Cordless Drill

[boofredlay]

Eric, get a drill with Li-ion batteries. They'll last longer.

Funny, the Milwaukee was a Li-Ion set and only lasted 1/3 the time as my old Porter Cable Ni-Cad.

I will check out the Festool. The closest retailer is in Scottsboro which is almost 2 hours from my house. I just might order online.

[Dave R]

That's odd. I have a DeWalt Li-ion drill and have excellent service from it.

Festool is indeed good. I have several of their tools but not the drill.

[MtnTrails]

Get a Festool C12 or T12 / T13 drill / driver - they are the best tools you can buy and the system they are a part of is second to none. You will pay more initially but the investment will be worth it over time.

Once you have done Festool there ain't no going back. I honestly regret buying any other brand.

What they said, +1. I have a couple of the C12's with 3.0 ah batteries. The interchangeable chucks are great time savers. I can install most of a kitchen (near continuous use) on one battery. Have used them with a 4" hole saw on occasion with no problem. I honestly think they have near as much torque as the 18v Dewalts I used to use. The price is hard to swallow if you don't use 'em every day, but well worth it IMHO.

BTW, LOVE that SU version Jenny!

[boofredlay]

Thanks

[dermotcoll]

Are you going to get the Festool C12 cordless with your winnings on the challenge Boo????

[boofredlay]

YES! ha ha.

I had surgery recently so all "projects" have been on the back burner. I am getting back to normal, whatever that is, and will most likely order one soon.

[Lobster]

My 4 year old Festool cordless was stolen the other year. I was gutted. When i first had it a freind of mine looked in the case filled with eccentric and round corner attatchments and said it looked like a sniper rifle. In terms of precision and performance the comparison proved pretty much spot on.

I went for a Makita Li ion 18v replacement, it was on offer at a significant reduction, dont remember the number but it is strangely coloured white and grey and it certainly does all i ask of it through timber (big forstner bits) and 8mm mild steel flat bar (12ml bits): it is extremely powerful. I tend to think that the ah on the battery is maybe more important than the volts. The weight is also a winner after a long day.

Bought this before the Li ion festools came out and i can imagine that in terms of power and controlability these will be somewhere near the best machine money can buy and even though the outlay is large, if they are to be used every day as they are designed to be, they will represent good value for money and be a joy to use. The Festool deburring countersink is also really nicely engineered and recommended.

I also have an old Fein cordless that keeps on going and an obvious weakness for European tools! One day i WILL own a Felder cf741. Good luck with the cordless hunt, dont think you will be dissapointed with the Festool.

Regards

Sam

[xrok1]

well ive had a dewalt 18v for about 10 years still going strong and i use it hard doing alarm and cctv install drilling concrete for plugs etc. i bought a new one last year because it came with 2 batteries and was only about $10 more than the batteries alone. i recently found that the new dewalt li-ion batteries with also fit my old drill and recip saw and circular-saw and side grinder (all 18v) so i'm smiling. when its time i'll buy the li-ion batteries and be good to go.

[chrisjk]

If Planet Festool is too far, something closer to earth is the Panasonic range. I love Festool stuff and have several of their tools but for a drill I couldn't face the cost but wanted a good tool. Lots of research led me to Panasonic and I am very happy indeed with it. My new 14.4 Li-ion drill is lighter than the 12v NiCad drills I have had, much more powerful and very well balanced. It drives screws perfectly too.

[boofredlay]

Ok, so I am ready to purchase a Festool C12.

Sticker shock yes so I have a couple questions if you please:

1. Is there a big difference in usage between the 3 battery types? I would be using it mostly for around the house stuff. But larger projects could be in order. I mean come on, I built my shed already I also understand that if one wants the larger battery in the future it is compatible.

2. Recommendations for places to purchase. I found out that the only place close to me that sold them is no longer in business. So unless I want to drive to Nashville, Chattanooga or Atlanta, which I don't, I should get it online. And Rockler is sold out... boo hoo. So who do you trust?

Thanks again all.

[Dave R]

Eric, considering things like replacement cost, battery life and run time, I would be inclined to go for the for the NiMh battery. It'll last much longer in terms of years than the NiCd batteries. From my experience with them at work and here at home, they hold a charge longer, too. That means you can not use it for awhile and it'll work when you need it

As to supplier, I've gotten all of my Festool stuff from Jamestown Distributors. They are very good to deal with and they have fast service. I don't think there's any point in price shopping. Everyone is the same on the price.

Good choice of drill.

[boofredlay]

Thanks Dave. And it seems Jamestown is having a 15% sale so it is the best price I have seen yet.

[Dave R]

Order it now, then.

You can also get an anchor for your boat while you're at it. And some pine tar and whipping twine and...

[boofredlay]

Hey, do you need Festool driver and drill bits? I notice some are notched. Will standard drill and driver bits work ok?

[Dave R]

I think it'll use the standard driver bits you can get anywhere. Get the keyless chuck, too.

[boofredlay]

Thanks again Dave, and for the phone chat tonight.
Drill kit ordered [patiently awaiting arrival]

[Dave R]

It was good to chat. I'm almost as excited as you are to get it.

[boofredlay]

Just got an email that it shipped. Fast turn around.

[Dave R]

Wow! You might have it Monday.

[Jeff Hammond]

fellas.. gonna have to say that's one ugly looking drill
doesn't have the right ergonomics either.. i don't think you can hold it the right way.

to each their own though

[Dave R]

Jeff, I've used one and watched a friend use it a lot. Never any problemswith holding it right that I could see.

[Jeff Hammond]

a lot of people actually hold drills in the palm of their hands and use the pinky and ring fingers on the trigger.. (which puts your arm/shoulder/body directly behind the motor and inline with the bit.. ie- way more power and stabilitly)

i watched the C12 advertisement:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 774&hl=en#

...and it looks like he's constantly putting his other hand on top of the drill to get the extra power But, that's the same place where the gear shift is so i'm guessing the switch gets changed accidentally.


i sort of wish one of these tool companies would do some scientific research on how we actually hold drills and/or how best to design a drill for optimum stability and power.. this gun handle type design has been around forever and surely they didn't get it right on the first try ?


screenshot from the festool video:

screen3.jpg

[Dave R]

I use both DeWalt and Milwaukee cordless drills at work nearly every day and have never found the need to hold the drill as you describe. That's just me, though. Doesn't seem like a point worth arguing about since most drills are designed to be triggered with the index or second finger.

[Jeff Hammond]

oh wait, i'm not coming from an argument stance.. just nerding out on drills

i assume you're doing mainly light duty work if you're comfortable holding the drills like that..

my crew doesn't do too much heavy duty drilling but we do use a lot of 3" screws (as in 10000 of them for a two week job) as well as boring up to 1/2" holes in 1/4" steel.

if we held the drills as they're designed to be held, our wrists would break off.. (as it's the wrist that has to make the weird angular change of force from your shoulder to the actual bit.. as shown in the picture above)

anyway, i (and much of the construction industry) am now using an impact driver for the long screws (i'm pretty sure i linked to one last year in this thread).. those things do so much of the work for you that you can hold it pistol style with only one hand and drive 3" screws..
[edit -- well, two years ago.. viewtopic.php?p=53520#p53520 ]

for boring holes, we use a certain dewalt corded drill that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand.. even has a little groove for your thumb to rest.. i'm pretty sure the design was accidental but it works out great.

[dermotcoll]

Hi Boo

Sorry I missed the return of this post, I was offline for a few days. You asked about the chuck. The attached pictures show you the set I have got when I purchased my C12. This was not the standard set but was on offer at the time. The right angles chuck and the offset chuck have been absolutely brilliant for fitting kitchens. You can get a screw in anywhere with this kit - right into the corner of a unit or you can screw cornice down onto the tops of units very close to the ceiling. The standard kit comes with the keyless chuck and the centrotec chuck, the latter will not accept standard hex bits - which can be a bit annoying but I have the centrotec bit set as well so it doesnt affect me too much. I hope this helps and enjoy the new toy - it is a great piece of kit.

[MtnTrails]

I'm late to the party as well... The centrotec holder will NOT hold anything that doesn't come from Festool. Standard bits like you'd buy at one of the big box stores won't fit unless you take a belt sander to 'em, and even then the groove is in the wrong place for them to lock into the chuck. I honestly don't remember if a bit holder comes with the kit, but the BHS 65 holds standard sized short driver bits. Problem solved If you don't get one with your new drill, Festool's part # is 492 539. I think you're gonna like it Boo!

[boofredlay]

Thanks.

It came in on Wednesday and I was not able to open the box until yesterday. I got the whole kit like Dermot shows.
Batteries charged and ready for action... I think I have a fence that needs fixing.

[Dave R]

Cool! How could you hold off on opening that box?

[boofredlay]

Trust me it was real hard. I had a bunch of work to do and for two nights did not get to bed until after midnight.

[Dave R]

You shouldn't be on the computer today, then. You should be out making like a woodpecker on your fence.