Since the Festool C12 drill/drivers release, the shop has had the tool in use. The tool is actually kept by someone within the shop, I won’t name her. It’s the first drill/driver she ever reaches.
In todays world of battery-powered drills, models come and go. In the December 2005 issue, Magazine named the Festool C12 (then referred to as a BPS 12) one of the the years Best New Tools and five years later the C12 drill-driver remains unaltered and continues to move off store shelves. All that is about to change.
Festool is working on a new version of the C12 and the upgrades make it more powerful and easier to use. The company is not going to make the C12 bigger. However, they plan to expand the range with the introduction of a larger drill driver based on C12 and C15.
Both drill-drivers will have a new brushless motor design. Festool says that since the C12 has been in production, the company has, tweaked our processes to produce a better, more efficient, and reliable motor. However, specific differences are being kept close to the vest.
Another change to the design is the introduction of Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. Due to the smaller and lighter nature of the Li-ion, Festool is able to develop a larger tool while maintaining its self-imposed height and weight restrictions to keep the drill-drivers comfortable in cabinetmakers hands. Both tools, the improved C12 and the new C15, have added torque and increased run-times. Below are the specifications of each drill-driver.
The updated C12 and the new C15 won’t be available in stores until the Fall 2010, while prices are still being established.
