another zobo question

[HowardH]

I broke the pilot drill bit the other day but can't find the replacement.  Is it a special bit or will any bit the right size work?  What is the correct size? 

 

[erock]

It's a special tapered bit.  I found that out the hard way. 

AND Festool does NOT sell just the bit.  I had to buy a whole set just to get one drill bit.  REALLY sucks!  Because the kit has stuff that probably will never break.  But I'm sure I will break another tapered bit.

Festool should have JUST the drill bit available. 

Sorry, this hits a sore spot with me.

I'll go check on the kit part number, but I did buy it from Tom Bellelmare and I'm sure he would know the part number.

Eric

Edit:  I just went out to the shop and the part number is 497 268

 

[awil66]

If you call festool service they will sell it over the phone. I bought 5 of the long pilot bits a while back. Hope they still do this.

 

[tbellemare]

If you call festool service they will sell it over the phone. I bought 5 of the long pilot bits a while back. Hope they still do this.

Can you please look that up and report to us how you ordered it?

I went 'round-and-round' trying to get just the bit. The parts system made it look like it might be available and I ordered the part shown but it was wrong. Multiple people in Indiana got involved - many times all thought they had the answer and each time, it failed. More than one of the people at Festool IN tried really hard to get the right part and it never worked.

If you have the trick, I'm all ears...

Tom

 

[HowardH]

It figures...  :  BTW, we had a landscape contractor working with us to put lighting in our backyard.  I am finishing building a pergola over our outdoor kitchen and he needed to drill a 1" hole about half way through the side of a 2 x 8 to meet up with a hole drilled from the top of the board to pull a wire to hook up the lights.  He pulled out a sleeve of spade bits and started to make his hole and I had stop him because of the long point would probably pop through the other side before the main part of the hole was deep enough.  I went to the garage and whipped out the zobos and told him to use those.  His eyes got as big a silver dollars when he saw how much easier it was with no chance of blowing through the other side.  Same thing when we needed to cut a quarter circle at the end of each transverse board on top of the pergola.  I recently got the accessory kit for the carvex and used the circle cutter.  Perfection.  No sanding needed.  No trying to follow a line.  I think I just had someone new drink the green Koolaide.  ;D ;D

 

[HowardH]

hey Tom.  Could you have some by Wed?  I will be Austin and would love to stop by and see you. 

 

[awil66]

It was at least a year ago, and I believe I talked to a helpful female employee.
But the reason I knew I could do that was because of a thread on here after the zobos came out. Someone asked if the bits were replaceable, and I believe Shane responded with the number to call and the part number.
Hope that helps.

 

[awil66]

The thread is called "replacement pilot bits for the zobos"
761979 center bit for zobo

 

[tbellemare]

hey Tom.  Could you have some by Wed?  I will be Austin and would love to stop by and see you.

After going through a lot of attempts to get just the points or drill bit, it turned out that there really was no number to sell other than 497268, which is the same set that comes with the Zobo set. I do have one of those sets, Howard.

About a month or two ago, when I was seeking these for Eric, it looked like one could order the individual components but, apparently, that was a mistake in the parts list. I think some ultra-friendly sorts in Lebanon broke things up and made it look like the parts were readily available but when I/we came along, only the set was available.

If anyone knows anything to the contrary, I'm happy to learn. I have had more than just Eric ask me for these bits. I'm pretty certain that the bits and points have tapered shafts and are probably not off-the-shelf components. I, unfortunately, didn't realize that until recently.

Tom

 

[HowardH]

Thanks Tom.  I don't need all those other things.  I'll call Festool on Monday and see what's what.  Seems kinda crazy considering how fragile those bits are that they don't sell them separately. 

 

[PreferrablyWood]

Yes it IS an unfair business practice to provide a system accessory that is so fragile, part of an expensive piece of kit, that can't be replaced individually..

 

[fatroman]

Tom,

Will this work?

http://www.timbertools.com/Products/Drill-bits-Zobo-central-drilling-system2.html

Not sure if these are the same as the Festool ones.

 

[RKA]

Please post an update after you call them.  If it's true that they don't sell replacement consumables for such an expensive accessory, I'm going to do everything I can to effect a change.  I believe this is also the case with their centrotec imperial brad point kit.  At the very least, if that's how they choose to market their goods, a better effort should be made to honestly represent this in their advertising.  These are not $19.99 sets from the big box stores.  We should have access to replacement parts in these kits without jumping through hoops.

 

[tbellemare]

Tom,

Will this work?

http://www.timbertools.com/Products/Drill-bits-Zobo-central-drilling-system2.html

Not sure if these are the same as the Festool ones.

I'm not positive but that looks like the right bits.

Tom

 

[tbellemare]

hey Tom.  Could you have some by Wed?  I will be Austin and would love to stop by and see you.

Howard:

I'll check again and see if I can buy the correct bit from Festool. If so, I'll sell you the one from this little kit and back fill it later. I ordered what was supposed to be the right bit and it wasn't even close but maybe they have it worked out by now. That was a few months ago.

In either case, you should stop by...

Tom

 

[tbellemare]

The thread is called "replacement pilot bits for the zobos"
761979 center bit for zobo

Unfortunately, that part number, (761979), doesn't show up in the Master Product List.

Tom

 

[PreferrablyWood]

I noticed the small container for the guide and the bit when I bought my centrotec zobo bit set. It didn't seem at the time that it was prohibitively expensive, but now I know how fragile they are..I'm sure with a little gentle pressure maybe they will reconsider

 

[HowardH]

So I spoke to the good people at Festool this morning and they confirmed they only sell the kit that comes in the tube including the shorter brad points.  However, they also said these are exactly the same as the Zobo brand, they are simply rebranded for Festool.  The replacement bits you can get from Timberwolf are direct replacements.  They aren't cheap, $43 including shipping for 2 of them so I will be very, very careful the next time I use them. 

 

[RKA]

And how much is the kit with the brad points?  I'm guessing more than the bit from timberwolf?

Oh, and do you happen to know the part # for the festool kit?

 

[HowardH]

The Festool kit is $25 and the part number is 497268.  However, you only get one drill bit.  I don't need the short center points so that's why I ordered the version from Timberwolf.