New Festool Videos from International Builders Show

[Dan Clermont]

Sigh!!   Not meaning to pick a fight, but a lot of nonsense has been flowing here.  Amp Hours are the total energy capacity of a battery, like the size of a gas tank.   But energy capacity has no direct connection to how high a current a battery can deliver without overheating or to how well a particular motor and control circuit can convert the electricity to mechanical power.  1 amp delivered for 2.5 hours is 2.5AH, but so is 2.5 amps delivered for 1 hour.  At the same voltage, which amount of current is going to provide more oomph in the drill?  The input power of the drill is the voltage times the amps.  If you knew the amp draw, you could use the AH to tell you how long before recharge, but you can't use AH to predict power, even at the same voltage.

FWIW, I was an electrical engineer.  I am not slinging opinions.

Steve,

What you have said makes allot of sense and I agree with your comments.

Dan Clermont

 

[nickao]

Gees, just when I get somewhat good at cutting large sheets without a guide, they make a guide. Anyone ever seen the EZ System/Eurekazone "Smart Repeater" for this sort of thing? Same price roughly as well. Does not work with Festool, just their stuff, but it is nice to see Festool come out with accessories that build on the system.

The EZ system works great!

I had the accessories at one point. And it works with any saw, the dust collection is not what the Festools is though.

 

[mwhafner]

Nick, you are correct, the tests are supposed to be conducted over a fixed time interval.  Battery Ah ratings should be accurate, but I still don't trust them completely.  And remember, they are only comparisons of the battery, not the tool it is attached to. 

Some manufacturers have a long history of getting these ratings right.  I would put Panasonic, Snap-On, and Festool in this category for cordless tools.  I have had mixed experience with the others.  I have some Makita, Milwaukee, and Dewalt stuff that I love, but some that I hate.  I have only used the 10.8v/12v Bosch compact tools, but love them.

 

[joiner1970]

I see you are getting the EHL65 planer over there at last.  ;D ;D

We have had them here in the UK a while now had mine a year or more and I recommend them very highly very light and quiet easy blade change and great finish also excellent dust collection with vac.

 

[Frank Pellow]

I see you are getting the EHL65 planer over there at last.  ;D ;D

We have had them here in the UK a while now had mine a year or more and I recommend them very highly very light and quiet easy blade change and great finish also excellent dust collection with vac.

Thanks for the recommendation.  I decided long ago that the planner being sold here was too big for my purposes.  I will at least think about buying this one.

 

[bill-e]

The only possible downside I see to the EHL65 is that it is not as versatile as the HL850 so that may be an issue for some.  The EHL65 does not have the accessory heads and blades nor the ability to be used in the stand like the HL850. 

I have had these grandiose dreams about getting a HL850 and using the rustic blades for all sorts of things...will probably never happen though

 

[Zaphod]

Sigh!!   Not meaning to pick a fight, but a lot of nonsense has been flowing here.  Amp Hours are the total energy capacity of a battery, like the size of a gas tank.   But energy capacity has no direct connection to how high a current a battery can deliver without overheating or to how well a particular motor and control circuit can convert the electricity to mechanical power.  1 amp delivered for 2.5 hours is 2.5AH, but so is 2.5 amps delivered for 1 hour.  At the same voltage, which amount of current is going to provide more oomph in the drill?  The input power of the drill is the voltage times the amps.  If you knew the amp draw, you could use the AH to tell you how long before recharge, but you can't use AH to predict power, even at the same voltage.

FWIW, I was an electrical engineer.  I am not slinging opinions.

Hallelujah, a concise and accurate post regarding Amp Hours.  Interestingly, the slew of erroneous posts which precipitated the clarification have disappeared.

 

[Dave Ronyak]

Thanks, Steve.  While surfing the internet this morning, I came upon the following website which has a lot of information about various battery technologies, compiled by a man who has spent the last 20 years focused on batteries. Battery University

Among the discussion are descriptions of various battery technologies, the advantages and drawbacks of each, and testing methods.  Key points about Li-Ion batteries include that they cost ~40% more than NiCd and some Li based batteries have major fire hazards associated with them due to their chemistry.

Dave R.

 

[richard.selwyn]

Re parallel guide rails.
Had them since about November.  They work very well.  For large cuts you put the stop on the main rail at the back of the sheet, for thin cuts on add on piece (sold separately) on the front.  Very quick to set up.  Only thing that can slow you down is that the width of thin strips is dependent upon the thickness of your blade as the stop butts against the cut off piece.  Therefore, if you regularly change blades - for instance from ripping sheet goods to ripping solid oak - you may have to adjust the setting (four hex head bolts) if you don't want a variation between a 2mm and a 2.5mm kerf blade or whatever.  I just wish my work was accurate enough that it mattered :-\