In the market to purchase a cordless drill. Have had Sears(2), Ryobi, an off brand and none seem to last. Is there a preference of which type has the best track history. Somone in conversation said that Makitia has a new battery system out that outlast the others Lithium Ion something, not Nicad. After getting only 5 minutes out of two batteries and two drills today I have had it. Normally I keep a corded drill close by but working in the sticks with no power it was useless today. Didn't drag the generator to the jobsite for 8-10 screws since the recent rain and mud road I would have ended up wrapping it around a tree on the way out.
Going to have to get an inverter to run some things off the truck occasionally. Should have already put my generator and propane tank in but I can think of a lot of other things to do with that money now since winter is closing in and it would be sitting there for 2-3 months not being used.
Yes I have a gas generator to work with but I don't leave it on site as we are not immune to thives.
I gave up trying to find a good one and just went with the Ryobi because it is fairly good -- cheap and tons of batteries are pretty cheap. I have 8 batteries and nearly all the tools I might have a use for.
I have the L-ion DeWalt and have a special place in my expensive junk shrine for it because it cost too much -- batteries are too much and don't last long enough to justify the price.
With the Ryobi - if something goes wrong I don't feel so bad because it is cheap to replace. I cracked a bearing housing on the 5 1/4 inch circular saw after a lot of heavy use -- dropped it? It never did quit and I just bought a replacement with a lase line marker for $59. I am very happy with them and consider that I am getting my moneys worth from them. Also -- they just came out with their L-ion models too with price adjusted accordingly and they will also work with the One+ set.
I'm still sticking with Ryobi and happy. Note that I carry an inverter and Ryobi double charger in the truck. Batteries are recharged as used -- some require a bit of cooling time before charge if used hard.
I got a Black & Decker Firestorm 18v tool set from Lowes for $125 (clearance). Its got a 6.5" laser circular saw, drill, reciprocating saw, flash light and 2 batteries. While they are not high end the tools work well. I cross-cut about 20 PT 2x8s on one battery. The batteries are only $20 each so I figure I'll add a couple more when I start back up on my 20'x32' in spring.
I've had a couple more expensive battery tools only to have charger or battery fail and then have trouble finding a replacement. I can see getting a couple years from this set and being money ahead.
I'm on my second Ryobi drill and saw. I'm hard on cordless tools and the first set held up well,
I have the 18 volt Ryobi set and like that best of the others I have had. I have tried buying the cheapies and they were of poor quality and not worth owning. The Ryobi set was around $200 at Home Depot. I have three batteries and can rotate them around to the different tools without being chargeless. The set included the drill, circular saw, sawzall, sabre saw, flashlight, sander, vacuum cleaner and a flashlight. I haven't used the sander and the vacuum yet but all of the others have done everything asked. Would I buy Ryobi again? Yes.
I have a Dewalt 18v XRP and I haven't had any problems with it. The battery seems to last forever, and it only takes about 20-30 minutes to charge them. As a matter of fact, the other day I accidentally left it out on my property overnight while it rained. I went up there yesterday, and it still worked good as new. The phillips head bit had a lil rust on it, but that was it.
One of the big pluses of the Lithium-Ion batteries is their extremely low self discharge rate. This may be more important for tools/batteries that see irregular use. Nothing worse than picking the tool up after a couple weeks on sitting there, to find the battery dead. The extra use time the lithiums are supposed to offer iis nice as well.
runtime is supposed to be 2x better than NiCad
shelf life charge is supposed to be 4x better than NiCad
and lighter weight as well, 20% lighter
...according to Ryobi
The fact that Ryobi thought enough of it's existing ownership to make the new batteries backwards tool compatible is a good reason itself to consider buying them.
The new chargers will charge both the new L-ions and the old standard batteries.
And my local HD now has one less ONE+ Lithium drill kit (w/ 2 batteries) in stock. :) :)
I have no other cordless Ryobi products at present (tho' I do have several corded Ryobi tools) and my old Makita's batteries are dieing (or have died) :'( Plus there's some duct tape and epoxy holding some drop damage together.
Is the one you have the straight drill and clutch screw driver or does it have the hammer drill function too? It works pretty good in concrete up to 1/4 inch which is what I use to put 3 nails in at once for cheap concrete anchors. Used my Ryobi hammer drill quite a bit for that.
...and - one count them -- one DeWalt battery costs about $90.
Not the hammer drill. I have an old Milwaukee corded hammer drill that works so well I don't mind the cord.
and Yes drill/2 Li-ion batteries/charger
just a suggestion...
(http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/89/48/22844889.jpg)
I've run one of those - years ago.
They did pretty good in their day- for some things. :)
Yep Got one. But it doesn't seem like the motor is very good quality. Gets hot and shuts down.
I travel up to my Bro's place in Minnesota at least once a year.....he uses the cordless tools there, as I do, while helping him remodel his 120 year old home....nice place, well taken care of.....don't know the brand but I'll ask him and get back with you.....I know he has two batteries, always keeping one on charge....here's a helpful hint I discovered recently that I didn't know....I have started cutting drywall inside with a standard boxcutter/razor-blade tool....for two years I was dragging the crap outside to cut with the cordless circular saw, decided on a rainy day to mark it, draw my lines, and cut it with the box-cutter inside.....works like a charm, and no dust.....why didn't I think of that sooner....Where's Harry Potter when you need him..... ::)
jb yeah I learned that trick years ago. Just score the paper on one side and snap to break the drywall and then cut the paper on the back side. Don't know how the new paperless drywall cuts using the same procedure.
The Dewalt 18v XRP is wonderful. I've used it a great deal and never had a problem. Bought my dad on a year ago and he loves it too. The cordless jig saw is a very good tool too.
I've been using my DeWalt 18v cordless almost daily for 3 years without any problems.
Scott
Home Depot is going to have a sale on Black Friday (day after thanksgiving) with the Ryobi Lithium set and a smaller set of the the regular 18V tools. Might want to pick up the Sunday paper and check it out.
I'm planning on picking myself up a set...
Dustin thanks for the heads up. Make sure you take plenty of wallets(See post on Home Depot scham)
Is that scam at ALL the Home Depot's?
Not real sure as I don't have any close by. I would just take a pocketfull of wallets and make my rounds.
I don't know the geographical extent of this sale, but there was a Midnight Madness sale at Home Depot in Kitchener, Ontario. My brother picked up Ryobi 18V set including drill, circular saw, reciprocating saw, v shaped sander, flashlight, small hand vac, laminate trimmer (mini router), impact driver, radio, 2 batteries, 1hr charger, all in a 2 wheeled carry bag. All for $189! What a deal!
It's going to be my Christmas gift so I don't get to see it till then.
That is a great deal. The impact driver is great - I use mine for running screws and lags in quite ofteh. It will pretty easily break a #2 Phillips bit.
Does anyone have the Ryobi 18volt circular saw and what do you think of it?
I have the 5 1/4 18v one that came in the set. It got a slight break in the bearing housing behind the blade. Something could have got dropped on it or it could have been dropped -- others used it also. They would warranty it but wanted to replace the entire set. I didn't have it all in town and the old one still worked so I just spent another $59 and got the new one with the laser added on it.
They work very good but run batteries down fairly quickly. Not too much problem for me as I have a single and double charger and 8 batteries. Cut just deep enough to get through a 2x. I'm happy even with the cracked housing - that has been my only problem. I only paid $129 for the complete set when buying at first. It saves me more than that on every decent sized job I do -- with all of the tools plus the added impact driver - and many other optional ones, I can do a two day job in one day many times. If it is a contract job that means I really increased my profit. Not running miles of power cords saves a lot of time and time can be money. ;D
I'm just thinking ahead to next spring/summer. Wondering if I'd be better off with a cordless saw like that and a couple chargers 'n' some more batteries, then running the generator only when a recharge is needed. OR, just using the corded saws I already have, with the Yamaha generator idling until the tool demands power? The Yamaha is a fuel miser when idling and kicks up quickly when the tool is turned on.
It's hard to resist new toys, but not always necessary. (https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/Emoticons/hmm.gif) The toys, that is, not the resistance.
I put your new hmmm dude in in case you want to find him again.
I use a 300 watt inverter in the lighter plug of the truck, but need a bigger one now as it doesn't seem to be working well anymore. hmm
Long live the resistance. :)
That's easier than pulling him out of the notepad all the time.
I have a 400 watt Cobra I like.
http://www.amazon.com/Cobra-CPI-450-Power-Inverter/dp/B00092PPZE/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=automotive&qid=1195710264&sr=8-4
(https://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q75/djmillerbucket/Emoticons/innocent.gif)
I have a 2500 watt one but it has a built in charger so is really heavy. I'd like some serious electricity on my truck though. Harbor has all sizes. Seems no matter what brand, they don't last excessively long -- fans go out etc on the bigger ones. The 2500 would last -- It's a Heart Interface one but -- where to put it. hmm Handy Dude, Don. ;D
Quote from: MountainDon on November 21, 2007, 10:41:35 PM
Does anyone have the Ryobi 18volt circular saw and what do you think of it?
I like it. I thought that a battery couldn't last long on that type of tool but was pleasantly surprised when I started using it. There is a lot of cutting in an 18v battery.
I have the Ryobi drill and reciprocating saw. I like them a lot. I want to get the circular saw but I'll have to get the LiOn batteries too. The drill and saw have held up to a lot of abuse.
I used my Ryobi Chainsaw quite a bit yesterday, making a dog house. I cut the rounded opening with it with the guard off of the tip of course. First thing I did was take the tip guard off. It's a chain saw fer cryin' out loud. Chain saws are supposed to kick back and hit you in the leg. How else can you prove you are a real man. Chain speed is slow so it doesn't seem to be too bad on the batteries. [chainsaw]
Quote from: glenn kangiser on November 24, 2007, 01:26:10 PMFirst thing I did was take the tip guard off.
[agree]
I don't ever recall seeing anyone using a chainsaw with a tip guard in place. I lost mine someplace...
Quote from: glenn kangiser on November 24, 2007, 01:26:10 PM
I used my Ryobi Chainsaw quite a bit yesterday, making a dog house. I cut the rounded opening with it with the guard off of the tip of course. First thing I did was take the tip guard off. It's a chain saw fer cryin' out loud. Chain saws are supposed to kick back and hit you in the leg. How else can you prove you are a real man. Chain speed is slow so it doesn't seem to be too bad on the batteries. [chainsaw]
Tip guard? hmm Were you wearing your chaps? [panic] Nice smilies!
Since it is near impossible to use a chainsaw with a tip guard, I'm sure they know everyone will remove it, thereby limiting their liability in case someone gets hurt. Chaps, I'm lucky I was wearing clothes. [crz]
I have been scouring the internet looking for good smilies and saving them here. [toilet]
Just thought I would let you know that the search is over. I came to the conclusion that I would purchase two new batteries for the Sears drill I had($64). Well I did but not the way you think. I had the drill as part of a Kit, saw, light and etc.. The drill was 1/2" 19.2 volt and if I bought anything other than Sears I could just throw away all the accessories. I priced Ryobi 1/2 at HD which was $69 for 18volt. Well when I went Sears and low and behold they had a special which had the same 1/2 drill 19.2 volt, right angle3/8" drill, two batteries and charger for $99. Priced the right angle drill seperately while there for $65. So in essence I think I am satisfied. HD, Lowes and Sears had several smaller kits but were mostly 12 volt and only 3/8" drill. I use mine pretty heavy and often with mason bits and ship augers with 1/2" shanks.
So I appreciate all the replies that were rendered to the post and if you feel that someone else would gather some valuable info from it continue. If not I'm satisfied.
John
There really is no standarization in these tools is there. I have seen everything from 6 volts up. And batteries are not interchangeable between tool brands, nor are chargers. No standarization will lead to landfills full of this stuff as some is really low quality and not good for the long haul. I hate waste.
That's one of the main things that got m going on the Ryobi 18v One Plus stuff. Tons of tools and now the L-ion works with it also, and everything interchanges -- within their own stuff.
I got a new Ryobi 5 1/4" circular saw with a laser guide that is handy sometimes and a noisy bearing about 1 month ago. I'm taking it back when I stop at Homer's today. Should be no problem exchanging though.
I am not certain, But I believe the Sears/Craftsman 19.2 volt tools are the same as ones sold by Northern Tool. I've also seen them under the Kawasaki and Alltrade names. I've handled the tools and they seem to be the same, right down to the back-assward direction switch, just the colors are different. But I've never had 'em in the same place to try plugging in a battery pack.
Battery standardization would be too much to expect.
A number of years ago I went to the time and trouble to "re-cell" a battery pack with sub-C size nicads from my RC planes and cars. It worked, but I only did two packs before calling it too much trouble. Pus I'd used up the spare cells I had laying about.
Got the new Ryobi Saw exchanged today at Homers -they checked it over but no problem- new one is smooth. I used them pretty heavy installing the stairs. Ryobi -- sounds Japanese, but made in China.
Good news.
Did you take photos and document the stair installation event? Hope so. Would like to see. There's a topic about it somewheres here. ???
Ryobi; I'm sure, is a 100% Japanese company, as in corporate headquarters are in .... Japan.
But then, the Honda Civic sedan I own is made by Honda (Japanese headquarters), with the actual manufacturing/assembling plant being somewhere in Iowa.
It's all very confusing.
Yeah - got pix. I posted on the stair thread in referrals I think so will update that with pix.
I think Ryobi may be Japanese but they have the tools made in China -- at least that saw-- and sell them to us. ??? Made in China several places on it.
I may have to buy a Ryobi 18 volt circular saw, or some combination thereof, sometime over the winter. I did not want to get up early enough on "Black Friday" to try and get one of the few available Ryobi Special Combo Kits (saw, drill, battery, charger, for $59!!! Great deal, but I couldn't drag myself out of bed early enough. :o
It would seem to be a good saw to have for framing the cabin to minimize generator run time.
It will cut through a 2x4 exactly -- about 1 5/8.
The little 350 watt or larger inverter will run the charger. If you don't go L-ion get extra batts - maybe the dual charger. It keeps growing.
Don you could have gotten it on-line the day before. I wasn't sure what the chuck size was so I didn't order. Turned out to be 3/8" when I looked at them Monday.
Glenn I am not sure but I wouldn't think chaps would have helped you because I think the tip guard is generally for kick-back from waist up. So you might have had to put them over your head. Sounds like your biggest danger was the initial plung cut which is why the tip guard was installed to prevent you from "plung cutting" because that is one of themost dagerous cuts to make. Might have been able to use a "wood hog" on 4-1/2" grinder. Either way chain saws are just plain dangerous guard or no guard. In fact OSHA list logging as one of the most dangerous occupations. I had a friend that worked for me building my addition that died from a chain saw injury. He was cutting slab firewood in a pile and it kicked back and cut a major artery in his neck. But as a country boy he took the kick-back option off.
Quote from: Redoverfarm on November 28, 2007, 07:22:48 AM
Don you could have gotten it on-line the day before.
When I looked on line the set was listed, but not available for online ordering. >:(
Quote from: Redoverfarm on November 28, 2007, 07:22:48 AM
Glenn I am not sure but I wouldn't think chaps would have helped you because I think the tip guard is generally for kick-back from waist up. So you might have had to put them over your head. Sounds like your biggest danger was the initial plung cut which is why the tip guard was installed to prevent you from "plung cutting" because that is one of themost dagerous cuts to make. Might have been able to use a "wood hog" on 4-1/2" grinder. Either way chain saws are just plain dangerous guard or no guard. In fact OSHA list logging as one of the most dangerous occupations. I had a friend that worked for me building my addition that died from a chain saw injury. He was cutting slab firewood in a pile and it kicked back and cut a major artery in his neck. But as a country boy he took the kick-back option off.
Yeah - logging is rough-- my dad got knocked off a log truck twice by a loader before he decided to quit. Loader guy was pretty good -- caught him mid air as he was jumping to get away when he saw the log wasn't going to stop.
I'll have to think about the alternate positioning of the chaps. hmm
I ended up getting up early in the snow on Black Friday and going to HD to buy the $59 Ryobi special(drill+radio+circular saw+battery), the $99 Poulan chainsaw, bench grinder for $20, and a couple of other little things.
Later, I would like to pick up the Lithium battery pack & charger when they go on sale, plus a few other tools....like the cutoff tool, the right angle drill, the reciprocating saw, the impact drill...
I noticed they brought back all those $99 Ryobi woodworking tools, like the table saw, band saw, scroll saw, etc. I was very tempted to pick up the whole lot.
In general, I have had very good luck with the Ryobi stuff, corded and cordless, which was a real surprise to me because I thought for the price -that they couldn't hold up, but had to buy 3 drills to drill around 2500 1/4 inch holes throught 1/4 inch steel on a job and they did real good. I had not expected them to make it but they did and still had life in them when done.
I don't have anything bad to say about Ryobi. I have had a 10" metal cut off saw for years and it is still.....cutting off. I recently bought a corded circular saw at an auction and it must be an older one as it doesn't have the little safety thumb switch (which is always the part that fails). It also works great. I suppose if we get to liking them too much the prices will go up.
You should be glad it is broken off as they are a real pain. I once used a Skill that had the most awkward safety switch. Spent more time trying to get the thing going that I could have almost used a hand saw faster. My Makita doesn't have one. I really like it. It does have an electric brake which is good in my opinion. I did have a Ryobi cordless drill that I liked but It slid off the roof when I was working on my dormers. The batteries were about shot then. So the Craftman that I have was a X-mas present from my wife. Good women but shop for your tools yourself. No offense to the wives but they usually are not the ones that use them.
Actually this saw was manufactured without the safety switch. Never did have one. That is why I am assuming it is an older saw. Anyway all of the saws I have had that included that switch wound up with the switch failing. We live in a society where someone is always trying to protect us against something all of the time. The worry worts are in their comfort zone. I wonder how I ever made it to this age without them. ???
I think they have gone overboard on a lot of things. Yes there are accidents which were caused by poor design. But I would say that 80-90% are human error. They need to come up with a safety switch for stupidity.
I think IQ testing is being replaced by common sense testing. Anyone who doesn't measure up to a minimum standard will be placed on the list for immediate uthanization. :)
I build decks for a living and a cordless drill is a must in my business. I use the Dewalt XRP 18V and it holds up to all the abuse and neglect myself and my employees can dish out. Quick recharge time and solid performance day by day gives it my stamp of approval.