe cause issues for binding routing but that could be overcome.

The boss sprung for the sander and I have to say it is a great one. I will someday spring for the sander and vac. But at that price for the lam trimmer, I will stick with the pc and others. Like Tony I am getting them for about every job with the bit and bearing for that job and can do a several for that price. I did get my beautiful wife a PC lam trimmer for her birthday (or I thought I did until I gave it to her) so maybe the Festool for anniversery, I can say it is a diamond. I just thought that one over, as there probably woudn't be another one, so guess will go to plan B.
When they go down because will have lots on hand, maybe will buy one then.

It's been available over here for quite some time I've looked at it several times but, although probably well made, it's no better for the jobs we do, than the Makita, DeWalt or PC at three or four times the price.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

As long as you're talking about laminate trimmers I thought i'd sneak in a question. I'm trying to decide what to buy, i' leaning towards this.
Anyone have any experience with this model?
thanks,
Frank

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Frank

I've got the 120v version of this Bosch. I just got it, so I haven't used it a lot, but
it has good reviews on the net . It's light, has excellent height adjustment, and the
variable speed is a good feature if you're running different diameter bits such as a
1/4" spiral cutoff bit for flush trimming, versus a 1" bit like the Stewart/McDonald
for routing the binding ledge.

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Gene

Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason- Mark Twain

I just bought a Festool sander and vacuum system as I am gearing up for my next guitar on my own. I have a real problem with dust, probably from teaching middle school shop without a dust collector for a few years. It is a godsend - absolutely no dust. I gave a lot of thought to waiting for the laminate trimmer, talked to the Woodcraft guys a bit about it, and decided to save the $450.00 difference, and purchased the Bosch at my local Menards for $96.00. I am sure it would be the neatest thing in the world, and if I wasn't pulling my state teacher's retirement pension, would probably consider it.

Perhaps if I ever get to the point of making and selling a guitar I will splurge.

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Ken Bremer
Madison, Wisconsin
http://www.bremerguitar.blogspot.com

$ 525???? does it wipe your brow when your sweating over cutting inlays freehand ! sheesh . Jody

I have to agree with the folks who have indicated that for what we do with laminate trimmers more of them, so long as they are still good ones, is better. Being able to dedicate a laminate trimmer to specific jobs is pretty useful.

I also have some Festool stuff and love it but I just can't justify the tag on this one....... Besides my R2D2s works great.

I am wondering how they got Sonny Bono to do the video......

Sure is nice, but too much jack for me. How about the ole Porter-Cable 7310 for $49.99 anyone use this one?

BTW, what is it that tells you a laminate trimmer or dremel has more power? Is it the Watts or the Amps? I have two dremels, one is the old MultiPro single speed 1.15 amps and the other one I have is the Dremel Advantage with varible speed and 4.5 amps. Will the Advantage be good enough for routing out the binding? It has a 1/4" collet.

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"After forty-nine years of violin building, I have decided that the search for a varnish is similar to the fox hunt. The fun is in the hunt."
Jack Batts Maker and Repairer of Fine Violins

I know there are a lot of Festool fans here, but I've always considered their stuff in the same vein as Dyson vacuums and Waverly tuners. Yes, they're probably great, but I feel like you're buying a tool with 20% greater performance than their nearest competitors, at a 200% markup in price. They are all marketing primarily toward a recreational end consumer, and this market is much easier to get a disproportionate price to actual value ratio in my opinion. In my experience it seems tools made for industrial and commercial consumers tend to have a much more balanced price to quality.

I'm not a big fan of all-purpose tools either. This looks like the Shopsmith of handheld tools - jack of all trades, master of none. A Shopsmith is great if you need the space, but none of it's incarnations will perform as well as a good stand alone lathe, table saw, sander, drill press, jointer, etc. Given that these are handheld tools, space is not so much an issue for most. I would rather have a dedicated tool for each purpose than one that needs to be switched around to different bases. For laminate trimmers I'll do fine with a Bosch, Makita, or the good old PC310.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

I am with you on this one David. Maybe I just haven't caught the Festool Bug yet. Of course for $525 I don't think I will be getting one soon.

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Brad
Avon, OH

Perhaps this is true in the US, but over here Festool products are quite popular on construction sites and among professional woodworkers. I don't own any of their products, I'm a Bosch/Hitachi/PC kind of guy.



Frank, if you get a 110 / 230 V transformer you can buy this model (and well as numerous other hand held power tools with universal motors) from the US for a better price. It is called Bosch Colt over there, and it is a fine trimmer; I bought mine on eBay for $69, brand new. With the current NOK / USD exchange rates importing from the US makes a lot of sense, even when you add shipping.

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

David my friend I have a Dyson and lots of Waverlys......

Hey, I'm not bashing the Dyson or Waverlies - I think they are fantastic. I just go by the philosophy that if a regular product performs to levels twice as much as I'll ever need to make use of, why bother spending premium prices on something that performs 3x what I actually need? Plus I have bamboo flooring - not an inch of rug that I can't take outside and beat out.

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Eschew obfuscation, espouse elucidation.

Looks like it would be really hard to see the bit. If so, I wouldn't like it. I like to watch. Otherwise, looks very cool!

Cheers,
Danny

I have the 7310 in my binding machine. Eccellent little workhorse.... But my main machine is the 310...

It looks to me like it is designed to do "laminate trimming" and not much else. The foot is obviously designed for that. Most of the others seem to have much greater flexibility in design. This one seems .....over designed.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Todd,
I have the festool circular saw and it is like comparing apples to oranges to compare there system to a regular circular saw. As a matter of fact if you try to cut a stack of rough plywood or a 2 x 4 you would be wasting your time. There systems are strictly for the ultimate chip free cuts in materials like lacquered panels and (normally) splintery cuts in cross grain situations.

As far as there routers go,all the tools in my shop do double duty as I am a cabinet/furniture maker and a luthier. I would buy there tools on the effectiveness of there dust collection alone.
I am looking into there slide saw coming out in June-at 41300 I thik it is a bargain-I hate my 12" Hitachi!