Thread: Festo cordless drill

Sam

Several years ago I was in the market for a new cordless drill. I looked at several high-end models on the market at the time (feeling that I could spoil myself as I had lots of home restoration jobs to do), the Festo was one of these.

At the time I was recovering from severe tennis elbow (caused by hanging 10 very heavy solid Maple doors, along with all the mortices, etc, etc). What this meant that my drill arm was ultra sensitive to lifting heavy objects (even a coffee cup), and holding/pointing a drill was just one of those tender times. So I went through this business of trying out every drill on the market, not just for power, specs, etc but also for balance and weight.

In the end I ended with two drills: the Festo 12v and the Panasonic 12v. Oh how I wanted the Festo to win - it was so sexy looking, just so nicely put together, and Festo as a company has such a great reputation. But the clear winner was the Panasonic. It was lighter, more powerful, and the supreme winner in the balance stakes.

I used my Panasonic for about 5 years, way past the time the batteries (came with 2) should have lasted. Finally fried the on-off switch and decided to buy a new one, a 15.6v version, about 2 years ago. The extra weight was no bigger - no tennis elbow - and the balance was as good as the smaller 12v. The extra power was amazing. This drill is simply unstoppable. Two batteries and a 20 minute cycle for recharge means it goes forever. Great clutch system. I think it is the best on the market.

The old 12v? In the end I could not stand the fact that all that was wrong was the on-off switch, and so I had it replaced (not cheap - over $100). But the damn thing just goes and goes, Still on the original batteries!! This raises the last point. The metal batteries of the 15.6 lasted 2 years only. This type of battery does not last long - they are used because they produce greater power for bursts of time. Instead of buying new batteries (very expensive!) I had the cases repacked with non-metal batteries. These do not hold a charge as long but can be expected to last several years.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Call me old-fashioned, but I have never been able to see the point of cordless drills. I have never owned one, and yet I do not feel deprived. Am I missing something here? My 1/2" Bosch PSB 600 RE with a keyless chuck does everything I need in a drill, and it wasn't particularly expensive - I think about $140 from memory, but I may be mistaken. I just cannot see how one could justify around $750 for the Festool.

Rocker wrote:

Call me old-fashioned

Naah. Rocker, "old fashioned" is when I use one of my braces with an auger bit to bore a hole, perhaps my Yankee Pushdrill to drill a pilot and follow this with a spiral bit in a Stanley eggbeater drill. Then use a Yankee spiral screwdriver to drive in the screws.

Under these circumstances I think a corded power drill is futuristic.

Seriously, for working in confined areas, outdoors (on the roof!), for portability around the workshop, then a cordless drill is the way to go. However, as powerful as the 15.6v is, it cannot match my very ordinary Makita power drill in seriously hard jarrah, nor can it bore holes in concrete or brick. And none of these drills work as accurately as my Carba-Tec floorstanding drill.

Just horses for courses.

Kind regards from Perth

Derek

Derek,
Thanks for re-assuring me. For working in confined spaces, I can get a cheap right-angle drilling attachment; for working on the roof, I can get an extension cord; and, within my workshop, there are plenty of power outlets, so I still see no justification for a cordless drill. I have been meaning to get a brace for some time, but have never got around to it; they are hard to find in Bunnings.

In my workshop I use my drills in order from most frequently used:

Bench pedestal drill (40 - 50 years old), Cordless (16 years), Eggbeater (15 years) and then Power drill (17 years).

I wouldn't generally rate one better than the others, like Derek said horses for courses. If any one of them broke down I would immediately replace it with the same type if I couldn't repair it.


- Wood Borer

Sorry, I also have a Stanley brace which is used occasionally.

- Wood Borer

And NOTHING beats a brace for removing stubborn screws. Great leverage!

Derek

Thanks everyone. I suppose when you consider the cost of an up market cordless drill, you do have a valid point.

Cheers,
Sam

Hi

I find it a lot more usefull to get 2 or 3 cheap cordless drills, I have 2 12V GMC drills, one for drilling, one for driving screws. You save a lot of time on bit changes. Besides if you drop/break one, it's not a big loss.

And when it comes to power, you will never beat a corded drill, unles you are willing to get a 24V Makita that will set you back close to 1K.

Nic