Festool Bit Holder Reference Topic

[TinyShop]

Moderator Note -  Though this topic was started by TinyShop due to a problem with a Festool bit holder it has become a great source for info on what works with what, etc. Due a to a great contribution in testing and pictures from sixpointsocket. So it has been stickied and renamed.

If anyone has similar info to contribute and expand what is already posted on Festool bit holders, please add it to this topic.

Seth

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I purchased one of these locking bit holders with the understanding (from the available product literature and from reading elsewhere on the FOG) that it would lock any wire detent bit. Well, either mine is not functioning properly or maybe I need to use Festool-branded bits (?). But aren't all wire detent bits the same? Any user experiences out there that can shed some light on this issue of compatibility? I was really looking forward to being able to keep bits from sticking to the heads of certain fasteners (galvie roofing screws, for instance). What gives?

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi,

It doesn‘t engage properly on some bits, I have noticed that. Some of them are even Festool branded so spare yourself the $.

I have yet to find a pattern on those bits that aren‘t properly seated. It‘s maybe 5 or so, all different. And mostly another from the same batch works.

I planned to take it to the Roadshow this year.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[TinyShop]

[member=61712]six-point socket II[/member] - thanks for the feedback. I'm particularly bummed that the:

SHOCKWAVE™ Insert Magnetic Nut Driver Set

...set that arrived in the mail won't lock into the bit holder. I followed the recommendation found elsewhere on this forum (that this paeticular make and model of nut driver would indeed lock into the holder) only to find that they in fact do not. All of my other nut drivers are ball detent and I got sick of them sticking to roofing screw heads. I'm no better off with the wire detent Mileaukee versions. For what it's worth, none of the wire detent driver bits that I've collected over the years are held fast by the Festool holder. Maybe someone from Festool can pipe in with some guidance?

 

[six-point socket II]

I have to tidy up a little in the basement first, but after that - I'll get my BHS 65 and some bits out and do some measuring. Maybe we can get to the bottom of this.

I'll take some pictures and make another post, later.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[six-point socket II]

Hi!

Ok, so I grabbed a bunch of different bits and the Festool BHS 65 CE. (I have more bits if necessary ...  [eek]  [scared]  [big grin]  [big grin]  [wink])

Left to right:

DeWalt Extreme Impact Torsion (China); Festool (?); GRK fasteners brand (USA?); Athlet T-Star (Germany); Snap-On ACR, (USA); Snap-On (Czech) (prob. Wera); Wera Classic (Czech); PB Swiss (Switzerland); Festool (?); Spax T-Star (prob. Wera) (Czech), Athlet (Germany), Wiha Y-Bit (?), Würth AW (Germany?), PB Swiss (Switzerland).

DeWalt Extreme Impact Torsion (China) - Festool BHS 65 CE does not engage properly.

Festool (?) - Festool BHS 65 CE does not engage properly.

GRK fasteners brand (USA?) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Athlet T-Star (Germany) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Snap-On ACR, (USA) - Festool BHS 65 CE does not engage properly. (At all, doesn't even fit all the way down ...)

Snap-On (Czech) (prob. Wera) - Festool BHS 65 CE does not engage properly.

Wera Classic (Czech) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

PB Swiss C6 (Switzerland) - Festool BHS 65 CE does not engage properly, but well enough to hold bit.

Festool (?) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Spax T-Star (prob. Wera) (Czech) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Athlet (Germany) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Wiha Y-Bit (?) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Würth AW (Germany?) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly, but does not hold bit.

PB Swiss E6 (Switzerland) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Grouped.

So I took some measurements and my observation is that it's really all about the dents (position and deepness). In case of the Snap-On ACR bit, it's simply too thick, I will have to re-check with another one. That it will lock the PB Swiss E6 but not the Würth E6 is interesting, too.

That it locks the PB Swiss C6 but doesn't engage all the way, that baffles me the most. I will check with another one.

Using mostly T-Star, the BHS 65 CE doesn't give me any more trouble than other bit holders.

Anyway, I will take it - and some bits - to the next Roadshow event if I can attend and see what Festool's thoughts on this are.

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Cheese]

Kudos to you Oliver...you’ve taken on a particularly challenging information dump and tried to make sense of it.  [thumbs up]

The issue has always been the location of the wire detents and the dimensional sizing of the detents. Because this has never been an ANSI driven standard, it’s become a sort of “Wild West” situation. Where a particular manufacturer will come up with a solution for some of the detent variations but will fail to solve the rest of the variations as it’s darn near impossible to do because there is no universally accepted standard and they are all over the board.

 

[Bob D.]

Yes, thank you Oliver for taking the time to try all those combinations and document your findings.

 

[Euclid]

Interesting - I have Axminster's Centrotec-compatible equivalent of that bit-holder and a variety of bits (though not as many as Oliver). I'll take a look and see if they exhibit similar discrepancies.

 

[pixelated]

This isn't unique to Festool's holder. Every bit holder/bit combination I've ever used has some hit or miss combinations.

 

[six-point socket II]

Ok, let's continue with the "Game of bit holders" - "The song of match making"

My SO gave me serious eye rolls over this, she even got expressly close to me while talking to a friend on the phone to say: "Oh, Oliver, he's playing with his grown up tool "Legos" at the moment." Oh, the embarrassment ...  [scared] [eek]  [big grin] [wink] [wink]

Seriously. I got a couple of more bits - and those from yesterday out. + various locking bit holders.

New bits second row, left to right: Snap-On ACR (USA), Wera Diamond (Czech), Bosch (prob. Wera Classic) (Czech), Facom (?), DeWalt.

Bit holder: Festool Centrotec handle, Wera BiTorsion 797/B, Wera 8784 B1, Wera (classic) Rapidaptor (not pictured).

All of these (todays) bit holders will lock ALL of the bits (including those from yesterday), except for that Snap-On ACR dud from yesterday.

Why? Because all of the above mentioned bit holders use a single point to lock the bit, whereas the Festool BHS 65 CE using a spring/wire tries to engage all of the dents.

Snap-On ACR (USA) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Wera Diamond (Czech) - Festool BHS 65 CE does not engage properly.

Bosch (prob. Wera Classic) (Czech) - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Facom (?) - Festool BHS 65 CE does not engage properly, but well enough to hold bit.

DeWalt - Festool BHS 65 CE engages properly.

Facom (?) and Wera Wera 8784 B1bit holder. Trouble engaging properly.

And with a little tug it's seated properly. (This works because of the one-point lock and a little wiggle room)

The Snap-On dud from yesterday.

And the other Snap-On ACR from today.

Classic Wera Rapidaptor with PB Swiss (Switzerland) C6 bit.

The "Legos" ...

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[TinyShop]

Thanks [member=61712]six-point socket II[/member]! Seems to me that given the locking mechanism utilized by the BHS 65 is so "unique", shall we say, that Festool must have had a series of makes and models of bits in mind when it designed it (or licensed it, or whatever). Therefore, it should be a simple matter for Festool to supply us with the list of compatible bits. I paid over US$20 for a bit holder (that doesn't do what it says it's supposed to do) and what I'm not willing to do is spend an unknown additional amount (time and money) shooting in the dark trying to determine which brand (and models and model-years therein) of bit inserts are compatible. I don't have the time or patience to fuss with the absurd position I have been put in. So, [member=101]Festool USA[/member], what say you?

As an aside, at the bare minimum, descriptions the BHS 65 should include a warning/disclaimer about this compatability problem. Had I known in advance that I would encounter this issue I would have steered clear of this tool. I'll say it - I feel duped.

 

[TinyShop]

[member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] - can you offer any guidance on this issue and/or can you look into it with Festool on my/our behalf? You folks sell this part so I'm guessing you would benefit even more so from an official list.

 

[TinyShop]

[member=101]Festool USA[/member] and [member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] - are you going to leave me hanging?

 

[Shane Holland]

[member=101]Festool USA[/member] and [member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] - are you going to leave me hanging?

[member=64030]TinyShop[/member]

Apologies, I was out of the office most of last week. I think the topic of compatibility is best for Festool USA to address. I have personally not had issues with any of the wire detent bits that I have used. But it looks like some good info has already been shared in the thread.

Did you purchase the bit holder and/or bits from us? If so, let's take this offline and send me your info. We definitely want to take care of our customers. We can determine if it's a flaw with your bit holder or a compatibility issue.

Shane
shane@toolnut.com

 

[TinyShop]

[member=48572]Shane Holland[/member] - thanks for your reply. Sadly, no and no is the answer to your two questions. I'll have to wait for [member=101]Festool USA[/member] to respond. FWIW none of the wire detent bits I own (a random collection acquired over the years) are able to be locked by the bit holder. Bad luck on my part. That said, I really want to replace everything with BHS65-compatible bits so that I can benefit from why it was I purchased the bit holder in the first place - locking bits!

That said, if you can direct me to a make (and models) of bits that are compatible, I'm all ears.

 

[neeleman]

In Europe there's a new bitholder coming out 09/2019: BHS 60 CE (205097-€39).
Maybe that solves the problems with the BHS 65 CE?
And also some new 50 mm Centrotec bitsets (205087/205089-€46/96) from which the bits are also sold separately.
But every time I'm amazed by the prices FT asks for these relatively simple bits and bitholders.

 

[six-point socket II]

So the word is out now.  [scared]  [eek]  [big grin] [wink]

Yes, that will pretty much solve the issue overall, as it uses the afore mentioned one-point locking mechanism - as it's pretty much a Centrotec rapidaptor.

Seems Festool is leaning towards Wera for their Bits 'n stuff now.

Sadly that still doesn't immediately help anyone who's in the same boat as [member=64030]TinyShop[/member] - but the BHS 60 CE will be absolutely worth getting!

Thanks for sharing [member=7673]neeleman[/member] !

Kind regards,
Oliver

 

[Dick Mahany]

In Europe there's a new bitholder coming out 09/2019: BHS 60 CE (205097-€39).
Maybe that solves the problems with the BHS 65 CE?
And also some new 50 mm Centrotec bitsets (205087/205089-€46/96) from which the bits are also sold separately.
But every time I'm amazed by the prices FT asks for these relatively simple bits and bitholders.

I hope that is a Wera Rapidaptor in Festool centrotec clothing since rapidaptor has become my preferred bit holder.  I've been debating whether to "centrotec" a 100mm rapidaptor shank in the meantime.  I only hope it finds its way to the US.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Centrotec rapidaptor.

Now that's a cool fusion!  [thumbs up] [not worthy]

 

[Shane Holland]

[member=64030]TinyShop[/member],

That new Centrotec bit holder is now available for pre-order and will ship October 1st.
https://www.festoolproducts.com/festool-205097-centrotec-bit-holder-bhs-60mm.html

I specifically asked Festool about what has changed and they did not provide any information.

Shane