When Harry met Sally

Darkness quickly descended over the pristine white cylinder, but the ensuing silence would be short-lived.  Above, through a narrow opening in the now stationary silvery white surface above, a faint glimmer could be seen, and in that reveal, many, many teeth became apparent.

Suddenly, the silence was broken with an insidious roar, primal, ancient, mindless evil.  The once stationary teeth disappear into a blur of motion, and simultaneously descend.

Contact, a brief scream, and the evil deed is done.

—————-

I’ve probably got a bit of CJ Dennis in me (A Sentimental Bloke), and evidence can still be found in my attic storage – I’m sure there are still a few original boxes that once held some of the Triton tools I bought years ago.   However, that has rarely stopped me making a modification to something many others would regard as a sacrilegious act if I felt I could improve the item in some way.

In this case, my membership of FOG is probably about to be cancelled, as I broke the religion, and when Harry (the Triton Steel Cutter) met Sally (the Festool (and yes, I feel the cringes already around the world) boom arm). (FOG: Festool Owners Group)

To be able to easily get the Festool vac around the workshop with the boom arm attached, and not crash into each, and every ceiling joist, I decided to take 4″ off the overall height.  It is still well above my head, so there has been no practical loss in functionality, but still it is unusual for me to choose to make a modification that cannot be reversed to some degree.

The deed was quick, and relatively painless.  The finished edge was clean and square, and I dressed the corners with a quick file to round it slightly, drilled a hole for the retaining bolt, then applied a smear of Silbergleit (Silver Glide) before reassembly.

Worked well, and the result is much more functional for me, but still – making the decision to actually cut into a Festool anything was a matter of just doing it before more emotional reasoning stopped me!

Guess my warranty on that item is well and truly expired!