Replies

1. 
   theslateman | Mar 10, 2009 05:18pm | #1

   Both !

2. 
   AitchKay | Mar 10, 2009 05:36pm | #2

   Ditto -- Both!

   Nothing beats the table saw for ripping lumber. It's fast, especially if you have more than one piece to rip.

   But it won't straighten a wavy edge like the Festo setup.

   I've thought about rigging a 9'Festo rail with cable, just like a parallel rule on a drawing board. It wouldn't be hard to do, and then you'd have a panel saw, too.

   AitchKay

3. 
   hammer1 | Mar 10, 2009 05:55pm | #3

   You aren't going to run molding heads, dado blades, tenon jigs or cutoff sleds on a Festool. It's not easy ripping out thin strips from narrow boards or making multiple repeat cuts on the Festool either. Nice units but a far cry from a table saw.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

4. 
   CardiacPaul | Mar 10, 2009 06:59pm | #4

   Like others have said, Both.

   That being said;

   The Festool is great for sheet goods & I've used it for edging rough lumber although not the best use of the tool.

   You still will need a table saw for ripping lumber, dadoes, molding heads. The Festool allowed me to buy a smaller table saw as it wasn't needed for sheet goods now, also a large table saw that can accommodate sheet goods will need more floor space to  run sheets like 20 ft. were a Festool you can rip a sheet in as little as 10 ft. & I find it produces a better cut.

   Hope this helps

    No one should regard themselve as "God's gift to man." But rather a mere man whos gifts are from God.

5. 
   popawheelie | Mar 10, 2009 08:53pm | #5

   IMO the tablesaw is at the heart of the shop. Get a good one with a good outfeed table and all the accesories.

6. 
   webted | Mar 10, 2009 10:42pm | #6

   A bandsaw

7. 
   jagwah | Mar 10, 2009 11:57pm | #7

   In my world there is nothing better than a quality tablesaw in the hands of someone who knows how to use one,such as myself. NBJF

    

    

8. 
   oldfred | Mar 11, 2009 02:18am | #8

   You can do almost anything with a table saw that you can do with the Festool. Not so the other way around.

   Get a table saw.     Instead of the Festool, make some "shooting boards" from scrap pieces of sheet goods.     

   Go to "Advanced Search" (at the top of the list of thread titles on the left of your computer screen).   Click, and type in "shooting boards".

   They're easy to make and work like the Festool, not as fancy, but quick, cheap, and easy to use.

    Later,  when you get some extra cash, spring for the Festool set-up. 

    

9. 
   andy_engel | Mar 11, 2009 02:29am | #9

   Much as I like Festool stuff, I'm with OldFred.

   Andy

   "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig." Robert A. Heinlein (or maybe Mark Twain)

   "Get off your dead #### and on your dying feet." Mom

   "Everything not forbidden is compulsory." T.H. White, The Once and Future King