New to festool, Electrician in need of a drill!

V

Vario

Member
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Messages
9
Hey guys

I am a new member, I came across this site as I was trying to find information on the Festool CXS and C12 drills.

I am an Electrician, here in Ontario Canada

I am looking for the ultimate drill, I have owned and tried every other brands of compact drills, there are things I dislike about all of them. I have never tried a festool drill, I went to see them in store and I really liked the cxs. I am trying to see if the price is justifiable.

What the drill must do:
Be lightweight, it's on and off my belt all day.
It must be able to survive construction environment. (rural/residential/farm).
It must have a light on it, (preferably that stays on for seconds).
It must be able to work even if it gets cold outside. (I understand no drills like -30.C. When it's that cold, I use my 18v)
It has to drive 1in, 1.5in and 2in screws repetitively.
It will be fastening a lot of #1 and #2 machine screws?. (#6, #8)

The cxs seemed to have an awesome trigger, I really liked it.

I am wondering if the brushless motor from the c12 is a must have?

Looking for opinions in general. This drill is going to take a beating. I must say that my makitas and milwaukees have never been destroyed on the job. I have busted up some dewalts, hitachis, ridgid...

What is the general consensus?
 
Welcome to the forum. I work for Festool. If you ever have questions or need help, let me know.

The C12 is going to squeak in under 3 lbs., the CXS is right at 2 lbs. All of our drills come with a three year warranty, which cover the batteries as well. If you're primarily driving machine screws into pretapped holes, the CXS should do great. You can expect about 250-ish screws off a single charge. The C12 is going to have more torque at the expense of weight. The brushless motor is going to help with battery life (screws per charge) and will generally last much longer than a brushed motor. It sounds like compact and lightweight are prerequisites for you, so I'd recommend the CXS. If you have the need, it has a right angle chuck available which can be bought with the drill as a package.

Festool offers a 30-day money back guarantee. So, get one, try it, if you don't like it or want to exchange it for another model, just take it back to your dealer for a refund. No risk, no hassle.

More information on all of the drills --- http://drills.festoolusa.com

Shane
 
I thought the CXS was the only drill in the Festool line that was not Brushless.

Vijay
 
vkumar said:
I thought the CXS was the only drill in the Festool line that was not Brushless.
Click to expand...

As far as current models, that's true. Did I say something that gave the wrong information or impression? My apologies if that was the case.
 
Unless light weight is paramount, I would go with the C12 or C15 just for the brushless motor, torque, electronic clutch  and battery life. Although keep in mind you could buy 1 CXS kit, plus a second CXS for backup for less than the price of a single C12 kit.

Shane is dead on though. Just buy one - probably the CXS - if it meets your needs, keep it, if not, return it.
 
I am also worried about the amount of electronics in the c12.  It will see harsh environment.  The other thing is when I compare the torque ratings of these to other manifacturers. It dosent add up. Are the other numbers bloated up? I tried the cxs in a piece of wood in store and it did not have 1/3 of the torque of the milwaukee.

Also. Can I modify the centrotec quick connect to accept the standard 6in 1/4in hex #8 robertsonbits I use? I was going to grind the a bit to fit in the centrotec .

Festool does not make robertson (square) bits as far as I could tell.
 
I can tell you the electronics in the Festool drills are tough and I don't worry about them at at all in me two T15 drills.  I once forgot one of my drills outside in a downpour, that drill still works perfectly fine more than seven months later.  I work in some pretty nasty jobsites and my drills regularly see plaster, saw and drywall dust, no problems.  Just today my drills spent most of the afternoon in amongst rat feces, so I think you can tell I don't baby them. [tongue]
 
Welcome to the forum.  I cringe every time I see the video below, but you might not have come across it before.

Would you loan your drill to this person?

You are correct that Festool does not currently offer a centrotec version of a robertson bit.  Some here have made grinding ,modifications, some are happy with the wire detent versions in the centrotec magnetic bit holder/adaptor.

Peter
 
As an electrician, the feature that will make any of these drills a must-have for you will be the right-angle drive attachment.
 
If you can, try the T drills versus the C drills for fit in your hand. For me, the T drills are a far better fit and much more comfortable to use in my size hands. I had a C12 and just never liked the size of the grip. If you go for one of the T or C drills, go for the 15 volt versions. Only $50 more, much longer battery life, no noticable weight difference. I have a t12 and T15 as well as the CXS. I find absolutely no benefit to the T12 over the T15. I use the CXS the most but it is not designed to bore holes for running Romex as a full time job. For the screws you mentioned, it will work fine but the small batteries will need recharging far more offer than the larger drills if you are driving screws all day.
 
I am not a professional, but I do all of my own electrical work on my houses (we're allowed to, with permit & inspection, here in Madison).
I use the CXS for 99% of that work.  It meets all of your criteria, is incredibly light, compact, powerful, and has the right angle chuck.

However, are you going to be able to drill 3/4" holes through floor joists with a self-feed auger bit in the CXS?  No.  You would be able to drill those holes using a normal brad point or twist bit, but it will take a bit of time.

So if the speed and torque for this type of purpose are of primary importance for you and you want only one drill, unfortunately the CXS won't be it.
A T-18 or C-15 would be great choices.
 
Like Mr. Junkie, I do a lot of electrical work at times. If it's new construction, most of the time, you can drill a stud with a full-size Festool C or T drill using a self-feed bit straight on. Sometimes, the studs are too close together and the Right-Angle Chuck is indispensable.

If I'm crawling around in an attic, being able to switch to a right-angle configuration without having to carry 2 drills is really important. I've drilled a lot of studs and plates with the NiCd C12 and never really had a problem. I'm not sure I would want to crawl 50' through an attic with only my CXS. It's a powerful drill for its size but...

Another nice thing about crawling in tight spots with Festool drills is the ability to easily and quickly change bits/drivers without carrying much.

Tom
 
I have a multitude of other drills. Haha. For the major drilling around the house I use a corded drill.  When I m roughing electrical I use the m18 hammer drill with a 7/8 auger if I need to add a few holes. This drill is going to be for finishing and the small rough in stuff like mounting boxes etc.

I just want to make sure it is ok to pay the premium to run a festool that is still a brush motor.
 
Vario said:
I have a multitude of other drills. Haha. For the major drilling around the house I use a corded drill.  When I m roughing electrical I use the m18 hammer drill with a 7/8 auger if I need to add a few holes. This drill is going to be for finishing and the small rough in stuff like mounting boxes etc.

I just want to make sure it is ok to pay the premium to run a festool that is still a brush motor.
Click to expand...

Well then, taking big drilling out of the equation then, IMHO, the CXS is gonna be a peachy addition to your toolbelt.     [thumbs up]
Order a TwinBox also.  Substitute a few Robertson #1 and #2's in there, and you're all set for most anything.

 
Hi Vario,

Welcome to the FOG!  [smile]

CXS seems like a perfect fit.  As a pro you will certainly get enough use in 30 days to know for sure  [wink]

Seth
 
Brice Burrell said:
I can tell you the electronics in the Festool drills are tough and I don't worry about them at at all in me two T15 drills.  I once forgot one of my drills outside in a downpour, that drill still works perfectly fine more than seven months later.  I work in some pretty nasty jobsites and my drills regularly see plaster, saw and drywall dust, no problems.  Just today my drills spent most of the afternoon in amongst rat feces, so I think you can tell I don't baby them. [tongue]
Click to expand...

Brice you need to find better job sites  [blink]

Seth
 
Brice Burrell said:
Just today my drills spent most of the afternoon in amongst rat feces, so I think you can tell I don't baby them.
Click to expand...

Hope you had a mask. That "crap" is horrible.

Tim
 
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