Until recently, I did not get too excited about dust extractors and dust collection in general. However, anyone with an open mind realizes the dangers of breathing fine dust particles. At best, dust is a nuisance in the shop and job site that must be discarded. If you're working in someone's home, it is especially important to collect your dust and debris. I know all of this, but over the years I have not been a great practioneer in dust collection.

A few years ago we invested in two Fein dust extractors. They work great. They provide an accessory outlet for a power tool so that the extractor automatically runs when the power tool is started. They're relatively quiet, easy to wheel around, the hose locks into the inlet, and generally do what a dust extractor should do, suck dust! On the negative side, they are prone to tip over (though better balanced than most shop-vacs) and provide no onboard storage for the cord or hose-- consequently, depending on who last used it, the cord and hose are generally under foot.

The Festool CT22E provides all of the features of our Fein units including:

• Auto starts when a connected power tool is powered on.
  
  
• Extremely quite operation (we've been having vac wars, Fein vs. Festool, and the Fein wins, which probably means it loses. Anyone using the Festool can only hear the Fein. Not very scientific, but...)
  
  
• Captures even the finest dust.
  
  
• Accepts the Fein, Shopsmith, Mr. Nozzle, and other 2-1/2" hoses.

However, the Festool CT22E provides the following additional features:

• Onboard storage for the cord and optional accessory hook for the hose.
  
  
• Variable speed, suction power. I've been using the extractor at full power, but it provides the capability of controlling the power to match a particular operation.
  
  
• Large and Lockable Casters. The large casters allow the unit to roll over obstacles that hang up smaller wheels. Of course a shop floor should be perfectly clean and void of such obstruction, but....
  
  
• A filter cleaning device. The exhaust filters look like the high-tech air filters on late model cars. A large green handle is provided at the rear of the unit that you pull to comb across the filter to clean it. I really can't vouch for how long it extends the useful life of the filter, but I'll add that information as time goes on.
  
  
• Anti-static hose. Passing air and material through PVC and plastics builds up static, period. These hoses are designed to prevent static, and it works. If you don't mind a static-cling/shocks, you can save some $$ by purchasing their conventional hoses.
  
  
• Low, wide construction resists tipping. Our shop floor is anything but smooth. We can (and do) roll the unit over our floor mats, cord protectors, and so forth without tipping the unit over.
  
  
• Long hose and AC Cord. The hose and (and the ATF 55E AC cord) are long enough to extend the full length of a sheet of plywood.
  
  
• Wide Flat Top. The wide flat top provides a handy place to rest tools. Plus, it provides the necessary shape and latches to accept and lock Festool systainer cases. Thus the CT22E provides a solid and portable base that allows you to wheel your collection of Festools and Festool systainers around the shop, outside the shop, to the job site, etc.
  
  
• Blower Port. The CT22E provides a blower port on the lower left-side of the unit that provides a "soft" pressure of air that you can use to lightly blow dust off of surfaces to be finished or speed the drying of mineral spirits or water on wetted work surfaces.
  
  
• Tons of Accessories. Festool offers a wide variety of accessories including a significant array of hoses in both anti-static and conventional varieties, handles, cleaning kits, hose hooks, and so forth.

The only negative I have experienced with the Festool CT22E in comparison with the Fein (and other shop vacs), is it appears that you must use a filter bag to protect (extend the life of) the filters. Our Fein units each have a large conical cloth filter that allows the big stuff to collect in the tank. All material collected by the Festool ends up in the bag. Festool offers a large reusable bag, but it is quite expensive. (See remarks from Festool USA CEO Christian Oltzscher below.)

When used with the ATF 55E circular saw and our covered cutting table, the CT22E extracts virtually all of the dust. Some dust escapes towards the front at the end of the cut (as the blade exits the workpiece), but that's it. Consequently, a lot less dust ends up in our lungs, saving our health. And a lot less dust ends up on the floor, saving us time. The ATF 55E/CT22E combination would be the ticket when working in a customer's home (or your home), especially a carpeted room, as it leaves very little dust/debris to clean up.

From a performance point of view, it's the Festool guide rails that really set this saw apart from our DeWALT and Porter Cable saws. It may be a bit unfair to compare DeWALT and PC saws with the ATF 55E, since they were designed first and foremost as framer's tools, and as such do a fine job. However, many of us use these saws to cut panels and do finish carpentry and this is where the ATF 55E and its guide rails really shine.

I have made and use a number of guides with our circular saws. They work fine. However, since they are not "integrated" with the saws, I do have to be careful in operation to keep the saw up against the fence of the guide. Also, since the guides are made of wood, they are heavy and are prone to getting banged up.

Here is a list of what I like about the Festool guide rails:

• Made of stable material, extruded aluminum. (Note that this is not uncommon among aftermarket cutting guides.)
  
  
• The extrusion includes a rib that mates with the shoe/base plate of the ATF 55E saw (and other Festool products). (This integration is uncommon among the aftermarket cutting guides.)
  
  
• The extrusion includes a channel that allows you to clamp the guide to a workpiece without the clamp obstructing the path of the saw or blade.
  
  
• The channel also accepts the accessory angle guide. This guide allows you to set the guide for performing crosscuts at virtually any angle. The angle marks on the guide are accurate, however I am finding it best to align the angle guide and guide to a square or a reference board. (This is uncommon among the aftermarket cutting guides.)
  
  
• Another inexpensive channel accessory allows you to connect/join multiple Festool guides if you require their combined length.
  
  
• The non-slip strips applied to the bottom of the guides continue to amaze me. As long as you do not apply lateral pressure, but do apply downward pressure during a cut, the guides stay in place, even on slick melamine. (This is uncommon among the aftermarket cutting guides.)
  
  
• The splinter guard serves its two purposes well providing excellent protection against splintering and providing a zero reference for the guide. As long as your waste is to the right of the guide, and you place the guide on the cut mark, your workpiece will be splinter free and will cut as accurately as you marked it. (This is uncommon among the aftermarket cutting guides.)
  
  
• The no-snag deflector is a simple piece of black plastic that does a good job of preventing the extractor hose and saw's AC cord from snagging the end of the guide. I did find that for best results you should set the dust extractor directly behind the guide rail. I was into the habit of placing the dust extractor along the right edge of the guide. Consequently, the hose attempted to make a turn, up and over the deflector leading to some stiction. (This is uncommon among the aftermarket cutting guides.)

In several weeks of use I have not found a single thing I don't like about the guide rails, nor anything I would change. However, in regards to the guide rail accessories, it would be great if there were some method of indexing or locking the angle guide to 0° and perhaps 45°, or perhaps a fixed guide. I found the engraved angle lines are accurate, but in use, if I did not set the angle guide (once attached to the guide rail) to a reference board or square, the finished cut was not exactly at the desired angle. This does not indicate that the engraved lines are inaccurate, but due to the length of the guide and the small radius of the angle guide, an imperceptible error in aligning the angle lines results in a perceptible error near the end of the guide.

It is a real pleasure to use the ATF 55E, the guide rails, and the CT22E. The circular saws I use in the shop are not designed specifically for cabinetmaking and finish carpentry. With the proper blade, shop-made or purchased guide rails, and careful setup, saws like the DeWALT 364 and PC 743 work very well. However, out of the box, the ATF 55E and its supplied 55" guide rail (and available 106" guide rail) work perfectly in our shop. The dust collection capability of the ATF 55E, when mated to the Festool CT22E (or our Fein Turbo II), is excellent. As previously noted, it is virtually impossible to attach a dust collection hose to our DeWALT 364.

I like the integration of the ATF 55E, the guide rails, guide rail accessories, the systainers, the dust extractor, and so forth. It is obvious that the Festool designers looked carefully at the needs of the small shop / job site carpenter/cabinetmaker, and produced a system that would be easy to use, reliable, accurate, and so forth. In fact, it's performance is really RARE (Repeatable, Accurate, Reliable, Ergonomic) (okay, I'm getting sappy). The quality and accuracy of cut I get with the ATF 55E and its guide rails, in conjunction with our panel cutting table, does away with any further though we've had about purchasing a panel saw.

Thanks again to Festool for the opportunity to use these tools in our shop. Hopefully, in a week or so we can post pics and possibly more videos of the kitchen remodel (24 feet of cabinets) we're performing, using the Festool tools.