Official Luthiers Forum!

I'm shopping for a system for the 'home' part of my building. The big, really dusty machinery is out in the garage, and I have a cyclone system for that. But for the in-home part, I'm torn between the Festool CT-22 and the Fein Turbo units. Decibel level is a factor, but probably not the most important.

I will also want to get a sander set-up. I've seen the recommendations here for the Festool ES 125 and 150, but for guitar-building purposes I'm also wondering if the Fein FMM unit is enough for sanding guitar tops and backs.

Can anyone offer any new thoughts about these units, especially for in-home use?

TIA,
Ken

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC

Yeah... if you wanna know why folks comment frequently regarding how clean my shop is my Festool CT-22 HEPA is the reason. Of course you have to turn it on once in a while and use but it is an excellent vac.

Before I installed my dust collector I used my Festool CT-22 with a larger hose for thickness sanding with my Performax 10-20 and although not ideal it did work for me for 20 guitars or so.

The vac is powerful, something like 132 CFM IIRC, quiet, has auto on and off when using other tools that are plugged into the AC outlet, and I don't notice a lot of difference in suction until the bag is about half full/empty.

I also have the Festool 5" ROS and it's a great ROS. It was the third one that I ever owned and hands above the other Borg variety ROS's that I owned prior.

In combination I can sand dust free and I have even done demonstrations of this using black construction paper on horizontal surfaces while sanding spruce.

I have no experience with Fein so I can't comment but I am happy enough with my Festool stuff that if I ever had to replace it I would not even look further.

I have a Fein Turbo III 9-77-25. I can't tell you anything about sanding guitar tops though. I use it connected to my bench pin for sawing inlay and for routing. I bought it almost 3 years ago specifically to use in my living room at the time and it's done a great job. It kept the rest of my open floor plan place free from shell and ebony dust.

It's a quiet unit. Not silent, but it's not the piercing howl you get with some other, older vacs. Heck there are regular household vacuum cleaners I can barely stand for 5 minutes. I can saw for hours next to the Fein. I've run it hard for almost 3 years.

...Athena

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http://home.comcast.net/~ath3na3/Portfolio/Port.html

Hesh, I have space constraints, and was wondering if I would be able to use the festool ct22 or 33 with a performax 16-32. Do you think that would be workable, or should I just get the 10-22?
I can accept a less than perfect solution if it works at all,
thanks Mike

Hi Mike - some folks are not going to agree with me but I have actual experience with the combo of a CT-22 HEPA and Performax 10-20 Plus and this combo worked fine for me for 15 guitar or so. I would still be using it if TAS ha not struck a couple months ago when I purchased my dust collector.

The 10-20 is also preferred here over the 16-32 because I have yet to visit a builder with a 16-32 who could get it dialed in to .002 from level. One OLFer, Colin, went from a 10-20 to a 16-32 and back to the 10-20 IIRC because I felt that the 10-20 was a more precise machine.

Even though the drum is 10" on the 10-20 this also means that the requirements for dust collection are less than they would be if we are passing 16" wide plates through a sander with a 16" drum.

If you have space issue of which I can most certainly relate.... since I started building in a spare bathroom.... this combo can be very welcome. Also if you only have a 15A circuit these two machines will occasionally trip the breaker but this was resolved in my former shops by plugging the vac in down the hall on a different circuit.

So if it were me I would save some cash for some nice wood and get the 10-20 with either Festool. The only different with the CT-33 IIRC is move capacity but not more CFM. More expense too....

Thanks Hesh,
You've saved me some money and some space! I'll go with the 10-20 and probably the ct22. It's always nice to hear from folks that have used the tools,
Mike

Hesh and Athena...

Thanks for the recommendations. It looks like either one would work for the in-home part of my work.

I apperciate your time and thoughts,
Ken

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Ken Mitchell
Durham, NC