dieselcarpenter

DeWALT!!!!

I have had the 5 piece 18v tool kit (1/2" hammer drill/driver, circular saw, sawzall, jigsaw, flex light and 110 charger and 12v charger, in a hard case) for over 7 years, and used them severely in Finnish work, cabinet construction, roofing, home construction and home improvement. Dropped em banged em and abused em, never any problems, and they remain powerful!. DeWalt continues to make the exact same battery pack as opposed to changing with every design/model change. Plus the types of 18v tools available are awesome. Cordless 3/8" drill/driver, 1/2" hammer drill/driver, angle drill/driver, impact driver, impact wrench, jigsaw, sawzall, circular saw, angle grinder, cut-out tool, & flashlights. I even have the work radio/charger witch will charge any battery they make 12v -18v Its smart so you just plug them in.

From a carpenter's stand point you can not go wrong with DeWalt. I have bad experience with Makita's of late, Had one of the 18v 1/2" drill/drivers melt down (white electrical smoke was billowing! not the Lithium but the previous Ni-cad offering) I have heard both good and bad about Rigid. I own a Rigid worm drive 7 1/4" circular saw, works great so far (lot smother than the SKIL 77's mag or otherwise plus stud hook! ) and a 14" Rigid abrasive cut-off saw, no complaints and they have a good warranty on paper, not sure how they deal with customers. I have heard bad things about their drills and batteries even if they replace parts, is it worth the down time?

I say emphatically DeWalt!!!!! You won't be sorry!

D-carpenter out!

Dean Snow

I've had a mikita and beat the living crap out of that thing, dropped it several times, left the battery's lay on cold cement for days, and its still running like brand new, even though it looks like it went through a meat grinder

Dieseldude4x4

MILWAUKEE
without a doubt (and I have had all kinds)

JustLuckey

Popular mechanics has a comparison a few years ago ( http://www.popularmechanics.com/home...s/1273866.html )

Page 4 of the article has a side by side comparo of 'stats'.

I remember the ones that faired well had metal gears (dewalt, makita, others) and the ones that didn't had plastic gears (Craftsman, Black & Decker, etc).

I bought a 5 piece Dewalt 18v set about 18 months ago, right before I started the renovation/addition on my house and love it. I've used all the tools (Drill, Circ Saw, jig saw, recip saw, and flashlight) a lot.
The drill is fantastic, but it gets heavy if you're doing a lot of repetitive work for a long time. Never down on power though.
The Jig saw is great.
The Recip saw is awesome (a bonus use was cutting down tree limbs and small trees).
The circ saw is under powered, in my opinion. It seems to lose power quick on cuts (wayne's coating, hardwood flooring, 2X4s)....it is decent for baseboard/trim, if you don't have a mitre saw.
The flashlight (like a snake) will wrap around objects. I like it....very bright.
It came with 3 batteries and they charge in ~1 hr. I have never been without a good battery, unless I'm not thinking and don't charge it when it dies.

Stamey

I have the Dewalt and have been happy with it. I have the 36V though. I will say, if you can get it, go for the highest voltage available, as it wil last longer on each charge. They have a bit better torque too. I have seen 36V stuff in Home Depot before, but I do not know what it cost. I bought the 4 piecekit, new off Ebay before it ws available at Home Depot.
It is my understanding that Ni-Cad technology should be drained completely now and then to keep the batteries from developing a "memory". I have also read that the new Lithium Ion batteries do not suffer from this "memory" problem and should never be completely drained or it will be detrimental to the battery life.

Good luck.

Chris

RAF

Most of the work I do is on the commercial side. We use a lot of 18V dewalt stuff and has always worked well.

staarma

If you go Dewalt I would be careful on which models you go with. They are not all the same. Just because they say Dewalt on the side doesn't make them better. The XRP series is the one to get. The standard 18 volt will not be any better than anything else out there. I think they are all over priced and over rated.

TexMexCowboy

DeWalt would be the best way to go. Just make sure that you get the one that has the Black rubber on the handle. Those are the ones that have all the metal gears. My dad works as a Mechanical Contrator and he does alot of steel fabrication and that is all he uses is DeWalt and he has never had any problems with them. Like my dad and I say you get what you pay for. Buy something cheap get something cheap.

bnold

I'm loving those lithium-ion batts!! Those things rock!

johnnyjor

Well to be completely honest.....I worked in the hardware department at Home Depot for a year and a half (Sh*tty place to work) and I only had one complaint against a dewalt power tool product. And that was just about a broken wire on a charger! Go big or go home I always say...and if you don't go Dewalt, might as well stick with a screwdriver.

tool

I have really liked and had good luck with my Dewalt Products.

I have been told that some of the drills have plastic gears though???

I have a coded 1/2" Hammer drill made by Dewalt that I LOVE. That thing is a bear and a Torque Monster!

staarma

Yes, the XRP's have the metal gearing in them. Any other Dewalt model and I would really do your homework.

gerry

dewalt... because they look cool...

Free89W350

I have a Dewalt drill at home and love it. I also use a Dewalt 18v drill at work on a regular basis, no wood drilled only metal, concrete or thick plastic, and it has never given us any problems.

12 flapper

I am in the Hvac business and I have 6 piece combo kit and all 18v with a roto zipand vaccum along with a 14.4v dewallt drill I can not kill I have drilled everything with it even a 4 1/2 inch hole saw. I use these tools just about everyday never had any problems and I abuse and use them.

GO WITH DEWALT