Festool Junkie Blog

Hello all,

If you are a Festool Owner / User and like the group feeling that you get in a forum environment; www.talkFestool.com has moved into it’s new home. The new Festool oriented forum has a crisp new look, a team of moderator’s, incredible software with hundreds of features, and well, just a great bunch of folks that have already started posting there. This is where FestoolJunkie, TimmyC, RW, and MarkE will base our forum activity and I hope to see many of you woodworking enthusiasts over there to share, play, and learn.

As I mentioned above, the software is indeed superb and will be the perfect arena for content, reviews, and good ol’ conversation about Tools and woodworking. In my opinion, it is going to be a fresh, and certainly unique forum that has beautiful untended soil, that has not been “churned and burned.”

Please stop by and say hi,

Timmy C

Tool purchases can be difficult when you have a significant other monitoring your buys. Therefore, I have come up with the 9 ways to, “Hide tool purchases for your significant other”.

1. Use Pre-Paid Credit Cards from the bank of your choice. Often, if you squirrel away $20-$30 here and there, it is fairly easy to get up to the required dollar amount.

2. Purchase the tools on lay-away, so as not to have the glaring “big hit” to your credit card.

3. Purchase the tools with cash. Warning, make sure to get the tools dirty prior to showing them off.

4. Get a buddy to buy the tools and you pay them back. Careful, don’t tell the significant other it is a poker debt you are paying off.

5. Purchase several small tools over a period of time; never open them and keep the receipts! Then when you have enough credit on returning these items, get the one big item you desire.

6. Each project requires a new tool, make sure you commit to only the ones that require new tool purchases.

7. Purchase the tools, bring them home, and DO NOT USE THEM FOR SEVERAL WEEKS. This way, when asked if they are “New” you do not have to lie when you say NO!

8. Purchase large tools that can be dismantled; it is sometimes easier to get to the shop with the tools taken apart. Better yet, have the tools shipped to your work place, dismantle them there, and bring them home piece by piece. This is often beneficial for several reasons.

a. There is no packing material to throw away.

b. When you assemble the tool, it looks more like a repair job rather than a set up of the new tool itself.

c. Refer back to Rule 7: it may take a while to get the tool set-up. Therefore, when you are ready to fire it up, it is no longer a “new tool.”

9. Always round the purchase price down when asked how much something cost. I.e. if actual take home cost was $849, you would respond “about $800.” Tax never counts!

10. Please add your own creative ways to this post. I am always up for learnin’ somethin’!!!

Timmy C

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

Festool Junkie is now offering the finest sanding sponge on the market. Webb Abrasives has got it going on with these sponges. Webb has this groovy process called CRT (Clog Resistant Technology). CRT makes these little jobbies last longer, provides for a longer more consistent finish, the sponge doesn’t tear out, and you can work these crazy things wet or dry. Three very distinct factors come into play with CRT.

First off is the adhesive:

Webb’s “glue” is heat-resistant! The sponges are “hot”, but they stay cool. When most sanding sponges are used they heat up and cause the adhesive to “gum-up.” Because the Webb sponge doesn’t heat up, the grit doesn’t sink into the sponge like the others you are paying way to much for! The flexibility of the adhesive holds the grit upright and allows the points to flex instead of breaking off.

Second is the Grit: (Truly)

As are many of the other tools on FestoolJunkie, the grit for these sponges are made in the Fatherland…Yup…Germany. Because the adhesive is flexible, the points of the grit actually sweep back and forth. This allows the sponge to cut in an aggressive manner yet not break down. Adding to this technology, a thin clear coat of polymer is applied to the grit itself creating a thin barrier to…you guessed it…prevent clogging. The sponge is actually covered with grit absent of seams, REVOLUTIONARY! MORE SANDING SURFACE.

Thirdly: The Foam…duh duh duhnnnnnnnn

The foam Webb uses is called Blueflex. It is a soft foam pad….”just right” foam is what I call it. The foam is indeed just right to provide even pressure, hence, better control. Webb Foam can be contoured to any shape, this is cool because it relives the pressure on the grit at the “cutting points.” Putting pressure on a sanding sponge will cause it to fail; yet another reason to buy Webb. There are several shapes the pad comes in, and you can check out FestoolJunkie over the next several days to see these items.
These Sanding Sponges Rock! Like I said, if they didn’t work tremendously well, I wouldn’t have them on FestoolJunkie. These are indeed the finest sanding sponge on the market, and if you don’t like ‘em, send ‘em back.

There are, on many occasions, that I only need a small amount of paper to get a respective project done. Being a dealer, I have the privilege to grab whatever it is that I may need. However, as a consumer, I would imagine that there are times when a hobbyist, contractor or woodworker, would like to acquire just enough paper to get a job done. Mixing and matching Festool Abrasives (Rubin, Crystal, Brilliant 2, Titan II, Vlies, Platin, or Saphir), and several of each grit to complete a sanding cycle, with very little, if any left over.

Here is my question: What type of “job packs” would you all be interested in?

For example, for my floor installers: I make up “Stair Packages” A 10 Red Oak Stairtread job pack includes: 10 Rubin 50Grit, 10 Rubin 80Grit, 10 Rubin 120Grit, and 10 Rubin 180Grit.

What other ideas do you all have?

Timmy C