Festool 576481 18V TID Impact Drill Bare Unit in Systainer £149 at FFX

[Spectric]

As far as I could see, the ~£300 price for the 18V TID is the norm

You would have to be insane to pay that for an impact driver, there are much better out there for less

You could always get yourself a Milwaukee Fuel 18v, cheaper and 46nm more.

You dont need fancy lights or gimmicks to tell you the battery is getting low, just use it until it either stops or has a noticable reduction in power and then swap out the battery it is not hard. I have used Makita for the last fourty years and AEG before that, I cannot fault the Makita stuff and have never had one fail, all my other tools are 110 corded.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

No, I don't "need" lights. I don't "need" a lot of things.

(Makita is a brand I refuse to buy after having issues with something and the their customer care people not bothering to answer perfectly polite letters about a legitimate complaint. By the bye.)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You dont need fancy lights or gimmicks to tell you the battery is getting low ...

Festool obviously think they're worthwhile.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

couple of days ago there were more than 150 units...

 

[Spectric]

Festool obviously think they're worthwhile.

They are a marketing gimmick, they use similar marketing tactics as do Apple, you are not buying a product but a brand and join the fan club who blindly follow. The only Festool product I have is a Domino XL700, purchased only because there is no competition but it has been a disaster, I compare it to a riffle with a bent barrel! I have gone back to using my Dowelmax because it delivers a solution that may be slower but is way more precise and also looking at JessEm Dowelling Jig with 6, 8, 10 and 12mm Heads Package because if I can get a faster process whilst retaining the precision and with the bonus of more dowel sizes then the Domino would be obsolete.

 

[Distinterior]

I only own 2 Makita tools now, both 240v, both I've had for 20 years and only get used rarely and none of their battery tools.....Similar experience with Makita as Phil stated above.....I'll never buy any of their battery tools

 

[geoffshep]

Pretty good deals across the range of TiD 18C plus sets too if you need the batteries - I have a few big 18V batteries but a smaller one would be useful for the TiD.

https://ffx.co.uk/product/get/Festool-576483-4014549360736-18V-2X3.1Ah-Tid-Plus-Impact-Drill#FPD
https://ffx.co.uk/product/Get/Festool-Bp18-Li-3.1-C-4014549270264-18V-Battery-Pack

 

[Sideways]

You would have to be insane to pay that for an impact driver, there are much better out there for less
You dont need fancy lights or gimmicks to tell you the battery is getting low, just use it until it either stops or has a noticable reduction in power and then swap out the battery it is not hard.

In my case I'll disagree about the lights.
I've pieced together all my cordless kit in slow time to get the best possible prices : batteries, chargers and bare tools so I only have one charger for each brand (Bosch & Fein).
If I expect to need a tool for just a short job, the charger stays home and I take one or two batteries with me. I always check the charge before setting out. Batteries have a longer lifetime if stored 2/3 full rather than topped off immediately after use so I don't automatically recharge everything before putting away.

Absolutely right that you can feel the power start to fade as the battery nears empty, but it will be down below 20% charge before that happens. No issue if you are fully charging your batteries every day or three but I don't want to find that out 2 minutes after I start to use it.

Interestingly, it was a hybrid impact driver that started me buying Bosch cordless 5 years back specifically because this tool fits me better than any other driver ever has.. I chose one with a hex socket combined with a 1/2" square drive nose, 3 speed and same torque as the Festool in question.
I use it equally for screws and bolts. 180Nm is slow to get your wheel nuts off but plenty for the majority of screwdriving. The folks who want much higher torque aren't going to be looking at Festol (nor probably Bosch) anyway.

BTW: has anyone else noticed that the price of batteries has rocketed in the last year or so ?
I'm looking out for a Bosch core 8Ah battery to get more power out of the cordless grinder (awesome tool) but I don't need one enough to pay £140+ when they were in the £80's not all that long ago. Cost of shipping, materials and competing demand for cells to go into EV's is probably to blame.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Of course, we're mostly all hamstrung by our existing set ups and chargers.
I don't know about the others, but the Milwaukee has a fourth setting which takes the impact off for drilling - which is handy on occasion. (My DeWalt didn't have it - I passed that one on to my daughter's partner as he uses DeWalt and it was the only bit of their battery kit I still had.)

 

[Spectric]

but it will be down below 20% charge before that happens. No issue if you are fully charging your batteries every day or three but I don't want to find that out 2 minutes after I start to use it.

If it goes flat shortly after starting a job then just swap out the battery, what is now annoying is that you used to be able to at least get that last screw fully home before changing the battery but now the battery cuts out.

@Sideways do you have any experience with the Bosch GSR 12V - 15 drill, keep thinking of getting one simply for the right angle drilling ability and the offset head, not worried about the low capacity batteries but at only 10.8 volts can this drill deliver?

In amongst everything else that has rocketed in price, batteries of all kinds have jumped to silly prices but I have found that the older lower capacity ones can be a lot cheaper so rather than buy a higher capacity one I just buy four lower capacity and that does ok.

As for makita I have known many people that have used them in harsh working conditions and given them a lot of abuse but never a problem, even covered in plaster and such they kept going.

 

[Sideways]

@Sideways do you have any experience with the Bosch GSR 12V - 15 drill, keep thinking of getting one simply for the right angle drilling ability and the offset head, not worried about the low capacity batteries but at only 10.8 volts can this drill deliver?

Hi.
I did buy the non interchangeable head version of the little 10.8v Bosch years ago - brushed. First impressions were very favourable and never left my bench for a good while.
In the end, I needed to rationalise and it's now parked at Deema's where we can grab it and use as screwdriver for our various team projects. We both love the tiny size but it comes at a price. The tool isn't as robust as I like. Plasticky chuck and you can certainly stall it. It feels more like a DIY series tool than a trade tool.
I settled on 18V everything. The tools are bigger and stronger but actually have better, slimmer handles because the batteries don't go up into the grip. That matters to me.
If you are doing electrical / plumbing/kitchen cabinet installation, then the small size of the Bosch does make a good argument. I think these multi head things are a great idea because of the 90 degree heads and the offsets. The current brushless 10.8V tools feel a lot better than my old one but are still tiny which is great. I'm almost tempted to have another go.
V useful review here. Notice the differences in size and power, also how the heads swap and index


I have owned and passed along a 12V Milwaukee brushed drill driver. Much bigger than the Bosch but smaller than their 18V tools, it has higher capacity batteries and stands up to serious use like extended sessions with a flap wheel or wire brush. That really impressed me both for build and for the power from a 12V system, but it has quite a fat grip.
Bosch and Milwaukee 10.8/ 12V tools (same thing, just defined differently) each have 3 cells in a triangle as they slot into the handle but they are oriented differently. One has two cells back, one forward, the other the opposite. They feel quite different in the hand because of it. The Milwaukee is more comfortable in bigger hands.
If I was a working tradesman, I'd probably want Milwaukee brushless for strong build, power and a big range. I understand why they are popular.

I use Bosch 18V brushless drill-driver, impact, the super smart cordless angle grinder, and the brushed circ saw (it was a freebie with the grinder) all with max 4Ah batteries. The ergonomics suit me and I think the 4Ah procore batteries are v good but the bigger tools need a bigger battery for max power.

 

[Spectric]

The tool isn't as robust as I like. Plasticky chuck and you can certainly stall it. It feels more like a DIY series tool than a trade tool.

I could live with the plasticky chuck if the price reflected this but if it is easily stalled then that is a problem. It has been the 10.8 volt that puts me off, but it could be a very useful tool for those awkward occasions. Lets hope we get the northern woodworking show this year and these tools are on display.

Milwaukee have really taken off with their range of tools, must be having an impact on the old regulars and you now see them everywhere.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you're interested in Milwaukee SGS are good.
https://www.sgs-engineering.com/brands/milwaukee

 

[sploo]

You would have to be insane to pay that for an impact driver, there are much better out there for less

Yea, I certainly wouldn't have paid full price for it.

You mention you have the Domino XL700; I love it. Never had any issues. Their TS55 track saw and CTL vac are superb too. I hear the routers are good but they've always been too pricey for me to justify; similar story with the sanders.

 

[Sideways]

Lets hope we get the northern woodworking show this year and these tools are on display.

There's a trade show called Elex paired with Toolfair that does the circuit of the UK through the year but there's nothing left further north than Coventry in September. Bosch and Milwaukee both had decent stands at the Bolton show a few months back. Lots of the little Bosch brushless tools on display there. The dinky impacts for example were very cute and certainly felt much more solid than my old one.
Fingers crossed for Harrogate in Nov !

 

[Doug B]

I really like the “gimmick“ lights on batteries I’ve not long upgraded to the Makita 5ah batteries, I only have 3 batteries & 7 tools so being able to check in a morning how much charge the batteries have is a real boon, as if 2 go down fairly simultaneously I’m buggered.
I guess if you’ve loads of batteries then not having to worry when a battery is out of charge isn’t a problem but only having 3 I need to know how much charge they are holding.

 

[Jake]

Once you have used one to drive in 4 inch screws you will wish you had brought one sooner, and if doing heavier work using big structural wood screws at over 250mm then you will wonder how you ever managed without one. Make sure you have decent driver bits and good wood screws, I use driver bits by Durum and Wera.

I used to think like that (my first impact driver was a s/h 12v Elu back in 2002 and I used nothing else for any screwdriving for ages after getting it and its Hitachi replacement) but these days I'll use my TDC especially for anything big and structural. The biggest screws I have used were some 500mm 16mm structural screws on a screw-lam beam and my impact drivers both just ended in refusal with lots to go (like a third). After far too breaking my eardrums. The (then) PDC just quietly ate them up (while trying to break my wrists). So much quieter and civilised (must be getting old to care). You do need to seriously brace against wrist breaking torque which is something impact drivers do so nicely avoid, but the TDC with rotation brake tames that.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You do need to seriously brace against wrist breaking torque which is something impact drivers do so nicely avoid, but the TDC with rotation brake tames that.

The 18v Milwaukee drill drivers have a side handle about 300mm long - that gave me an idea what mine was likely to do to my wrist.

 

[TomGW]

I took the opportunity during ‘lockdown’ (when it seems that there was a huge demand for tools from the diy sector) to sell all my battery tools on FB Marketplace, except the Milwaukee. Now 100% Milwaukee and no regrets.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I went with Milwaukee as I has DeWalts that were faulty. The one I had that was OK was the impact driver which I couldn't justify keeping on its own so I passed it on to someone who uses DeWalt. No regrets.