I liked this quote from another thread so much I decided to start another thread with it.

Seriously, I'm interested to know...Is Dewalt one of the big hitters, or is it a repainted Black & Dacker?

My understanding is that Black & Decker had such a bad reputation that it was decided to start another brand name. However, that was many years ago.

I personally tried a Dewalt cordless drill on a 30 day trial (the only way I would have tried it was on a trial basis). The motor had some serious clatter noise and the chuck loosened and tightened in use, so it went back. That was also a long time ago.

I pulled the trigger on someone elses Dewalt drill recently and the motor sounded and felt smooth, so perhaps they've turned things around in the last decade.

So, how are they? Do you use it all day, or only on the weekends? Did it survive some falls? Do the batteries last all day? Are they OK, but the boss buys them, so you don't care how long they last?

Most importantly, if it broke, or was stolen would you buy another Dewalt???

Dave

My tools are provided for me and the company has gone DeWalt for almost everything.

I have had good luck, I did bend the armature on one 14V drill when it fell from about 10' onto cement. It continued to work with serous vibration until it fell again.

Now it is back to normal.

I do not consider them the best but acceptable for the cost.

Bob

The Makita 24volt combination drill/hammer drill rules.

All of our cordless tools are DeWalt 18 volt. I started buying them years ago and now we have so many of the tools, batteries, and chargers that whenever we need a new one, we buy DeWalt so that everything will interchange. Power tools are different, they are mostly Milwaukee with a few Bosch's here and there.

I've been using a DeWalt circular saw for a couple of years now, the only DeWalt power tool I've ever owned.

I have no complaints. It's easy to adjust and use, seems pretty rugged, and the 1100W motor seems powerful enough to handle anything you would throw at a blade with a 3" cutting depth.

Hilti 36v for the real graft, but the Dewalt runs a good second for the price, have used and abused a 14v every day for the past couple of years and it still keeps going, just starting to lose its charge a bit quicker these days. Will buy another, probably 18v though.

Well I didn't really have any strong feelings brandwise-We first started buying cordless when makita 7.2v wall really all there was- but since then I've tried various combos and the latest is the 18 v Dewalt combo. I wouldn't want Mr Dewalt around my sister, but I have to say that I use the sawzall, hammer drill, and the small 9.6v screwdriver that came free with the combo every day in all sorts of places.the small driver is my favorite-lots of torque, low rpm, quick change bits. The circular saw doesn't get out much, maybe 2X/week. After 2 yrs, still using originial batteries, good for 1 to 1-1/2 days of work, charge well in 1 hour, and are still as powerful as when I got them. I didn't expect much, just wanted something decent and the price was right. Also the xvr+ batteries seem to charge faster and last longer than makita, milwaukee. Cordless tools seem to fade in and out, sometimes with a little help, And I kinda plan on replacing them every 5-8 years. I don't think I've ever laid down a corded tool and couldn't find it fast.

My first cordless tools were Makita, took a lot of abuse dropped em, left them in the back of my truck to get rained on,the old Makita gear was some rugged stuff,now I would not be as likely to buy them now.

My Milwaukee 14.4V has been a good tool had it now for a couple of years (it replaced one that was stolen w/ about 2k in other tools)Just bought a Milw. 18V combo so far so good but the drill is a little heavy.

The reason I hate Dewalt is that have no use for Black and Decker tried to buy parts a few years ago to no avail.

The line "Friends don't let Friends buy Dewalt" is a ripoff of "Friends don't let friends drive Fords/Chevys". If everybody drove the same car/had the same tools it would be a boring world.

What do you want? Makita is the Rolls Royce of power tools.

My money is on DeWalt. Makita is a great brand too. I consider DeWalt to be the Honda of cordless/power tools, and Makita to be the Toyota of power tools. It seems that the DeWalt (Honda) guys are more imaginative and innovative with their designs, and Makita copies and sometimes betters their ideas.

Having said that, the Dewalt 18V line is a tremendous value. My DeWalt 18V drill is thorougly used and abused and still works great. Be sure to change the brushes every few years. Makes a big difference.

The 18V Sawzall is another godsend. Can't work without it. The poorest tool is the 18V circular saw. Its more like a toy.

Makita the Rolls-Royce of power tools? Not anymore,their quality ain't what it used to be,but that can be said of a lot of things these days.

I'm suprised no one mentioned Rigid. The boss just bought a couple and I'm a believer

Here are 2 tools that I have used for many years. At one time they were made buy B&D but when i went to buy a replacement for the drill this is what it is under the Dewalt Brand
http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=22

And I think the B&D name for this was Saw Cat and i really liked it.
This is the Dewalt branded one http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=3027

Then I needed a second cordless drill so i just bought another Dewalt 14.4 volt,3 speed cordless hammer drill in a combo kit with circular saw and reciprocating saw.

Today I needed a portable work bench and found this. http://www.eaglerock.ab.ca/

I mounted a vice on a length of 2x6 and C Clamped it to the work platform
Cutting conduit with my new cordless Reciprocating saw ( Dewalt) Made for a productive day for me.



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[This message has been edited by dougwells (edited 09-07-2004).]

I was in Costco tonite, and they had 18V. Dewalt combo kits for $350.00 not a bad price,I just cannot bring myself to buy one besides, have a 2 mo old Milw. combo, plus got the radio and 3 bay charger too boot.

[This message has been edited by Webmaster (edited 09-08-2004).]

I opened my mouth and inserted foot!

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I had a 9 volt Makita that wasn't very tough. I left it on the side of my truck, took off onto to a 50mph road, it fell off and broke into a zillion pieces. Imagine that .

All DeWalts are not created equal. If you buy one at Home depot chances are you are getting a tool of lesser quality then if you purchase it at a good tool supplier. Home Depot (and some other big chains) get companies like dewalt to specially make tools for them for a certain price.

Dewalt cordless sawzall I had 4 years ago sucked!!!!!! Did not last long on commercial job site. 120 volt reconditioned Dewalt sawzall bought at pawnshop has lasted me almost 7 years though.

Just purchased a Rigid combo Kit. Plenty of power but I've got a few problems with it:

Drill is way too heavy for using as an every day screw gun. I don't touch a regular screwdriver for anything if I dont have to and this thing is a beast.

Sawzall has a VERY inconvenient safety button you you have to press before starting the cut. You have to push it in with your trigger finger which needs to be on the trigger to start the dam#%* thing.

The charger is the size of Texas!

I've mentioned it in another thread, but I'll repeat myself. I use a cordless drill as a screwdriver evey day to save wear & tear on my wrists. I like 12-volt models because they're lighter. I recently got a Panasonic with 3.5 Ah Ni-MH batteries. It has plenty of power, a nice chuck with good settings, and the batteries last all day.

A co-worker recently got a Makita 18-volt & he complained it was only 2 Ah. I said "You get what you pay for". I suspect the real power is in the amps, which I've used to measure in corded tools rather than horsepower.

Dave

Panasonic products have been good for me,but the lack of a local dist. when the time came for the need of a battery,would be a problem. Does anybody use the Milwaukee 2.4V. screwdriver? For light duty applications they are wonderful.

Joe Carpenter is right about varying qualities of DeWalt tools sold in retail stores according to my hubby who is a sales guy/ass't manager at a supply company. They sell a lot of DeWalt and a little of everything else. When we walk past the DeWalt displays at Lowe's and Home Depot, hubby always picks up and handles and checks the specs for the cordless tools. The construction & other crews he sells to are pretty demanding of their tools and keep coming back with good reports so perhaps there's a significant difference in quality compared to the orange or blue box versions.

I have had a 2.4 volt milwalkee for 12 years or more. I am on my secound one and got the 2 speed model last time.need 2 new batteries for it though

I've dropped my DeWalt off the top of ladders a couple of times, it bounced off the concrete and kept working fine.

I was putting in a sound system at an auto dealership and a girl at the parts counter said she used to work for DeWalt. My 18v hammer drill started making a clatter and I thought I'd make some conversation with her on the spur of the moment, asking what's wrong with my DeWalt. She grabbed it, firmly snicked it into 3rd gear and it worked fine. It was between 2nd and 3rd when I gave it to her. Good conversation starter.

I made some - er, modifications, you might say - to my DeWalt reciprocating saw. One of my girlfriends sure likes the variable speed, and wants me to wear a hard hat at the strangest times. Those DeWalts will go down to a super slow reciprocation. Suddenly she's a little more interested in going to Home Depot, and she never complains about me buying tools like she used to. She was going to buy an econo saw for her sister but I assured her that she'll want to go with a quality tool with a good variable speed. I'd use my modified DeWalt on the others but if they ever cross-talk they'll be calling me "Mr. DeWalt." Lesson: don't do the same thing with different women. That way, if they ever talk among themselves, they'll only say, "Hey he never did that to me!"

I guess you can say I like DeWalt tools! :-)

I just purchased a 14.4 impact driver with a 1/4 inch quick chuck. Very easy to use as a screw gun. Powerfull and you dont have to have much pressure behind the handle when you are screwing in any screws. Works like any impact wrench but in a smaller version.
At once i was hesitant and was very happy with my 18V hammer drill(DEWALT) but my brother talked me into it. from now on i don't think i will use my 18Volt as a screw gun.

Edward

I have all DeWalt and have had ok luck with them. I have a 24V sawzall, and a 14.4V drill. the drill is excellent, just the right size and power for the everyday screw turning. The saw is very powerful, and I have the AC/DC converter for it. But, the battery has died once, and a friend of mine had the gears stirp out in his. The boss has Milwaulkee on all the trucks. The drills are too heavy, the sawzalls seem to me like they never get up to speed or something. Betwwen the two, I prefer DeWalt. Has anyone tried Ridgid tools ? Heard some good things about them, wondering how anyone else made out.