PDC test

[joiner1970]

  The PDC and the Makita in this test are complete different animals,
  I've owend both and a lot of these tests are about sheer strength which the Makita exceeds at. The Makita has a lot less Electronics within it and will power through everything, where as the PDC will beep out, but the PDC has a higher top speed than the Makita
What these type of tests don't do is look at the finer points of the drill like chuck run out, My Makita had a lot of wobble where as the PDC runs very straight.
I like my PDC as a kit with all the accessories  and take it everywhere on installs but if I was only working on site doing 1st fix I'd choose the Makita.

Same here , I like my pdc for all its gadgets and precision but I still feel my old makita is better for everyday rough and ready work

 

[Kev]

Here's the rub ... Youtube equals revenue, sing a stupid song or perform a stupid review - money comes!

People that make a serious effort (particularly the prima FOG contributors) are obviously contributing via YouTube because of their passion. Others are in it for the clicks.

 

[Davesbuildtips]

In all fairness the man said he was going to try some other tests so will wait and see.
But, 4th gear is turning the chuck at 3,900 RPM designed to make a clean entrance into veneered products. You don't Start your car off at the lights in 4th gear, that is why we have a 1st gear. With this drill (which I own the protool model) I would have used 2nd gear like he did with all the drills that he thought performed well. I haven't researched RPM of the others in second gear....could be interesting.
As has been said, the drill has no clutch operation at either end of the torque or clutch control, but one click in from either side and hey presto, electronic clutch.
Maybe he just wang his way through?

 

[AlexThePalex]

As has been said, the drill has no clutch operation at either end of the torque or clutch control, but one click in from either side and hey presto, electronic clutch.

The far right does have clutch operation, it is the highest setting for screwing. Only when you put the switch to the far left in drill mode it has no clutch.

It is an easy mistake to make if you're not that familiar with the drill, so nippychippy's question to the video author is very justified.

 

[Davesbuildtips]

Sorry, 3,800 rpm in 4th gear. Re highest clutch setting to the right hand side, why is there a drill icon at either side?

 

[festivus]

[quote author=Alex]

The far right does have clutch operation, it is the highest setting for screwing. Only when you put the switch to the far left in drill mode it has no clutch.

It is an easy mistake to make if you're not that familiar with the drill, so nippychippy's question to the video author is very justified.
[/quote]

Alex - where did you get that from - as far as I understood - from the manual and the icon - both far left and far right are the same? They both show the drilling icon - ie max torque.

Interesting if this is the case - but I hadn't noticed that!

 

[AlexThePalex]

Ok, my mistake, been 6 weeks since I last used the Protool PDC. I thought the drill icon was only on the left but it's on both sides.  [embarassed]

 

[festivus]

Thanks Alex - I thought this might be some secret feature that I'd missed !

 

[marmot]

I own the PDC drill - it was actually my first Festool product.

Here's my take on this test:

• It doesn't really matter to me at all.  What the tester was doing in this test is not something that I'll ever do - that being drilling a massive number of holes as fast as I can with little regard for the precision of the holes past a casual glance into a larger squared area.  I don't think that test will be a simulation of much of anything beyond an plumber/electrician's need for boring framing.  Even the test was more aggressive than that - if my tradesman was that sloppy with the workmanship I'd be looking elsewhere.
• The PDC is more than powerful enough for me and my tasks.  I also work extensively with the Makita tested in this video (my father owns it), and they're roughly equal, the PDC being significantly more powerful than the Makita when both are in hammer/percussion mode.  I just installed lattice panels into sandstone deck piers for the lower facade of a front porch, and using a Bosch masonry bit the PDC drilled faster Tapcon pilot holes than the Makita.  The Makita is also a badass drill - I love it.
• Perhaps the tester didn't know this - but I wouldn't have started boring those holes in 4th gear anyway.  I'd have started at the 2nd gear, knowing that 1 was too low of a gear.  Knowing what I know about the drill I knew that before he even started.  That's not an issue for me.. not sure why he wasn't made aware of that.
• This doesn't make me want to buy a Milwaukee or the Makita for myself.  This test was too vapid to be relevant to my needs.  I doubt I'll ever be hogging holes with such abandon.

 

[mrboult]

Well this video half entertained me on the train just now, even though the last thing I need to buy anytime soon is a drill. .

Actually, a test like this is the one area I would fault the PDC / DRC drills. And by that I mean exactly what he is doing with a specifically 1 inch (ish) spade bit.

For this task, or rather power range I find the speed 3 (1750rpm) on the PDC too underpowered, and speed 2 (800rpm) too slow.
Speed 3 is great for smaller holes and putting screws in super fast.
Speed 2 is great for large holes and screws because it still has massive torque but is almost twice as fast as the average drill's speed 1 (450rpm)

But I find that with the medium powered common jobs, like a 1 inch spade bit or 100mm screws straight into timber, the typical 1500rpm of most drills in speed 2 is the best power / speed ratio.

(I'm sure my rpm numbers are not perfect, but they're close enough)

 

[glass1]

A little off topic but If the pdc really has less wobble I will buy it but not until Festool makes a dedicated impact.

 

[joiner1970]

Well this video half entertained me on the train just now, even though the last thing I need to buy anytime soon is a drill. .

Actually, a test like this is the one area I would fault the PDC / DRC drills. And by that I mean exactly what he is doing with a specifically 1 inch (ish) spade bit.

For this task, or rather power range I find the speed 3 (1750rpm) on the PDC too underpowered, and speed 2 (800rpm) too slow.
Speed 3 is great for smaller holes and putting screws in super fast.
Speed 2 is great for large holes and screws because it still has massive torque but is almost twice as fast as the average drill's speed 1 (450rpm)

But I find that with the medium powered common jobs, like a 1 inch spade bit or 100mm screws straight into timber, the typical 1500rpm of most drills in speed 2 is the best power / speed ratio.

(I'm sure my rpm numbers are not perfect, but they're close enough)

I found that too, I used it on 4 trying to drill reasonable size holes like I would with my old makita. It didn't like it and so I dropped to 2 it did it but now slower than my 10 year old makita lol.

I still like it though and all the attachments are great.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Personally, I don't understand why sheer power is the only way to judge a drill's performance. Lots of testers seem to be only interested in that.

If I needed to drill such large holes I'd take the time to roll out the extension cord for my 220v drill. Okay, it's a bit 1940-ish, but once you're drilling it works a lot better than any cordless drill.

I think there are a lot more reasons to judge a drill than by power alone.

 

[jonny round boy]

I did wonder if was using a brand-new drill bit for every drill. He didn't mention it, but if he isn't then that's going to skew the results with the first drills doing better than the later ones... [blink]

 

[greg mann]

The test criteria is pretty arbitrary and, as has been stated, has not much to do with how a drill is used in day to day situations. It is a bit like using the results of a quarter mile (400 meter  : )drag race to determine what my next vehicle should be. I don't feel like I learned anything about any of the brands that was useful.

Case in point: He was disappointed in the performance of the Panasonic even though he held that brand in pretty high regard, as do a multitude of folks. Perhaps that should have told him his test wasn't measuring useful performance parameters, once that reflect day to day use.

 

[Shane Holland]

I did wonder if was using a brand-new drill bit for every drill. He didn't mention it, but if he isn't then that's going to skew the results with the first drills doing better than the later ones... [blink]

Sounded to me like manufacturers provided the drills.

 

[greg mann]

I did wonder if was using a brand-new drill bit for every drill. He didn't mention it, but if he isn't then that's going to skew the results with the first drills doing better than the later ones... [blink]

Sounded to me like manufacturers provided the drills.

Does that mean all the drills were not the same? Well, if true, that's not at all trivial to the results. At that point I would be interested in which bit worked best as opposed to the drill. An Alaskan guide once told me he was a connoisseur of boxed wines, "Hmm, tastes pretty good. How does the box hold up?"  :

 

[joiner1970]

I did wonder if was using a brand-new drill bit for every drill. He didn't mention it, but if he isn't then that's going to skew the results with the first drills doing better than the later ones... [blink]

Sounded to me like manufacturers provided the drills.

Highly likely the guy in the video is a professional reviewer here. He does a regular spot in the professional builder a trade mag here in the UK. He'd have no problem getting sample drills from all the main manufacturers.

 

[GregBradley]

The result of that test is pretty much what I expected except I thought the Panasonic would have done better also. Running a spade bit of just one size is going to test the drill power to a certain extent but will also favor a drill with the right speed vs gearing for that ONE size bit. To be fair they should have done it for 3 different sizes of spade bits, a LOT of work.

However, even though I love my CXS and T15, I hope nobody thinks that a PDC will keep up with the two current kings of 18v, the 1100-1200inlb Makita and Milwaukee. When the PDC was developed, it competed well with the current drills but these new beasts are better for heavy work. I know they just run circles around my 36v Bosch that was so good in its day also. Of course, my Milwaukee $79 corded 2500rpm will thrash all of those on that test. Right size tool for THAT test.

You need to choose what works for the wide range of work that you do. A PDC is a nice balance for fine and heavy work but there are better HD drills out there in the last year or two, for sure.

 

[demographic]

Thing is, to my mind at least, this drill driver really has to stand out from the crowd in terms of power as well as accuracy because there's no 18 volt impact screwdriver in Festools lineup. All the other manufacturers have that other option that uses the same batteries.
Just pick it up and work away.

By not making a decent rattle gun/impact screwdriver Festool are shooting themselves in both feet.

Personally I quite like the idea of these PDC things, Festool also make a great cordless saw that runs off the 18 volt batteries, I'm guessing the Syslight thing and the site radio. All great but till they make an 18 volt rattle gun I'm just not interested.
Fail.

All you lot who work in workshops or just buy tools cos its your hobby to buy posh tools to put in cabinets next to Snap On boxes then fine but I've done my time with masses of batteries being incompatible. Manufacturers really do need to be doing some joined up thinking nowadays and at least produce their cordless range in the types of tools that are generally used together.

Make a decent rattle gun and maybe I'll forgive the PDC for not having quite as much poke as it could have, its still a lot longer than a decent cordless rattle gun, even with the chuck removed.