I have the milwaukee 18v combo pack--drill, circular saw, flashlight and
'hatchet' sawzall. I got it over the dewalt for two reasons: the 'hatchet'
sawzall instead of a 'normal' sawzall and the dewalt flashlight is this
flexy-head thing, and on every display model I've ever seen the neck had
collapsed so that the flashlight no longer aimed where it was pointed. I
did want the radio dewalt offers, but in the end decided the hatchet more
than made up for it.
so far I've got nothing bad to say about it. I do dislike having to run
down the batteries before recharging them, but I assume you have to do that
on all cordless tools. the hatchet has been everything that it
promised--fits between studs easily, tight spaces are easier, etc. drill
and circular saw are good items--the saw is much lighter then I expected it
to be. I've even managed to use that flashlight quite a bit--I expected it
to languish in the garage 99% of the time--and it's become the primary
flashlight because it's lighter than the big maglight and brighter than the
smaller one. and the swivel head is actually lots more useful than I
thought it would be. just used it tonight to change a headlight in the
van. even the bag that comes with the set has seen use. got it at home
depot on sale, the price was either $280 or $380, I forget. come to think
of it, might have been $480. whatever, it was about $50 cheaper than the
comparable dewalt set. I think now that same set either comes with a
hammer drill or some other tool that wasn't available in the set when I
bought mine. I'd buy the set over dewalt if I were looking for those tools
again.
I also have a (corded) ridgid compound miter saw, made by emerson. nice
so far, but hard to originally get the blade square to the deck. that very
well may have been operator inexperience. in fact, I'm not sure I ever got
it perfect--it matched on the square, but the cuts aren't exact. I'll have
to check it again. no doubt I'll be asking for advice here.
brother has a makita cordless drill. seemed pretty decent. no complaints.
I wouldn't buy a black and decker product on a dare, but then again I just
posted on the merits of cheap tools over, say, milwaukee (though I meant
specifically tools that were meant to be destroyed, like prybars, or tools
that were so simple that maker didn't matter, like drifts. on the other
hand, I much prefer the mitutoyo calipers to the starrett, just
because--like somebody else posted--I'm terrified I'll ding the starretts
and have to commit seppku. but that's another post and I digress)...and
it's been at least 15 years since I've used a b&d tool. maybe they're
better now.
scott
At 10:08 AM 11/30/2003 -0700, Larry list account wrote:
>I know this is a 'personal' issue, much like the Chevy vs. Ford rivalry (or
>should I say MG vs. Triumph?). However I suspect that there are some brands
>you want to avoid and others you would put in the good/acceptable range. I
>have the old Makita 9v system and have had good success with them for years.
>Now it is time to buy for my son as a Christmas present. I would like a
>system that will be around for years; one my son can add to with other
>compatible tools as he sees fit. I figured that I'd poll this group first.
>
>Some of the brands I've seen sold locally are: Makita, Skill, Black &
>Decker, Ryobi, Ridgid, DeWalt, and Milwaukee; maybe more.
>
>Suggestions?
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