Festool's Proprietary Bench Dogs: a Step too Far

Engineered Incompatibility: a Festool Core Design Principle

Anybody familiar with Festool probably also knows that the company's tools tend to not fit industry standard accessories.  For example, Festool's TS-series plunge-cut saws ride on a guide rail, but won't fit into rails that fit most other circular saws.

Festool's Not Just for The Pros: Quality Tools are even More Critical to the Inexperienced User

Festool from a Novice's Perspective
The first time I walked into my local woodworker's store, I was seeing most of the power tools on the market for the first time.  I had never used a router or band saw, and had never heard of a jointer or thickness planer.  Until that day, my only exposure to woodcraft was through my contractor friends (who also hadn't heard of a jointer) and memories of my dad's hobbyist hand tools.

Ikea Expedit Clone - From Reclaimed Heart Pine

My girlfriend and love of my life (xoxo MyMy :-) has been in need of shelving. And she was getting tired of waiting for my cabinetry skills to improve beyond bookshelves. So when she pointed to the Ikea Expedit shelf and said "We need this for our daughter's toys...NOW" - I figured it was time to leave the world of bookshelves and tables and make a proper case.

Luckily, I didn't end up trying to make a real cabinet, carcase and all.  Instead, I decided to build a clone of the Ikea piece.  With a couple of tweaks, of course.