New Tool Review - "Festool Circular Saw."

When I took on the task of reviewing the Festool circular saw, I wondered how I would treat it. The product is not new to me. I have had literature on it for years and, more recently, have seen the Festool booth appear at woodworking shows. My opinion was two part: a handsome and well made product line from Germany AND expensive. I have two quality circular saws and together, they cost less that the one saw.    But Festool doesn't really sell a circular saw, they sell a "system." It is the system that I want to try out. Is it really worth the money...particularly to the average woodworker?
	This is what UPS delivered to my shop door. So far the "System" is impressive. The guides were crated and specially packed so that they wouldn't be bent or harmed in any way during their 3,000 mile trip to my door.
I started some preliminary work before Karla arrived. Here I am following the instructions to fine tune the alignment guides on the saw. The long aluminum guides are an important part of the system. They are quite sturdy and very precise. Making this adjustment here reduced the small amount of play. The saw can be easily guided along the entire length.
	Another thing I can do in preparation for real use is to trim the guide strip. The guide is aluminum with a narrow hard rubber strip attached to the right side. This strip is about 1/16" too wide. Now that I have adjusted the saw to the guide, I can trim this rubber strip to exactly the cut line. To do this, I have clamped the guide to a spare length of MDF and will make a cut along the entire length. When I am done, I have an extremely accurate cutline that I can use to line up future cuts. I also have a hard rubber edge that helps minimize tearout — a "zero clearance" edge, so to speak.
I have made the trim cut on both the guides. Now, I am practicing the accuracy of the guide. I have drawn a line on another piece of scrap. Then, I aligned the guide to this line and made the cut. The cut was placed exactly where is should be and the kerf was clean and free from any sign of chipping.
	Say "Hello" to Karla. She is a young lady in the neighborhood that stops in occasionally to see what woodworking I am doing . She is a nursing student who has almost no extra time, but she wanted to see the "new things" work, so I suggested that we find some time and I would do the "step-by-step" with her. She is a breeze to work with and has even worn her "Festool green" jersey.
For this review, I received the four packages with basically the circular saw (A) box), the vacuum (C), and guide system (B). I also received two guides — one for short crosscuts (55") and one for long panel rips (102").
	To test the system as a system, I have decided to make a simple, traditional cabinet. I am showing Karla the article in the current issue of Woodworkers' Journal.
Earlier in the week, I had spent some time "researching" cabinet making. I have made plenty but wanted to be sure that I started this project with good dimensions. I want to make a cabinet 24" wide and 24" deep with a height of 34 1/2". This is a pretty standard "box" and a good place for us to start.    I have Karla checking the dimensions in a cutting layout sheet.
	The program I used to layout the various parts to the cabinet is "CutList Plus." Very often I just doodle out the cut list on a sheet of paper. This time I decided to "do it the right way." It is a neat little program with the basic model costing $25.00. You enter the dimensions of each of the pieces and it will draw an itemized picture of how you should cut your lumber — in this case a 4 X 8 sheet of white melamine 3/4" flakeboard.    (Note: CutList Plus is available on line.)
Karla uses the CutList Plus printout to mark the board in preparation to making the first cut. The layout sheet shows that the first cut should be a cross cut (where I have drawn the red line.)