Centrotec

[Derek Cohen]

I am interested to hear the opinion and experience of others here about Centrotec drill bits, etc for their Festool drills. I could go to Festool Owners Group, but that site is understandably biased towards Festool.

I have two cordless drills, a Panasonic 12v which I have used for 25 years, and a small Festool C12 10.8v which I have had for 5 or 6 years. Both do good duty in a furniture building shop. Recently I began to look around for a replacement for the Panasonic, something compact but with a touch more oomph. I picked up a second hand, little used Festool 18/4 PDM, which is one hellava drill. My concern is that it is not really a shop drill, more like a 4wheel drive on the freeway. In practice, with a smaller 3.1 battery pack, it is as light or lighter than the C12. I tried it with the single Centrotec drill bit I have, and went “wow”. Replacing the chuck with the dinky Centrotec head turns this drill into a frisky sportscar.

Now I need to decide on purchasing Centrotec drill bits, which is spendy. Before I do, what are the opinions of others on these bits?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Darcy Warner]

I have a set of the zobos, Brad points and small centrotec assortment.

Loved it when doing decks, exterior and interior carpentry, etc. Not sure where they are currently.

[Jim Becker]

I recently acquired a set of both the standard twist bits and the brad points (from another 'Creeker) as well as a small set of the short brad points. I really like them and I'm a fan of Centrotec because of the deeper, positive locking setup. The Festool bits compliment the setup of Snappy countersinks I have that are in Centrotec format (albeit they are Imperial) My understanding is that there are a few other vendors supporting the format...check the Axminster site in the UK and Peter Parfet's (sp?) videos for a demo of a bunch of Centrotec options on the market.

[Derek Cohen]

Thanks Darcy. Thanks Jim.

I have purchased the set of 10 Festool Centratec bits (3-10mm). These have metric bits in Centratec holders. The bits are replaceable, which is great. Strangely, one cannot purchase the holders alone (and pop in a bit from elsewhere); you have to buy the complete kit. I reasoned that the Festool bits were high quality, so bit the bullet. I have a number of other quick change types, which I shall convert to Centrotec. That looks easy enough.

Jim I followed your Axminster suggestion and discovered that Fisch also make Centrotec bases. I already knew of Snappy. I wonder if there are other makers?

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Bob Hinden]

I got into the Centrotec system when I purchased a Festool CXS about 15 months ago. I first got a set of the Snappy Centrotec bit holders, and some driver bits . More recently when I was in Europe on a business trip I bought the Festool Installer's kit. Sold the extra driver bits.

Now I hardly every pick up my older Makita drills. It's a great system. The Installers kit came with an extra Centrotec adapter and head, so I can use that on the Makita drill as well if needed.

[Jim Becker]

[Greg R Bradley]

I have a wide variety of Centrotec bit tools including drivers, metal drill bits, brad point bits, and the zobo set. They are clearly superior to the "standard" 1/4" hex but they aren't nearly as common so that is limiting. I generally choose a Festool drill and Centrotec drive unless something drives me elsewhere.
The drill bits are made by Leitz and are excellent. The brad points are at least as good as the Lee Valley Brad Points but not quite up to the standard of the really expensive WL Fuller. Metal bits are as good as the HSS Triumph, Norseman, etc. but not up to the standard of the high end from those suppliers designed for serious use in ferrous metals and Stainless. Really nice general purpose bits for general use.
Generally you are using high end bits in a corded drill as NONE of the cordless drills are up to the use where you need those bits. Peter Parfitt is just repeating what Axminster told him about the PDC being "the highest speed drill", which is correct only if you add the word "cordless" in there. In any case, the PDC was originally a Protool drill when Festool bought Protool and isn't up to the finesse of the other Festool Drills. It also is a bit out of date and doesn't come close to the power of the current high power cordless drills from Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt. My 5 different corded Milwaukee drills simply run circles around any cordless when used for their intended uses, which are quite different even from each other.
If the drills and bits of the Centrotec units fits your need you will be very happy. Just don't think they will do all the specialized jobs well. Of course, they come with the regular chuck and the offset and right angle chucks also so that fills a need that is not matched well by others.