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Festool finally announced USA retail pricing for their new 18V X2 (36V) cordless table saw, and it’s cheaper than I had expected!
The complete Festool cordless table saw tool kit (CSC SYS 50 EBI-Set) will be priced at $1999, which is by no means inexpensive. The kit with batteries, but not the rolling stand, will be $1798.
I’m surprised – here’s why:
6 months ago, Festool USA announced the saw at a social media influencer event and via a rather uninformative livestream. As there was no press release or media kit, I turned to Festool’s European product pages for details.
At the time, the cordless Festool table saw kit was $2185 (converted from GBP) in the UK, and $2164 in the EU (converted from Euros). The saw kit set – with the rolling stand – was $2548 in the UK (converted from GBP) and $2511 in Europe (converted from Euros).
All of the Festool tools and accessories I have ever looked at cost either just a little more to buy in the USA than in Europe, or considerably more.
Given those prices, it seemed fair to think that the USA price would also be over $2000.
Festool USA just sent out a summarizing press release – about an hour and a half after their consumer newsletter hit my inbox, and also after I received preorder notifications from a retailer. (Note to marketing professionals: “better late than never” doesn’t apply to press releases, especially when they follow social media influencers’ hands-on coverage by 6 months.)
The press release had “starting at” pricing of $1499, and I found kit and set pricing elsewhere.
$1999 is indeed less than the $2000 price I predicted, at least until Festool’s next price increase. This is for the complete tool set kit, with the table saw, 2 batteries, charger, tool boxes, and portable work stand.
The most basic tool-only option is $1499, and the kit with batteries and charger is $1798.
The new Festool cordless saw has an 11″ rip capacity, max cutting depth of 1-7/8″ at 90°, and 1-11/32″ at 45°. (This means that the saw can cut through 2x material at 90°, but not at 45°.)
The saw is said to weigh 45 lbs without batteries.
As per the online user manual, you must use Festool 18V batteries greater than or equal to 4Ah. This seems reasonable to me.
With some digging through the online user manual, the blade size is the same as for the European model – 168mm, or 6-5/8″, with a 20mm arbor hole. This means that users will likely have to rely on Festool for replacement blades – at least unless or until third party options become readily available.
It seems that Festool USA is being very aggressive with the pricing, presumably to help drive sales and adoption. Maybe they see this as the type of tool to bring contractors and professional tool users over to their 18V cordless power tool system.
It’s unclear how long this pricing will last. Is this introductory pricing? Or will they stay at this level for a while?
I hope this sets a precedent, but doubt that it will.
Personally, I think the portable stand will be necessary, given the saw’s small table size. Other brands’ portable table saws offer much greater ripping capacity, along with greater table support for crosscuts. You shouldn’t use the rip fence for crosscuts, but most models have fold-down supports that prevent the weight of a long board from applying pressure across the blade.
What do you think of the pricing? Would you pay $1798 for the kit, or $1999 for the kit with rolling support stand?
