Wrenches Reviews

OK, far from great. Blade brake never really did work properly and motor burned out in about two weeks of use (maybe around 10 hours of actual run time) Plexi blade guard would jam up into the housing and not come back down. When it was running it did good work. Based on above I can't recommend it to anyone. In shop now for warranty repair.

I guess maybe I'm lucky but I've had this saw for about 10 years and of all the tools I own, I'd say it was the most worthwhile tool I've ever bought. I used it, abused it and put it through a lot of work for a few years and then used it to build a custom oak log home. Yes, a totally solid milled OAK log home where every log was 5-1/2" x 7-1/2" and you can imagine how many cuts I had to make building a log home throough thick hard oak. And then came the basement, interior walls, and outside landscaping. And then tons more work and then a lot of custom fence work. I have probably pulled that trigger a million times. I noticed the brake not engaging a few times, maybe less than 10 times over about a million trigger pulls. It's been truly a magnificent saw and would rate it as high as a scale would go. Heavy? Well if you're really slight of build, maybe, but then again, just don't try and take it on the roof! I find the weight just right for the job it is capable of doing, it doesn't bother me and I weigh 190. I've never had any problems or replaced any parts, it just keeps on working whenever I need it to. I just used the stock blade as a backup when the carbide blade I bought got dull from all the oak cutting. The carbide blade I got would leave a glass like finish across the oak cut, it looked like a laser cut it. The best thing to remember is that the blade is big and like a tire, it needs to get up to speed to get a true spin and then cut started. If it wobbles, then you need to get the blade balanced at a professional saw sharpening shop. Trying to slam the blade through heavy stuff before the blade gets up to speed or if the blade is unbalanced will get you a cut that goes (to the)right usually. Keep your blades sharp and make that first 1" cut slow and easy and then it will cut straight and leave that killer finish on hardwoods. All in all, I wouldn't ever consider a "normal" 12" blade after owning this saw unless I had to make sliding compound cuts. Yeah, it also rocks on trim too. But don't forget this is the saw you want when sawing through Pergo or any of that flooring out there. If you're looking for the Arnold of saws, this is it.

I have been using the Hitachi C15FB for about 5 years now. I have found it most usefull for cutting trim including large crown, casing, and baseboard. Although transportation and set-up of the saw can be somewhat difficult if you don't have it mounted to a stand, it performs better than any other miter saw I've used. including (other Hitachi saws, DeWalt, Delta, and Jet)

Pros:
clean, crisp cuts
extremely accurate miters
can't beat a 15" blade
15 amp motor
affordable

Cons:
Heavy
Brake doesn't always engage after trigger release causing the blade to dive.(be carefull!)

as to "dukemans" remark on the plexi guard sticking. I have completely removed the guard which makes lining up the blade to the desired cut line much easier. However, I don't reccomend for an untrained carpenter to do such acts.

The pros definately outweigh the cons, and I would highly recommend this saw to any professional trim carpenter.

This is one amazing little gun! I bought it because it was unusual, and because of it's claim for 600 ft/lbs.

The hammer housing is metal, but the air vane housing and handle are composite plastic, which makes it very light, but still surprisingly strong. I can use this thing all day long straight over head with very little fatigue. The trigger is variable pressure which can be invaluable at times, and a swiveling air inlet so you don't get tangles. It has easy thumb action forward/reverse buttons on the rear that are just in the right spot, and a 4 position power adjustment knob. I've found that the lowest setting on the knob tightens lug nuts perfectly. It is also very compact, and fits in very small spaces, which is great.

Yes, it does speak softly, but it carries a big stick! I showed it to the guys, and they told me it was "cute". Meanwhile they showed me they're big, bad, top-of-the-line Snap-On impact, and said it's the new sheriff in town. Sure, it was bigger (and heavier), costed alot more than mine, and sure did look pretty, but.....you'd be surprised how many times they asked to use my gun to take out a stubborn rusted strut bolt. That's the icing on the cake!

So YES! I definately would recommend this to anyone that wants an impact is light, compact, powerful, well worth the price, and a conversation piece. If not, then just wait for the Snap-On truck to come, I'm sure he'd be glad to sell you one of his.

I have owned quite a few impacts in my career, but none will ever compare to this one. I haven't found much that I couldn't loosen. The exhaust is muffled so it does have a wimpy sound. At times, I have had to check the compressor to see if it had enough air. Other techs have told me that it doesn't sound like it can loosen a 1/4 inch nut. They soon found out that it is the strongest impact in the shop.i have had this particular impact for 6 years and even with no water separators in the air lines and the tank drained about once every month, I know it will still last another 6. I.R. has a new Titanium impact that advertises to put out 1000 lbs. of torque. I think I will buy that one for the job and take this one home.

I just changed shocks on a full size pickup and wonder if I could've done it without this tool. They were rusted on pretty good, but click-click-click-click here they come. Wow! And though it is applying 600 ft-lbs, I could hold a wrench on the bolt side and it didn't try to rip my hand off. The tool is small, too, so you can get it in tight places. My only complaint is the housing seems to pick up dirt and scratches pretty easy (I work on a dirt driveway). Also, a tool of this price should come with a case, not just a cardboard box, and one that fits the tool with the hose fitting!

this saw proves powerful enough and is designed well, making any adjustment simple.I did have to make a slight adjustment to the bevel pointer, but that was a cinch. I do however wish it had a better line guide for 45 90 degree cuts and was a little lighter.All tools have good and bad points. This one is a well made quality tool.Shop around and compare features and you'll see. dewalt is in the big league's.I recommend this tool, quality and affordability is a great combination. Now get out and saw something.

As so often happens, I made this purchase under emergency conditions. My other saw (different brand) was damaged in the midst of a job and I needed a replacement NOW!! The local lumberyard had several brands, sizes, price ranges, etc. to choose from and I chose the DeWalt 359 simply because it appeared to be the best overall value. The saw has POWER to spare, is easy to handle and adjust. I, and my employees, have had a bit of trouble adjusting to the 45 and 90 guide lines, but with some time we have done OK. The sole plate is smooth and allows the saw to glide smoothly over the workpiece.

I am always pleased when a manufacturer provides a quality case for a good tool, and DeWalt has even included a top shelf blade withthis saw. No need to buy a blade to replace the often mediocre ones provided with new saws.

Great job by DeWalt.

I have owned this saw for about 5 months now and I am quite impressed with it's performance. I have purchased several DeWalt products (mostly their saws) and have found very few flaws in their products. This saw is plenty powerful and the adjustments are a snap to make. The case is strong and the base plate is better than any other circular saw I have ever seen or used. I would highly recommend it.

I've used my new Freud FT2000 a few times now (all freehand), and can confirm what the others have written. The power that this router has is impressive, but comes at the expense of being a bit heavy. However, I don't think any other 3 1/4 HP router has overcome that problem either. On the plus side, this heft gives the impression that this router will be in my workshop for many years.

My major complaint about this router is the depth-stop mechanism. It has a "quick-set" feature that allows you to press a button which releases the threaded stop rod, allowing you to quickly move the rod up and down. Once you release the button, the threads are reengaged and you can then turn the rod to make fine adjustments. The problem is the button that releases the rod, doesn't hold the rod well once it is engaged causing your depths to vary after several cuts.

After looking at many routers, using several, I bought a Freud. For the price, you cannot Go Wrong. When it arrived, the Left handle was broken/cracked, but still usable. The next day I called Freud (not the number in the manual, Use 800-334-4107)and they promised to send me a replacement immediately. I cannot say how long it will take to get here, I just talked to them an hour ago. Will post parts arrival time when it arrives. Anyway, the soft start is great, and it plows through oak with ease. The collet reducer they ship..throw it away and buy the 1/4 collet and another nut. The edge guide (I reviewed it as well), don't waste your money if you are doing precision work, buy a Micro Fence if your budget can afford it. I would buy the router again, but I don't think I'll ever need to.
Added 5 days later: New left grip arrived uneventfully via US mail, fit perfectly.

A 3 1/4 HP plunge router - at this price point - with the features this one has. It's like a blue light special!

I bought this router approximately 4 years ago because I needed a large plunge router to table mount. The Frued FT2000 seemed to be a logical choice because of the standard features (especially the extra long height adjustment knob) and the price.
I have never regretted this purchase.

During those four years I have built numerous projects using this router. It remains table mounted approximately 95% of the time and has all the power and adjustment I need to turn even large panel raising bits.

I have used this router as a hand held, but it IS large and heavy. While these attributes are actually desirable in a table mounted router (large mass = reduced vibration), they can be tiresome for hand held use.

If you are looking for a light weight router for freehand use, look at something smaller. However, if you are looking for a powerful, heavy duty router to table mount, you could pay much more, but.. why would you want to?

This is a very good buy at the price. It has been being used by my one of my finish crews and is used almost daily. I have had it for about 2 months and have had no problems with it at all.

This is a great planer I inherited the one I own from my dad. Overall the one that I own is probably about 20 years old and it has never had any problems with it. The blades are easy to change and are realtively inexpensive. The nice thing about having solid steel blades is that they can be resharpened and reused, if you have the right equipment you can do it yourself or they can be sharpened by anyone you sharpens sawblades. It is nice to have several sharp sets of blades on hand. Compared to the makita n1900 make of similar size the plane compares well, when the blades are sharp this plane cuts like no other!

TODAY (7/11/00) I USED MY PLANER FOR THE FIRST TIME AND WAS REALLY PLEASED HOW VIBRATION FREE IT WAS AND WHAT A SMOOTH CUT IT MADE. THE FURNISHED GUIDE WAS A BIG HELP IN KEEPING THE PLANER AT A NINTY DEGREE ANGLE WHILE RUNNING A EDGE. THERE MAY BE BETTER PLANERS ON THE MARKET BUT FOR WHAT I PAID I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU COULD BUY ONE BETTER FOR THE PRICE. I HAVE OTHER HITACHI TOOLS AND NEVER BEEN DISPLEASED WITH ANY OF THEM.

I agree with everything Joseph C. Mooney writes, and he did an excellent job covering it.

All I can add is that I have found it invaluable for repair where I am forced to make a butt joint or to reinforce a failed joint that can't easily be disassembled. My most frequent application is to repair the insides of uphostered frames without having to "de-upholster" The small size and flexibility of this jig work well.

In general, I dislike pocket screws for most applications and would not use it for many applications as suggested by Kreg at [...] , but for attaching aprons to tables or in-place repairs, this tool does a good job at a fair price.

I used to make my own pocket hole jigs. Drill a hole into a square hardwood block, cut an appropriate angle off the block, and you've got your jig. This approach gives you maximum flexibility with the angle, hole diameter and stock size. Sometimes, it's the best way to go. However, the downsides to this approach are numerous: you have to think alot (it takes some time to figure out the angle and offset), the wood jig gets sloppy after extended use and must be replaced, you need to drill twice for each hole (one countersink, and one for the screw).

Enter the Kreg jig.

Pros:
o no thinking required (well, not about how to build the jig anyway).
o easy to use.
o high quality product. This is a very well made jig, built to tight tolerances. I expect it to last for a very long time.
o the drill bit is also top quality - if you've only used cheap disount bits you will be very pleasantly surprised to see how this fine Kreg bit performs.
o instructions are clear, short, easy to follow.
o works as well as advertised. Better than I expected, actually.
o great support and product information at the kreg website.

Cons:
o you are limited to a single angle (about 15 degrees, I seem to recall).
o you are limited to a single hole width (3/8")

Overall I am very pleased with this jig. It works well and is surprisingly pleasant to use.

I've been using the Kreg screws with this jig and am very pleased with them - they are the same high quality as the jig. You can use other screws but make sure they are self-drilling.

I use any one of a number of my shop clamps to hold things in place - they work well. I suspect the kreg clamps would work better but have not tried them, and am not inclined to do so at this time.

You will need long reach robertson (square drive) screwdriver (or bit for your power driver). A 3" square drive bit with an extension will do, but a 6" bit is best. (These are available here on amazon.com, and possibly at your local hardware store.)

One last thing. Used appropriately pocket holes can be quite strong and durable, whether done with a home-made jig or the kreg.

Much easier than trying to line up biscuts, this little tool saved me hours on my built-ins. I highly reccommend this item and using it with a corded drill for anything 3/4" and over. I used my cordless and had no problems but I think the power of a general consumer cordless drill may not be enough to make a clean hole. I definitly reccommend this liitle jig and bit or move up to the bigger one.

I recently picked this planer up for a small job that involved squaring some pine. It did a good job but the weaknesses of the tool were fairly obvious after only a little use.

Background: I compared this planer to the comparable Ryobi. The Ryobi had a few features the B&D didn't, mainly a "kickstand" to protect the blade when not being used and a dust port that can be switched from left to right. The Ryobi also had a loose front plate, which didn't seem like a good idea to me. So I chose the B&D.

First the good: It did a very good job on the pine I was planing (which involved 4 pieces glued together that needed to be flat on 2 edges). It was very easy to use and the depth adjustment has very positive indents so you know how much you are removing. In general, I was very impressed with the results I got out of the tool.

The bad: I use hand planes a lot, so I naturally wanted to use the front handle on this power planer. Unfortunately, that is also the depth adjustment, and on my second cut I managed to turn it halfway through, making it deeper. I also wanted to use the fence to square the face I was planing. I was successful in this, but the fence is incredibly flimsy (mostly plastic). It may last fine, but I guess I would prefer all metal or at least thicker plastic. Also, I noticed the motor sounded like it was struggling a bit when I went to the deeper cuts. Maybe this is normal, but it seemed like there could be trouble if you try to do the same thing in hardwood. Finally, I can see why other brands include the kickstand (basically a blade guard, so you're not setting the tool on it's blades all the time). I didn't much like the fact that I would be resting the planer on it's blades every time I set it down (you also have to make sure the blades aren't still spinning, although in my own use this was not an issue).

So, basically, this is a tool that works well, but could maybe use a bit of refining. I returned mine, and I'm not sure what I'll replace it with. FWIW, in this price range, I think there's always going to be a bit of compromise, and I think the B&D's weaknesses are easier to live with than the loose front plate on the Ryobi.

i bought this planer to trim down some exterior doors and it worked great. I've used it on several other projects since then and it has been excellent.

I used my friends Dewalt 680 planer for a couple of jobs and liked its small size/weight and features. I didn't like its $150 price. So I went looking for and alternative and found this Black and Decker at Sears for $69.99 w/case and extra blades. It looks and performs like the Dewalt but at half the price and w/case, extra blades and wrench(uses dewalt blades), edge guide, dust bag, and vacumn attachment accessories.

The only differences I noticed is the rear shoe is a steel plate instead of cast. The front plate (adjustable for plane depth like Dewalt's) is cast aluminum like dewalt. Also, Dewalt has a
guard lever on its rear shoe that drops down to protect blade when setting planer down on its shoe after use. I actually found
this lever to be a pain when using the Dewalt because it would not always drop down when done with a plane, and it was in the way when you wanted to begin a plane run in the middle of a piece.

I was very impressed with this find and satisfied with this planer and its accessories so far.

But I didn't find it first so I bought a breaker bar (long handled 1/2" socket wrench - does not ratchet). There are plenty for under twenty bucks but mine was under fifteen bucks. A good idea added to a small twenty dollar compressor. Who really wants to change a tire if you don't have to. Just get it to a tire store.

This is a heavily built high quality tool that is finely polished, has a good feel and looks good. This is obviously not a tool someone just slapped together with light or cheap stuff, it's the real deal. I torqued a lug nut to 100 foot pounds, then used this tool to loosen it and less than 15 foot pounds was required to loosen the nut. It comes in a nice case and packaged nicely with extra sockets, extensions and adapters. The company is just as top notch as the tool is with which to deal. Truly a no hassle get the job done experience.

I received this product in perfect working condition, and its pretty easy to use. I had a question about it so I called them, and they are very helpful!

Olympia Socket Set is great simplified tool for all tasks. Like it & its very cheap.

For the price, these sets are hard to beat, good for minor roadside repairs and fix it jobs around the house. My only regret is I bought two of these, and both sets came with the cases cracked and un-useable. If I wanted to cary them around in a tupper ware container I would have bought one at the same time. But as I said, for the money, a great buy!

Whether you're that independent woman, or are looking for gifts for her, this one is a winner! A combination of the carrying/storage case, the tools themselves and the price, make it a great additional gift for mom, sister, girlfriend, or wife if they like to work a little around the house.

These days I put together furniture myself, tighten bicycle training wheels and do very limited work around the house. I call most tools 'thing a ma doodles', but owning these makes me realize why men like tools so much - the right tools make a task much easier.

As gifts go, better than can-openers, not as nice as jewelry, but a gift that will be appreciated! (If she likes this, go check out the cordless power tools!)

I've owned this grinder for about ~ 4years or so. I probably reach for this grinder more than any other tool (when I do metal fab work). It has been used and abused and keeps on going. Not much more you can hype up about an angle grinder than it's power and durability.

My only gripe is there isn't a lock switch to lock this on. After grinding an axle housing for 1/2 hr straight (or anything else for that matter), my hand gets really tired from the "kung-fu grip". Very rarely to I grind something for long periods of time, but a lock switch would've been nice.
I would give this 4 1/2 stars if I could.

I actually own the 9527NB, which has the locking on switch on top rather than the paddle, other than that they are the same. I love this thing! I bought it a while back to clean up the frame on my car to prepare for some welding. It worked great for that and all other tasks I put it up to. I really like the light weight and easy-to-grip size, this makes it great for use while laying down(like doing a car frame.) This thing eats right through most metals without slowing down.

One other feature that I like is that the upper back part of the motor housing is square which makes it very stable when laying on it's back so you don't have to worry about it rolling away when not in use.

I've owned this grinder for about ~ 4years or so. I probably reach for this grinder more than any other tool (when I do metal fab work). It has been used and abused and keeps on going. Not much more you can hype up about an angle grinder than it's power and durability.