WOW I have got to get some of these things!
http://www.festoolusa.com/default.aspx
This is actually a tool brand that I was unfamiliar with until today. A friend brought over some tools to help me out. He is a custom cabinet maker by trade and makes some pretty amazing stuff. So he shows up with these rolling tool towers that snap together and I think its a gimmick. Then he pulls out some tools and I don't think much of it. Nothing unusual looking.
BUT WAIT, I need to use a drill so I pick up the 12 volt drill and it just feels about perfect in my hand. Comparitively, my Ryobi cordless drill is clunky and my Porter Cable corded drill is off balance by comparison. Hmmm. If my Ryobi is considered a "decent" handyman brand by most people, then I suggest you pick up one of these FESTOOL drills. You will begin to equate Ryobi with cheap junk. Now in all fairness, for the price of one Festool drill I could probably buy 6 Ryobi drills. So I probably don't actually use a drill enough to ever justify buying the Festool brand. The Festool drill kit costs something like $460.
But let me run a few things down. To change the direction, there is a button above the trigger that is almost identical to the button on my Ryobi, but it moves firmly yet smoothly and feels positive when the direction changes. The Ryobi is rough and "clickly" upon engagement by comparision, it is also not positive and can be moved without engaging the opposing direction.
To change the chuck, you just pull back a ring and the entire chuck pops off. This allows you to snap on a RIGHT ANGLE chuck, or an OFFSET chuck or a screw/nut driver chuck. The OFFSET chuck is a great piece, it allows you to drill or screw parallel to a panel or wall and be within a 1/4" of the wall/panel. The RIGHT ANGLE chuck operates very smoothly with almost no gear noise, and changes the drill into a right angle drill without being a big clunky dedicated tool.
The drills have 20 settings for applying torque, and while that is not unusual, the settings can be made very easily. On most drills you have a rotating dial that requires a full revolution to go from one end of the scale to the other end. But on the Festool the scale is a short throw that is easy to adjust and is much faster to change. It is also has 2 speed settings, which is unremarkable for a drill like this.
I did not use the Festool palm sander, but he said he used to burn out 2 to 3 palm sanders a year, but when he bought the Festool, he's had the same one for almost 3 years.
In a lot of tractor arguments I often read that when you buy a John Deere you are paying extra for GREEN paint. Well if this was a tractor discussion then I guess I would be willing to pay extra for the black plastic that these tools are made out of, largely because there is A LOT MORE too them than the color of the case.
http://www.festoolusa.com/default.aspx
This is actually a tool brand that I was unfamiliar with until today. A friend brought over some tools to help me out. He is a custom cabinet maker by trade and makes some pretty amazing stuff. So he shows up with these rolling tool towers that snap together and I think its a gimmick. Then he pulls out some tools and I don't think much of it. Nothing unusual looking.
BUT WAIT, I need to use a drill so I pick up the 12 volt drill and it just feels about perfect in my hand. Comparitively, my Ryobi cordless drill is clunky and my Porter Cable corded drill is off balance by comparison. Hmmm. If my Ryobi is considered a "decent" handyman brand by most people, then I suggest you pick up one of these FESTOOL drills. You will begin to equate Ryobi with cheap junk. Now in all fairness, for the price of one Festool drill I could probably buy 6 Ryobi drills. So I probably don't actually use a drill enough to ever justify buying the Festool brand. The Festool drill kit costs something like $460.
But let me run a few things down. To change the direction, there is a button above the trigger that is almost identical to the button on my Ryobi, but it moves firmly yet smoothly and feels positive when the direction changes. The Ryobi is rough and "clickly" upon engagement by comparision, it is also not positive and can be moved without engaging the opposing direction.
To change the chuck, you just pull back a ring and the entire chuck pops off. This allows you to snap on a RIGHT ANGLE chuck, or an OFFSET chuck or a screw/nut driver chuck. The OFFSET chuck is a great piece, it allows you to drill or screw parallel to a panel or wall and be within a 1/4" of the wall/panel. The RIGHT ANGLE chuck operates very smoothly with almost no gear noise, and changes the drill into a right angle drill without being a big clunky dedicated tool.
The drills have 20 settings for applying torque, and while that is not unusual, the settings can be made very easily. On most drills you have a rotating dial that requires a full revolution to go from one end of the scale to the other end. But on the Festool the scale is a short throw that is easy to adjust and is much faster to change. It is also has 2 speed settings, which is unremarkable for a drill like this.
I did not use the Festool palm sander, but he said he used to burn out 2 to 3 palm sanders a year, but when he bought the Festool, he's had the same one for almost 3 years.
In a lot of tractor arguments I often read that when you buy a John Deere you are paying extra for GREEN paint. Well if this was a tractor discussion then I guess I would be willing to pay extra for the black plastic that these tools are made out of, largely because there is A LOT MORE too them than the color of the case.
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