Quality of Festool Cutters and Bits

[DB10]

I think it's fair to say that the Zobo bits are one of Festool's best packaged consumables. Even after taking in the high price. Like others have said once you use them you soon see where your $ has gone, no complaints there.

 

[Holmz]

I think it's fair to say that the Zobo bits are one of Festool's best packaged consumables. Even after taking in the high price. Like others have said once you use them you soon see where your $ has gone, no complaints there.

And one can get the unbranded one at 1/2 price, so where does the other 1/2 go?
It does not make the better.

 

[DB10]

I think it's fair to say that the Zobo bits are one of Festool's best packaged consumables. Even after taking in the high price. Like others have said once you use them you soon see where your $ has gone, no complaints there.

And one can get the unbranded one at 1/2 price, so where does the other 1/2 go?
It does not make the better.

[member=40772]Holmz[/member]  I'm not sure what un branded ones you are talking about, are they also made by Zobo? If they are and they are half the price of the Festool ones then that would be a good buy.
But if you are talking about Forstner bits made by the usual suspects then the value of the Zobo's are in the eye of the beholder, I find that the cheaper bits are fine for the first twenty or so cuts but if you have a lot of holes to cut then they start to lose their edge, they also overheat & burn the stock. Where as the Zobo's cut clean and crisp time and time again they just stay sharp, you can also change the pin points out to use drill bits which can be handy also replace the points if they break, they are just well made
But if someone is not drilling that many holes in a day then the cheaper ones probably make more sense as a set of the Festool Zobo's are a touch under $300 in Aus, so I would guess there is plenty of mark up on them.

 

[Cheese]

Where as the Zobo's cut clean and crisp time and time again they just stay sharp, you can also change the pin points out to use drill bits which can be handy also replace the points if they break, they are just well made

Adding to that train of thought, sometimes the item is too large or unwieldy to place on a drill press, at that point, I'll drill a perpendicular thru hole using the contraption in the 1st photo and then exchange the point in the Zobo bit for a pilot instead as in the 2nd photo. The result is nice straight/perpendicular holes in a large surface.

 

[Holmz]

[member=42735]DB10[/member] - They were Zobo brand, and even FT marked on the side of the bits.

I cannot believe that spending 2x gives me a better bit, because they are the same bit. Plus I save enough for a slab.

 

[bertv]

[member=42735]DB10[/member] I cannot believe that spending 2x gives me a better bit, because they are the same bit.

Well, even on a single production line there are differences in quality. An example: Bang & Olufsen tv-sets used to (don’t know about the newer models) be constructed with 95% Philips parts. But these parts were the top 5% from the regular production — tested and confirmed by QC. B&O sets were in a league apart regarding quality of sound, picture, build and longevity.

My guess is that Festool get the top notch stuff from their suppliers. If not, you may hear a very loud lament from somewhere in the east of the Netherlands…

 

[Holmz]

With ISO 9000 and six sigma approaches the the parts are more similar.
The green wording on the parts does not make them magically better.

Specifically with the Forstners they work well.
There is an advantage for both Zobo and FT to partner for both marketing and with the supply chain.

For the consumer there is an ease in finding the bits, so it is not a bad thing. But FT is not supplying those for free, and there is an additional fee for another middleman handling them.
Once one knows that they can get the same parts cheaper then they get them because it is easier, or in my case I needed some other stuff and the bits rode along in the shipping for free... And I was in no hurry.

 

[WarnerConstCo.]

What kind of case do these "unbranded" ones come in?

 

[Holmz]

I'll have to look when I get home,but it was a white sustainer insert. Unsure if it was branded or not.