CXS Drill mini review

[JSands]

Interesting, thx for conversion... I have seen all kinds of different torque numbers for the CXS...strange....

I see your point though, the C15 must be a beast... interesting comment about the eccentric chuck for CXS.... makes sense...prob. not much gained since its quite small diam body vs. the c15...

I have held off on the domino for quite some time, I think after your input, the domino moved up on my Fadar (Festool Radar)...  My range of impact drivers does a good job (of course never perfect) for driving most larger / wider screws.  The CXS clearly filled a nuisance hole in my driving arsenal....as I am in full agreement with Kevs comments.    The C15 and Domino not far apart in price, and the Domino I prob. have more uses for... thx very much for your input...  we need to select wisely, as ya just can't own em all... 

 

[BUTTER]

  For my smaller drill needs I've had the Bosch 12v tools for a bit.  The small driver felt great, however, I then added the PS30 for the adjustable chuck and more power, and then the right angle driver. 

I'm curious about others' experience of performance between the Bosch/Makita/Milwaukee 12V compact class vs the CXS.

I just finally ran my trusty Bosch 14.4 NiMh drill+impact into the ground, and bought a Bosch 12v PS31 (3/8 adj chuck) and an impact driver.  They're ok, but I'm not in love.

I primarily do high-end cabinet installations.  I'd love a drill compact enough to fit hardware, strong enough to repeatedly drive 3" screws, and with enough juice to drill a run of pocketholes without changing the battery every 10 minutes.

 

[JSands]

Joseph,  too many variables to predict how long battery of CXS last under the scenario you mentioned...so much is dependent on the amount of friction the screw must overcome....for example, CXS can easily drive 4" screws if the there is generous pilot holes drilled so the total load is not that great.... 

OTOH, driving #10  1" screws into MDF with no pilot holes is heavy load on a tool with a small battery.  I just built a custom platform bed bottom.... I drove 180 of of the #10 1" screws before the battery gave any indication of weakening.    IMO, that is impressive for such a small tool....and, this was another classic case where the my impact drivers would tend to strip the threads in the wood as its so hard to feel when the screw is snug, yet a 1/4 turn more, it looses its bite in the wood.    My Bosch ratchet drivers (have 3,  from the smallest to largest models).... they all required a bit more speed to generate the torque to drive these screws....so some head stripping occurred...these were phillips head screws.   

Anyway, as my original test confirmed, the CXS is a little gem, fills the small screw niche better than any product I have used. 

While working another job this week, where I was driving 4" screws with pilot holes.... I started something new.... "hybrid driving"....used my new 18V DeWalt impact driver (by far the most powerful impactor I have ever seen / used)  to drive the screws down to a 1/4" from being seated.... then grab the CXS, a few turns till the max. ratchet setting kicked in, and the screws were tight, as I could not turn them with a manual screw driver (my cross check).  So no battery changes, and it went VERY fast, as the impactor drives 3.75" in less than 2 seconds...... so I am learning, sometimes a hybrid driving strategy is the best approach...