Reply to Thread

Originally Posted by jmac00

I should mention all my cordless stuff is DeWalt 12v and 18v. But Im willing to change brands if I can find something that can take a beating and has a long battery life

Ive had great luck with the DeWalt 18v's in which we issue to all our techs. It seems people lose battery's/ tools faster than they break!

I have the http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0050RARN8/..._df_B0050RARN8
It does everything I need as a Tech! aside from cutting drywall, conduit, and wood studs it work great for cutting shrubs tree limbs and other plant matter that is intruding into my work area of air conditioners!

I like Bosch Litheon tools, 18V. 3 year warranty, 2 year on battery. Powerful.

CT

I have a DeWalt combo kit that is about 6 yrs old. New construstuction we can rough-in abouta hlf a day on 1 battery, but remodel on a old house and we may only cut 2 holes in that hard wood. Last yr I bought a Milwaukee impact/hammer drill set with a new style batteries in it. They seem to hold a charge well, you can see how much charge is left on the battery, the hammer drill will put a hole in about anything like it was butter and the impact will drive tapcons or torx screws all day long, and they are not that heavy. I will need to replace the combo kit one of these days and will look hard at the Milwaukee for a replacement.

Used to own a lot of deWalt stuff, batteries could not keep up.
Tried Milwaukee, batteries did not hold up.
I now use makita 18v li ion, I do 90% service don't need a 36v beast to cut out some copper or chop down a motor shaft.
I like the weight, my impact driver gets used constantly all day and lasts for 2-3 days on one charge.
Now wondering about the 12v driver for my tool bag. The veto needs to go on a diet!

Originally Posted by corny

I have a 20 something year old makita sawzall...corded that is pretty good around the house. I think I need to grease it though cause it makes a sort of rough noise when running.....like the gears are getting dry.

I used to trim limbs with it..... I duct taped it to a piece of 3/4 inch emt and left the trigger lock on.....turning it on and off by plugging and unplugging the extension cord.

Older Makita recip saws use a roll pin to hold the blade holder to the oscillating shaft.

This pin is no longer available.

I had to junk an otherwise perfectly fine Makita recip saw because the parts were obsolete.

I have a 20 something year old makita sawzall...corded that is pretty good around the house. I think I need to grease it though cause it makes a sort of rough noise when running.....like the gears are getting dry.

I used to trim limbs with it..... I duct taped it to a piece of 3/4 inch emt and left the trigger lock on.....turning it on and off by plugging and unplugging the extension cord.

Ridgid makes a 1 handed sawzall and one guy I work with has one, works great esp for cutting 3" PVC or larger

Originally Posted by jmac00

I never heard of "Festool" I went to there website and they have some pretty cool stuff.

Yup, and only a small part of what they have is available in the USA.

Parent company is Festo.

I have two Bosch reciprocating saws, the corded one has the Craftsman name on it and is over twenty-five years old. They are both so well balanced I feel comfortable using them with one hand. They cut ziplock filter holders with ease, which are very hard to cut, due to them vibrating. I have a buddy who has a corded Bosch scroll saw, and you can cut some pretty small arcs, in metal, for welded on pipe supports, without breaking the blades.I don't know what they do to cut the vibration. Using my work provided Dewalt is scary, after using my Bosch, which I'm not allowed to bring to work.

I have a dewalt battery sawzall that I use for cutting unistrut. It seems to do a pretty good job...... but it doesnt see daily use.

I dont like dewalt drills...... seems that over the past few years the chucks in them have just become junk.

After about 10 years of cordless sawzall's I have gone back to my Milwaukee "corded" sawzall for any extended demo work. I have bought and used evry Dewault model , (about 1 a year,because thats all the use the interior bearings could handle from heavy duty demo work. The bearings would give out before the batteries.) I only use my cordless now for quick trim work on the occasional conduit,strut,allthread,gas line or stud. I'd rather roll out my 100' cord than deal with a battery chompin overheating tool. A powered sawzall is the only way to go when I am in demo mode.
I have moved into M-12 mode over the last year and bought the mini sawzall and it is perfect for the light trim jobs. I am going to get the M-12 mini bandsaw next for allthread and strut.

Originally Posted by neophytes serendipity

I have used DeWalt and own the old style Milwaukee 18v NiCd.

The DeWalt has more strokes per minute and chews up batteries. Speed is hard to control- it is either off or "full on".

Between these two, I like my Milwaukee better.

I have also used Milwaukee V28, the Milwaukee "Hackzall" and HILTI cordless.

As far as recip saws go, I liked the HILTI the best, but it is spendy and their tool selection isn't there.

That "Hackzall" is pretty damn good for light duty close quarters stuff. I have thought about buying one, even though I have no other M18 tools.

That said, I am not a big fan of LiIon batteries. They do not work when it is "cold", no matter what the hype is, in my experience.

Fast drain (as in amps) tools like a recip saw will kill a LiIon battery. I have the "V18" LiIon batteries for my 18v NiCd set, and they do not work as well.

I am holding off on any new cordless stuff, at least until the brushless motors start coming out. I have a Festool C12, and that thing will out-drive my 18v Milwaukee on many things- except big drill bits. The Festool will also shut down the tool when it is overdriven while almost anything else will self-destruct the tool or the battery if you push it.

I never heard of "Festool" I went to there website and they have some pretty cool stuff.

Originally Posted by jmac00

who makes the best one.

Battery life, toughness, ease of use (quick change chuck's)

I have used DeWalt and own the old style Milwaukee 18v NiCd.

The DeWalt has more strokes per minute and chews up batteries. Speed is hard to control- it is either off or "full on".

Between these two, I like my Milwaukee better.

I have also used Milwaukee V28, the Milwaukee "Hackzall" and HILTI cordless.

As far as recip saws go, I liked the HILTI the best, but it is spendy and their tool selection isn't there.

That "Hackzall" is pretty damn good for light duty close quarters stuff. I have thought about buying one, even though I have no other M18 tools.

That said, I am not a big fan of LiIon batteries. They do not work when it is "cold", no matter what the hype is, in my experience.

Fast drain (as in amps) tools like a recip saw will kill a LiIon battery. I have the "V18" LiIon batteries for my 18v NiCd set, and they do not work as well.

I am holding off on any new cordless stuff, at least until the brushless motors start coming out. I have a Festool C12, and that thing will out-drive my 18v Milwaukee on many things- except big drill bits. The Festool will also shut down the tool when it is overdriven while almost anything else will self-destruct the tool or the battery if you push it.

Originally Posted by PAREFERGUY

After using battery tools I decided to go back to regular power tools. Batterys are too expensive and don't last long enough.

Ya prefer corded tools to, but many times Im in some remote dump that I need a battery unit......or I use my arms and Im getting to old to be crawling around in a crawl space with a hack saw, that and Im just to lazy

Originally Posted by norm36

the rigid tool warranty is a joke, my company supplied my van with the 24v line of rigid tools, hammer drill, saws all, impact, flashlight, skill saw. the tools are OK, but the battery are terrible, i also had a set i got before i worked for this company of the 18v lithium rigid drill and impact, it takes 4-6 weeks for a battery to be warrantied, hopefully there is a place close that will do the claim.

I glad you posted that, I was looking the ridge stuff, I think I'll stick with DeWalt

THANX EVERYONE FOR YOUR INPUT

the rigid tool warranty is a joke, my company supplied my van with the 24v line of rigid tools, hammer drill, saws all, impact, flashlight, skill saw. the tools are OK, but the battery are terrible, i also had a set i got before i worked for this company of the 18v lithium rigid drill and impact, it takes 4-6 weeks for a battery to be warrantied, hopefully there is a place close that will do the claim.

After using battery tools I decided to go back to regular power tools. Batterys are too expensive and don't last long enough.

the new little Milwaukee 12 volt fits in my bag. charges in 15 minutes. batteries fit the little drill. I'm not in construction so I usually just need to cut some shaft on a motor or pipe. It is very tough. I love it.

DeWalt XRP 18v cuts like no other, only downside is the battery life, if you're using it constantly battery may last you no more than an hour. Tried the Hilti one recently and that was awesome, as long as you use good blades nothing is better than Dewalt

I'm sold on the 36 volt Bosch sawzall, it's just like using a corded one. We have several that get used all the time and not a single issue. I used to have a dewalt cordless that sucked and powered out all the time.