Any idea of when the new drill/driver will be available in NA?

[mantonuc]

Hello all,

  Does anyone have an idea of when the new drill/drivers will be available from Festool in North America?  I hope it is not going to take the same old "slow boat" to North America that the Kapex did...  One of the batteries just crapped out on my 18 volt Makita and I will need to replace it at sometime in the near future...  Thanks in advance...

matt

 

[Dan Clermont]

My guess is next fall. My guess is based on other tools like the KAPEX

Hope I am wrong and it will be here sooner but can't say for sure

Dan Clermont

 

[EcoFurniture]

New drill/ driver?  ???Have to go and check out the German festool website  ;D

 

[josephgewing]

Festool emailed me and said "sometime next year."

Joe Ewing
Las Cruces, NM

 

[Bob Marino]

Matt,

Looks to be late first quarter, early 2nd quarter 09.

Bob

 

[Eli]

Neener, Neener!

I brought my new T15+3 home yesterday from the Wood show with a new '08 Centrotec  ;D

The clutch is even better, the batteries charge super fast. It can use the old NiMH (not that I have any) and the new charger charges the old batteries as well. The centrotec now has two panels that come off on the top layer, and it seems like a bit more useful stuff. Still has pozi and torx. Maybe I'll start using them.

 

[Ken Milhinch]

You were supposed to be at the Woodshow to assist potential buyers, not turn into one yourself !  :
Thanks for the time you spared for an opinionated old bloke like me. ;D

 

[EcoFurniture]

Question:

After doing some number crunching I had to ask myself DO I REALLY NEED A $650 CORDLESS DRILL???? Especially as I can only write off 10% of it every year... This drill has to last at least 7 years of every day use for me to get my money back....
But because I believe in Festool and know that they are better in many ways, I'm still not quite sure WHY the festool drills are better than others?

Maybe you guys can help me out here  ;D    I want to by one I know it, but I have to find enough good reasons to justify the expense....

HELP ;D

 

[Ken Milhinch]

In my opinion, they are not "better than the others". There are a number of very good drill/drivers around and I don't believe the Festool is worth the extra.
I am at odds with most Festool devotees here, but I think their drills are poor by comparison to their other tools.
Just one opinion - for what it is worth.

 

[Eli]

You were supposed to be at the Woodshow to assist potential buyers, not turn into one yourself !  :
Thanks for the time you spared for an opinionated old bloke like me. ;D

Hahahaha. I'm a buyer and user first, before all other things. I wanted a flat rate for my work at the show so I wouldn't earn a commission. I knew full well that my work units would be converted into tools before they were even fully tallied! I've been waiting for the drill to come out for a year.  ;D

And now it's miiine isn't it my preeeeecccciooouusssssssssessss, yessssssss

Helping show people the tools was another reward, I'm just afraid in a few cases my enthusiasm may have translated as full of $hit American sales tactics and not a genuine love for the product. It was my pleasure to serve, but I got ROASTED a few times. One "old bloke" said "enough sales guff, just give me a price" (or was that you!)

I think the drill is undoubtedly better. I've used a lot of diff't drills in anger in the last few years, every grip truck I worked on had a diff't setup. I don't know if I'd be as into these tools in America because of the wider price disparity between it and other brands there. But here, in terms of quality, any other semi worthy tool line seems to be 3/4 the price anyway, with no warranties, crap support, and no resale value. There's no doubt that you get the opposite of that when you buy green. I fully plan on reselling my tools when newer models come out and getting most of their value rolled over. I can't do that with anything else. Not to mention it's impossible to snap any other tools onto the stack  : 

Since I've got the floor again, got time for another gloat? I drove into St. Kilda today and picked up a CT22 from a stop animation film company that was liquidating via silent bid. Got it for $350! With the hose, acc's, and a bag. (It retails for $1072 here). Brought it home and cleaned it all up with armorall wipes, got all the paint overspray and crap off it. Looks great parked next to the other one.  ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[woodshopdemos]

Question:

After doing some number crunching I had to ask myself DO I REALLY NEED A $650 CORDLESS DRILL???? Especially as I can only write off 10% of it every year... This drill has to last at least 7 years of every day use for me to get my money back....
But because I believe in Festool and know that they are better in many ways, I'm still not quite sure WHY the festool drills are better than others?

Maybe you guys can help me out here  ;D    I want to by one I know it, but I have to find enough good reasons to justify the expense....

HELP ;D

10% a year. I take it that it is Canada tax amortization schedule.  I would have written it off at 3 years or expensed it (if you can drop it or lose it, that should be a good argumaent. Better yet, write off 30% for 10 years. It is nice to be retired and no longer have to keep up sched C.
Question to legit business people: what would you do?

 

[mantonuc]

Hey Bob,

  Thanks for the reply.  Well, it is longer than I wanted to wait but I guess that is par for the course in terms of getting new Festool toys in NA...  I guess I will just buy a new battery for my Makita for now and will continuing using it...

Matt 

 

[peter halle]

I would use the section 179 deduction (accelerated depreciation) or expense.  That way it would be most benefiticial to me in the year of purchase and no fooling around with depreciation in future years.

Peter

 

[nickao]

I'd buy a Panasonic and save over 400.00 and never miss the Festool a bit.

Seriously though. There is nothing I can  do with the Festool that a 150.00 drill driver can't do. For business there is not reason enough for me to spend the money. If you just want the better tool(that's debatable too) fine, get the Festool, as a business decision its eating profit.

To me the Festool drivers are not like an MFT or R0 150 , ie revolutionary or way ahead of the pack. The MFT and RO make me MORE money than the competitors products, the Festool drivers make me the same amount of money as any other good quality driver.

Nick

 

[Forrest Anderson]

I'd buy a Panasonic and save over 400.00 and never miss the Festool a bit.

Seriously though. There is nothing I can  do with the Festool that a 150.00 drill driver can't do.

Maybe I haven't read the manual for my 15.6V Panasonic properly, but I don't think it can drive screws or drill holes at 90 degrees, like between narrow studs. Nor can it appear to properly drive screws which are close to a vertical surface - the chuck gets in the way. I'd need to purchase a right-angle drill for the first of these tasks, and an offset drill for the second.

Whilst a Festool drill equipped with a standard three-jaw chuck might not have much advantage over a standard cordless drill, I would suggest that the Festool leaps ahead of the competition when you use it in conjunction with the special Festool chucks (or even remove the chucks completely to shorten the length of the drill).

 

When purchased as a kit, complete with special-purpose chucks, one Festool drill can perform the function of several different Panasonic/DeWalt etc drills, all of which would have to be purchased seperately.

Forrest

 

[mantonuc]

Yes, I must admit I like the versatility most about the drill...  For instance, I have a dewalt 14.4 volt right angle drill.  I do not have to use it that often (maybe once every few months), but when you need it, it is great.  The last time I went to use it, it also had dead batteries...  They don't seem to last too long in Atlanta's hot summers...  With one drill that supports all the things that the swappable chucks in the Festool do, I only have to worry about one set of batteries...  Just my two cents...

Matt

 

[nickao]

Well I have a couple right angle drills and even the cordless ridid I got for 65.00 kicks butt, so you are spending a load on a gimmick to me. But that's my opinion. I just do not see that those two advantages you mention worth 300.00 when I can get two stand alone units that are better than the festool and still have a bunch of money left.

Like I said if you want to pay to have a 3 in 1 go for it, but it won't make me any money and I personally fail to see the value. I cant stand changing the bits or driver heads let alone mess with that 3 in 1 and all the pieces.

I have a drill for each bit or driver head I use anyway for that exact reason. I have 2 Panasonic and a Ridgid right angle, plus an impact from Panasonic. That's 6 Panasonic batteries, three chargers and two Ridgid batteries and one charger for it, all for not much more(cheaper if on sale) than what the Festool cost with one charger and two batteries. The value is just not there with the Festool guns for me.

That 3 in 1 stuff turns me off if anything.

 

[Forrest Anderson]

Well I have a couple right angle drills and even the cordless ridid I got for 65.00 kicks butt, so you are spending a load on a gimmick to me. But that's my opinion. I just do not see that those two advantages you mention worth 300.00 when I can get two stand alone units that are better than the festool and still have a bunch of money left.

Like I said if you want to pay to have a 3 in 1 go for it, but it won't make me any money and I personally fail to see the value. I cant stand changing the bits or driver heads let alone mess with that 3 in 1 and all the pieces.

I have a drill for each bit or driver head I use anyway for that exact reason. I have 2 Panasonic and a Ridgid right angle, plus an impact from Panasonic. That's 6 Panasonic batteries, three chargers and two Ridgid batteries and one charger for it, all for not much more(cheaper if on sale) than what the Festool cost with one charger and two batteries. The value is just not there with the Festool guns for me.

That 3 in 1 stuff turns me off if anything.

Fair enough. One person's gimmick is another person's great idea.

For me, I'd generally prefer to take one Festool drill, three chucks, one battery and one charger to a jobsite in one Systainer, rather than three drills, three batteries and three chargers, all in their respective cases.

Forrest

 

[nickao]

I totally agree Forrest. I never go into the field anymore and sometimes forget how I used to lug all my stuff from the van through security up 40 flights and then take it all back down. It was an hour to set up and an hour to break down I am glad those days are done.

Form  a working in the field perspective I could see the benefits for sure!

 

[Eli]

That reason alone was enough argument for me. Today was my first day with the T15+3 at work and I already can't imagine working without. Half the weight or less than my 24v Ridgid. Way better balanced than my Dewalt, longer batt life and quicker recharge than the 14.4 makita I have now installed next to the fridge for wife to use. I saved at least fifteen minutes today because I didn't have to hunt around for bits or drivers, they were all right inside the centrotec.