Thread: Festool modular vs dedicated carba-tec?

The CS50 by itself is pretty small you are better off getting whole kit with the side tables and all by which point you would have spent over $3000 just on the saw. Given the depth of cut and power, you will probably be waiting a something more like CS70. If you are mainly cutting sheet goods then the CS50 would be okay but I think MFT plus TS55 is better for that, except for narrow rip cuts. As for the space saving, neither the CS50 nor the CS70 play with the MFT anyway, you have to get the two legged bench and a saw module for that. I have a lot of Festool gear but I find the prices pretty hard to swallow and the prices of their non hand held gear in aus seems crazy to me.

And what about all the stuff Festool doesn't make, bandsaw, jointer, thicknessers, drill press, etc.

Carbatec can be cost effective. I am weary of all the Chinese made cast iron machines personally. I did get a Carbatec jointer though which I am happy with.

I wouldn't limit myself to just two brands but read up on the machines individually.
This table saw which got reviewed here recently seem really nice for the money.

silly comparison

The festool is a portable saw designed for on the go portible work

and the Catbatek is a stand alone dedicated table saw

Originally Posted by jong

And what about all the stuff Festool doesn't make, bandsaw, jointer, thicknessers, drill press, etc.
.

What about it?

Passing lightly over the unhelpful replies, the answer to your question is: it depends.

That is to say, what will you be making? How often will you use the tools? Do you ever need to take the tools to another site? Are you working primarily with sheet goods or raw timber? And so on. Think through as many similar questions as you can come up with and then begin the decision process.

Many hobbyists (deciding to build furniture, for example) begin with a table saw and build their collection from there. Others, doing mostly home improvement DIY, begin with smaller, portable tools (like a mitre saw, for instance) and buy the larger things later.

My advice? Think it through, start slowly (don't run and buy everything at once), perhaps buy tools only as you need them for a project. You will soon have a collection that meets YOUR needs, rather than some "ideal" setup.

Just my two bob worth.

Thanks everyone for your comments/feedback etc they were all very helpful.

Daniel, it probably is a silly comparison in the sense that one is designed to be portable and the other isn't - i won't be moving the tools around, so i was looking for comparison in quality, accuracy and flexibility - since they would both work out the same price once fully decked out. Understand the price in the CS is for it's portability, but i also understand that there isn't much better than Festool... if you ask a lot of people.

My current list of furniture requirements only lends me to needing something like the CS50, however i didn't want to find in 12 months time that i needed a 70mm cut and can't - "if only i had of bought the..."

Honorary - very sensible approach, which is probably the right answer ) I need a machine that will deal with sheet material, thin cuts and repeatable accurate and angled cuts. Ideally it would be dynamic enough that i could do without getting the Festool KAPEX 120 sliding compound... which would extend my budget for other tools.

Thanks again guys! greatly appreciate the comments and feedback.

Tony




Jong - that's a very nice machine! and at the right price. I've had a look at a few brands, they are all very similar on paper, im keen to hear from someone who has used it.

My needs for the machine

Originally Posted by ecks79

Jong - that's a very nice machine! and at the right price. I've had a look at a few brands, they are all very similar on paper, im keen to hear from someone who has used it.

My needs for the machine

Have a look here https://www.woodworkforums.com/f153/new-tablesaw-120341/
I will be purchasing one of these saws in a couple of weeks when i get the cash together. Like others, i've been comparing stats and prices for a while. IMO this is a very good deal.

Hey thanks NCArcher. I've had a look and a few people have raised this as being a good machine. Worth taking a closer look i think!

Is it the same as this one here? it looks the same but branded differently.

T