Drinking the Green Kool-Aid

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  • twistsol
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2002
    • 2893
    • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
    • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

    Drinking the Green Kool-Aid

    Last November, I went to the Festool System Essentials class in Las Vegas mainly because I wanted to see an MFT/3 in action and decide if I was going to take another sip of the green kool-aid. I ended up mixing up a gallon or two and chugging it.

    When I started the class, I had a TS-75 and a Domino 500, a CT-33 with the cleaning kit and my first ever Festool, the Kapex. I stopped into Woodcraft on my way home from the airport and picked up C15 drill, OF1400 router and the LR32 kit, RO90 and RO150 Sanders, and Carvex PSB420 with accessories. Stuff they didn't have in stock that I had to order on line, 15 sys-AZ drawers which I had to wait over a month for, MFT/3 and the WCR-1000. The WCR-1000 I thought was ridiculous until I took the class. After using one for two days, I can't imagine not having it. Below are a few pictures in my shop.

    I realized my storage for Systainers was insufficient. Here is my old Systainer Storage which is going to be refurbished and repurposed. My guide rails were laying on wire shelves



    Below is the Festool Training classroom that was my inspiration



    My shop is a two car garage that also houses a tractor which is easy to move out of the way for projects. My Festool corner is shown below.



    Easy access to my rails



    I'd always wanted to add a sys port or two to the shop, but the price was just too high. The SYS-AZ made a decent compromise. 14 of my 15 SYS-AZ drawers are in use. These are simple plywood boxes and my first LR32 project. The inside is painted with some ceiling paint I had left over from the garage build and the outside is Rustoleum Hammered metal gray. The casters are from a datacenter teardown I did about twenty years ago. I'm down to two 5 gallon buckets of them.

    Chr's
    __________
    An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
    A moral man does it.
  • Stytooner
    Roll Tide RIP Lee
    • Dec 2002
    • 4301
    • Robertsdale, AL, USA.
    • BT3100

    #2
    Exactly where do you live and what night is date night?

    That is impressive for sure. I am sure they are a pleasure to use as well.
    I haven't yet used any, though I have used a few Fein tools. Those are nice too.
    My most recent tool was used today for a honey dew project. Dewalt 20V max circular saw. It is very nice for a cordless saw. I have owned a couple lesser ones in the past. It's nice to be able to cut a sheet of something and not worry about the cord catching somewhere.

    About the green stuff though. The closest I came to getting one was when I wanted a track saw. I wound up with the Grizzly version. Not quite the same shade of green, but it works pretty well.
    Have some fun with all those goodies.
    Lee

    Comment

    • Cochese
      Veteran Member
      • Jun 2010
      • 1988

      #3
      I think they spiked your kool-aid. Dang.
      I have a little blog about my shop

      Comment

      • jussi
        Veteran Member
        • Jan 2007
        • 2162

        #4
        Love it. I'm def jealous of your shop space and clean you keep it. I wish I had the room to house my rails in the wall. Mine has to go on the ceiling.

        How do you like the work center? I've been on the fence about buying it for quite some time. I regret not getting it when Rockler cleatanced out their supply a few months back.
        Last edited by jussi; 04-22-2015, 09:17 PM.
        I reject your reality and substitute my own.

        Comment

        • gerti
          Veteran Member
          • Dec 2003
          • 2233
          • Minnetonka, MN, USA.
          • BT3100 "Frankensaw"

          #5
          Do you still use the BT3K much? I have mostly used the MFT lately, and could really use more space. So I am contemplating selling my BT, RAS and possibly some other tools to streamline my shop a bit.

          Comment

          • twistsol
            Veteran Member
            • Dec 2002
            • 2893
            • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
            • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

            #6
            Originally posted by gerti
            Do you still use the BT3K much? I have mostly used the MFT lately, and could really use more space. So I am contemplating selling my BT, RAS and possibly some other tools to streamline my shop a bit.
            Since I bought my TS75 track saw, the BT3100 gets very little use. It is really nice for ripping rails and stiles and face frame parts, but hasn't seen plywood of any kind in a long time. There is certainly no need for the wide table kit on it. I sold one of my BT3100's at a garage sale a couple of years ago and may sell this one and replace it with a Ridgid R4512 or just make a smaller mobile cabinet for it and sell off the wide table kit.
            Chr's
            __________
            An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
            A moral man does it.

            Comment

            • twistsol
              Veteran Member
              • Dec 2002
              • 2893
              • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
              • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

              #7
              Originally posted by Stytooner
              Exactly where do you live and what night is date night?
              Does anyone have a source for a security system with automated lethal countermeasures?
              Chr's
              __________
              An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
              A moral man does it.

              Comment

              • twistsol
                Veteran Member
                • Dec 2002
                • 2893
                • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
                • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

                #8
                Originally posted by jussi
                Love it. I'm def jealous of your shop space and clean you keep it. I wish I had the room to house my rails in the wall. Mine has to go on the ceiling.

                How do you like the work center? I've been on the fence about buying it for quite some time. I regret not getting it when Rockler cleatanced out their supply a few months back.
                My old garage had 7' ceilings so the rail storage wasn't possible there and I ended up hanging them horizontally on the wall. When I first saw it in the catalog I thought it was a complete waste of money. After using it for a couple of days in the class, I couldn't believe how useful it was. Since I've had it in my shop, I can consistently find a pencil and my tape measure for the first time ever.
                Chr's
                __________
                An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
                A moral man does it.

                Comment

                • beetee3
                  Established Member
                  • Feb 2005
                  • 127
                  • The Sunshine State

                  #9
                  TL,DR: You went to Vegas and came back broke.

                  Comment

                  • Neal
                    Established Member
                    • Apr 2012
                    • 181
                    • Williamstown, WV (Mid Ohio Valley)
                    • Ryobi BT3000

                    #10
                    Nice. very nice.

                    I've ventured into the green a little bit, but haven't had the time/weather to do a whole lot yet. That should change this Saturday, as I begin to finish a project I began last summer.

                    I have managed to "practice" a little with my Domino, and made a cart for my CTMidi and Dust Deputy from some scrap I had lying around.

                    Comment

                    • ArtworksIII
                      Forum Newbie
                      • Mar 2015
                      • 94
                      • Spokane Wa
                      • Craftsman

                      #11
                      That is a very concise system. Do the big box stores sell this? I like the way it allows for cleanup and storage...

                      Comment

                      • os1kne
                        Senior Member
                        • Jan 2003
                        • 901
                        • Atlanta, GA
                        • BT3100

                        #12
                        Very nice shop, and nice looking too!
                        Bill

                        Comment

                        • twistsol
                          Veteran Member
                          • Dec 2002
                          • 2893
                          • Cottage Grove, MN, USA.
                          • Ridgid R4512, 2x ShopSmith Mark V 520, 1951 Shopsmith 10ER

                          #13
                          Originally posted by ArtworksIII
                          That is a very concise system. Do the big box stores sell this? I like the way it allows for cleanup and storage...
                          Festool recently went through a dealer purge and my first choice went out of business. Woodcraft is pretty much the only retailer that's nationwide that sells Festool now.
                          Chr's
                          __________
                          An ethical man knows the right thing to do.
                          A moral man does it.

                          Comment

                          • gerti
                            Veteran Member
                            • Dec 2003
                            • 2233
                            • Minnetonka, MN, USA.
                            • BT3100 "Frankensaw"

                            #14
                            Originally posted by twistsol
                            Festool recently went through a dealer purge and my first choice went out of business. Woodcraft is pretty much the only retailer that's nationwide that sells Festool now.
                            In the midwest there are a few ACME tools (meep meep) locations: http://www.acmetools.com

                            Their Plymouth MN store has a passable selection of Festool. And lots of other drool-worthy stuff.

                            Comment

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