Cordless power tools

[ven]

Interesting , thanks NNA, hope all is good your side.

I use to have a few Nicad drills of past, those don't like being topped up. I found a little late, run down , then charge.
li-ion has certainly has made a huge difference with run times and performance .

 

[alpg88]

good nicd still perform just as good as li ion, unless you use cheap junk tools, and i had some of those, with inferior 3/4 sub c cells. i still have dewalt 18v, and Milwaukee 14,4v drills. they got plenty of torgue, no less than my brushless 18v li ion makita. especially de walt with its 3 speed gearbox.
as long as you know how to use nicd (no top offs, no storing fully charged) they will last a while, but it is not for everyone, li ion are much more user friendly in that regard. also they win in weight and size.
i have li ion makita in my tool bag, but in the shop i still use nicd dewalt and Milwaukee, i guess i sound like a die hard inc. fan in the age of leds,

 

[NoNotAgain]

good nicd still perform just as good as li ion, unless you use cheap junk tools, and i had some of those, with inferior 3/4 sub c cells. i still have dewalt 18v, and Milwaukee 14,4v drills. they got plenty of torgue, no less than my brushless 18v li ion makita. especially de walt with its 3 speed gearbox.

I keep my Makita around due to it using a keyed chuck.

Just about every tool company wants to push keyless chucks. A good ball bearing Jacobs chuck will set you back close to a $100 in a 3/8" chuck and $150 for a 1/2" chuck. That's close to the cost of the new keyless version tool.

IMO, most of the tool supplied keyless chucks have too much runout and don't grip as well as a keyed version.

 

[alpg88]

I keep my Makita around due to it using a keyed chuck.

Just about every tool company wants to push keyless chucks. A good ball bearing Jacobs chuck will set you back close to a $100 in a 3/8" chuck and $150 for a 1/2" chuck. That's close to the cost of the new keyless version tool.

IMO, most of the tool supplied keyless chucks have too much runout and don't grip as well as a keyed version.

yes, sometimes bits slip, but in my case not nearly often enough to be concerned, but keyless are very convenient when you have to swap a drill bit for a driver tip fast.
corded ones with keyless otoh are horrible, the chuck spins freely, and it's impossible to tighten, the ring that you have to hold from spinning is like 1\2 wide, next to impossible without strap wrench. thanks god there aren't many of them around anymore. corded one imo must have keyed chuck.

 

[ven]

good nicd still perform just as good as li ion, unless you use cheap junk tools, and i had some of those, with inferior 3/4 sub c cells. i still have dewalt 18v, and Milwaukee 14,4v drills. they got plenty of torgue, no less than my brushless 18v li ion makita. especially de walt with its 3 speed gearbox.
as long as you know how to use nicd (no top offs, no storing fully charged) they will last a while, but it is not for everyone, li ion are much more user friendly in that regard. also they win in weight and size.
i have li ion makita in my tool bag, but in the shop i still use nicd dewalt and Milwaukee, i guess i sound like a die hard inc. fan in the age of leds,

I had a makita drill, sure brushed as well. Li-ion fed i much prefer, far more user friendly. But its not fair for me to compare a modern day brushless dewalt with a 10yr old makita(back then it was a decent drill). I have never been much of a fan of Nicad, less so today looking back.

 

[Hooked on Fenix]

For a 12 volt 1/4 inch impact driver, nothing beats a Milwaukee Fuel. For 18 volts either Milwalkee Surge or Ridgid Octane are fine. If you want more power and less noise, go with a one of the hydrolic brushless pulse drivers.

 

[alpg88]

got 20v 3ah dewalt batteries, they seem to use 21700 cells, the pack is wider, and uses 1 row of cells, as opposed to narrower and 2 rows for older model.

 

[ven]

Very interesting alpg88, i presume compatible still with the original charger?

 

[alpg88]

Very interesting alpg88, i presume compatible still with the original charger?

yes, same charger.

 

[jabe1]

I used to use porter cable , then they were bought by dewalt and the quality went down.
now I use Milwaukee almost exclusively; some of my lithium batteries are more than 7 years old and still functioning perfectly. I use my tools nearly every day, and only two have ever needed to be serviced.

 

[alpg88]

porter cable always seemed to be in the same league as black and decker, skill, and craftsman, i'm talking about last 20 years, they are good tools that will do the job, in a household, commercial environment however is a different animal, for that you want makita, dewalt or milwaukee. those 3 are most used in commercial applications. of course there is hilty, but i have not seen many pros use them, too expensive for most shops, does not really offer much over those 3, that justifies the cost.

 

[ven]

I agree aplg88, for me dewalt and milwaukee are the main choices. Had a few other other brands over the years, although none are perfect, i have stuck with dewalt for my needs. Work have bought a bosch impact 1/2 , case, charger and 2x5ah batteries. Nice little set up, but already after a few months use, it feels tired with the trigger response. Just does not feel tough, the 1st 1/2 of the trigger travel does nothing. Then after me using my dewalt 1/4 drive and drill(brushless), they bought a 1/4 drive impact and drill set by makita. Straight away they got brushed, sparks flying and just feels rougher out of the box. Dont get me wrong, for occasional DIY around the home, its probably up to the job. But for heavy duty(not to mention safety risks as goes against ATEX) in dusty environments, brushed does not make any sense(along with not as efficient and long term life). These are lower end examples of makita, i feel the same way with other manufacturers as well inc dewalt.

I think what country and availability is of course important. Easy to get hold of replacement parts/batteries as if dependent on the tools, could mean loss of earnings(like to think have back ups for the just in case times). I have a spare 1/4 drive impact which new cost £70 for the gun(no batt). Its not life or death for me, it just makes my job easier(only engineer to have his own impact guns). But then again, not only am i the flashlight guy, i am the tool perv as well lol.

I keep weighing up the milwakee M18 range, so tempting to try out. Maybe at a later date when i get bored or ???

 

[AVService]

Porter Cable is just another name that another company now owns that they try to parlay into profits based on the former glory of the brand.
This is so common now that there is little resemblance between the well earned favor of the name and the generic lack of quality and innovation of the current products bearing the name.

Why do you think there is even a line called Porter Cable?
I own some old school porter cable and they are second to none,there were not even really decent cordless tools like there are Today when the famed name was sold so that it could be slapped onto mediocre tools in the hopes that people not in the know would buy for the name alone and what it used to mean.
The line of Routers they used to make and innovate were long the standard in the industry for an industrial league product.

Craftsman is exactly the same and they are no longer anything like they were in the heyday of the brand before Sears sold the name to try to stay alive.
Milwaukee
Ridgid
Skill
Ryobi

All were their own company and identity before being peddled away to align with some new companies idea of strategic branding for their own interest and hardly for ours.

There are only a few companies now that make this stuff and most support multiple identities through different sales channels to capture a bigger share of the market, thats all.

Right now Milwaukee seems to be the mainline best out there that is easily purchased and they also have a really broad line of tools in both 12v & 18v platforms.
Makita is still a family owned company and their stuff is excellent but not marketed as fully here in the USA so they can not build the same market that Milwaukee has thru the Orange Box stores.
Likewise Ryobi is positioned right at the bottom pricewise but is made and owned by the same company as Milwaukee.

Stanley seems to own the biggest chunk of brands and makes sure that they are represented anywhere that they like and they even play games trying to make the same stuff seem different of making special versions for different resellers but in the end the stuff is all more alike than different really at each price point based on my own experience at least.

I mainly use Milwaukee for the advantage of being able to get returns or replacements at the same stores where I buy the tools in the first place and these stores are all over the place everywhere I go.

I buy what I see works in the field and nothing else really matters,if I can make a living with a tool that is what I use.

 

[Poppy]

I don't use tools for a living, so my experience doesn't compare to yours.

A front end mechanic, and shop owner told me that he has pretty much all Snap On tools. He used them in school, accumulated them as an apprentice, and got a lot more of them when he opened his shop. They are expensive. He has craftsman tools at home. For a home owner they are fine. In fact he was a bit undecided on whether, if he were to open a new shop today, (15 years ago) would he get snap-on, or craftsman. He thought about it and said... probably snap-on. Primarily because of the service. If a tool broke, or he needed one he didn't have, he could make a call and have it delivered, or replaced.

When I was a kid I had a set of cheap "made in Japan" tools. Back then Japan steel wasn't of the quality of today. If my wrench started to slip, I would get my father's craftsman wrench, and it gripped much better. When I grew up, I got my own craftsman tools. I also picked up some Stanley tools just to keep in the car, or whatever. I think they are just as good. I also have some Husky tools... forever guarantee, like craftsman tools. My boss had a Husky ratchet that he managed to break, I brought it to Home Depot without a receipt and they swapped it out for me, no problem. With my brief experience with the Home Depot, and their Husky brand, and am very comfortable buying any of their branded products.

Years ago, I was told that Craftsman electrical power tools were "secretly" made by Black and Decker. I bought their cheapest reciprocating sander, and broke it. It was well after the 90 day warranty, but they gave me full credit for the price I paid, if I paid the difference for the next higher priced product. My roommate burnt it up. It was a poor design, without a bearing where there should have been one. SO again I paid for the difference in price of the upgraded unit. Therefore I do not hold Black and Decker products in high esteem, but I DO hold the Sears, stand behind their products, in high esteem.

While I consider Black and Decker at the low end of quality, I have a 1976 jigsaw, and a 1980 circular saw and reciprocating saw that still work perfectly about 40 years later. So my father's adage of buy the best quality of tool you can afford, I have modified to also include, if there is a reasonable expectation that its' difference in quality is worth the additional cost.

I have a few Ryobi 18V battery tools each bought at a near by Home Depot. They don't get the use they would if I was a tradesman, but for home use, I don't suspect they'll fail me any time soon. I expect the batteries will fail before the tools.

 

[kaichu dento]

Lot of dislike for Porter Cable apparently, but I'm still loving my 20v brushless set.

 

[AVService]

Lot of dislike for Porter Cable apparently, but I'm still loving my 20v brushless set.

Well that was not my point at all,I have not even used a PC Cordless since they hit the market.

I was just saying that the PC tools sold now bear only the name that Porter Cable worked hard for a long time to establish but that they have nothing left in common with outside of that name.
They sure do not position them in the marketplace as they were used to being in the old days where they were a premium brand that could stand next to any other brand of the time.

So I have to assume that they are just trying to parlay the good name to sell current product which is likely just like everything else marketed by the current maker of the name.

https://www.protoolreviews.com/news/power-tool-manufacturers-who-owns-them/43632/

 

[orbital]

+

There is no tool I enjoy using more than a angle grinder or cut-off wheel,
just find it really satisfying for some reason when I need to use it.
Anyway, always wanted a cordless angle grinder, but the cost just didn't justify

So over this last Thanksgiving deals online, I was looking at Milwaukee FUEL stuff again & found a clearance deal on a brushless angle grinder kit.
simply an incredible deal from cpo, who I'v dealt with in the past.

-to make a long story short-

Milwaukee 2981-22 kit
Brushless M18 Angle grinder @ 13 amp equivalent power (lock-on slide switch)
Two 6.0Ah HO batteries* which the very cheapest anywhere list for $179 a pair.
The good Milwaukee Charger
Contractor bag & extra stuff

...all for only $120 more than the cost of the batteries:twothumbs if you know what I mean
(factory sealed kit, everything brand new)

best deal I got online in a while


*uses 21700 cells

 

[ven]

That's one helova deal there, pics when you get it :naughty:

I have a few grinders, mine are the plug in ones. Quite possibly the most dangerous tool ever!!! Lethal ! But yes fun haha

 

[orbital]

+

such a guy thing, pics of angle grinder=} it did arrive yesterday & I wanted to check it out before posting here.
After imageshack rather imploded, I never bothered to set up a another image hosting account.

For some better pics & stuff of kit https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Products/Power-Tools/Metalworking/Grinders/2981-22#sp-keyfeatures

 

[ven]

Haha too right, looks a great bit of kit, making me want one!

I started to use imgur, pretty easy and free for pics.