# Cordless tools, besides dewalt



## chardog (Sep 3, 2004)

My co-worker has a dewalt 18v system, and I'm not sold on it. all 4 batteries are constantly dieing, the clutch is failing on the guns as well.

it makes a really good noise but it's not so reliable. what brand would be better or comparible?

I've had my ryobi kit for AGES and it's done very well, but now i'm itching for change. I've dropped the drill off a two story house a few times right into the dirt. it screwed up the clutch, but it eventually went away and is working like new :Thumbs: 

I like the options that ryobi has but need a smaller but more powerful system. any recommendations?


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## Teetorbilt (Feb 12, 2004)

My Panasonics have seen some relaxed duty since Francis and Jeanne but they are still like the EveryReady rabbit.


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## AAPaint (Apr 18, 2005)

Dunno, but on a friends recommendation I have been buying Rigid tools as of late, and I must say I'm quite impressed with the quality/durability.


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## chardog (Sep 3, 2004)

isnt rigid a sister company of ryobi? like black & decker dewalt, skil bosch, ect.


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## DecksEtc (Oct 27, 2004)

I swear by my Hitachi 18Vs. I have the 1/2" drill, recipricating saw, 5" circular saw combo kit and bought the 18V impact driver not long ago. All have served me well thus far.


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## MinConst (Oct 16, 2004)

My first 14V cordless is a Bosch and that was about 8 years ago. Alot of use and the batteries are in need of replacement now. Tool still works great. My Dewalt is about a year old same size and the batteries don't seem to hold a charge for as long. I am needing to pick up another one to replace the Bosch and was hoping to use Dewalt as I have other corless of theirs. Batteries ya know. But I'm not sure if I want to to stick with Dewalt either.
After all that bla bla bla I doubt I was helpful. :wallbash:


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## Tom R (Jun 1, 2004)

Panasonics seem to get the best 'tool reviews', but I can't say I own one. I've got the 14V Porter Cables and they're 'decent'.

If you want a long-lasting DeWalt Cordless drill, - - you're better off buying a used one.

They used to be the best out there, - - but as of a few years ago, - - when they changed over to (Taiwanese?) batteries, - - they absolutely SUCK!!

They're so BAD I'll never buy ANYTHING 'DeWalt' ever AGAIN!! :thumbdown


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

I love my Dewalts, I've now got just about every single cordless 18vt cordless tool they make, I'm now buying twins of some of them for convenience. I'm up to 9 batteries now.

However, I seem to be the only guy here that has never had a problem with them. 

But if you need to go to another manufacturer just look at the big guys, get their tool catalogs and take a look, if you are going to build out your tools you will want to stick with one brand for economy of scale battery wise.


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## ProWallGuy (Oct 17, 2003)

I posted ways back when I was looking for a new cordless drill.
My friend has a Panasonic drill, and the thing is virtually bulletproof. Weighs a ton, but he's had it since right after highschool (about GULP 20 yrs).


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## TimNJ (Sep 7, 2005)

I like my 18v Makita's.


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## chardog (Sep 3, 2004)

I need ten posts before I post a link to my bosch tools


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## chardog (Sep 3, 2004)

I got it from ebay


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## chardog (Sep 3, 2004)

6 piece combo set: planer, light, circ saw, recip saw, hammer drill, jigsaw


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## chardog (Sep 3, 2004)

sweet http://cgi.ebay.com/Bosch-CPK60-18-...49531QQcategoryZ28057QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem


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## TimNJ (Sep 7, 2005)

Hmmmmm, buying used would make me nervous. For an extra $120 you could have it brand new. www.amazon.com (toolcrib)


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## Kevin (Apr 26, 2005)

TimNJ said:


> I like my 18v Makita's.


Me too. I also bought the 14.4V impact and love it.


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## MinConst (Oct 16, 2004)

I bought the bad Dealt battery (NEW) from ebay.


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## ChuckEA (Apr 8, 2005)

Bought the Ridgid 18V 4 piece set about a month ago. What sold me was the extra free battery (3 in total), a lifetime warranty, and a promotion to get a free 14V impact driver. Had to return the drill within a few days because it ran out of round. The new one is OK. Drill is very powerful and will snap your wrist if you aren't careful. The circular saw works great and is very handy, probably my favorite tool in the set. The recip saw is OK but is hard to use because of the safety switch being hard to reach in most positions. Ridgid claims the batteries will charge in 30 minutes but that only works if they are cooled down. Figure more like an hour on a hot day. Minor complaints: tools are a bit on the heavy side and would prefer a hard case to the cloth bag. All in all a pretty good value for $399.


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## Mike Finley (Apr 28, 2004)

ChuckEA said:


> Minor complaints: tools are a bit on the heavy side and would prefer a hard case to the cloth bag. All in all a pretty good value for $399.


This brings up some thoughts about these contractor packs they sell, I never bought one even though I have bought just about every tool individually that they sold in these packs.

The problem I had was that some tools just require an individual case such as a recip saw - it's just too convenient to have this tool in its own case with 20-30 blades in there with it, I need a jigsaw in its own case to hold its 30 odd blades, a skill saw in its own case to hold about 10 blades with it etc_...( I found the best way for me to work was to be able to pull that case off my shelf and know it contains everything I need for that tool to go to work with the exception of the cordless batteries which I just dump 6-8 of them in another bag.)_
That always stopped me from buying these contractor packs since I would have to purchase individual cases for a lot of the tools in those packs and when I calculated it, it drove the prices up reducing the advantage of these discounted packs.

The strategy that I found to be better economically for me was to purchase the tools that I needed in individual cases as individual case tools which gives you the tool, a charger and 2 batteries. This gave me about 8 batteries and a bank of 4 chargers which is about what I needed to operate the way I do. _(I usually waited and cherry picked whenever somebody ran a sale, I got a few of these tools during the year when somebody would run a 20% off coupon on cordless tools)_

Then where I really came out ahead was to buy what we have around here at Tool King that are called 'bare' tools. Meaning just the tool, no case, no batteries no chargers.

I bought tools bare that made sense, such as the snake light flashlight, drills and tools that would end up together anyways and didn't require a case.

It's turned out to be pretty cost effective in the long run for me and allowed me to accumilate a full compliment of cordless tools in a very short time at a good savings.


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## kenvest (Sep 27, 2005)

i hear ya on the whole case thing. 

i found that the little el-cheapo soft coolers you buy at, dare i say it, wal-mart make acceptable cases for all kinds of tools and they are usually less than 20 bucks.....i've got several tools in various sizes of those things and while they aren't quit as good as cases, they're better than bags....


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