centrotec Installer Set Is Bloody Expensive !!!

[ifit]

I bought the installer set last week (£255) as I have just had a new drill
I thought it was expensive when I bought it but justified it by saying its Just over £2.50 per bit.

Tonight in the post I had a leaflet from screwfix and in it was a bit set from dewalt 100 piece for £20
I could have bought over 12 of them for the same money!!!

Have we all been brainwashed?

I can generally see the value in quality items but sometimes i think i must be going mad.

The centrotecs will snap, go blunt, get lost & borrowed just the same as cheaper bits.

Am I losing my mind?

 

[tjbnwi]

Deduct the cost of the systainer and insert, then the figure the cost.

Did your set come with the Zobo and drill bits?

Only your physiatrist and you can answer the last question.

Tom

 

[Caly]

£20.00......what a waste of money that would have been

 

[skids]

I bought the installer set last week (£255) as I have just had a new drill
I thought it was expensive when I bought it but justified it by saying its Just over £2.50 per bit.

Tonight in the post I had a leaflet from screwfix and in it was a bit set from dewalt 100 piece for £20
I could have bought over 12 of them for the same money!!!

Have we all been brainwashed?

I can generally see the value in quality items but sometimes i think i must be going mad.

The centrotecs will snap, go blunt, get lost & borrowed just the same as cheaper bits.

Am I losing my mind?

Agreed..Festool is eeking ever closer to creating a law diminishing returns problem for a lot of folks.

Ultimately the person not making a living with these tools (me) might be less inclined to buy them if the prices keep going up.

I love the stuff with a passion but I question my sanity every time I add something to my arsenal.

I almost always look to the used market before buying anything new with festool.

 

[Kev]

Current Centrotec set is a bit expensive. Older sets were better value with more specialist pieces. I also think the LR32 set price stings.

 

[jimmylittle]

Agreed.  I have a ton of the Green&Blue, but won't be jumping into the cordless drills.  My Makitas have been going strong for a decade, and I can use standard ¼" hex shank bits with them.  I looked at going the Centrotec route, but the slight increase in quality does not justify the massive increase in price.  I also don't like the fact that I could be stuck in the field with a broken or stripped bit and no way to replace it.  With the ¼" stuff, I can just run to any hardware store and pick up a replacement.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Festool stuff is expensive. Every little part of it. Please stop whining. You either accept it or you should try to forget you ever heard about the brand.

 

[erock]

So this wouldn't be the time or place to brag about buying 2  MFT/3 tables,  The VS600 dovetail jig with all the templates,  3  4 drawer sortainers and  4 quick clamps….

all within the past hour or so.    [tongue]

  I guess I'm brainwashed !  [wink]  [scared]  [tongue]

Eric

 

[AlexThePalex]

I also don't like the fact that I could be stuck in the field with a broken or stripped bit and no way to replace it.  With the ¼" stuff, I can just run to any hardware store and pick up a replacement.

Are you aware of the fact that every Festool drill comes with a normal jacobs chuck like any other drill? With Festool drills it's not EITHER this or that, you get both. The centrotec system is simply an EXTRA, not a replacement.

And you should also be aware that the centrotec system has a couple of bit holders to offer that let you use any standard 1/4'' bit. So there's no reason you become stuck with anything in the field, unless you really don't know what you're doing.

 

[peter halle]

So this wouldn't be the time or place to brag about buying 2  MFT/3 tables,  The VS600 dovetail jig with all the templates,  3   4 drawer sortainers and  4 quick clamps….

all within the past hour or so.    [tongue]

  I guess I'm brainwashed !   [wink]   [scared]   [tongue]

Eric

I am going to assume you found a private seller whereas the VS600 hasn't been available for a couple of years.  Well done!

Peter

 

[skids]

Festool stuff is expensive. Every little part of it. Please stop whining. You either accept it or you should try to forget you ever heard about the brand.

I reserve the right to whine all I want especially after paying top dollar for tools. And I will continue to do so. ; )

I am the proud new owner of a centrotec set myself. It's a nice compliment to the drill.

 

[erock]

So this wouldn't be the time or place to brag about buying 2  MFT/3 tables,  The VS600 dovetail jig with all the templates,  3   4 drawer sortainers and  4 quick clamps….

all within the past hour or so.    [tongue]

  I guess I'm brainwashed !   [wink]   [scared]   [tongue]

Eric

I am going to assume you found a private seller whereas the VS600 hasn't been available for a couple of years.  Well done!

Peter

Yes Peter, I bought it from a private seller.  The VS600 looks brand new.  Maybe used once or twice. 

I need to find a reason to use it now.  [embarassed]    I do not have an immediate need for it.  But I couldn't pass it up.  I'm pumped I was able to get my greedy little hands on it!  [big grin]

Eric

 

[peter halle]

So this wouldn't be the time or place to brag about buying 2  MFT/3 tables,  The VS600 dovetail jig with all the templates,  3   4 drawer sortainers and  4 quick clamps….

all within the past hour or so.    [tongue]

  I guess I'm brainwashed !   [wink]   [scared]   [tongue]

Eric

I am going to assume you found a private seller whereas the VS600 hasn't been available for a couple of years.  Well done!

Peter

Yes Peter, I bought it from a private seller.   The VS600 looks brand new.  Maybe used once or twice. 

I need to find a reason to use it now.  [embarassed]     I do not have an immediate need for it.  But I couldn't pass it up.  I'm pumped I was able to get my greedy little hands on it!   [big grin]

Eric

Hope you got the bits too.  It is a shame that Festool USA discontinued this item, but if there isn't a demand...

Peter

 

[ceddy]

Like everything festool, yes its expensive, but a pleasure to use. There are plenty other brands that are cheeper, the choice is yours.

 

[jimmylittle]

So there's no reason you become stuck with anything in the field, unless you really don't know what you're doing.

I do realize that I can use a alternate chuck or an adapter to use ¼" shank bits.  I also realize that a Centrotec bit extension is $21.  

You can get stuck in the field, even if you do know what you're doing.  It happens to everyone.  It's happened to me more than once in my 20+ years of doing this for a living, mostly in New York City. In NYC, you don't always have your van out front.  Sometimes, the van is back at the shop and I just drop stuff off, because parking is $100 a day.  These are the times it's possible to get stuck in the field.  And it's way easier to run to the hardware store and pick up a bit for $3 than go back to the shop

For me, the drills and Centrotec are not worth the premium.  At some point, I may think a cordless drill is worth $600 and a set of bits is $500.  For now, I'd rather spend that $1100 on a router, sander, a couple MFTs, or a few days vacation.  The drills, in my opinion, are not worth the premium. Most of the Festool stuff, I'll happily pay 2-3 times the "big box" tool price, because the quality and system are worth it to me.  But there is nothing 3x better about the Centrotec.

That being said, I AM going to use the $1100 I didn't spend on Centrotec and cordless drill and get another MFT and a Rotex150.  Those are totally with it!  [wink]

 

[Motown]

It seems to me that if someone pays for a product, with their hard earned money, than they have a legitimate right to comment on it. Also, an online chat board dedicated to that specific product/brand seems like a pretty logical place to do so.....maybe we should ease up on the 'stop whining' stuff?

ifit, you are having a bit of buyers remorse.... its no big deal. We have all been there. If you are within your 30 days....just bring it back to your dealer.

 

[kris]

Eric,

You have too much $$$ just to be a hobbyist  [tongue] [eek]  [big grin]

How many mft's is that now? Ten?  [big grin]

I need your budget for my "hobby"!  [cool]

Drink the green kool-aid or don't, whine about it or don't. At the end of the day, it's about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, however you may find it!

 

[ceddy]

Drink the green kool-aid or don't, whine about it or don't. At the end of the day, it's about life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, however you may find it!

/ end thread

 

[Gotoh]

I don't get why anybody thinks they're forced to use the Centrotec chuck at all. There's three of the things in that box, two of which can get into corners no other drill could ever touch. Don't want to get stuck in the field with the wrong chuck? Don't bring it with you at all.

 

[tbellemare]

I don't get why anybody thinks they're forced to use the Centrotec chuck at all. There's three of the things in that box, two of which can get into corners no other drill could ever touch. Don't want to get stuck in the field with the wrong chuck? Don't bring it with you at all.

It depends on how you calculate - the three noted above kind of repopulate if you look closely, I suspect that Gotoh was being modest...

There are easily four, the Centrotec (quick change), the Jacobs-style keyless chuck that can handle up to 1/2" shank bits, the right-angle (which can also have the Centrotec, or Jabofs-style keyless attached to it), and the eccentric.

Five, if you count the output shaft of the drill's transmission. It holds any 1/4" hex shank bit tight to the drill body.

Additionally, there is a chuck that turns these drills into a screw gun, the depth-stop chuck.

To me, it really boils down to whether you want to own and/or carry around a bunch of dedicated drills or own one that can do almost any task handily.

A few years ago, I was making a bunch of holes in studs with a crappy paddle bit and C 12, while a plumber that was working for me was using a MW Hole Hawg with self feed bits. He laughed at my drill. I dared him to try his bit and my drill. He laughed and tried it on a scrap piece of framing wood on the floor. When he jambed his bit while trying to prove my drill a toy, he almost broke his wrist... It severely changed the orientation of his whole body.

He's lucky and I'm lucky that he was quick enough. He finished the job in time and never forgot the drill. We got everything done in time for the already aggressive lease date.

Tom