Festool Flop

Crazy, I just went to the FOG site & read about it. I am glad I went with the Mafell. I was waiting for the release of the ts55r to buy it but switched last minute to the Mafell. Since then I have been to my local Woodcraft several times and each time I go look at the festool and I'm glad every time I took a chance on the mafell even though I couldn't physically check it out before buying.

I have wondered the same. I have been seeing a lot more festool advertisements in JLC and Fine homebuilding magazines the past few years. One funny note: I recently watched the Ads at the festool track saw site where they have real user videos of the 55r saw. On, I think it is the JLC or contractor talk forums one of these real world users can be found saying that their opinion is that mafell makes the best of the track saws. I am sure you have already noticed the same thing as I have seen your name on many of these other forums as well.

I think it shows integrity that you and Jalvis have the same screen name on the different forums, not that there would be any agenda either way anyhow but it is sometimes hard to tell if people are getting free tools etc for their "real world user" posts & youtube videos. I also have several festool tools and am really happy with them...not intending to badmouth just find it all interesting. From my experience the mafell stuff is on another level though, for the few items they do have.

I've been thinking the same thing for the past few months as I've slowly been replacing some of my Festools (not all) with Mafell.

The build quality isn't what it used to be. It's not that they're suddenly junk, but I feel they use more and more plastics and simple stamped parts instead of accurately machined metal parts.
As a whole I feel Festool has become more form over function over the past years.

There's the Carvex 400. Everyone knows what a fiasco that was and I'm also not convinced by the 420 overhaul.
Now there's news about a TS55R recall and I've been reading a lot of threads regarding problems with the Kapex miter saw as well over on the FOG.

It's a good thing they have a large catalogue, a big marketing machine, a very loyal customer base and their excellent servicing to fall back to.

Regardless of the problems they seem to be facing, Festool produces some of the best tools money can buy, and I can see Festool growing exponentially in the States over the coming years.

Festool isn't the best (anymore), but it's more than good enough for the vast majority and their truckload of accessories do make life easier.

I'm not really a fan of the whole "brand cult" thing. Yes I started a forum for Mafell tools but I am completely willing to accept that something more effective might be out there or is about to come out. Part of me is bothered by some vidoes of users shops that are completely decked out in one brand's gear that they almost look like a dealer. I don't need every tool out there just what works for me. We're carpenters, we're problem solvers, we adapt. There's more than one right answer. This forum was started because FOG is a company run website, which is impressively open, but more and more talk about mafell was popping up, mainly because there is no other outlet for that discussion, but it was starting to get uncomfortable due to them being direct competitors for certain products.

I am really glad you guys started the forum. Mafell has great tools but very little awareness. The information available before this site seemed to be only from places that sell Mafell and are advertising.

What other portable tools do you guys like a lot? I'm talking the type that you are impressed with like the various Mafell tools we discuss.

I really like the Mirka Ceros sander. Even though it takes a bit more set up because of its DC brushless motor I find myself using it more than my other sanders.

Any other tools you guys are crazy about?

I've only picked up the new TS55R and didn't feel any difference from the original TS55. There are some noticeable differences which I see as major upgrades such as the flat side to allow cutting close to the wall. I think most on this forum feel the quality for the Festool diminish because they have used the Mafell MT55 and can immediately notice the difference. Festool makes some great tools and when you start comparing high end equipment its more of an accumulation of features and quality that separate the tools. The Blade change function alone on the Mafell MT55 is enough for me to buy it.....not to mention the rails, scoring, power, construction....the list goes on and on.

You also have to remember that not everyone demands the same level of quality in there equipment. I hate fighting tools(almost more than clients) and my work is technical enough without struggling with equipment. I'm also making my living with the equipment I own so I look at value differently especially if its long term value or a higher quality product for my customer.