Power Supplies Reviews

I am restoring a recently purchased 65 year old cottage style house. It has 3 very thick coats of paint and one cheap thin coat that was applied over the old paint to make it look nice for listing, however this paint failed after only a couple of years. The surface is very irregular due to the poor prep work done between each coat of paint. Still, the Metabo did a good job of taking it down to a level clean surface. It takes some time to master this tool but it does work as advertised. I liked that it would get right up to the edge of trim boards but the side blades were of no value since they would not touch the side surfaces and are not adjustable. Also, I found that the oldest coat of paint, when worked aggressively, would cause a build up of melted paint on the back sides of the blades that you had to remove with a sharp blade. I ordered extra blades and will no doubt need them all before I'm done. I only got 9 blades in my pack of 10, not impressed with that. I think the harder the old paint the better, and the flatter the surface the better, but it will work on thick paint and irregular surfaces. I have about 5 hours on this tool so far and have not had any problems with the side plates. I don't use them, but they are not in the way or breaking off either. I was originally planning on selling this when I was done, but I may just have to keep it around for a few more projects. I don't think a tool costing twice as much, could do twice as good or twice as fast of a job in my case.

This unit is very good for flat surfaces, such as old doors, or other panel type projects. The system hooks up to vacuums but you need to get the correct fittings. I originally bought it to scrape siding on a house but ended up hiring someone. The siding was too irregular and old. This provides a plane like finish and in my opinion could easily substitute for a power plane. The four way blades are also a good feature. I think it is the type of blade being used on the newer spiral bladed jointers in the woodworking world.

Great toolm for stripping. If you can , set the nails deeper though so they dont dull up blades as quick.
It is a great tool for stripping trim pieces.Light and easy to hold. With some training
considering that your hands grow from a right place :), oneself can strip inner trim pieces even less that 1inch wide.
Vacuum hose.... Well it is a drag to use when on heights.
Just cover the area well(plastic is cheap)and wear good respirator, goggles and body protection.
Tool can work all ways and with some getting use to u can strip even warped wood using those side blades that many loathing here.
Just open one of the doors and get into the warped part under some angle get to the wood and then put the tool flat again.
Works for me....
Very light tool so hands are not getting tired much.
As about doors they are not as flimsy if oneself paying enough attention when to open and close them.
Hopefully most of the people here have an IQ higher than Mr.
President so there should be no problem.
I just love that tool. It is German engeneering all the way and made in GERMANY unlike Bosh, Ridgid and other profit hungry brands.

This is not a drill I use very offen, and I would expect that it would have lasted a little longer. While running in a screw, I stripped out the gears and now have a tool that will cost as much to repair as it will to replace. Also the paddle switch is not very well designed, for a drill that is intended for cramped spaces I would expect something that was less prone to getting bumped or caught up, also the drill continues to spin long after you let off the paddle. This drill is fine for drilling small holes in cramped spaces that don't need to be damaged, that's about it.

Excellent drill. Allows you to get in tight spots with ease. I borrowed one from a friend and after using it, I had to get one for myself. This is a handy item to have. Easy to use. Lots of power.

I like this drill a lot, but I use it for what is is--a close quater drill to get into tight places. It amazes me that someone would try to drill 1 inch holes with it. Would you try to haul 5 tons of iron ore in your 1/2 ton pickup truck. That won't work either.

I agree with the reviews describing the tool as powerful and great feel to it. I will be exchanging my second one very soon. The first one's chuck would not stay tight and would slip on the bit. The second one has a defective switch. It will not stop running when you release the trigger in forward direction. In reverse, it will stop. The trigger hangs on the forward-reverse lever. A drop of oil did not help. This is a potentially dangerous situation when the drill does not stop until you manually pull the switch out or unplug it. However, I will try one more time to get a good one. I like the tool design.

This is a nice corded drill---I use it as a complement for an 18v cordless drill and the 7v DeWalt screwdriver. I will always pick up one of the latter for driving screws or drilling smaller holes. But the DeWalt corded drill is far superior when I need to drill multiple holes or use large bits. For example, when drilling a bunch of pocket holes, this drill is much smoother and quicker than a cordless drill. It's also great for using large spade or auger bits. The other day I had to drill holes through the end of a pressure treated 4x6 with a 1" auger bit, and this drill powered right through the timbers---EXCEPT: it did get stuck pretty bad in one of the timbers and I had to go forward-reverse-forward-reverse a few times to get it unstuck. Might have hit a knot or something---might have also helped to drill half-way, bring out some of the waste, then do the rest. But it shows that you can get this drill stuck under extreme loads.

This drill is great for most all drilling applications. The keyless chuck works wonderfully. I don't know how I ever lived without it. It holds great and has never slipped on bits from 1/8" to 1/2" in diameter. It also came with a case for $59.00. This is a no brainer. It is a professional drill at a bargain price.

I used to use a Bosch in a cabinet shop that I loved using.
Since I have a lot of Porter-cable tools so when PC came out with this I thought it was going to be more like a gray version of the Bosch I loved with improvements. Since everyone is in competition with each other it must be so.
When I had to change my first blade I was in horror. I think I have it down now but boy is it still a royal pain. I dread blade changes but I'm getting better at it. Maybe my fingers are just getting increadibly strong.
It has a lot of power and looks great.
Dust blower, nice feature, blows dust directly in front of the line you're trying to cut on.
If I have to start using this more I might sell it on ebay and get a new Bosch.

I have used my saw for several close projects. I find it very confortable to handle. With the 4 settings for the amount of blade orbiting you can get a pretty nice cut and excellant control of where you're going. The switch has good travel to allow you to control the speed of the cut without any surprises. The most difficult item with the saw is changing or taking out the blade. While it is a keyless manuver, it can be trying and you need to be careful while working to free the blade (they are very sharp).

The only complaint I paid any attention to is the dust issue. Went to Porter Cable's wesite to see if they resolved that issue. They have a dust-shield. It is part number '886775' and costs $7.05 (http://www.porter-cable.com/index.asp?e=4937). I'm Canadian, BUY NORTH AMERICAN!!

Having blown a few corded hammer drills over the last 15 years I finally decided to try a good cordless model to get rid of the irritating cord. Did some research and came upong this drill which seemed to pretty much offer anything you can possibly want in a cordless drill. I have not been dissapointed. I really don't know how I ever got along without this tool.

The balance of the tool is great. It feels really well in your hand. Its a little on the heavy side but pretty average and to be expected from a NiCD 18v drill. The tool balance really makes it feel comfortable anyway regardless of the weight. The keyless chuck saves so much time and grips bits as good as a keyed one. The three speed transmission is very versatile and has as far as I can tell the highest RPM speed (2000rpm)for a cordless drill which is very useful for masonry applications. The middle speed (1450rpm) is great for when high speed and higher torque are needed such as hardwood, holesaws, etc and finally the slowest (450rpm) for maximum torque and driving. Most cordless models only have slow and fast, and fast isn't that fast, pretty frustrating for masonry work. The battery life is very good. The 18v XRP battery should provide enough power to work reasonably continuously while the other is finished charging. I can many times go a full day of extended usage without having to bother recharging.

Finally, the reason I really bought this drill, the masonry performance. Remember this is a hammer drill, NOT a rotary hammer. A rotary hammer is far more powerful but is pretty useless for anything else as they are typically to large, heavy and too violenty powerfull for smaller work. This hammerdrill I have found can easily outperform even many corded hammer drills. Lately I've been using it to drill mainly into insanely hard 40 year old structural concrete columns in a building and driving tapcon screws in. I would normally use a rotary hammer for this but rotary hammers tend to oversize holes so tapcons don't grips as well (or at all). With a good bit the drill powers through pretty effortlessly into the reinforced columns. Softer stuff like brick and blocks, it plows through with no sweat.

I give this tool the full 5 stars. It's by far the most versatile and best performing tool in my box. If you need a cordless drill that can do everything and replace all others, this is the one.

I have owned Dewalt 18 volt drills since they were 2-speed models years ago and this drill meets and exceeds my expectations. Very powerful, and well balanced with great run-time. I own 3 of these drills and use them for driving lags to building doghouses. Dewalt's quality is very impressive and they have never let me down.

I wanted to buy this drill as a single product, but the stores all carried it in a package with other power tools. Amazon offered it as a single. It arrived the next day even with standard shipping. I am greatly pleased with both the product and its performance and with Amazon and the speedy deliver!

APC is a good name, and my last UPS from them was fantastic, but this is a whole different story. This UPS has been driving me crazy and I wish I never had bought it. Sometimes during the night it will beep at me, which I assume is natural due to glitches in the crummy power at my apartment. The real problems occurred when in the middle of the night, the APC began to screech at me as if the power had gone out, except that it hadn't. On top of that, the two systems I had plugged into the "Always On" plugs were TURNED OFF until I power cycled the UPS, at which point they both turned back on. The worst part is that nothing else in the house had any sort of problem--clocks were all set right, etc.. To me, that is the absolute opposite of what a UPS should do, and because of that I can only recommend that you find some other model that doesn't have weird problems like this. I certainly am going to...

This unit was easy to configure and setup. software for "computer shutdown" was easy to install, but had 1 drawback. It requires that you logon as ADMINSTRATOR. Having adminstrator rights is not enough. This is a drawback as many people don't know or remember the administrator account, nor how to change that password.

Size of unit, support for up to 8 devices, battery life are very good. Allows for minimum of 2 power bricks and didn't take up much space.

You'll need some cable management ties or tiewraps or something to keep your wires straight and now would be a good time to label each power cord.

As stated, good unit, and good value. Don't forget if you allow your computer to run a battery to calculate how long it takes to shutdown your computer properly. If it takes 4 minutes to shut your computer down, don't allow it to run on battery for 20 minutes or there won't be enough power left for shutdown. Experiment...

I now own three of these devices, one for every computer in the house. With Windows XP and APC's included PowerChute software, the device as automatically shut down our computers during power outages just as advertised.

Much more frequent the power outages around here are surges and line noise. Some of these are external, but I happen to have a laser printer that draws a lot of current when it wakes up: it used to cause the lights to flicker and occasionally popped the circuit breaker. Now that it's also plugged in to the APC, everything is happy.

The telephone line/Ethernet/coax protection is a nice bonus. Over the years, we lost more electronics to lightning strikes on the phone line than anything else. If you don't have whole-house surge protection on your phone line, this type of protection is a must.

This Dremel was great when it worked. I had the same problems that I see many others have had. The variable speed switch was not designed well and the tool is rendered useless after a few weeks of light usage. The tool was sent in for warranty repair 2 weeks ago, still waiting.

I mentioned to my mother ONCE that I wanted this...and so I was stunned when I got it for Christmas! I use it for everything from clockmaking, to cleaning and refinishing antique jewellery and the like. Everything... literally everything. There are so many more attachments to get!... The "flex shaft" is a necessity for me, at least. So I reccommend buying this "super kit" which comes with that flex shaft. ...

I still have my 10-year-old Dremel tool but I wanted this one because it goes up to 35,000 rpm. And is it sweet! I like the soft grip body because it is more comfortable to hold and doesn't slip when my hands get sweaty. The faster speeds make the cuts smoother when I use the routing bits.

I also like the way Dremel keeps coming out with new bits to keep the tool versatile.

wow i thought this tool was kind of weak because it was about only 4 something volts. but actually it performs well and very handy too. although it says it also "cuts" the package did not include a cutting blade of some sort, so the brand is trying to get you to buy more crap from them at a more higher price rather than other brands. but other than the accessories you have to buy seperately and more expensive i think it is pretty good. but if i were you i would get a spare battery!

A nice tool for sharpening sissors,tools and cutting a grove slot to remove a stripped screw .Good for any misc little jobs around the house

It is the perfect tool to keep my dogs' nails from overgrowing. Just a few touches on the nails with the tool, my dog gets a treat for being patient about the chore, and the job is done.

I bought this for cabinet installation. In tried to put a 2 1/2 inch screw into the side of a cabinet to connect two wall cabinets. It would not do it. It screwed most of it in, but it woukld not screw the last half inch in. Also I also tried to take out the same size screw that I had put in earlier with a 14 volt regular cordless drill. It could not do it. The Makita angle drill kept popping the built in circuit breaker in the drill, which is a great feature. The other review on this page says it has enough power for what it is designed for. Yes it does if you want to pre drill pilot holes for every screw you set or taking cabinet doors off. But sinking screws in studs is another story. I think an inexpensive corless screw driver would do just about as good a job doing that. I don't recommend this drill at all.

This is one of the best and most used tools in my shop. I have bigger drills,with more power but always end up grabbing this one to do the job because of its size and convenience. I bought it for close quarters but seems like I just use it for all my drilling of that kind. I'm not saying it will take the place of a big drill in some instant,but for most average work and close quarters it is the drill!

We use this tool around the shop for drilling rivet holes in thin and some times thick, pre-assembled aluminum sheet. It performs flawlessly for this task. We used two other brands of cordless angle drills; however, they aren't as small and don't have nearly the durability of the Makita. This drill is by no means a "power house" but it is a "workhorse". An added benefit, aftermarket batteries for this tool can be had for a song.

This advertiser is repersenting this tool has the most torque of any cordless impact wrench 240 ft lbs of torque.Dewalt has 300 Ft lbs of lbs on its DW059 cordless impact wrench.I'm not saying which impact wrench is superior just that it has more torque.Maybe seller made a mistake,but truth in advertising is important and the public should be aware.

So far I am more than satisfied. I have been using it as a track wrench for changing wheels/tires from street to race and back again at auto x events. One battery can do at least two cars easily and maybe more. I have not tried reaching max torque. I have used a torque stick for 65 ft/lb and have reached that with no problem by holding a few seconds. Tool is heavy but it sure beats the alternative.

I work at a tractor dealership and bought the impact/drill 18v combo. WOW. The MAC and Craftsman air impacts barely get used anymore because of this beast. This thing loosens rusted 5/8" blade spindle bolts with ease and lasts up to an hour on one battery with moderate use. As another review mentioned, it doesn't kick up dust like air impacts which is really nice on farm machinery. IT IS HEAVY, but it is more balanced than an air gun which I think makes it more comfortable in the long run.

Obviously the huge advantage is no cords so it is extrememly nice on a service calls and fixing flat tires in remote storage buildings without an air compressor.

Highly recommended, along with the 18v Milwaukee drill.