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I’m looking to buy a new cordless drill and thought I’d go for the combo pack to get a 6.5″ saw too. Which brand of cordless do you guys prefer? I havent heard that many good things about the Dewalt (which was my first choice)…..some one recommended the Panasonic cordless set….but I havent seen one in use….so, if you were to buy one what would it be????
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Dewalt
Let's see. I've had it for three years, use most days, and have dropped the saw off a 25 foot high roof, off tree stand, and the drill off decks, sawhorses, and ladders.
Only bad thing that's happened with all that daily (ab)use is I went through a chuck on the drill, and the handle is slightly cracked on the saw. The batteries still work fine. That's the best testament I could give to any tool like this.
Both the saw and the drill are extremely well-balanced. That's not the reason I dropped them!
*Bosch 24v, Saw has an amazing amount of power for cordless and the drill will twist your arm off.
*Bosch 24v, But if you use the saw a lot get extra batts. The drill can be used all day as its not quite a monster, but has plenty of power. There are often special deals going on on the 24v series so check around. ie free mail in for a saw body
*porter cablethe 19.2 is awesome
*I was also going to do a combo pack. Circ saw, Recipro saw,drill and flashlight. I got to use the DeWalt and Makita stuff all summer. When I went down to buy mine, I was sure the Milwaukee would be my choice. I bought a Makita drill/flashlight combo on sale instead. I thought the light was stupid when I first used it last year, but I use it more than the drill! I found that I like the Milwaukee Circular the best due to its superior construction. The cast base is lightyears ahead of the Makita (stamped Al) and the Dewalt (stamped pressed steel). I like the medium sized drills due to the lighter weight. I bought the 14.4 Makita for general work. It is still 10 times better than the 9 volts we had on our crew 10 years ago. If I need more power, I use a corded drill. Sorry to ramble, but other than interchangability with batteries I am a fan of buying the pieces that YOU like, not just toeing the party line and buying one brand.
*Had the 9.6v Mak for a lot of years (still have three of 'em) but eventually got tired of not enuf 'poop'. Picked up Dewalt 18v which is great cause I can now screw off subfloor and other heavier stuff. Bought the Dewalt 18v saw all by it's lonesome and man, you pay WAY too much that way! Came with just ONE battery. Can you spell R-I-P-O-F-F ? $250, and that was a couple years ago when the 18v saw was only 5 3/8" instead of the bigger dia. they have now. Course I had to buy xtra battery too for about $70. WHEW! Well, I've got 4 batteries now, so plenty of juice. Moral- you save some $$$$ when you buy the combo. Altho the Dewalt stuff is SATISFACTORY for me, I still end up feeling that it's overpriced for what it is. By the way, the saw case was so bulky I just tossed it.
*Dewalt 18v Saw , lite and Drill. Good combo, but if I had a choice, Dewalt should give out another battery instead of the light. Although I have found many uses for it. And yeah, I agree, the case is huge. Good stuff though-21/2 years: No problems.
*Watch your Tool Crib catalog for the factory recconditioned stuff. Saved $$ on my 18v dewalt drill, and have had no problems in 4-5 years of use. I am sure they are rebuilding the saws also. I got the same 1 yr. warrenty on the rebuilt as they give on the the new stuff.
*Check out the Ryobi combo 2bills at the orange box.light, saw, recip saw, drill 2 18v batts
*Ryobi combo? + Orange Box? + Two bills? = "you get what you pay for" !or maybe less in this case
*I got the 18v DeWalt 5 1/2" saw/drill/light combo three years ago and so far so good. Nonetheless, I'd likely look at the PC combo kit today if I were to do it again. I'm not sure about the 24v stuff, too big & bulky, but the 19v line looks good to me. I've damn near worn the drill out, getting slop in the chuck, but the saw is still my favorite for doing fine trim cuts, getting into hard to reach places where I don't want to run a coard or heft my skilsaw. In retrospect, I fell under the DeWalt marketing spell but have since recovered. I'll use it till it dies then upgrade.
*Just a few notes on the PC 19.2 I have the kit and after 3-4 months of use it went to the repair shop where it stayed waiting for parts for nearly a year. The drill has good power but is really too heavy for typical dailly use.The saw also has good power but is very clumsy , especially the switch lock. Have the 18 V yellow kit as well and it has performed well for 3-4 yrs. now ( Not stellar but well ) The chuck seems to be the biggest problem with Dewalt.
*I bought the 14.4 PC drill/saw combo as my christmas present. although it's relatively new I have no complaints at all. I had to order the 14.4 because everyone seems to only carry the 19.2 and to me that's just too much battery weight to be lugging around or working overhead with. my other two drill/drivers are PC 14.4 so it's also real convenient for me to swap batteries or have a whole stack charged and ready to go for a good days work. I am now starting to wish that PC made a 14.4 recip as well but I guess they just want to sell "more power" (insert grunts here)
*Are you sure they don't have a 14 volt recip? Seems like I saw one on a webpage somewhere.
*the PC 19.2 saw drill combo is awesome. I got it to build one mile of horse fence and it outperformed the crew using a gas generator. The one time it went to the shop, they fixed it on the spot, $0 and it was three years old!Here in Charlotte, NC PC's service is great. Dewalt's service stinks bigtime. It depends on their local staff...
*Lonecat, I haven't gone so far as to call PC yet but I've got there 2002 catalog and can't find it in there. If I could find it I'm sure I'd buy it.
*Maybe what I'm thinkin of was Yellow.
*No thanks, I like grey.
*I bought a Panasonic 15.6V drill today for 2 bills. I've been eyeing it for a couple years. We'll see how it holds up, but for now I think its the most comfortable powerful cordless out there. Nice and compact, and you can't beat the forward/reverse switch. I almost got the 12V version, because it was SO damn comfy, but I wanted a 1/2" chuck, and the option to buy their 15.6V saw. I don't know about that saw...the blade is on the wrong side, and its only 5 3/8".
*I bought the saw because the blade is on the RIGHT side, I looked at all the other cordless saws but couldn't go for any of them. This saw is one of my favorite tools, but the batteries have been a real disappointment. They have never held a charge worth a damn when just sitting- maybe 2 days. Of course this doesn't matter while you are working, but I always have to remember they are going to be dead when I pick em up. Mine are the 2ah batteries, maybe you have the 3 ah. My saw fell off the roof about five times and then on the sixth hit the sidewalk and busted case all to hell. Man, was I happy when the new case only cost me $16 for both halves.
*I've had the PC combo for about a year and a half now. For as much abuse as they take, especially the drill, they have held up very well. The trigger went out on my drill a couple of months back, but was replaced over a weekend by the PC dealer here in St. Louis. The universal complaint about the trigger safety on the saw being awkward is quite true, but I have found it quite comfortable to use my forefinger to depress the safety, and my middle finger for the trigger. I have also come to like the "left-handed" set up on the saw. It seems to give better sighting when cutting, allowing for more accurate cuts on the smaller, usually finsih-type jobs that it is perfect for.
*Good to know you like the saw. If I needed it, I would get it, but I'd grumble about it. Can't have everything, I guess. I'm sure I'd get used to the configuration. Yes, my batteries are 3AH, and seemed fully charged right out of the case! I was amazed, but maybe they were charged by the guy I bought it from, as a nice touch. Are your batteries Nickel Metal Hydride? They don't hold a charge when idle as well as NiCad. They're also really bad in cold weather. If not, then those must be some crummy NiCads.
*Lonecat, do you have a good source for blades for that cordless saw? Seems Panasonic is the only one that makes them that size with the right size arbor and they want about $35 a pop for them. Thomas, your drill came with the Ni-Mh batteries right? I have a couple of the 12 volt drills, and you are right - they are comfy. Lonecat is also right - not thrilled with the Ni-Cad batteries - going to try having one of my old packs rebuilt with Ni-Mh and see how that works. Think you are gonna like using a Pani.
*Yeah, I forgot about the blades. I busted 2 or 3 teeth off one right away doing some crude work, then I found out what a new one cost. When I ordered it I assumed a DW or PC blade would fit. Now I'm careful what I cut. Its a testament to Panasonic tools that I STILL like the saw, despite sorry batteries and expensive blades.
*Ditto
*are there cordless saws with a 7 1/4 inch blade yet?brian
*Brian,Yes Hitichi and Makita make them. But they are very exensive. the makita is MUCH more than the Bosch kit. Only in a few instances would you need a 7 1/4 over a 6 1/2.