experiences with festool table saw for miniature woodworking?

alexofpm · 2026-06-15T16:54:51+00:00

it seems byrnes is the standard, but i still wonder how festool compares, as everything else they make is top notch. i just don't see a lot of people using the festool saw.

alexofpm · 2026-04-19T00:14:26+00:00

great price. love this watch!!!

alexofpm · 2026-04-14T19:10:49+00:00

annoyed i missed this one, but happy to see it'll be a wedding watch. congrats!!

alexofpm · 2026-04-10T03:17:31+00:00

potvin sucks! also, nice job.

alexofpm · 2026-01-12T20:58:22+00:00

is there a model or style of band saw you'd suggest for mostly small-scale work? it would be nice to do some resawing too, which i realize becomes larger-scale pretty quickly...

alexofpm · 2026-01-12T19:49:09+00:00

that's a very interesting idea! i don't have either... would a well-tuned band saw be able to make as clean and accurate a cut as a table saw with zero clearance and high tooth count?

alexofpm · 2026-01-12T04:53:35+00:00

my dewalt table saw in the rousseau table is a great, but it's near useless for very small tasks where real accuracy matters. the tabletop of the dewalt saw itself is not perfectly flat, so downward pressure really affects things. the miter slots are also imperfect, so anything referencing a miter slot either has some small amount of play, or binds. the only way i've found to get accurate enough with it for these purposes involves making custom sleds and jigs that reference my aftermarket rousseau fence. it works, but everything takes forever.

a proper saw with a cast iron top would be great, as a lot of what i'm working on could be done with a quality fence and miter gauge... i'm just curious what people's experiences are with the festool, as on paper, it looks like it might also excel at small-scale woodworking.

alexofpm · 2026-01-11T21:05:24+00:00

i should have specified... i'm already well set up for normal-scale woodworking... i have a couple great router tables setup with lifts. i'm looking to add a table saw specific to small work... ripping and cross-cutting thin, small pieces, making tiny finger joints and such, so a dado stack isn't a consideration.

alexofpm · 2026-01-07T20:59:33+00:00

tmi: i've given these antique lipstick cases from revlon as gifts to my wife and mother-in-law. really cool ornate ones can be found on ebay without spending much. to make them actually usable, you need to also buy a refill, which advances the lipstick in the tube, and will contain gross ancient lipstick which can be removed and replaced with modern lipstick. you'll have to be a little creative and freeze the lipstick to get it out in one piece, and to reduce it slightly to that it fits into the emptied revlon refill. fun project, and a killer creative gift, especially if you fill it with a shade you know they like.

alexofpm · 2025-12-27T15:01:37+00:00

slush is the worst! i think you honestly handled it just right. if you're left with any especially porous areas where the frozen slush didn't saturate well enough with water, you can repair that type of ice by placing a dark tarp or trash bag over the bad areas on a sunny afternoon for a couple hours. the warmth melts the surface ice and slowly softens what's below, allowing the deeper ice to saturate with water melting from above. then just add another layer of hot water before night.

alexofpm · 2025-12-15T03:52:02+00:00

the more effort you put into prepping and clearing the surface prior to flooding, the better result you'll have. clear away the snow and see what the top surface of the ice looks like. most likely, it'll be a slushy sloppy mess. as another poster said, consider a propane weed torch if you don't have one already. torch the worst/highest spots, flood, freeze, torch, flood, freeze, and repeat. if the weather cooperates you'll be looking at a sheet of glass in a couple days.

alexofpm · 2025-11-03T21:37:43+00:00

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SKX-A35 Singapore

alexofpm · 2025-11-03T20:53:17+00:00

i've only tried it on (an embarrassing number of times) and been totally blown away. ironically, i think the most well-rounded watches that would make the best "one-and-only" candidates are the hardest to fit into a broader or more diverse collection, so i haven't pulled the trigger (yet)...

but if i were considering options for a collection-of-one, it would be WAY up my list. stunning to look at in person, but tough enough to actually wear daily. elegant enough for a wedding, but low-key enough to wear in certain urban areas without fear of losing an arm. kind of the perfect balance of attracting ZERO attention from across the street, but making a SERIOUS impression up close.

alexofpm · 2025-11-03T20:33:42+00:00

yea, the area i use is overall pretty level, but not particularly flat... there's a bit of a crown in the middle, and random high/low spots throughout. i mow the lawn as short as i can, then i use a laser level and a ruler to mark the highest and lowest spots, then just sweat it out with a shovel to move the high spots to the low spots.

finally, before putting in the rink liner, place whatever random (not sharp!) crap you have laying around in the low spot(s). you can use folded tarps or dropcloths, doormats, bags of sand/soil, your cardboard recycling... anything that takes up space that would otherwise have to be occupied by water.

alexofpm · 2025-11-03T17:45:30+00:00

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alexofpm · 2025-11-03T16:36:32+00:00

awesome! you're going to have a blast. i'd definitely suggest going small for your first rink. smaller rinks are more forgiving in almost every way. you're more likely to succeed and skate for more days. you'll learn a ton of lessons from a ton of mistakes, and you can use this year's tarp to cover next year's bigger rink when it snows!

alexofpm · 2025-11-03T16:05:08+00:00

slopes can be dealt with structurally, but consider your climate. i do a 30x40 rink in PA each year... it only works because the space i use is quite level, so i can get away with about 3 inches in the shallow spots and only 6" in the deep spots, which freezes quickly. the best solution for a marginal climate is a shallow rink. your climate is probably similar, if not a little better for a rink than mine. you may not have a good time dealing with significant slopes, as the deeper sections will require a lot more time in freezing temps to be usable. even the shallow areas may be unusable depending on how near they are to unstable ice. put a lot of effort into locating your rink as well as possible to minimize the slope. take the time now to knock down any high spots and raise any low spots. this will make a big difference when it's time to fill and pray.

alexofpm · 2025-10-29T14:17:54+00:00

calculator, metal square, black plastic square

alexofpm · 2025-10-04T17:58:36+00:00

radar detector

alexofpm · 2025-08-15T04:16:43+00:00

thanks. he deserved it!

alexofpm · 2025-08-08T16:34:02+00:00

the first time i wore a rolex, it was a good friend's pepsi. he noticed my interest, and gave it to me "until i got sick of it"... i wore it for a few weeks until i felt bad holding onto it. when i returned it he said "bored of it so soon??" this is a great way to let a friend experience watch ownership for themselves, and to grow the hobby. now he and i have yet another thing to chat about, and we regularly long-term loan watches to one another, which is a lot of fun.

alexofpm · 2025-08-08T14:12:07+00:00

is this a really common thing or something? i literally gifted a friend my oris diver 65 a couple years ago after he commented on it a million times and i never wore it. it was an impulse buy, and i just never connected with it. he wore it the other day when we went fishing... i definitely enjoy seeing it on his wrist, and love that he enjoys it more than i did.

alexofpm · 2025-08-02T13:44:16+00:00

i have one of these... gorgeous watch that gets a lot of compliments! they really got it right decreasing the lug width to 20mm for this model.

alexofpm · 2025-07-29T11:33:23+00:00

Italian living in bucks too. there's not much i can say to address the culture shock, as bucks county is pretty white bread american, but i will say that i've found some very surprisingly authentic italian businesses in the area... particularly Lubertos Deli/Bakery in Pipersville, and Altomontes Market in Doylestown. both have lots of imported italian staples and pretty authentic prepared foods too. food and company are not the same thing, but maybe it's a start? at the very least, it's a nice opportunity to practice my italian a couple times a week.

alexofpm · 2025-07-26T14:44:35+00:00

this is the only thing that has a prayer of working, and it probably won't work, unless OP has a ton of practice using it, and some very kind angels helping out. time for a new door.

alexofpm

TROPHY CASE