Would you buy it again? This close to pulling the trigger on one of these, but am having a hard time liking the looks of this drill. There is no way I'm going to be able to see one locally before I buy either. Should I do it?
[OP]
Member
Would you buy it again? This close to pulling the trigger on one of these, but am having a hard time liking the looks of this drill. There is no way I'm going to be able to see one locally before I buy either. Should I do it?
Member
You might also try the Festool Owners Group forum. There's a thread or two there about this. As I remember, most people who posted loved their C12s.
Member
I have Dewalt, Porter Cable and Bosch cordless drills. All OK. Since I picked up a C12 none of them have been used once. It doesn't look like much, but it is.
You have 30 days to return it, no questions asked. I'll be really, really surprised if you decide to do that.
Jim
Member
Okay, this one I don't get. I've used Bosch, Makita and DeWalt contractor grade cordless drills, and have a Milwaukee 3/8" corded. I don't see how a cordless drill would be that much better than them. Help us out here, what's so great about the C 12?
It came to pass...
"Curiosity is the ultimate power tool." - Roy Underhill
The road IS the destination.
Member
My opinion ? Awkward, unbalanced, and the handle will not suit you if you have a small hand. Further, the batteries are average. I sold mine as soon as possible. I now have only Milwaukee & Panasonic. You will hear others sing the praises of the offset and right angled chucks, but ask yourself how often you will use them. They don't make up for the drill's other shortcomings in my opinion. (I have lots of Festool tools, but I wouldn't buy their drills with other people's money !)
Last edited by Ken Milhinch; 01-14-2009 at 2:37 AM.
Member
I've owned lots of Dewalt's & Makita's. Good drills no complaints.
I now own a Festool 15 volt & a pair of C12's. I know I am going to get beat up by some on this comment... "like the others the Festool are good drills".However the reason after I bought one, I got two more was ease of the flexibility of swapping out the interchangeable chucks; keyless chuck, right angle chuck, Centrotec chuck etc.
The Centrotec chuck is a love/hate situation. I like it's compact size & inherent flexibility of it's precision design in swapping Centrotec bit's BUT the stubborn German's refuse to produce a Centrotec square drive for the US market. Yea I know I can & do use the square drive in the Centrotec magnetic holder. If they can make a pozidrive and a Phillip's and a torx bit they sure as hell at $16.50 can make a square drive for the US market...
As far as the C12's design with the closed loop handle and as some have called it the "index finger rest" above the trigger... I switch back & forth between the 15 volt & the C12's & never give it a thought about the C12's design. All I care about is that it works.
Hope this helps,
jim
Life is just a series of projects.........
Member
Jim, That's a bit like the stubborn Americans who cling to the imperial measurement system when the rest of the world is metric.Originally Posted by Jim Dailey
Member
Or the wierd Australians who insist on doing winter in July and August....Jim, That's a bit like the stubborn Americans who cling to the imperial measurement system when the rest of the world is metric.
Member
Ken's whingeing notwithstanding, I recently bought a C-12 and wish I had gotten it long ago. I use the different chucks all the time, the drill has lots of torque, and it is lightweight and compact.
Horses for courses, I suppose.
Cheers,
Bob
I measure three times and still mess it up.
Member
Why does my expression of an opinion constitute whingeing ??Ken's whingeing notwithstanding, I recently bought a C-12 and wish I had gotten it long ago. I use the different chucks all the time, the drill has lots of torque, and it is lightweight and compact.
Horses for courses, I suppose.
Member
Yes, I would prefer winter went all year round, especially after the last couple of days here. (104 degrees in your measure)Or the wierd Australians who insist on doing winter in July and August....
Member
Not having a go at you, just taking a bit of p . . .
Are you sure you're Australian?
Cheers,
Bob
I measure three times and still mess it up.
Contributor
They're very different from other cordless drills.
Definitely hold one in your hand before you buy one. Some people hate how they feel, others love them.
That said, if you don't like it they will take it back within 30 days, I believe.
Jason
Contributor
I have Panasonic, Makita, Crapsman, Bosch and the C12. There are many good drills available on the market. My C12 was purchased with all of the add-on chucks and the offset chuck has saved my butt several times! I have had absolutley no complaints about the NiCad batteries. They hold a charge for a long time and have great power. I have 2 of each battery offered. The 12 volt C12 has power way beyond it's voltage rating and I have driven some very large lag screws with it. None of my other NiCad powered tools are even close. None of my other battery technology tools offer significantly better performance. My Milwaukee V28 LiIon are way worse for holding a charge while unused. The handle on the C12 feels overly large to my hands and the balance is kind of weird - sure different than the "traditional" type drills. While it gets plenty of use, I find myself in the shop using my little 10.8 volt Bosch tools far more often due to size and weight. Just don't need all that power for long periods of time in the shop. We have several C12s that are used by my electricians at work and they sure can take a beating. A real advantage they have is that they are sealed - no open cooling vents so no gunk gets in to muck them up. No arcing and sparking either as they are brushless. Pete
Member
Ken,
I have to agree with you about what you said "That's a bit like the stubborn Americans who cling to the imperial measurement system when the rest of the world is metric. "...
We should have followed thru on the change to metric when we started to back in the 80's...
As for your weather comments.... well right now your 104 temps look pretty dam good to me....
Nice to hear from you guy's "down under",
jim
Life is just a series of projects.........
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