One Festool for all (in a wood house)?

[Tim99]

Hi,

I moved to a house with walls made entirely of wood (and sheetrock). Now I wonder if I need anything other than a good cordless screwdriver!? What do you recommend?

I thought perhaps a decent driller and an assembly package like this would be a good choice? It includes a manual screwdriver as well and many tools, so that I would not need many more tools.

My questions are:
- Is this combo generally a good idea?
- Which driller do you recommend? Mainly I'm assembling furniture or simply drilling screws in order to hand a picture on a wall or a plasma tv. (I already have a $180 driller, but ...well... I want a Festool...).

- Other question: Do I need to use anchor bolts for my wood/sheetrock walls at all? Or do I simply drill the screw directly into the wall?

 

[TJ Cornish]

It's hard to say what tools you will need.  I have accumulated a large workshop full of tools as my projects have expanded, but started out with just a cordless drill before I owned a house.

I'm sure the Festool bit kit is very nice, but it's a lot of money.  If it's worth it to you, great.  You can buy a set of basic tools for a very little bit of money that can adequately screw together furniture.  I don't like having only removable bit screwdrivers - the bits wiggle and can fall out.  My main screwdrivers are these:

http://www.bondhus.com/products/screwdrivers/body27.htm

I like them very much.

As far as hanging things on the wall - it depends.  If you're hanging something heavy you will need to go into a stud.  If it is something lighter, then a nail in drywall may be OK.  Please tell us more about what you mean by walls made entirely of wood - are you referring to some kind of lathe behind the drywall?  Wood paneling?

 

[mosez]

sprichst du deutsch? ich komme auch aus deutschland, nur dass du bescheid weißt, falls du irgendwas wissen willst...
i just answer in english anyways, because its an english forum.
driving screws straight into the wood is the only way i know. dübel are for concrete walls.
if you have a nice cordless drill, you are quite unlikely to be in need of a corded one in a wooden house (if youre just hanging a plasma now and then ). the centrotec set is a sweet assortment, but for hanging pictures? really? i mean, i love festool and i get everything i can justify buying, but i kept myself from buying a festool drill and the centrotec assortment because my bosch psr 18 li-2 does its job just fine.
i decided to wait until it dies - thats certainly the time for a c18 (i sure hope they make one soon) or c15 then.
anyways: if you are sure that you want a festool drill, there is no drawback but the price. which is definitely justifiable in a lot of cases.
the 2010 centrotec assortment will be (other than the previous centrotec systainers) a permanent item. there should not be much that you are left short of when you decide to buy it. maybe some holesaws/forstner bits/auger bits (pretty much anything bigger than 8mm, should you ever need it) or steckschlüsselnüsse (i dont remember the word right now - sockets?? for driving hex screws). but besides these two, you should have what you "need".

 

[Alan m]

as much as i would love one of these sets i dont think most people can justify this set. i have a few sets of good bits wera etc and a box full of cheap specalised bits ( star square etc) . for drilling i use the old fashioned drill in a chuck. all in id say 100 euros . this set is 300-400 euros. its madness [big grin].

 

[mosez]

maybe its SPARTA!
anyways - youre right. having such top notch drill bits would make me use cheap drill bits in most cases because i would be too afraid to damage my expensive centrotec bits ^^
as far as quick changeing: anyone thought of buying a second fastfix standard chuck and leaving a drill bit tightened in one and a driving bit in the other? that would be the application where i see the biggest advantage in using a centrotec chuck. the difference between changeing fastfix chucks and changeing centrotec bits should be minimal to zero. the cost would be a fraction and you could use standard bits.

 

[Alan m]

you should get another cheap(sorry not expernive) drill and not bother changing bits over and back. an imoact driver is very handy for driving screws.

 

[Tim99]

Thank you for your replies!

I saw the assembly set for approx. 250,- and thought this might be a good idea since the manual screwdriver is included.

Can I use the Festool screwdriver to drill holes in wooden walls? What boring heads to I need for that? Special "Festool" ones?

Would you recommend the T or the C series? btw: What is the difference except the weight and the design?

@Mosez: Yes, I do speak german.

 

[Tim99]

I looked at the models and currently I'm thinking about the small CXF one. What are use cases in which the CXS would be too weak/inappropriate?

 

[mosez]

where did you see it for 250€?
i havent used the cxs so far but there is a video review on here somewhere. you should be able to find it via search.
with the c-drill the drilling/driving axis is more in line with the direction in wihch you push the drill. some say that makes it better in terms of ergonomics. on the c-drills the led light is integrated in the handle (the t series has a seperate led that can be attached to the drill, only with the centrotec chuck in use, or can be used as a headband lamp), same goes for the bit garage (the t series has one, but its smaller and located rather at the "foot" of the drill.
there is a t18+3, no 18v c-drill so far.

 

[TJ Cornish]

I looked at the models and currently I'm thinking about the small CXF one. What are use cases in which the CXS would be too weak/inappropriate?

Driving large screws without predrilling, using auger or spade bits.

A little drill shouldn't have any trouble putting drywall screws into studs or using twist drills up to 10mm.  Above these tasks a bigger drill would be better.

 

[Tim99]

@Mosez: Unfortunately, it was a different set :-(

Main task would be drilling woodscrews directly into wooden walls (without studs). Biggest screws would be around 10mm for my plasma tv. Would that be ok or do you recommend a bigger screw driver?

 

[mosez]

it would quite impress me to see the cxs sink a 10mm screw in wood without predrilling. thats a hard task for any non-impact driver. the c15 li-ion owners: can your drill do that?
anyways, you could easily drill a 6 or 8mm hole using the cxs and then drive the 10mm screw with a ratchet. its only like 4 screws, right? the cxs is pretty allround if you dont do much heavy-duty stuff. i reckon the most festool drills arent challenged even close to what they are able to accomplish.
the cxs only takes bits up to 8mm in shaft diameter, though.