Festool Quandry

[Vince Shriver]

I'm confused! I want to get a new Festool drill motor with the various interchangeable chucks. 14.4 volts is fine for me. Can anyone explain how each of these tools differ from one another: 564374 - 564520 - 564522 - ? Two of them look the same, and two of them have similar batteries. What would be the advantage of one design over the other, and what battery is more preferential. They all carry the same price tag, BTW. Thanks much for any information.

[Chris Padilla]

564374
564520
564522

They are all different bodies but the same otherwise.

[Dan Clark]

564374 - C15 with 3 AH (smaller) battery
564520 - C15 with 4.2 AH (larger) battery
564522 - T15

The C15's have a "C" shaped handle. The T15 has a "T" shaped (traditional) handle. I have the old C12. Some people don't like the C handle style. I love mine.

All of them have induction (brushless) motors. They are very smooth, quiet, controllable, and powerful when compared the other drills. You can literally slow them down to a crawl by gently pressing the trigger.

I also have the Festool CSX. No induction motor, but a great little drill. Fits my hand even better than the C12.

IMO, Festool makes the best drills available. Just the chuck system alone makes them worth the cost.

Regards,

Dan.

p.s. Are the Festools perfect? No. For driving large screws, I like the Makita 3-speed impact driver better. Great impact driver.

For really big holes and screws, I have a Harbor Freight 1/2" drill and an SDS roto hammer. Not great quality, but they work on the rare occasions that I need them

[Greg R Bradley]

Dan is correct except on line two it should say "4.2 AH (larger) battery". We can tell what he meant to say.

The C15 with the 3ah battery is replaced by the 4.2 so SHOULD be found at a discount. 564374 Should be discounted around $100. That was the going discount when I bought my 2.6ah after the 3.0ah was introduced.

I would try a C style drill to be sure you like it. Some people love it, some don't. Go to somebody that has all of them in stock and play with them.

Don't discount the CXS. It is the first thing I grab unless I need something bigger. It does not need the offset chuck that the larger ones need since it is so small. It does give up the Brushless motor and electronic torque control. The complete set is $295, a bargain compared to the bigger drills - if only by comparison.

Also, don't think 14.4v is giving up a lot. It has LOTS of power. In my opinion the 18v is the one that doesn't make much sense since it has enough power that it NEEDS the option to add a side handle and does not have the ability to add one.

A few years ago, I would not have believed that a drill could be worth that much money but they are for certain uses. I never believed it until somebody gave me one to try for awhile and then I had to pay for it or give it back.

[Dan Clark]

Greg,

Good catch. I updated my post.

I agree completely about the CSX. I don't use my C12 much because the CSX is my go-to drill driver and it takes care of most things.

Regards,

Dan.

[Jim Becker]

I'll add that when my Dewalt 14.4 batteries died for a second time, I barely noticed since my Festool drill/driver was getting 99% of the use, despite only being 12v. (mine is an older t-style retrofitted to the 3.0 battery packs) It just goes and goes and yes, the multiple heads are very, very useful.

[Dan Clark]

Jim,

I agree with you, but oddly, this is a feature that appeals more to amateurs than pros. Based conversations with a lot of pros, several of them like to have multiple drills available with the right chuck, drill, bit, etc already set up. That's because it's faster to just grab another drill than stop and change chucks. That surprised me. Makes sense though. Time is money to them. Flexibility is more important to me.

Regards,

Dan.

[Jim Becker]

That actually doesn't surprise me if pros prefer multiple drill/drivers like that...it's a time factor. They want and need to "grab and go" for any portion of the job in most cases because time is money. Those of us who are less pressed for time can deal with "change-over", even though it's only a few seconds...as long as the chuck you want isn't buried somewhere in the shop, of course. The pros who use Festool do so more for the quality of the tools and the benefits of "the system", especially likely for interior finish work.