My Craftsman 14.4 volt drill bit the dust recently. I’ve had it about 1.5 years. I’ve purchased two drills in the last four years and was a little frustrated at how short a time they lasted. They were used once or twice a week since I am a hobbyist rather than a professional.
I went to Rockler and purchased the Festool C12 drill. It comes with the centrotec bit holder and the keyless chuck. Also includes the charger and two NiMH batteries which are rated at 3.0 Ah. I got the offset and the right angle chucks as well.
I have had several occasions to use the C12 and am, so far, very pleased. The drill is light and easy to handle. It runs very quiet and for a 12 volt it has lots of torque and is very fast. Battery life is long and charges faster than my Craftsman did. Also, I don’t have to worry about overcharging. When the battery is fully charged the charger goes into maintenance mode and keeps the battery fully charged.
The right angle chuck works better than I expected, but the offset chuck was the nice surprise. Even though the chuck is rather large the bit holder is set on the edge of the chuck and can be positioned at several points around the 360 degrees. I used it while working on our trailer and I was able to drill the holes and place the screws right in the corners. I found it to be a very useful device.
I do not as yet know how long this drill will hold up, but my other Festool products have been functioning well for a few years.
This is not a professional review so please don’t be too critical. I just think it was a good buy for the money and I believe I will get more use out of it than probably any other of my Festool products save the ETS 125 sander.
Jim
Replies
Festool quality can't be beat, and some of their tools are uniquely functional -- I have their circular saw and a couple of their sanders.
But I could never understand the attraction of their line of drills, and why they can command premium prices -- when there are other cordless drill/drivers that are really superb.
Maybe you can explain what attracted you to the Festool cordless............ as opposed to other brands, such as Panasonic, Makita, etc.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
I actually bought the Makita first at Home Depot, but when I got it home I wasn't happy with the size or the fact that it was basically a driver. I am 6' 6" tall and have large hands. The Festool fit my hand well without the weight. I also liked the accessories offered by festool. I returned the Makita the same day I bought it.It was just a personal choice.Jim
You are going to really enjoy the T12, and you are buying it at the right time. Whe the introduction of the T15+3 (which I recently purchased), the T12 has been very agressively priced. Their quality is tops and the best warantee (that I'm aware of) in the industry. Watch it though they are like Lie-Nielsen once you get bit its a slippery slope. I started with the domino then the ct33e, then the ETS150, then the plunge saw, kapex. You gettin the picture. It's a heck of a addiction, enjoy!
I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.
George Burns
Bones:The T 15+3 was more drill than I needed, but a really great drill. Amazingly light as well.I have been sliding on that slope for some time now. I too started with the Domino, then moved on to the TS 55 with the CT midi dust extractor, the multifunction table, the OF 1400 router (just amazing), the RO 125 sander, the PBS 300 jigsaw and now the C 12. Their tools truly are technological marvels and make woodworking easier and more fun, for me anyway.I love using that drill. It looks funny but it is a great tool.Jim
Edited 9/14/2009 7:25 pm ET by James R.
I love the electronic clutch. No more clack,clack just beep. I have to admit I can't justify the drill but what the heck, it was my part to stimulate the economy. (while I still have a job). I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.George Burns
What an amazing 'recovery'. Two years ago (I think) when Festool first hit the scene there were MANY posts criticizing the high prices compared to 'comparable' tools already on the market. People would be crazy to spend that much money.Today, the story is completely different. The 'slippery slope' of buying Festool quality is the topic of conversation.I guess there is a market for value.Frosty"I sometimes think we consider the good fortune of the early bird and overlook the bad fortune of the early worm." FDR - 1922
I was one of those sceptics, but after that initial purchase, I became a beliver. Same with Lie-Nielsen. Go figure. I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.George Burns
Bones,
Festool....Mmmmm!
With many of the quality handtools there is an association with an individual designer or "driving personality". Mr Lie-Neilsen; Mr Lee; Mr Iles; etc.. But we never hear of a Mr Festool, or any other particular individual who "drives" that high standard of design and manufacure that they adhere to. Is this something to do with the tools being power tools; German tools?
It would be interesting to know how Festool designs and improves their wares; and also their manufactured quality. Is it some "Mr Festool" behind things or is it a "do-it-well" tradition within the company (perhaps reflecting a tradition in the wider society) to which all the employees naturally adhere?
There do seem to be a number of German (and other European) manufacturers that have this high-design, high-quality ethos. In Germany one gets the the impression that such attitudes are almost the norm in manufacturing. (Also in Austria, Switzerland, Italy).
In the manufacturing tradition of the English-speaking nations, the Lie-Neilsen/Lee/Iles high quality-mode is the exception rather than the rule. In both Blighty and (it seems) the USA we seem to be awash with cheap, tatty goods. Not only are they made this way but loadsa people seem happy to buy them.
Someone once remarked hereabouts that the way to invoke an improved economic picture in the US (and also Britain) would be to create markets for high quality manufactured goods, rather than pile-em-high stuff. This does seem to be what Festool and some other European manufacturers have done.
Will such an attitude ever come about in the US and Britain or are we now addicted to creating "wealth" via dodgy hedge-funds, property-speculation and other financial tricks that produce nothing of utility except a fat purse for the bankers and a mountain of debt for the peasants, along with a wasteland of new slums and poverty-stricken masses whose only skill is drug-dealing or dishing out third-rate burgers?
Lataxe
Well Festool was founded much longer ago, in the 1920's, with two founders. Albert Fezer and Gottlieb Stoll. Apparently, one of the founding families still owns the company, which is private. The tools formerly traded under the Festo brand name, but shifted to Festool to distinquish the woodworking tools from other industrial product areas. The total Festo Group was reported to have had annual turnover (revenue for us Americans) of about 1.9 Billion Euro (roughly $2.8 billion). (The entire Black and Decker corp is over $6 million, roughly 2/3rds of which is the power tool division.)
I think it is often a mistake to think of companies as a whole having a "do it well" tradition, or a single driver of high standards. For small companies that may be true, but beyond a certain size, it is more likely to be a management tool to create a particular culture. But that is really just a part of a marketing decision as to what niche to pursue with a particular brand. Private companies do have an advantage in not facing the constant stock market pressure to expand on a quarterly basis so can more easily resist the universal temptation to extend brands, all to often in a way that ends of diluting them.
I am also dubious about going very far in relating such things to elements of broader culture. The route between hedge funds and new slums is a tortuous one, with so many links that the evolution of manufacturing quality broadly, let alone that of the woodworking tool portion of manufacturing is beyond short form analysis.
Wow, Steve provided some history I did not know. I did see a picture of a festool chainsaw and I know they have been around for a long time. I'm not up on the full history I just keep being impressed with the next tool I buy. Costs are high and its a universal price. You cannot go shopping around and get it at different prices. There was even an issue where by which vendors selling on ebay and if you purchased with a certain plan associated with ebay you got 10% back or something(completely outside the dealer i.e. money back or something from microsoft). In effect discounting the prices. Festool made the dealers stop selling on e-bay. You could view this as good or bad. Now the differienting factor is customer service. Some of those dealers go out of their way to make you want to come back to them. Warantee is long, but from my days getting my MBA thats more of a marketing tool and they know based on failures that very few will have to use them. They've had a few innovations the track saw is unreal (now makita and dewalt have them at close to the same price). The T15+3 with the ecentric chuck is fantastic. Like I said brushless motor and electronic clutch which I realy apreaciate on brass screws. Even they way they package the tools (systainers) make them stand apart. I'll admit the cost factor was hard for me to get past (lets face it I'm cheep), but to me I see the value and therefore its justified (in my own mind) as to the other tie ins you noted I can't speak to. I am in manufacturing and I do agree the need to meet the streets expectations (quarterly) has skewed business (at least public ones) to thinking short term. The answer is out there but as to what it is, I'm just not sure. But I do know if you make a good quality product it will sell as long as the target market is large enough to sustain the cost of production + profit. I also will note that you go to ebay you constantly see used festool stuff going at dang near retail. That says a lot.I was married by a judge - I should have asked for a jury.George Burns
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