Festool Junkie Blog

This is a darn good description of how the Speed Control on Festool Routers work. It is by David McGibbon from FestoolUSA.

Tech Notes No. 16/07
Low speed settings on Festool Routers
Some of you may have noticed that the speed control adjustment in the Festool routers does not seem to have the effect of slowing the machine down when it is set on number 3 or below. The setting of 1 or 2 runs the machine at the same speed as setting 3. This is normal behavior for the routers when they are not under load.
The speed control is synchronized at 60 times a second to send either short or long pulses of current. When there is no load on the spindle, the mass of the armature acts like an energy collecting flywheel, and even the shortest pulses add energy to the free spinning armature. It is much like pedaling a bicycle down hill.
As soon as the router is put under any load, the slower speeds will lock in under the control of the tachometer. Sometimes mounting a large cutter in the spindle will produce enough load to change things. By the way, if our TS55 saw is run without a blade, the same thing will happen… the speed control seems to have and effect only after the setting is more than half way.
David McGibbon
Service/Tech Support

CAUTIONS: Using Planer with Rustic Cutting Drums

The Festool HL 850 E planer is capable of doing more than ordinary flat planing. Various decorative patterns can be produced when using the special rustic drums or Festool Ungulating / Adz style Planer Head. The cutting blades on these drums are fully exposed below the foot of the planer when the depth control is set at “zero”, and special attention is needed when operating the machine with these drums in place.

When removing the normal drum from the planer, be sure to transfer all of the fastening hardware over to the rustic drum.
This includes a screw, a small washer AND a larger keyed metal disk a little bigger than a quarter. This disk is keyed to the arbor shaft when installed and is the only thing that will secure the drum to the shaft properly.

When the rustic drum is installed, there is a chance that a loose piece of material can be forced up into the planer and crack the housing.
Please use the following guidelines to lessen the possibility of damage to the planer:
Set the depth of cut at “P” to “0”…. Never any deeper. The rustic drum is now packaged with a special bracket that mounts to the side of the front foot to prevent the foot from moving beyond the zero point. This should always be installed when using the rustic drum. Be careful at knots… either avoid altogether or cut across them very slowly. Ideally, the knots should be ground down with a 4” grinder before using the planer. The Festool RAS115 is well suited for this.

Avoid cutting directly across the grain… especially off the edge of the beam.
Avoid cutting beyond the edge of the beam at all, either with or against the grain.
Don’t let the machine bog down… cut slowly enough so that the machine runs well.

USE A SHARP BLADE!
A dull blade greatly increases the potential for trouble. Imagine how new Douglas fir does not split cleanly, but tears with long, tough, tenacious fibers still attached to both pieces. A dull blade that is not cutting well will grab these fibers and pull them into the machine.

How to connect two hoses:
All Festool Dust extractors have vacuum inlets that accept any 50mm or 2 inch standard hose ends. The 2 inch standard hose measures 2 inches, or 50mm on the INSIDE Dimension. The outside diameter of a standard 2” hose end coupler is actually 2 1/4”, and the inlet in the Festool dust extractor has a 2 1/4” opening. This is the standard in the industry for most shop vacs. Any 2” standard hose will fit the Festool machines.
The 50mm Festool hose has a 2 ¼ inch coupler on each end. All that is needed to join another hose with a standard fitting is an open tube with an internal opening of 2 ¼” diameter. The Festool item #493047 connector sleeve can couple to either end of this hose and accept the 2 ¼” standard end of any 50mm, 36mm or 27mm Festool hose.

The 36mm Festool hose has a tool tip of flexible rubber mounted to a hard plastic rotating shell. This can be removed and replaced with a 452894 or 452893 Festool rotating adapter, which is the standard 2 inch coupler with the 2 ¼ inch outside diameter. This is the same as what comes on the other end of the 36mm hose. Then, all that is needed to couple any other standard hose is again, the open tube Festool 493047 connector sleeve. This piece is conductive to static and will properly complete the circuit to ground if both hoses are of the green and black AS variety.

Alternate 36mm method
There is an alternate and much quicker method to convert the tool end of the 36mm hose to a 2 ¼” opening. The Festool 452897 Suction adapter is the funnel shaped open tube, the small end of which can be inserted directly into the tool tip of the D36 hose and will provide a 2 ¼ “ opening for any other hose. However, this piece is not made of conductive material, and for antistatic use, a piece of foil or conductive wire could be used to bridge across the junction.

The 27mm Festool hose is 12 feet long and another 12 foot D27 hose coupled to that is very inefficient because of the extreme restriction of air flow. It is best to couple the 27mm hose to the end of a larger diameter 36mm or 50mm hose to provide better air flow. But if needed, the rubber tool end could be removed and replaced with the #452892 rotating adapter and the two hoses joined with the open tube #493047 connector sleeve.
The rotating adapters and the tool tips are both removed and installed as assemblies of three parts. A removable clip ring secures the inner sleeve, which is the only part that is actually attached to the threads of the hose. The clip ring is secured to the outer shell with two tabs that engage into slots in the shell. To remove, push in the tabs with a flat blade screwdriver.

The Festool RO 150 FEQ Rotex dual mode sander has a rotary orbital motion and a random orbital motion. Both motions have their advantages for a dedicated sanding task. The gear driven orbital motion is made for aggressive material removal and polishing, the random orbital motion is made for fine sanding.

1. Rotary Orbital Motion The rotary orbital motion is a combination of two movement patterns: The pad both rotates and has an eccentric/orbital pattern at the same time. The aggressiveness results from the fact, that the pad is gear driven and forced to spin as opposed to the random orbital motion where the pad spins due to centripetal forces and can be stopped by hand.

With this pattern the sanding action is almost as aggressive as a belt sander or a grinder. While a belt sander leaves typically deep linear scratches and a grinder deep circular scratches that are hard to sand out with the next grit up, the rotary orbital motion of the Rotex causes a random scratch pattern that erases itself during sanding. The result is a surface quality in each grit that is by far superior to a surface quality you can achieve with a belt sander or a grinder on the same grit level. And that means that the time needed for the next sanding steps with higher grits is cut down significantly. Bottom- line: Sanding with the Rotex in rotary orbital motion saves a lot of time since material is removed in an aggressive, yet smart way, providing always the best surface for the next sanding steps.

The rotary orbital motion combines a forced rotation with an eccentric/orbital motion.

2. Random orbital motion In the random orbital mode the main pattern is an eccentric
pattern. In addition the centripetal force resultant from the crankshaft offset causes the pad to spin. This is a weak force and pad rotation can be stopped if too much hand pressure is exerted on the sander. Due to the eccentric motion and the rotation, the tiny orbits are stretched into long curved loops, which, when interlaced, tend to eliminate any signs of swirl marks. The Rotex leaves a very fine finish in the random orbital mode. If a finer finish is desired, the Festool ETS150/3 is the sander of choice. Both are using the same abrasives, so they complement each other very well.

The random orbital mode combines small orbits with an unforced rotation.

Solid Surface Sanding and Finishes

1. The right Method of Sanding With the Festool RO 150 FEQ

The method that works best is sanding from left to right (making sure to overlap ½ the pad) then sand from front to back (making sure to overlap). After the surface has been sanded in both of those directions, sand in a circular motion clockwise (with the sander) in an 8″-10″ circle. This circular motion will make the finish more even. The key is to sand with the direction of the pad. If you sand against the pad you will leave swirls in the finish.

The other big thing most fabricators don’t realize is that you need to make sure all the sanding dust is removed before going onto the next grit. You will finish faster and achieve a better surface quality if you don’t skip grits.

For polishing (high gloss finishes, see below), the same method is used. It is important to clean up all compounds before moving on to the next step.

Either 80 or 120 grit can be used to sand seams. When sanding a seam, the Rotex has to be used in Rotex mode (gear drive mode) up to 120 grit. For the next steps with grits of 150 and above, it is recommended to switch to Random Orbital mode (fine sanding, pad spins freely).

2. The right Abrasives Festool Titan II

Matte finish:

Light colors: Titan II - 120, 150, 180, Vlies 280
Dark colors: Titan II - 120, 150, 180, 220, Vlies 800

Satin Finish:

Light colors: Titan II - 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, Vlies 800
Dark colors: Titan II - 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400,
Platin 500

Semi Gloss:
Light colors: Titan II - 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400,
Platin 500
Dark colors: Titan II - 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400,
Platin 500, 1000

Gloss:
Light and Dark colors: Titan II - 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400, Festool Platin 500,1000, 2000, 4000

High Gloss:
Light and Dark colors:
Same as above (gloss finish) only use compounds after the sand paper

Use sander in Rotex mode (gear driven mode) with the following pads and compounds:

Festool Polishing Pad, Sponges and Felt Pads
Hard felt - Rubbing compound (Marine grade)
Soft felt - Finesse it II
Wool pad - Liquid glass

There has been a ton-o-speculation as to when this killer saw will arrive in North America. We should hope to see this saw by the end of the year. Not much is know about pricing yet; more than likely we will look for the Festool Kapex to retail around $1200 - $1600 US. THIS IS ONLY A GUESS! Festool Junkie anticipates this saw to take the country by storm.

Enjoy the video, and as I get more info, I will keep you informed.

Timmy C

Pre-Order Yours Today, On Your Terms Click Here To Pre-Order We can set up recurring payments so you don’t have to stomach the whole lump sum at one time. ** If the remarks below are true, July 1st Launch Date, $200 Down and $366 a month for three months doesn’t seem so steep. Furthermore, it will be easier to hide the payment from the significant other . ***
The Pre-Order is a great opportunity to squirrel away some dough towards this truly revolutionary Miter Saw. The Kapex has proven itself in the countries that Festool has distributed in, and once again, the Festool Kapex should sell like hot-cakes here in the states.

Gary Katz Review Of the Kapex is quite flattering, you should check it out. Furthermore, there is a ton of info on the internet including,but not limited to, The Festool Owners Group .

Reserve yours Today!!!! at FestoolJunkie.com

There are unconfirmed reports today (3-5-08) coming out of The Festool Owners Group (FOG) that the Kapex will be selling for $1300 US regarding pricing and launch dates for the Festool Kapex Miter Saw. Please keep in mind these are UNCONFIRMED reports. In short, the rumor states that Festool will launch the Kapex July 1st.
There is also what appears to be some new interactive video on the Mothership, www.festool.de . It is extremely slick interactive type video where you can choose from 4 tools to watch.

Head over to (Click Here)>>>Festool <<<(Click There) and play along. Once you get onto the site, you need to click the English version, unless another language option suites you; then click on the ==> button and choose, Kapex KS 120, to watch. It is worth the steps it takes to get there.

Once again, these are unconfirmed reports. FestoolJunkie is simply pointing to another forum and Festool.de for video.

Timmy