I need a drill

[chappardababbar]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the Festool brand and have picked up a few pieces over the past week (MFT, plunge saw, Vecturo, kapex) and I really like them so far.

Having been encouraged by these products, I would like to take a look at their drills but I'm not sure where my start point should be and I'm looking for some advice.

I have a nice impact by Makita which I'm happy with - that takes care of my heavy duty screwdriving. I have a Makita SDS drill as well - that take care of concrete and brickwork.

What I need is something that is good at drilling holes in wood. I have a Makita 10v(?) which I've had for years which has a nicad battery that needs changing very frequently. I was drilling holes in 4x2s last week and only managed 10 holes at a time before I noticed reduced performance from the battery.

Which is the right tool for me from the range? I'm purely a DIY guy and I have the following projects on my list:

Kitchen install
Shelving in a cupboard
Shelving and storage in a garage
Bike shed
Garden tool shed

I don't think the Cordless CXS is going to cut it on the bigger stuff although I love the size and it would be great for the kitchen and shelving.

I really like the look of the corded quadrill Quadrill PD 20/4 but I'm not sure it'll get used as much as I want given that it has a cord which could be a pain to use. It does rotate at up to 4000 rpm though and I don't think there is anything timber related that it won't handle. Also to me it feels like it has greater longevity due to lack of battery.

The only other tool I like the look of is the cordless C15cordless C15. It has a similar ergonomic design to the CXS but it's a fair bit bigger. It cordless which is a plus but it still doesn't pack the punch of the PD 20/4

Before I hit post ...one more point. I am a complete novice at woodwork but I have some time off over the next few weeks and I'm looking forward to becoming a little more proficient. But why am I drilling holes? As I write this I realise the reason I've been drilling holes it to create pilots for screws because by makita combi has never had the power to drive a screw directly into timber....so I've always had to drill a hole before driving the screw.

I've just realised that in all the demo videos I've been watching people rarely drill pilots. Now that I have a proper impact I'm not sure that I will need to drill as many holes as I used to....so maybe I don't need as much firepower as I thought I would.

With all this in mind (!), which is the best drill for my needs do you guys think?

Yasir

 

[ear3]

Pilot holes are still a good idea for most projects save the rough and ready ones.  They prevent the screws from accidentally wandering off at an angle as you drive them, and minimize the chances of splitting the wood.

I don't have any Festool drills, but I just demo-ed the CXS the other day out of curiosity.  My impression was that it was fairly limited in terms of power (it beeped out quite frequently, though granted, I wasn't using pilot holes to drive the screws), and is more of a household unit.  But a lot of good things are said about on this forum, and it could be quite serviceable if you have lots of low-intensity driving to do.  The major thing for me was that its batteries and charger are not compatible with any other Festool.

If you have the opportunity, you should go and demo all the drills at the dealer to see which ones are right.

 

[chappardababbar]

That's sound advice, thank you. Just got off the phone with the local dealership who don't have any available to demo but will call me when they have their next demo day.

 

[Pixel]

The PD 20 is by far the better drill in the festool range, it is light and never runs out of power, if you have access to power all the time then my advice is this one.

 

[chappardababbar]

Ok, I just ordered the 20/4 !

Will let you know how I get on,

Thank you

 

[Just F Me]

From my readings, this is what I found...

CSX - everyone who has one, loves it.  It's not designed to drive tons of screws, rather it's more designed for assembly.  It's super light weight and for the size, it packs a punch.  This is not your "everyday" drill, but rather again, a fantastic assembly driver.

C15 - I think could be one of the most favorite tools here on the forum.  Because of the design, you actually grip your palm behind the driver up top, which is completely inline with the drilling/driving motor.  It feels quirky at first, but you get used to it and people love the balance.

T15/T18 - these drills are your normal T style drills and pretty much has the same specs as the C series, but in a T style that many people are more familiar with.  People love ALL the festool drills because of the quality obviously.  One thing that I like a lot is how "slow" you can turn a screw by depressing the trigger.  My 18v Li-Ion compact Makita drills right now seem to be all out speed, or nothing.  It's kind of annoying.

Personally, I hope to pick up a C15 soon

 

[duburban]

i have fine trigger control on all 4 of my makita drills and impacts. same with the bosch. its just that the festool t18 is better.

 

[chappardababbar]

From my readings, this is what I found...

CSX - everyone who has one, loves it.  It's not designed to drive tons of screws, rather it's more designed for assembly.  It's super light weight and for the size, it packs a punch.  This is not your "everyday" drill, but rather again, a fantastic assembly driver.

C15 - I think could be one of the most favorite tools here on the forum.  Because of the design, you actually grip your palm behind the driver up top, which is completely inline with the drilling/driving motor.  It feels quirky at first, but you get used to it and people love the balance.

T15/T18 - these drills are your normal T style drills and pretty much has the same specs as the C series, but in a T style that many people are more familiar with.  People love ALL the festool drills because of the quality obviously.  One thing that I like a lot is how "slow" you can turn a screw by depressing the trigger.  My 18v Li-Ion compact Makita drills right now seem to be all out speed, or nothing.  It's kind of annoying.

Personally, I hope to pick up a C15 soon

I think the PD20 has the same grip style as the C15...I think for me the C15 isn't quite small enough like a CSX, not does it have the power of the PD20 (though I'm sure I'll never use it now that I think about it)

I'll see how it goes with the PD20 and then perhaps add a CSX if I like it.

 

[Kev]

Unfortunately there's no such thing today as the perfect do everything drill.

 

[SoonerFan]

Unfortunately there's no such thing today as the perfect do everything drill.

I agree...no prefect drill.  I have a CXS and Centrotec set.  Think I will add a T18 +3 to the CXS/Centrotec Set and call it good.  With this kit I think I will cover 99%+ of my needs (hobbyist).

 

[Just F Me]

Unfortunately there's no such thing today as the perfect do everything drill.

DAMN Festool.  You can never have one drill...and you can never have one sander.

 

[festooldude]

Unfortunately there's no such thing today as the perfect do everything drill.

Only when Festool starts making a brushless 18v CXS!! Whaha