couple q's

[notenoughcash]

1- i noticed on my tsc that there was a second fastfix stop further down, as in one that is the right depth for changin the blade, but the other is to deep to do so?  what is it for?

2- t18+3 or a tdc/drc.  bear in mind i have a (very nice) makita impact, so will be using that to be doing anything that is likely to turn my wrist rather than a screw (5x80+)  i want it as a general purpoise workshop drill, occasionaly on site for 2nd fix chippy work.  and is it a beter idea to save and get the kit as opposed to just a bare tool.  i have no festool drills, but have a tsc and a psc, both with 5.2's so got batts but potential quite heavy for a drill?

 

[Thompmd]

My vote is buy the bare tool. You have the 30day trial, you already have the batteries and worst case sell the bare tool if your past the 30days.

I also have the 5.2 as well as 4.0 and when I picked them up there’s virtually no diff. Especially for a secondary drill. My plan was/is to purchase tools on the cordless platform then add bare tools. I’m a hobbyist and it’s worked great so far.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I use the smallest batteries available for my drills and impact drivers, but I'm in a commercial shop situation. The weight does matter in all day use and the only thing you gain with bigger batteries is run time. All you need is enough batteries to stay working while one charges. This is all in the 18v platform.
I used to work in the assembly area, which is production/speed based. I had got the Makita LXT when they first hit the market. They were so much lighter than the NiCad and NmH before them, even with 3ah batteries. The later version, white ones, had 1.5ah batteries, so I got a couple of those. They were even lighter, so the big batteries got relegated to the big hammer drill, circular saw, etc. They were not the production tools that got picked up every few minutes. It matters in a day's time.
A hobbyist user could get by with virtually anything, swapping batteries between tools is not that big of a deal, because speed is not the main factor, nor weight for that matter.
I had to replace them all a couple of years ago and found that the 1.5ah batteries are no longer available. The smallest from Makita are 2ah now. I don't do the speed/volume production anymore, it's just what I'm used to now. I use them on the compact routers too, better balanced.

 

[Frank-Jan]

1- i noticed on my tsc that there was a second fastfix stop further down, as in one that is the right depth for changin the blade, but the other is to deep to do so?  what is it for?

...

The ts55r has this feature aswell, I find it usefull if I have to set a bevel with a bevelgauge.

 

[mino]

2- t18+3 or a tdc/drc.  bear in mind i have a (very nice) makita impact, so will be using that to be doing anything that is likely to turn my wrist rather than a screw (5x80+)  i want it as a general purpoise workshop drill, occasionaly on site for 2nd fix chippy work.  and is it a beter idea to save and get the kit as opposed to just a bare tool.  i have no festool drills, but have a tsc and a psc, both with 5.2's so got batts but potential quite heavy for a drill?

I would go with TDC. The 4-speed gearbox with the very high 4th gear is SWEET!
TDC versus DRC not because of more power, but the chuck compatibility and the improved gear selector. It is not light, so you want to use the 4.0 batteries with it.

If something smaller, a CXS may be a better fit IMO than a C18/T18 to get the true ergonomics for installs.

I have the even lighter C12 with 1.5 batteries (so half a pound below today's C/T18) and find it "too bulky" for really fine work compared to a CXS-style driver. For this bulk it just seems "too slow" for drilling too.

Note, I do not see C/T series as "weak". But the top speed just feels slow and lacking once one has a DRC on hand ..

Buying anew, I would consider C/T drill only if I already had a CXS and a TDC and still felt there is a gap to fill in-between or needed 3+ Centrotec drills for a workflow.