JayStPeter
11-06-2005, 9:57 AM
I'm finally getting around to posting my October gloats. I got a LV MKII sharpening jig and a Festool TDK12 cordless drill. I've had enough time with them now to get a good feel and provide a quick review of each.
The MKII is exactly what I'd hoped. It is a nicely improved over the old LV jig. The angle setting jig allows you to quickly slap in a blade in need of a touch up and repeatably hone it. With the old jig, there was some fiddling around to get that done. The only downside was having to regrind most of my primary bevels to the new jigs angle guide from a few degrees off. It also showed how easy it was to get out of square using the old jig.
The TDK12 is a nice drill. It is smaller in every dimension than my old PC 12V, but it is very slightly heavier. I have already taken advantage of the very small size that the drill can become by removing the chuck and putting a driver bit right into the front of the drill. It can get into some tight spots even without the optional right angle and offset attachments. The attachments seem pretty slick and I'm looking forward to having them available. I haven't done anything to assess the power yet.
As you can see from the photo, my 29 piece drill bit set fits right into the systainer where the charger comes out. This is one systainer I actually use. When I hung some curtain rods I was able to put everything I needed in the systainer except my 4' level. It made hauling everything to the "job site" much easier. I had none of my typical trips back to the shop to retrieve a forgotten bit.
I think the true test of the value of this expensive drill is going to come years down the road. I was at a point where the batteries on my PC were pretty well shot and I needed to make a decision. I could've replaced the cells in one pack and bought another second (one was physically broken), bought another drill or drill/impact kit, or spent some cash on the Festool. In fairness to the PC it came down to Festool vs. another PC. I'm hoping that when I reach the that point on this one the decision will be more obvious.
Jay
The MKII is exactly what I'd hoped. It is a nicely improved over the old LV jig. The angle setting jig allows you to quickly slap in a blade in need of a touch up and repeatably hone it. With the old jig, there was some fiddling around to get that done. The only downside was having to regrind most of my primary bevels to the new jigs angle guide from a few degrees off. It also showed how easy it was to get out of square using the old jig.
The TDK12 is a nice drill. It is smaller in every dimension than my old PC 12V, but it is very slightly heavier. I have already taken advantage of the very small size that the drill can become by removing the chuck and putting a driver bit right into the front of the drill. It can get into some tight spots even without the optional right angle and offset attachments. The attachments seem pretty slick and I'm looking forward to having them available. I haven't done anything to assess the power yet.
As you can see from the photo, my 29 piece drill bit set fits right into the systainer where the charger comes out. This is one systainer I actually use. When I hung some curtain rods I was able to put everything I needed in the systainer except my 4' level. It made hauling everything to the "job site" much easier. I had none of my typical trips back to the shop to retrieve a forgotten bit.
I think the true test of the value of this expensive drill is going to come years down the road. I was at a point where the batteries on my PC were pretty well shot and I needed to make a decision. I could've replaced the cells in one pack and bought another second (one was physically broken), bought another drill or drill/impact kit, or spent some cash on the Festool. In fairness to the PC it came down to Festool vs. another PC. I'm hoping that when I reach the that point on this one the decision will be more obvious.
Jay