jonny round boy
Member
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2007
- Messages
- 3,227
I went to the Festool open day today at Slingers Ironmongers in Preston, and saw all the newest tools, including the new drills.
I've been thinking about upgrading from my old style T12 (without the LED light) to a newer T18, however after handling both the PDC won out, and I ended up bringing one home:
[attachimg=1]
The first surprise was that it came in an attic T-loc rather than a standard one - I wasn't expecting that. It's a size 2.
Inside the box:
[attachimg=2]
Note that the inside of the lid is lacking the picture showing you where everything goes - I thought that was now standard with Festool, but it appears not!
[attachimg=3]
There are two versions of this drill as usual - the 'plus' version and the 'set' version. The only difference between the two is the inclusion (or lack of) of the angle chuck. There is no offset chuck for this drill. The old angle chuck and the offset chuck are not compatible with these new drills, as they lack the toothed plate that those chucks engage with.
Slingers only had the 'plus' versions in stock, but were kind enough to take the angle chuck out of the 'set' version of one of the new mains-powered drills for me.
Out of the box, clockwise from the right, we have; the angle chuck; the drill itself, with 18v 4.2Ah battery & rubber bumper; depth-stop spindle; side handle; new TCL3 charger; 13mm standard chuck; and lastly an additional 4.2Ah battery, again with rubber bumper:
[attachimg=4]
The new charger is smaller than the previous version - I knew this was the case beforehand, but once you see one in person it's surprising how much smaller it really is! The pictures don't do it justice, but here's a comparison between the old & new:
[attachimg=5]
[attachimg=6]
The charger now incorporates cord storage around the base - a nice touch is the little hook/tab to hold the plug end in position & stop it unravelling:
[attachimg=7]
The new angle chuck is a real beast of a thing - made from a single piece of aluminium (with rubberised coating on the outside), it's slightly heavier but seems far more robust than the old one (which in itself wasn't at all flimsy). This angled chuck is a lot easier to fit - I found the one on the C & T series a bit tricky sometimes. The included 13mm chuck is surprisingly small (I thought it was only a 10mm chuck when I saw it!) which means that the side handle can be fitted & removed with the chuck in place:
[attachimg=8]
The side handle is pretty straightforward, and can be set at a variety of angles and on either side of the drill. A hex spindle depth stop is also included:
[attachimg=9]
[attachimg=10]
[attachimg=11]
The base of the drill (just above the battery) has some magnetic storage for bits, and a really nice bright LED light, activated by a little push-button switch on the side:
[attachimg=12]
Also on the base are two new belt clips (one either side) which flip out from the base. I know there have been some complaints about previous Festool belt clip solutions - these seem very strong, but I don't ever use a belt clip so can't really comment much!
[attachimg=13]
The LED switch is push-on, push-off, and is completely independent of the trigger. When you do switch it off, the centre LED then comes on as a battery gauge (either solid green, flashing green, yellow, or red) for a few seconds before turning off:
[attachimg=14]
The LED light may well have a timer on it to switch it off if you forget - I haven't tried it, but it wouldn't surprise me.
The rubber bumpers on the batteries are pretty robust, but are easily removed if you don't want them on. Space is included in the bottom left of the systainer for a third battery, but strangely they don't fit in there with the bumper fitted.
Lastly, on top of the drill are (from the front) the hammer action on/off switch, the speed selector (FOUR gears!) and the torque control:
[attachimg=15]
As with all the Festool drills (except the CXS) this has the Ec-Tec electronic clutch.
Due to the aluminium gearbox housing & all-metal gears, this drill is slightly heavier than the T18, but it doesn't feel so in the hand. Nor does it feel 'nose heavy'; the balance is fantastic as with the T series.
Here's a few comparisons between my old T12 and this new drill. I don't own a T18 (which would be the nearest equivalent):
[attachimg=16]
[attachimg=17]
[attachimg=18]
[attachimg=19]
I must admit I was really surprised when I weighed them both - Although the PDC (with 18V 4.2Ah battery) is roughly a third heavier than the T12 (with a 10.8V 2.4Ah battery), it really doesn't feel it at all.
I haven't yet used the new drill properly, but I'm very impressed so far - so much so that I'm not going to wait before sticking my T12 on eBay (well, I've got to pay for this new drill somehow!).
On a related note, as well as the 'plus' and 'set' versions of this model, there is also another model, the DRC. This is essentially exactly the same as the PDC, but without the hammer action. The price difference between the two really is negligible (in fact, due to the way the dealer pricing works, the PDC version is in many places cheaper!) so I really don't see the point in Festool even bothering to release it without the hammer action.
If anyone has any questions about this drill that I haven't covered, please feel free to ask & I'll do my best to answer!
Thanks to Mike and Gordon from Festool for the demos, and to Peter at Slingers for the free doughnuts!
I've been thinking about upgrading from my old style T12 (without the LED light) to a newer T18, however after handling both the PDC won out, and I ended up bringing one home:
[attachimg=1]
The first surprise was that it came in an attic T-loc rather than a standard one - I wasn't expecting that. It's a size 2.
Inside the box:
[attachimg=2]
Note that the inside of the lid is lacking the picture showing you where everything goes - I thought that was now standard with Festool, but it appears not!
[attachimg=3]
There are two versions of this drill as usual - the 'plus' version and the 'set' version. The only difference between the two is the inclusion (or lack of) of the angle chuck. There is no offset chuck for this drill. The old angle chuck and the offset chuck are not compatible with these new drills, as they lack the toothed plate that those chucks engage with.
Slingers only had the 'plus' versions in stock, but were kind enough to take the angle chuck out of the 'set' version of one of the new mains-powered drills for me.
Out of the box, clockwise from the right, we have; the angle chuck; the drill itself, with 18v 4.2Ah battery & rubber bumper; depth-stop spindle; side handle; new TCL3 charger; 13mm standard chuck; and lastly an additional 4.2Ah battery, again with rubber bumper:
[attachimg=4]
The new charger is smaller than the previous version - I knew this was the case beforehand, but once you see one in person it's surprising how much smaller it really is! The pictures don't do it justice, but here's a comparison between the old & new:
[attachimg=5]
[attachimg=6]
The charger now incorporates cord storage around the base - a nice touch is the little hook/tab to hold the plug end in position & stop it unravelling:
[attachimg=7]
The new angle chuck is a real beast of a thing - made from a single piece of aluminium (with rubberised coating on the outside), it's slightly heavier but seems far more robust than the old one (which in itself wasn't at all flimsy). This angled chuck is a lot easier to fit - I found the one on the C & T series a bit tricky sometimes. The included 13mm chuck is surprisingly small (I thought it was only a 10mm chuck when I saw it!) which means that the side handle can be fitted & removed with the chuck in place:
[attachimg=8]
The side handle is pretty straightforward, and can be set at a variety of angles and on either side of the drill. A hex spindle depth stop is also included:
[attachimg=9]
[attachimg=10]
[attachimg=11]
The base of the drill (just above the battery) has some magnetic storage for bits, and a really nice bright LED light, activated by a little push-button switch on the side:
[attachimg=12]
Also on the base are two new belt clips (one either side) which flip out from the base. I know there have been some complaints about previous Festool belt clip solutions - these seem very strong, but I don't ever use a belt clip so can't really comment much!
[attachimg=13]
The LED switch is push-on, push-off, and is completely independent of the trigger. When you do switch it off, the centre LED then comes on as a battery gauge (either solid green, flashing green, yellow, or red) for a few seconds before turning off:
[attachimg=14]
The LED light may well have a timer on it to switch it off if you forget - I haven't tried it, but it wouldn't surprise me.
The rubber bumpers on the batteries are pretty robust, but are easily removed if you don't want them on. Space is included in the bottom left of the systainer for a third battery, but strangely they don't fit in there with the bumper fitted.
Lastly, on top of the drill are (from the front) the hammer action on/off switch, the speed selector (FOUR gears!) and the torque control:
[attachimg=15]
As with all the Festool drills (except the CXS) this has the Ec-Tec electronic clutch.
Due to the aluminium gearbox housing & all-metal gears, this drill is slightly heavier than the T18, but it doesn't feel so in the hand. Nor does it feel 'nose heavy'; the balance is fantastic as with the T series.
Here's a few comparisons between my old T12 and this new drill. I don't own a T18 (which would be the nearest equivalent):
[attachimg=16]
[attachimg=17]
[attachimg=18]
[attachimg=19]
I must admit I was really surprised when I weighed them both - Although the PDC (with 18V 4.2Ah battery) is roughly a third heavier than the T12 (with a 10.8V 2.4Ah battery), it really doesn't feel it at all.
I haven't yet used the new drill properly, but I'm very impressed so far - so much so that I'm not going to wait before sticking my T12 on eBay (well, I've got to pay for this new drill somehow!).
On a related note, as well as the 'plus' and 'set' versions of this model, there is also another model, the DRC. This is essentially exactly the same as the PDC, but without the hammer action. The price difference between the two really is negligible (in fact, due to the way the dealer pricing works, the PDC version is in many places cheaper!) so I really don't see the point in Festool even bothering to release it without the hammer action.
If anyone has any questions about this drill that I haven't covered, please feel free to ask & I'll do my best to answer!
Thanks to Mike and Gordon from Festool for the demos, and to Peter at Slingers for the free doughnuts!
Attachments
-
20131009_134915.jpg -
20131009_135759.jpg -
20131009_135808.jpg -
20131009_140250.jpg -
20131009_135848.jpg -
20131009_135931.jpg -
20131009_135944.jpg -
20131009_140112.jpg -
20131009_140123.jpg -
20131009_135727.jpg -
20131009_135651.jpg -
20131009_135001.jpg -
20131009_135037.jpg -
20131009_135129.jpg -
20131009_135216.jpg -
20131009_135229.jpg -
20131009_135443.jpg -
20131009_135534.jpg -
20131009_135642.jpg
