PROTOOL

[fesfrank]

Where can I get the PROTOOL Quadrive cordless.  I hear it uses the same battery and charger as Festool drills so I wont have to worry about the 220 volt issue.  Thanks. 

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

You will have to go underground.

I would love to see a select few of the Protool line offered stateside but, I don't see it happening.

I know one source that carry's both Mafell and I think a select few Protool's.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Check eBay Germany. Look on websites of European tool suppliers and shoot them an email. Maybe you'll find one who's willing to ship to the states.

 

[ossietim]

There's end of financial year a sale on downunder.
http://www.idealtools.com.au/protool_brochure_for_quadrive_cordless_drills

 

[joiner1970]

http://www.professionaltool.co.uk/

Try these guys they might ship to you. I use them for Festool stuff sometimes they are only down the road from me.

 

[fesfrank]

Would you say that these drills are more powerful than Festool drills.  I see they have an impact driver.  I saw a video that showed the drill converting from an impact driver to a hammer drill and then to a regular drill.  If I saw correct this would definatley be something I would be interested in.  I saw a couple on sale and was wondering if anyone has one and how they perform. 

 

[AlexThePalex]

Would you say that these drills are more powerful than Festool drills. 

I have used the Protool 18 volt hammer drill PDC 18-4 TEC Li and that one sure is a whole class or two stronger than my T15-3. Of course it is not the same voltage but it outperforms the T15 by such a stretch that I assume that the 14,4 volt model, the PDC 15-4 TEC Li will also be stronger. I think the Protools have a different gear train in them than the Festools because you can get 4 speeds out of them (hence the name Quadrive) and the maximum speeds is also a LOT higher. 1500 rpm for the Festools, 3800 rpm for the Protools. You won't believe how fast a screw is in or out of the wood. The T15 is a gentle, friendly and controllable yet strong drill, but the PDC 18-4 is simply an absolute beast.

I see they have an impact driver.  I saw a video that showed the drill converting from an impact driver to a hammer drill and then to a regular drill.  If I saw correct this would definatley be something I would be interested in.   I saw a couple on sale and was wondering if anyone has one and how they perform. 

I have been eyeballing this one too. Tried to get some info on it from people who used it, but I haven't met anyone yet who owns one. I think just a very select group of people have this one.

 

[Frank-Jan]

Would you say that these drills are more powerful than Festool drills. 

Yes, they are. The +3 principle also aplies to these drills (they also have the brushless motors and the same accupacks,which puts them, performance-wise, in a class that's 3volts higher)  And they don't sell an 18V festool drill yet. But even within the same voltage, the protools are a bit more powefull (for instance, according to the specs: protool pdc 15-4 55/35Nm; festool T15+3 40/27Nm)
The protool drills have a 4 speed metal gearbox, and reach 3800rpm in the 4th; This gear is actually usable, unlike the third gear of my old dewalt xrp drill, which drained the battery ridiculously fast. It really speeds up drilling small diameter holes in metal, and it gives cleaner holes in wood.
The protool drills come with a heavier duty angle attachment, and a sidehandle.

The protool drills don't have the driver/drill switch, which enables you to switch from drilling to screwdriving without losing your torque preset. (The drill mode selection on the protool is the same lever as the torque setting and they have fewer torque presets than the festool drills). There's an excenter chuck available for the festool drills, not for the protools. Up until recently there also wasn't a depth control chuck for the protool drills. (There is an extra chuck available for the protooldrills for wrench sockets)

I see they have an impact driver.  I saw a video that showed the drill converting from an impact driver to a hammer drill and then to a regular drill.  If I saw correct this would definatley be something I would be interested in.   I saw a couple on sale and was wondering if anyone has one and how they perform. 

Those were different drills. The PDC versions have a hammerdrillfunction
(sidenote: nice thing about this hammerfunction is, that when it's not set to hammermode, the chuck is locked in the front position so you don't have to push through the travel of the hammerfunction when driving screws (it only has about 1 mm of play, with my old dewalt, and the makita mxt I tried at a demo you had the entire stroke play; which is annoying)

The DRC models don't have the hammerfunction, and are slightly more compact.

The IDC models are the impactdrivers. They can be set to drillmode with 2 speeds, and to a drivermode with adjustable torque; no hammerdrill mode. (Makita does make such a model (switchable to impactdriver/driver/drill/hammerdrill), and I believe bosch introduced one recently)

BUT The protool impactdrivers are more impactwrenches (they have higher torque than impactdrivers, make (even) more noise, are heavier and the standard chuck is for sockets, not screwdriver bits; they do have a special centrotec chuck, but not a regular keyless chuck for drilling.

I have the pdc 18-4 tec li setversion since it became available in the Netherlands (about 3 weeks before the festool T drills were). It has held up very well and I ordered the new depth stop chuck for it yesterday. Only issue I had with it was the lack of power in freezing weather, but that became a bit better overtime, because in the second winter when it was very cold I  could use it. (The first time it had no power at all, I was on a roof, and had to climb back down to get a makita drill, (those makita lithium ions are less affected by the cold, but they are more affected by leaving them in the sun on a hot day))

Before I got the protool drill I was very interested in the festool C12 drill, mainly because of the magnetic bitstorage and the different chucks, but in the video's I saw of it online I saw that it didn't have the Rohm-type keyless chuck (the kind that makes a ratcheting sound when it's tightened, and locks the bits in much better) and I didn't like the way it twisted peoples wrists that were demonstrating how powerful it was; so I decided not to get one.  When I saw the protool drill on display, I tried the chuck and it was the type I liked from my previous drills (atlas copco and dewalt), so I bought it imediately, despite of the high price.

Sorry for getting a bit lengthy in my reply, but did I mention already I like the drill?

 

[Frank-Jan]

I think the Protools have a different gear train in them than the Festools because you can get 4 speeds out of them (hence the name Quadrive) ...

I have been eyeballing this one too. Tried to get some info on it from people who used it, but I haven't met anyone yet who owns one. I think just a very select group of people have this one.

I think the term Quadrive is derived from their corded drills, because it uses the same chucks as the small version of their QuaDrill drills (the symbol for the Quadrill stuff is the four different chucks available at the time they named it: the keyless one, the centrotec, the angled chuck and the socket adapter chuck. In time the logic gets a bit lost because the impact driver is called quadrive aswell, but it doesn't take the keyless and the angled chuck. And they added the chuck with the depthsetting.

I saw the impactdriver in action at one of the so-called demodays, you can check when they're near you on the website link (I'm not really sure if they post ALL the demodays on the website, because I run into the reps fairly regularly at the different local dealers in Eindhoven, especially when they introduced some novelties, maybe you can ask them by email when they are near you)

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

Here is a place in the US that you can get a few things from Mafell and Protool.

I did not realize that Protool used to be Holz-Her.

http://www.timberwolftools.com/

 

[fesfrank]

Thanks for all of the info.  Hopefully I will own one soon.  Maybe one of you guys overseas has a used one that you want to part with.  I would like the PDC 18-4 TEC-LI set.  Let me know. 

 

[Frank-Jan]

Here is a place in the US that you can get a few things from Mafell and Protool.

I did not realize that Protool used to be Holz-Her.

http://www.timberwolftools.com/

On a German forum I read that Protool used to be Narex (a toolcompany from the Czech Republic also bought by Tooltechnic)
It could be that some woodworking tools where originally products from Holz her and others like the jigsaws and other construction toools were Narex (but this is speculation on my part)
Anyway, the protool cordless drills come out of the factory in Wendlingen.

Timberwolftools have a lot of product demonstration videos on youtube.

 

[jonny round boy]

From the linked website:

The PROTOOL brand is a part of the strong coalition of brands under the organization known as TTS Tooltechnic Systems AG & Co, located in Wendlingen, Germany. In Wendlingen, with the use of a modern and rapid response support infrastructure, we service our partners in Germany and other EU countries via our central logistic center for communication and deliveries. We also operate a global communication system to ensure deliveries to customers directly from the manufacturing plant in Ceska Lipa, Czech Republic.

That would indicate that Protools are not made in Wendlingen, but in the Czech Republic.

Additionally, it would seem that Timberwolf have had an exclusive contract with Protool for the NA market since 2000, so don't expect to see Protools sprouting up all over anytime soon...