Festool Junkie Blog

The Great Walko Workbench Promotion

The Walko Workbench is an incredibly versatile, rugged, multi-purpose bench that
hit the U.S. economy at the worst possible time. There are numerous benches in
use in the States right now, and the reviews have been stellar.
It is crucial that the market penetration of this bench becomes deeper than it currently
is. With that in mind, Festool Junkie is greatly reducing the inventory of the
benches by offering an INCREDIBLE SPECIAL WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!
We are offering the Walko 3 Compact Bench at $525.00. This includes shipping to
the 48 Contiguous United States. We are offering the Walko 4 Pro Bench at $650.00
also including free shipping to the 48 Contiguous United States.
Click the Walko USA Logo and check out the Video. We are sure you will see the
versatility first hand, and the implications that are evident if you are using a
track-saw, job site clamping, limited space requirements, and overall ruggedness.

Once In A Lifetime Deal On A Walko

Walko 3 Compact Set
Walko 4 Professional Set
Qwas Dog and Rail Dog Combo

Don’t Pass Up This Deal! Limited Supplies are available so act quickly. Shipping
will come from our midwest warehouse and will be shipped LTL. We will ship out
the tables the same day providing orders are placed before 8 am Central Time.

Walko 3 Compact Work Bench

Our Price: $525.00
List Price: $729.00
S & H: $0.00 to the 48 Contiguous States

Walko 4 Professional Work Bench

Our Price: $650.00
List Price:$899.00
S & H: $0.00 to the 48 Contiguous United States

Qwas Dog Combo Pack With Rail Dogs

Our Price: $57.99
List Price: $57.99
S & H: $10.50

We would like to thank you in advance for your consideration of this UNBELIEVABLE
OFFER. This bench will truly revolutionize the way you work. Adding the Qwas Dogs
and Rail Dogs, you will be able to use your “Track Saw” rails with the 20mm dog
holes on the Bamboo tops. The Walko is not a new bench. It has been in use in
Netherlands and Europe for years; this bench will do anything you need it to do,
and it is built like a tank, yet EXTREMELY PORTABLE.
We are quite certain that once you get this bench in your shop, or in the field,
the uses are limitless; limited by lack of creativity.
If you have been looking at these Walko Tables or Walko Workbench as some call them,
and you have experienced some “price sensitivity” now is the time to jump. We would
like to get these tables into “end-user” hands to fully get the market ready for
a new way of working. These benches work so well with other “high-end” tools,
you will be absolutely amazed.

Sincerely,

Tim Colwell
President
Lincoln Hardwood and Tool Company, Inc.
Home of www.FestoolJunkie.com
an authorized and respected Festool Dealer.

There have been many inquiries lately regarding the new DeWalt Track Saw and the Makita Track Saw, can you guess what my opinion is? I suppose that the Plunge Cut Saw Revolution has finally come to this. However, there can only be one “Original”…you guessed it Festool.

The Festool TS 55 and Festool TS 75 are tried, true, and tested. It is going to be very interesting over the next several years, to see if the Yellow and Blue / Grey tools are still going to be running. I suppose I have to watch the color references because there are still Grey and Blue Festo Plunge Saws that came out in 1964.

Are the other tools gonna sell…probably…but will they tell the test of time?

Here is a good resource on the benefits and specs…

www.tracksaw.com

Three words come to mind and all of them have to do with the engineering:

The “Guts” aka. The Motor and it’s MMC Electronics (”Constant Blade Speed Under Load”) and Slip Clutch is so far advanced from D and M ; ask the DeWalt and Makita guys what their motors have to offer.

Track Saw Rails So Many to choose from, and expandability. Splinterguards, Slick Strips, yada yada yada.

Track Saw Accessories Blades for specific applications, Dust Covers, etc.

Timmy C

One challenge some of our peeps have is which saw to choose; the Festool TS 55 or the Festool TS 75. Both saws operate the same way, and both saws are awesome with regards to precision and usability. However, in many ways, choosing the “right” saw can be a bit of a task.

Here are a few questions that may make it easier.

Before you click the purchase button, consider these questions:
1. Is size and weight important to me?
2. What are the most common materials and thicknesses of you are cutting?
3. Is cost a factor in my decision?

Questions 1 and 2 are really at the core of which saw you should choose. For me, I am a short little Irish guy, and like the “nimbleness” of the TS 55. It has served me in my furniture business for years. One of the toughest materials for a saw to cut is Solid Surface used for countertops and the like. National solid surface fabrication, and installation companies are using the TS 55 for field work. For those folk that are the furniture making types that do a lot of plywood and 4/4, 5/4, even 8/4 (surfaced) solid wood, the TS 55 will suit you fine. Even with the occasional 8/4 stock that is surfaced to 1 3/4″ the TS 55 has the juice to do the deal.

If you are considering using your TS for production, I would recommend the Festool TS 75. The increased size of the motor, and the increased power provide you with a “beefier” saw that will take the “production environment” all day long. That is not to say that the TS 55 wouldn’t work for production, we are just talking “much more saw” with the TS 75.

The TS 75 is a lot of saw. Doors, no sweat! All day on a construction site cutting 1 1/2″ stock, then going to cut out a window, then trimming doors at 2″ the TS 75 is your saw. Further, if you are using the TS to joint rough lumber such as Oak, Maple, etc. The increased motor size will do you well.
Here are some one liners I have heard:

“The TS 75 will do anything that the TS 55 will do plus…”

“Weight is irrelevant due to the way the saw travels on the Guide Rail” My take, True but you still have to lift it, and place it on the guide rail.”
“The TS 55 is awesome for what I do…mostly single sheets of Plywood and 4/4 – 6/4 stock.”

More Considerations:

The TS 55 comes with a 55″ rail. The TS 75 comes with a 75″ rail.

To cut an 8′ length the TS 55 uses a 106″ rail. The TS 75 requires the 118″ rail.

Spec Comparison:

Mr. Brice Burrell is an outstanding carpenter. Brice has been a long time friend of FestoolJunkie and has been kind enough to allow us to post his review. Brice is a Pittsburgh based Renovation Contractor and truly a Festool Junkie. There is some killer information in this review, and the shots of the Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw and the Saw Helper Ultra Fence he incorporates with the Festool Saw.

Click Here To See Brice’s Review Of The Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw

Enjoy the reading, and if I know Brice, he would be more than happy to answer any questions you have. Brice can be found by going through his home page: Burrell Custom Carpentry

Thanks Brice….You Rock!!!

Timmy C

A friend of ours has graciously allowed me to post his latest creation. “Building a Festool Kapex work center for your shop or studio” has some awesome insight to the latest offering from Festool. If you are on the fence (no pun intended) or have pre-ordered a Kapex, you need to check out Jerry’s latest.

Festool Kapex Workstation

There are many of you that have pre-ordered from Festool Junkie that are planning on putting the Kapex to work in smaller shops. With Jerry’s idea, you can streamline the Kapex into an entity of the shop that is both vital, and doesn’t take up much space at all.

Check it out! Definitely worth the read!

Timmy C

Pre-Order Your Kapex Today On FestoolJunkie

When we had the Kapex in the shop last week, the one thing I wanted to see above all other features was the dust collection capability of the highly acclaimed Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw. We did a little test with me and my camera behind the Kapex. We then cut some 6/4 Alder board both with the hose on, and with the hose off. Here is what the camera saw:

Amazingly, whether the saw was bevelled or at a ninety, the dust extraction capabilities were the same. Festool recommends that you hook up a D36 hose on the machine and vacuum to get airflow to a maximum. We have indeed tried it on your midi in the shop, and it certainly works, but the increased diameter of a D36, and the CFM of the CT22 or CT 33 do make a difference.

Stay up to date with the RSS feed; there is much more to come as we get closer and closer to July 1st.

Have a great weekend,

Timmy C

Be the first to own a Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw! Pre-Order Today

One of the handy features of the Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw is the ability to set the depth of the cut. This feature allows the user to plow dados into the workpiece. The video below show us here in the shop doing that very thing. With the laser so “dead-on” it is easy to get the side walls of the dado perfectly aligned.

To get a nice smooth bottom, you will notice the backer board against the fence. This allows the bottom of the blade to pass entirely over the workpiece. ***If you leave this step short, you will not be as deep on the back of the cut*** Make sure your backer is wide enough to accomplish this maneuver.

With this feature, it is almost like having a mobile radial arm saw, only different. Now you have dust extraction and accuracy.

Timmy C

July 1st is only six weeks away. To get you ahead of the learning curve for your new Festool Kapex, the Festool Junkie blog is going to be posting frequently as we uncover the Kapex. If you have not already subscribed to the RSS feed please do so. This will ensure that you are notified of all the new posts that come on-line.

The pictures below are of the unloading and unpacking of the Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw. Festool has done a nice job in securing this gem inside the box. Festool Junkie will of course be reinforcing the packaging prior to shipping.

[View with PicLens]

Stay tuned for more Kapex stuff coming, and remember to click the little orange RSS feed tab to subscribe; you don’t want to miss out on some pretty new cool stuff coming on-line about the Kapex.

So here is your shot to PRE-ORDER YOUR KAPEX (click that and guarantee July 1st Shipping)

Timmy C

Yesterday we had the privilege of having a Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw
in our shop. There was a bit of video going on, and we got some great footage. The video
below shows off the Kapexs’ hold-down, and the Kapex laser. I apologize for the lack of
audio as this was my first attempt to edit with Adobe Premiere CS3; I’ll get it soon enough.

Notice the beginning of the video where Randy adjusts the hold-down; this was a honkin’
piece of 8/4 Hard Maple that extended well past the saw’s bed on the left side…it didn’t
budge after we adjusted it to the right.

I spliced in the second clip after the cut. I really couldn’t believe that the “laser-beam” (a
person must say that in their best Dr. Evil voice) was that DEAD-ON…right out of the box! This
is one killer saw! Click the RSS feed and subscribe to the Festool Junkie Blog. Now that
we have some kewl tools for video you won’t want to miss out as we begin posting.

Timmy C

July 1st, 2008 is yet another monumental day in the United States woodworking and light construction community; this is the day that the Festool Kapex KS 120 Sliding Compound Miter Saw will be available to ship. Not since the Festool Domino have we seen such anticipatory anxiety over a tool.

The Festool Kapex is truly a revolutionary machine. It took quite a while for the engineers at Festool to develop a miter saw that was indeed worthy of the Festool name. For example, one of the challenges was to keep the saw as light and mobile as possible; the answer is a magnesium base with rubber feet. The saw weighs in at a mere 47 lbs. Closing the saw up to transport is a snap as well; locking the head to the side makes the saw very easy to load-in.

On the job-site, with the exact height of the bed of the saw the same as Systainer 1, more than likely if you are a Festool Junkie, you already have extension wings to support your longer trim or boards. If you are truly looking for the Ultimate Fence Systerm made right here in America, with brackets specifically engineered for the Festool Kapex, read on.

Festool Junkie has teamed up with Sawhelper. There is not a better combination than Festool / Sawhelper if you want to make the ultimate job site system. Portability, Precision and Value are the hallmarks of Sawhelper; add the Kapex, and you have one sexy set-up! The Festool Sawhelper combo will be AWESOME, keep your eyes peeled on the junk for pricing! Tim M. up at Sawhelper has designed special brackets for the Kapex whereby you will not need to cringe and drill holes to mount the UltraFence. In just a few days, Festool Junkie will announce the Pimped out Kapex that will be ready to ship on July 1st, 2008.

We are very proud to announce this alliance between Sawhelper and Festool Junkie, so keep an eye out for the Timmy C. n Tim M (TnT) ’s Pimped out Kapex / Sawhelper Custom Bundle.

If you have never seen the Sawhelper in action. Watch the video by clicking this link. Sawhelper Ultrafence Video