anyone disappointed with their CXS?

[sessler2013]

About to go ahead and get the CXS but first I would like to know what people are thinking about their own?

does it have Good battery life, and power considering its size?

My plan is to go ahead and get the CXS with the right angle chuck, and later on just get a bare T15 drill for heftier jobs, should those two cover it for someone who is driving nothing longer than 2" screws?

 

[Jesse Cloud]

I am totally satisfied with my CXS.  Long battery life, surprising amount of power for its size.  Certainly no problem driving two inch screws.  Now, if I were building a deck or something similar, I would want something heftier like a T15.
The CXS gets into really cramped spaces and is light enough to use all day long.  Perfect for assemblies and installations.

Be aware, though, that the right hand chucks are different on the CXS and the T15, so are the batteries and chargers.

 

[arbfincarp]

I have 2 CSX's and love them. I also have a C15 that i just got and think it great. I'm a kitchen installer and I Pre drill and screw almost everything with the CSX's.

I use the C15 for larger holes & hole saws. I pretty much use the Centrotec bit sets exclusively with my CSX's .I love them

 

[TOOLTOWN]

All of our customers love their CXS's.  Plenty of power for the size, and great battery life.  As long as you don't expect it to keep up with an 18 volt drill it will exceed your expectations. 

The only complaint is that the Jacob's chuck is only 1/32 - 5/16".  But it so happens the larger chucks also fit on the drill.  So if you have any of the larger drills you can put the standard 1/2" chuck onto the CXS.

Ken

 

[panelchat]

a great drill all things considered, the strong point in my opinion is the innovative ergonomic and otherwise user friendly design.
for cabinet making and installing, it satisfies 90% of my drill/screwgun needs.
every now and then i end up in some situation using a heavier, high voltage rated mass market drill, and i think i'm holding a Stegasaurus in my hand.
but i do get a big drill out for med/large forstener bits, etc.

 

[Kev]

Love it - buy it ... don't hesitate.  [wink]

 

[Julian Tracy]

I had one and sold it.  At not because I expected it to be a powerhouse.  I've had a few of the 12volt systems, Bosch and Hitachi, so I know what these can do and what they're for.  I just expected a bit more as mainly I felt like it was too darn slow to do any real drilling (like for predrilling holes in Maple face frames, etc.), and I found that it didn't really have the guts to drive 2-2.5" screws even in a pinch.  If I hadn't already had the T12 with all the chucks, then I probably would have appreciated all that the chucks offer in versatility, but in general too slow and too weak.

JT

 

[PeterK]

Your plan is great. If only a single drill, a T15 would be better. I have several drills including a T12, T15, CXS. By far the CXS gets the most usage. Amazing battery life compared to Bosch, Milwaukee 10.8 volt stuff. As mentioned, the chuck on the CXS is smaller and so a 3/8" drill bit doesn't fit but the chucks from the full sized drills are interchangeable. You will need the T15 or similar more powerful drill for some tasks like when drilling any larger diameter holes. It will drill them but slowly or will stall out. For normal woodworking usage drilling holes like 1/4", the CXS works wonderfully. Love the super long belt clip like Brice says as it would be very difficult to loose the drill while on a ladder or while moving around a lot. Love the portability. The T drills are much heavier.

 

[Jeff Zanin]

Since getting the CXS it has become by far my most used drill / driver, several others have not been used at all.

It is light and small, especially handy for working overhead or in cramped quarters such as under counters.  The light is also very helpful in these areas.

Battery life and power are excellent.  I have used it to drill 1 1/2" holes in both solid wood and particle board with no difficulty at all.

The narrow profile and specialized chucks make it easy to get up against cabinet sides and into corners.

Highly recommended.

Jeff

 

[Julian Tracy]

I guess mine was a dog or maybe you folks just have more patience than me.  I can't imagine trying to drill a 1/2" hole with one, even on rare occasions.

Why they don't gear them up for a higher rpm or allow for dual speeds is beyond me.

JT

 

[waynelang2001]

The only reason I got my CXS was due to the budget i had, if I had the extra cash i would have bought the c12 or c15. The CXS is not a bad drill I was just expecting more from festool. I think there are other brands out there that have drills that match the cxs and are half the price.

 

[ericbuggeln]

If you do installs and have another bigger drill for drilling, it will pay for itself on the first job. It's really more of a driver, but I actually remember now that while working on a kitchen with another FOG member that I used one for drilling drawer pulls and it was just fine. On installs I prefer to have a chucked up bigger drill and a chucked up driver so I don't have to fiddle with things. I own most Festools and the CXS might be my favorite, Eric

 

[Frank-Jan]

I guess mine was a dog or maybe you folks just have more patience than me.  I can't imagine trying to drill a 1/2" hole with one, even on rare occasions.

Why they don't gear them up for a higher rpm or allow for dual speeds is beyond me.

JT

But the cxs HAS dual speed, first 0-400 rpm / second 0-1200 rpm.

I don't have one myself, I got the li ion C12 before the cxs came out. (already had a protool pdc 18 for the heavier stuff)

 

[leakyroof]

I guess mine was a dog or maybe you folks just have more patience than me.  I can't imagine trying to drill a 1/2" hole with one, even on rare occasions.

Why they don't gear them up for a higher rpm or allow for dual speeds is beyond me.

JT

 Hmm, don't know what to say about that. I've watched large lag screws being driven into the end grain of a landscape timber as a demo for the CXS by Dan from Festool. I've also watched Wood World drive long screws into a board to test the battery life as a video for Festool. I just didn't see any slouching or reluctance from the CXS drills in either occasion.

 

[Dan1210]

had my cxs 2 years and i absolutely love it, its off for repair for a 2nd time and i hate not having it! a couple of points tho
as someone mentioned it is a little slow for drilling holes even small pilots.
the battery life is good and the power is ok, my brothers new 10.8v bosch drills have more power in fact quite a bit i wish the cxs was as powerful as the bosch as the bosch drill holes much better.
you will need another drill for bigger stuff.
a great little drill that i use all day everyday just needs a little power boost and it would be perfect.

 

[Julian Tracy]

Maybe the videos were hiding a little wire giving the CXS a boost from a 18volt off view battery...

JT

 

[leakyroof]

Maybe the videos were hiding a little wire giving the CXS a boost from a 18volt off view battery...

JT

Not hardly, as I was there in person during the filming of it.  [smile] I think they drove over 200 screws on a single battery.    -
OK, so I called them to verify as it's been a couple of years since I think they did this.  199 screws into Poplar, no pre-drilling. The CXS battery gave up on the 200th screw. Screws were appox 1 1/4" long or 30mm, and driven fully into the Poplar wood.  Drill got pretty warm, but no smoke... [embarassed]  

 

[skids]

I did my own A/B testing on the CXS and the c12 and the c15..The CXS is a nice little unit, but it should NOT be the only drill you plan on owning. Sounds like you understand this, just want to reinforce it. If this is your go to drill you might be let down when you run into boring larger holes and drill long screws into hardwood.

With that said, the c15 is Festools best drill IMO. A CXS with that drill would be a killer combo.

 

[Dan1210]

hey skids, how does the cxs compare to the c12 weight/power wise? i love the size and weight of the cxs but would like a little power boost mainly for drilling, is it as comfortable to hold? i use my cxs all day and find the size and weight very comfortable, im not sure if the extra weight of the c12 would be worth it? i have never seen or held a c12 in person as there are no dealers close to me.

 

[skids]

hey skids, how does the cxs compare to the c12 weight/power wise? i love the size and weight of the cxs but would like a little power boost mainly for drilling, is it as comfortable to hold? i use my cxs all day and find the size and weight very comfortable, im not sure if the extra weight of the c12 would be worth it? i have never seen or held a c12 in person as there are no dealers close to me.

LOVE the c12, absolutely love it. In my opinion it's as close to a perfect drill as you can get. I only went with the c15 because I was retiring an older Panasonic 15.6. Well the batteries crapped out on that beast. But I had a hard time because I thought the power and weight of the c12 were near perfection. But the C15 has about 20% more torque, you can use the batteries with other tools, and the c12 batteries work on the 15, so alot of positives ended up going that route.  A nice combo would be the c12 with one of the 18v T handles.

I personally can't ever going back to a T handle drill now that I am used to a C.