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The Depth stop chuck is used for setting screws to a desired depth. The depth is set by twisting the body of the chuck. It has a nice graphic showing you which direction to twist to set the screws more or less deeply. The depth stop works like drywall screw guns. Pulling the trigger on the drill doesn't engage the depth stop's drive until the bit is depressed. Otherwise the drill will be running but the depth stop's bit won't move. The green collar is for removing screws. You can twist the collar to extend the drive bit beyond the stop to remove screws. The collar is spring loaded so you need to hold it to keep it engaged. While the depth stop is ideal for drywall, I've found it works for other materials too.
Whew, we’ve covered a lot of ground and I haven't even gotten to the T15 in use yet, well, I bet you can guess what's coming next.
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The T15+3 Takes on Residential Remodeling
The T15 on an Extensive Three Month Remodeling Project
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The project house is a Victorian built in the late 1800s. A number of remodels over the years have stripped the house of most of its original character which was fine with the owners since their tastes are more contemporary. Every room in the house had work done to it from plaster repair and fresh coat of paint to total gutting of two baths and the kitchen. In an old house over due for a remodel there were a lot of jobs for a cordless drill(s) to tackle.
I got my T15 about a week into the job, at that point most, but not all, of the demo work had been done. Since the house would be unoccupied during the renovation we only made a modest effort to contain the dust in the first floor and basement. While I was spared the unpleasant job of tearing out plaster there was still plenty of work to be done in and around this dust. It was almost sad to see my brand new T15 completely covered with abrasive dust in short order. For about two weeks every tool on the jobsite would be covered in plaster dust.
If you've never been around a 100 plus year old house having its plaster demoed you have no idea of the amount of dust it generates. Coal and plaster dust everywhere. There's just no escaping it; coating everything in its path. This is a tough environment for tools. The dust had penetrated the drive mode and forward/reverse switches causing a slight stickiness in their operation. This lasted for about a week, then they were moving completely freely again. Other than that the drill showed no ill effects from the dust.
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Pride Cometh Before the Fall
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Well, maybe the title should probably read the fall cometh despite the pride I take in treating my tool right. How well the T15 would be able to stand up to abrasive dust wasn't the only test it would go through its first week on the job. It also underwent the drop test, twice. Now I always try to take good care of my tools, but on a busy jobsite it's just a matter of time before a tool gets dropped or knocked over. The first time my T15 was dropped was while I was working at the top of a 6' step ladder when the drill was knocked out of my hands about eight feet to the wooden floor below. The second time was also on the 6' ladder. As I finished driving a screw and went to switch hands with the drill I mistakenly grabbed it by the Centrotec chuck releasing it and sending the drill crashing to the wood floor from about six feet up. In both cases the drill suffered nothing but superficial damage, scratches and scuffs marks. I expect cordless drills to be able to withstand drops like this. I was a little concerned about the electronics in the drill holding up, but it's good to know they are just as tough as the rest of the drill. After one week of use I was so impressed with the T15 I bought a second one.
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Long Screws, Big Bits and Drilling Steel
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While the first week or so on the job for the T15 was hard on the drill, it didn't see much hard work. With the bulk of the demo behind us it, was time to start rough framing. With a half a dozen new windows, a six foot sliding door, three LVLs, a couple of steel beams and a new basement stairway to frame, I was sure the T15 would get more use in this phase.
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I generally try to use my pneumatic framing nailer as much as possible because it's so much faster than driving screws, but there are a lot of times where using screws are easier or better in these old houses. In the picture to the left I'm driving home a long screw to secure the LVLs supporting an opening between the house and the enclosed back porch that was poorly framed in the last remodel. Reaching while working off of a step ladder is a bit easier with a light weight drill. The weight is nice when you are working overhead for even a short period of time. But the Centrotec chuck can really help on a ladder. It's great to be able to keep a drill bit or even another chuck in my tool belt so I'll always have them within reach.
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In the picture above I'm swapping out the keyless chuck for the Centrotec chuck that I keep stashed in my tool pouch.
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After changes in the kitchen layout, a few walls were moved so plumbing and electrical needed to be moved. I ended up drilling the holes in the framing so that when we got the plumber and electrician back they could get in and out quickly and we could stay on schedule. One inch holes needed to be drilled in both the new framing lumber and the existing (old growth) lumber. I used a fairly new (sharp) 1" auger bit to drill about twenty or so holes. The bit cut almost effortlessly though new lumber and with little resistance in the old stuff. The right angle chuck makes getting into the stud bays easy and has no problems drilling with larger bits.
Waste and vent lines needed to be rerun so I drilled eight 2 ¼" holes. The holesaw I used wasn't as sharp as I would have liked, but serviceable. With a used battery I was able to stall the drill out if I pushed hard enough. A fresh battery made an improvement in the perfor-mance. This wasn't too hard for the drill but if I had more holes to drill I would have gone for a more powerful corded drill to do the job more efficiently.
One of the challenges we face renovating old houses is supporting the structure when the arc-hitect wants to "open up the space". In this case steel would be used in conjunction with LVLs. We had as many of the holes drilled by the steel fabricators but there were still a fair number of to be drilled onsite. Six ¼" and twelve ⅜" holes in ½", ⅜" and ¼" steel were going to be drilled once the steel was in place. I switched the T15 into low gear and reached for a couple of new drill bits. The first hole was ⅜" through ½"and ⅜" steel, the T15 and the sharp bit cut a lot easier than I expected. Pleased with the drill's performance I continued on. All went smoothly until the next-to-last hole. The drill struggled as the drill heated up and/or the battery wore down. Finally with one last beep, it stopped. I popped off the chuck/bit and quickly grabbed my other T15 to finish the job.
I was pushing the drill hard to find out what it could handle while drilling the steel. At first I was disappointed that the drill couldn't finish the last two holes. However, the drill was just protecting itself from an over eager user. I gave the drill a break to cool down and it was back to work no worse for wear.
I also used the T15 to drive 1 ¾" masonry screws to attach a piece of plywood to concrete block, drove 4 ½" screws to help support stair stringers and hundreds of 3" screws for various framing projects on this job. The T15 had handled every job that I would have used my old 18V drill for. The battery life was outstanding. With the exception of drilling the steel the T-15 had only seen light to moderate use with a battery lasting 2-3 days or more. My old 18V batteries would have needed charged daily. Torque and battery life made the biggest impression on me during the framing phase.
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Drywall and the Depth-Stop Chuck
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Hanging drywall would normally be something we'd sub out, but with the tight economy we're keeping more and more work in house. I've never liked the dedicated drywall screwguns. They're loud and not the most versatile of tools. I've always preferred to use a cordless drill to hang drywall even though it is a good bit slower compared to the screwgun. I thought I'd try the depth-stop chuck to speed up fastening the drywall.
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This is one accessory that wasn't well received by the guys on the crew. As it turns out there is a learning curve to using the depth-stop. There is some play or wiggle to the tip causing some screws to topple off the tip as you try to drive them. I was determined to learn the "touch" needed to make this accessory work while the rest of the guys bailed out. I'm glad I stuck it out. Switching the drill into the higher gear helped, and in no time I had this thing figured out.
The depth-stop is super easy to set the, and it consistently set a uniform depth. Since the T15 is geared slower than drywall screwguns, I found the depth-stop to work well on materials like plywood and cement board.
Cotinued on Page Four.
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