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JOEL Joel's Blog

Festool Fall 2011 Announcements and a Sander Special

09/27/2011

Festool Fall 2011 Announcements and a Sander Special 4Every fall Festool does three things: New tools; some special limited time offer tools, and some sort of sale promotion.


Here is a quick roundup. Everything kicks in on October 1 and we haven't had time to put everything on the website yet but I wanted to call your attention to everything so you can plan.

New Tools: In the picture above you can see two of the new drills that are coming out. All the drills are lithium ion powered with a full three year warranty on everything including the batteries.. All the drills have brushless motors (the CXS drill which came out a few months ago doesn't). All the new drills have work lights under the chuck to help you see what you are doing. All the drills have belt clips that can switch righty or lefty. All the drills use the Fast Fix interchangeable chuck system.

The big difference is power and handle style. There are two new C series drills with closed handles and three pistol grip T series drills.

Frankly since I think the CXS drill is the cats pajamas and is super light unless you routinely need the bigger chuck and love the closed handle I would stick to the CXS. On the T series drills there is a new 18 volt drill. This I think will be a real winner. For most people doing cabinetry you spend a lot of time screwing together endless cabinets - so a lighter drill like the CXS is the ticket, but if you do a lot of heavier work, even if the CXS can do the job the T-18 will make it effortless. A reason to consider any of the C series drills is that the drywall chuck and the eccentric chuck do not fit the CXS, so if you want a great drywall drill the C15 with the drywall chuck might be just the ticket. The T-18 is the most powerful of the new drills and what's really cool about it is that with typical Festool attention to ergonomics the drill might be 18 volts but it only weights 3 3/4" pounds and feels a lot lighter than that. It's like if Ferrari built an SUV.
The only other new tool is a new Vac. The CT 48 is exactly the same as the CT 26 and CT 36 but it has a larger bag. If you use a router or a saw a lot you will welcome the extra bag space. On the Mini and Midi vacs there is no price change but both vacs now come with HEPA filters and have been upgraded in power to match the CT line. What this means is that the main factors in choosing a vacuum are now portability and bag size. There are more accessories available for the CT line but I think for those looking for a job-site vac any hesitation on getting a Midi instead of a CT should be gone.

On limited offer tools we have two items to accompany the drills. The first is a set of metric Zobo bits that are used in European Style Cabinetry. The second is a full installers set of drill tip and accessories. I should have those online in a day or two along with a new drill accessories item which will list all the chucks.

You can place your orders anytime. But we cannot ship earlier than a date to allow you to receive the tools on October 1.
And I mentioned the fall sander promotion already, twice.

UPDATE: The 15 volts drills are out of production. Zobo bits are no longer available. This blog has been updated to include current links.
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