i think i'm gona bite the bullet and get a nice 18v combo w. some of my tax return $. i want a kit with a drill, jigsaw, circular saw and the other parts don't really matter. not tryin to spend $texas so dewalt/mikita stuff is out any brands would you guys recomend avoiding? delta, ryobi,craftsman,b&d any of the midgrade brands better/worse than others ? any good deals or some1 got a set for sale?

2/14/2007 6:03:50 PM

some may laugh, but i would put the ryobi kit up against ANY 18v kit out there. They get nothing but good reviews and you cant beat the price. I have the new Ryobi 18v renovator kit and it is by far the best tool purchase ive made. It will spank my dewalt and makita in torque and rpm and is 1/4 the price.


I am actually heading to Home Depot tonight to get the new 18v Ryobi impact, 1200in/lbs.. 3300rpm... 69.95


[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 6:42 PM. Reason : .]

2/14/2007 6:39:08 PM

i got the 24v lithium ridgit 4pc combo kit for xmas - batteries are included in the lifetime warranty - i've used the drill a lot since i got it but haven't used the saws yet - plan to in a week or two

2/14/2007 6:41:24 PM

yea, thats like the best drill combo there is
who the fuck gives 500.00 presents?

[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 6:44 PM. Reason : 1]

2/14/2007 6:43:17 PM

yeah I'm a BIG fan of the Ryobi Kit. Cheap. works great. Expandable kit.

2/14/2007 6:48:19 PM

it's $400 - my mom - from using it so far i'd say it's worth every penny

the drill is also a hammer drill - most of the drills that come in combos aren't so keep that in mind if you are planning on buying one later

2/14/2007 6:51:09 PM

craftsman. i got my 6 piece set with 3 batteries for ~200. they've got a kit on sale for ~300 right now that has everything you want.

2/14/2007 7:09:15 PM

I've had a Ryobi drill & rip saw combo for about 4 years. Beat the shit out of it and it still works great. It came with 2 batteries and one is finally failing so I'll probably pop it open and replace the cells to breathe some new life into it.

-- Dave

[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 9:18 PM. Reason : hooked on phonics worked for me]

2/14/2007 9:17:36 PM

isnt the craftsman shit made by B&D? wh o possibley is owned by stanley? who also owns blackhawk, MAC, others??

2/14/2007 9:19:17 PM

milwalkee /thread

[Edited on February 14, 2007 at 10:28 PM. Reason : ridgid is milwalkee]

2/14/2007 10:27:25 PM

^^i think so.

the majority of power tools are made by only like 3 companies, they just all have multiple brands under them.

2/15/2007 1:06:49 AM

^Yep. Black & Decker makes like 30 brands.

Funny thing I learned from working with some of the product designers for Lowe's, pretty much all power tools are designed to fit their pricepoint. The consumer grade stuff is made purposefully and engineered to be sub-par and to eventually shit itself and break.

It amazed me to know that the only reason they dont just make Dewalt tools and price them at B&D prices is because they don't have to.

2/15/2007 10:46:37 AM

dewalt is shit anyway, i've never had them last for more than year or two of heavy use, you cant kill a damn milwalkee, they use lithium ion batteries that last forever, have constant power over the entire use, can be recharged thousands of times, partially or fully, doesn't matter instead of the 20 year old ni-cad technology the dewalt uses that dont last for shit and have no power, not to mention dewalt tools are just shitily designed and prone to stupid shit breaking and wearing out, especially the cheap chinese motors they use, go to lowes, pick up a dewalt and milwalkee drill with no battery, the milkwalkee weighs quite a bit more, because it had steel and alloy components, not plastic gears and mechanisms like dewalt


and by the way, i have a bunch of old dewalt shit laying around if anyone needs parts 18v hammer drill with busted gearcase, 1 battery and charger, 3 14.4 volt bateries, drill with burnt up motor, and a perfectly good circular saw, its just weak as sit, always has been, and a 14.4 volt charger

2/15/2007 12:17:00 PM

^bs, dewalt is the shit. i got pretty much every tool they ever made and they are amazing. if not, go with craftsman

2/15/2007 10:09:57 PM

^i doubt you use yours for a living. they are nice for the weekend warrior, but not for day in/day out abuse.

that said, i have yet to see or use any cordless tool that's really up to what i'd consider a commercial grade.

2/15/2007 10:16:35 PM

^ milwalkee 18v and v28 they are some heavy duty shit

^^ you have no idea what the fuck you are talkin about, i have probably thrown away more fucked up dewalt tools than you have ever owned, and you are welcome to my pile of shit i still have left since you love them so much, hell i even have a 14.4 xrp battery that works just like brand new, charges in an hour and lasts 10 min, the rest are less than a year old and won't even charge

Quote :

"if not, go with craftsman"

are you fucking serious? nothing craftsman slaps their label on anymore is worth a shit, for gods sake they sell it at kmart now

[Edited on February 15, 2007 at 10:23 PM. Reason : ]

2/15/2007 10:22:17 PM

yeah, the milwaukee stuff is pretty nice. you also pay dearly for it. i priced a few sets when my porter cable stuff got stolen, but i couldn't justify spending that much on those few things alone.

imo, it's hard to beat the craftsman kits for the money when they've got a sale on. i've used mine pretty hard so far with no complaints. i don't count on them as my primary tools though either.

2/15/2007 10:45:42 PM

thanks for al lthe input guys. i arrowed it down to a 7piece delta or ryobi kit. i ended up going with the ryobi kit since it was infront of me at the home depot. i wish i had a home depot coupon

2/19/2007 11:59:26 PM

the makita cordless impact stuff supposedly is the best

2/20/2007 12:06:27 AM

i've got an ancient makita corded skill saw. still cuts its ass off.

2/20/2007 1:17:19 AM

how can a saw cut its own butt off? That defy physics...

2/20/2007 1:20:16 AM

it's got a super extending/flexible motor shaft.

2/20/2007 1:21:42 AM

so it has like 3 C joints and 4 shafts? Be like those weird kenetix toys.

2/20/2007 1:37:18 AM

Quote :

"^^ you have no idea what the fuck you are talkin about, i have probably thrown away more fucked up dewalt tools than you have ever owned, and you are welcome to my pile of shit i still have left since you love them so much, hell i even have a 14.4 xrp battery that works just like brand new, charges in an hour and lasts 10 min, the rest are less than a year old and won't even charge"

Got a 14.4 circular saw? I use an a/c saw, but a cordless one that works with my existing packs would be nice.

2/20/2007 1:50:10 AM

^ yep, the only thing it really cuts good is plywood and 5/4 decking 2xs are too much for it, but you're welcome to it, on the condition you take the rest of the pile of junk

2/20/2007 7:52:17 AM

ingersoll-rand has a line of them out as well now, I have only limited experience with them though.

2/20/2007 7:58:54 AM

i use mine at my job. constantly. i'm not gonna argue that milwaukee and shit like that is better, but also heavier and more expensive. and i just happen to know that dewalt makes most of the same tools mlwaukee makes. like a massive ass industrial size jackhammer.


and 69 youre a fucking idiot, out of all the tools i got by dewalt only one (1) saw zaw has gone bad on me. one. may be you just dont know how to take care of your shit. and the reason i said craftsman is cuz it's cheap and you can break one every day and get it replaced

[Edited on February 20, 2007 at 8:17 AM. Reason : 69 is an idiot]

2/20/2007 8:14:11 AM

Quote :

"^ yep, the only thing it really cuts good is plywood and 5/4 decking 2xs are too much for it, but you're welcome to it, on the condition you take the rest of the pile of junk"

That's cool. I'm not expecting to get much out of it, but I'll put it to use everu once in a while. Can I pick it up this evening? PM me when/where.

[Edited on February 20, 2007 at 9:45 AM. Reason : s]

2/20/2007 9:45:34 AM

Ryobi FTW

2/20/2007 10:46:40 AM

Skack, you want to unload some of the 14.4 batteries when you get that shit? I need a couple of those.

2/20/2007 11:41:32 AM

It sounds like they are dead, but you can have them if you want to rebuild them. You can get replacement cells from Batteries Plus and solder them into the packs.

2/20/2007 12:07:23 PM

Quote :

"craftsman is cuz it's cheap and you can break one every day and get it replaced"

have you ever tried to replace a craftsman power tool? the lifetime warranty no questions asked shit only applies to their handtool as far as i know.... im pretty sure it doesnt apply to any power tools


and i agree with 69, i worked in a hottub factory for 4 years, saw ALL KINDS of dewalt stuff die, they just arent up to everyday use, the only dewalt tool i ever owned personally was a 4.5 inch grinder, fucker locked up on me....... i replaced it with a hitachi and couldnt be happier, i even have a cheapo walmart black and decker that i had for 2 years or so before the dewalt, and it is still going strong, over a year since the dewalt took a shit on me

2/20/2007 12:45:29 PM

you people do realize some of you are comparing different name tools that are all but the exact same thing and calling one good and the other crap, right?

2/20/2007 12:53:13 PM

i just realized i spent 200$ on a tool set when the only thing i'll use on even a semi regular basis is the drill... this shit is goin back.

2/20/2007 2:47:27 PM

WOW

2/20/2007 2:52:45 PM

weak, one of my batteries costs damn near that much,i think the drill is around $250

2/20/2007 3:42:38 PM

may be i've just been lucky. but also we have an account with lowes so if any of our tools crap out they dont usually give us shit about replacing them. and talking about those grinders, my roommates dad knows a guy that owns a factory that builds some kind of armored trucks in hickory area, they say they go through a box of dewalt grinders daily, i mean dozens of them, not battery powered but corded, cuz they run them 24/7 and they just die on them. they dont even bother replacing them just buy new ones. i guess you have to make a compromise between price/quality/and actually weight, cuz anything decent is at least 7.5 amp and weighs a ton

2/20/2007 4:03:53 PM

i just doubt i'll realistically be using the tools as much as i liked to think so $200 for a paper weight is alot more than 250 for something u use everyday. all i really need is a drill, jigsaw and a circular to throw togther some sub boxes. i'd never use the sawzall,vaccum, light or sander so i'm gonna peice together my own kit. i'm watchin a good amount of auctions on ebay or i'm gonna wait for a decent home depot coupon (i've seen 1's for 20% off )



[Edited on February 20, 2007 at 10:22 PM. Reason : .]

2/20/2007 10:06:13 PM

i'll second the ridgid hammer drill if you are just buying that - you won't be disappointed

2/20/2007 10:12:44 PM

Dewalt is Garbage

2/20/2007 11:32:34 PM

nm, pm sent

[Edited on February 21, 2007 at 12:59 AM. Reason : .]

2/21/2007 12:59:22 AM