Drills Reviews

Purchased (2) of these impact drivers for metal roofing and siding, metal studs and some drywall on projects in Alaska. Both impact guns needed replacement (gearing stripped in one, nosepiece cracked on other exposing gears) within first three weeks, one replacement lasted only one month (gears whined like original and then quit). I also had a 12V Makita that still runs great (didnt even have the new NiMH batteries) after(3) of the (4) Milwaukees broke down in IDENTICAL applications. Makita now makes a 14.4V (NiMH) impact driver which is the one I would suggest hands down.

I purchased this impact driver about a month ago. So far, I am very pleased with its performance. I've used it to drive lag bolts, tighten anchor bolts, and screw down Trex decking. I am suprised at how much torque this small tool is able to produce. I originally bought it because I had read reviews on how great impact drivers are for decking. While waiting for mine to arrive, a boss I know from outside my company had a dispute with one of his employees about how effective impact drivers really were. The employee was using a 14.4 Makita impact driver to screw down Trex decking. The screws took longer to screw in and the batteries would die about every 4 boards. He eventually asked him to just use a regular drill/driver for the rest of the deck. This got me worried. So when mine arrived, I did a little test. I screwed down a 20 foot piece of Trex with both a Milwaukee 18v drill and then one with the new impact driver, twice. I found that if you used both hands to apply pressure on the drill (to keep it from stripping the head), the drill will drive the screw much faster than the impact driver. BUT, the advantage to the impact driver is that you only need 1 hand to finish off the screw (you don't need to apply as much pressure). Since you have 1 free hand, you can be reaching for your next screw, thereby becoming much more efficient. In fact, I was able to fasten the boards 23% faster with the impact driver than the drill. And, the screws are much less likely to be stripped. The 2 batteries, however, were not able to keep up with the work, and I found myself resorting to the drill some of the time while recharging. Overall, a great little tool, worth the investment if you have a use for it. I'd recommend it.

I purchased the Milwaukee 9081-22 14.4 volt impact after reading the Tools of the Trade test comparing all the then available tools in the 12 and 14 volt class. Up to that time I had used nothing but a 9.6 volt Makita impact that is at least 12 years old. The Milwaukee has the endurance and power to R&R a 16' X 7' garage door with ease on a single battery and is tough enough to take the occasional drop from 10' or so. It recently broke down and the 5 year warranty sure doesn't hurt.

I thought I was upgrading from the Milwaukee 2.5 volt power screwdriver. This one has the noisy clutch, but I have never had any trouble with this style.
The auto shut off of the Panasonic is a electric switch that turns the tool off. Mine lasted about 4 months, returned for service, lasted another 2 weeks. The clutch was stoping power to the motor.. I like the extra power, but will stick to the Milwaukee for reliability.

This electric screwdriver is worth about 9.99 and is overpriced.

This is a must for anyone who turns screws. Fast and light weight.
Don't expect to use this tool to screw together a deck, but it is great for electrical trim work.

This product is crap! You'd be better off using kerosene and a tooth brush.
I was told that this product worked great on rust, well believe me when I tell you that it did more harm than it did help, it left my machinery with leopard spots.
I'm very unhappy with the results, you would think that for $30 you'd get a better product.

I have a mixed option about this kit.

I purchased it to remove a couple of rust spots from my table saw top. The rust remover works great. I did have to use it twice. It had the bad effect of changing the color of the table saw top to a darker grey (OK who cares). I also sprayed some on the ruler for setting my fence, and it crinkled it up, and now the ruler is hard to use (OK, I should have thought of that and not over sprayed). Over all this part did the job and I should give it 5 stars.

I use the blade and bit cleaner to clean resin from my router bits and table saw blades. That works well. However for table saw blades it is not much better than washing the blade warm water with Dawn dish soap. (and then drying the blade and spraying it with WD 40). I am uncomfortable washing my router bits with bearings. So I like the product for them. I would give it 4 stars.

The Boeshield is OK. It could be used to coat a metal product for long term storage. If all you want to do is protect the cast iron top of a wood working tool, you would be much better off just using a furniture paste wax. For my application, I give Boeshield 1 star.

I've been using T-9 for some years. Of the three items, the T-9 is really worth the cleaner and rust buster put together. It's too bad they're selling the kit and not T-9 by itself.

The rust cleaner is average. Flitz cleans better and is more versatile. The blade cleaner did clean but certainly not nine dollars better than a few ounces of Oil Eater, which cleaned gummy blades and bits lots faster.

T-9 RULEZ when it comes to keeping rusty crusty away from anything metal. It was even a good defense against a male dog's dislike of a metal bench and handtruck kept outside. It does stay sticky a long while so don't spritz and expect it to be instantly usable. Wet T-9 can stain cardboard boxes and fabric. The best anti-rust protection comes after letting it dry in a thick film.

I don't like T-9 on machine table tops except for storage, where it is the best thing EVER. It's sticky though. You have to clean hard before you can use the tool. The goo can get on wood and it takes strong solvent to get it out. If you live near salty water exposure, there's nothing better.

I got one a month ago to complement my 5 inch orbital variable speed DeWalt sander (a great sander by the way. I have had it for several years). I needed something to prepare a few old doors/door ways for painting. The big sander was too big because of panels and stuff on the doors, and profiling on the door posts. I am very impressed! Wasn't sure what to expect, but it sands away diligently and if you use the right grade of sand paper, starting coarse enough and work your way to finer mesh, I think the paper lasts quite well. Clever idea with a replaceable front diamond on the sand paper. It actually works. I haven't tried the detail sander add-ons it comes with, but look they probably will work well too. Very happy. Can't be your only sander, but a great additionla for detail work and corners and stuff. No dust collection so remember that breathing paint dust on a regular basis will cause long term damage to your lungs. Use a good mask, not the cheapy 5-pack for a couple of dollars, they don't protect you! Highly recommended.

I picked this up down at the Home Depot just a few days ago, and I have to say, I'm impressed. It sands a lot more for its size than you'd guess at first. I didn't really have any work I needed done with this guy, or any real motives for buying it other than to use it to threaten small children who are looking for a friend, but again, it's a pretty impressive little power house. Black & Decker has always been a fairly reliable tool company, and this mini-sander gets the job done fair enough. For all you hardcore tool users out there foaming at the mouth because you found some feedback rating this 4 star power sander, good luck with your purchasing. This is a cheap easy-to-use sander that... sands. Oh, and about threatening small children with it, it gets that job done too. In fact, I've found taking it out and revving it up around the drunk neighborhood dads can produce some pretty funny results also.

I almost forgot, the gel grip is pretty damn awesome. This way, you can sand (or do whatever you're doing with this thing) for twice as long before getting blisters on your hands!

This is what I should have bought first instead of the Mega-Mouse. I'll probably never use my Mega-Mouse again. Bigger is not always better.

I bought my dewalt about 2 yrs ago. Having problems with the
motor stops and then I have to tap on it to get it to run.
For the money the quality is not there and I am a big dewalt buyer and fan. Not sure if after I try to get it serviced if I will purchase another dewalt saw or not.

This is my first reciprocating saw and I was not disappointed. I really like the fact that the blade can be used in any position (up, down, left, right) and is very easy to change. The blade quick change system is great and easy to use, just lift the lever and insert the blade. It has a variable speed trigger. The tool is also very comfortable to hold and is not too heavy. It comes with a carrying case that allows you to store the tool with the blade inserted (you don't have to remove it). The case has plenty of room for extra storage.

This saw is great! I got it for my husband for his birthday and he loved it. Great buy.

My favorite tool out of this combo is the 18V drill. It is built to last and has some serious torque to it that comes in handy when you're slamming lag bolts through a 2X4 into concrete! But I also am impressed with all the other tools in the kit. The cordless reciprocating saw sees more action than my plug in saw simply because of the convenience of not having a get-caught-on-everything extention cord getting in my way. The flexible floodlight comes in handy when you need some light but don't have any hands left to hold a flashlight while you're working. It's bright and can be set up in just about any position to illuminate your workspace. The convenience of having a wireless jigsaw comes in quite handy too, especially when you're cutting a lot of angles and curves... There's no wire getting in your cutting path! Now I get to the circular saw... It's got good power to it, but it definitely doesn't see as much action as my plug-in circular saw. Sure it'll cut a 5/8" sheet of plywood, but it splinters the wood and doesn't rip through as fast as a good old plug-in circular saw. If there's something small to cut that doesn't necessarily need a clean cut (free of splinters), then this saw will do, but it simply doesn't cut clean enough for my tastes. Back panels on lower kitchen cabinets could be cut with this saw, but when it comes to making a straight cut at length, you really are better off using a plug-in circular. So if you are looking for a combo kit, I'd recommend getting one with everything this kit has but without the circular saw! Save your money on that portion of the kit and buy a DeWalt plug-in to finish off your combo... Oh, and the 18V battery lasts a good long time and will get you through most projects without a recharge!

My partner and I are very busy general contractors in Los Angeles County, CA. Our company specializes in repair and renovation. Recently we switched from another brand to "test" the Dewalt products. We purchased two box sets. We literally beat the He** out these tools. We abused them. They seemed to enjoy it. The drill damn near broke my wrist when I decided to try it out as a torque wrench. The saw cuts double stack 5/8 ply (thats two sheets) like paper, over and over. The batteries have unbelievable life (we burn them non-stop). No panzy set down, we deliberately drop/toss the tools from the knee. They are professional grade, no-nonsense machines. For dirt loving, lumber chewing contractors or the weekend remodeler, these tools ROCK!

Way to go Dewalt. You've earned our dollars, and more importantly, our respect. Keep em' coming and we promise to beat them up.

My partner and I are very busy general contractors in Los Angeles County, CA. Our company specializes in repair and renovation. Recently we switched from another brand to "test" the Dewalt products. We purchased two box sets. We literally beat the He** out these tools. We abused them. They seemed to enjoy it. The drill damn near broke my wrist when I decided to try it out as a torque wrench. The saw cuts double stack 5/8 ply (thats two sheets) like paper, over and over. The batteries have unbelievable life (we burn them non-stop). No panzy set down, we deliberately drop/toss the tools from the knee. They are professional grade, no-nonsense machines. For dirt loving, lumber chewing contractors or the weekend remodeler, these tools ROCK!

Way to go Dewalt. You've earned our dollars, and more importantly, our respect. Keep em' coming and we promise to beat them up.

this drill has a good balance of being lighter than the 18v and powerful enough, to do about as well as the 18v.

I generally like the drill for getting into tight spaces. One draw back is the reversing switch is in a very awkward place. When I'm in a tight space and need to reverse direction on the drill I end up removing the entire drill to activate the reverse switch.

I highly recommend this drill, it is a great product.

I tried this in my woodworking shop. It was great at first, then the cover fell off the dial, then the hand fell off the dial. For a few dollars more(not counting what I wasted on this junk) I bought stainless steel, still going strong. This tool violates the rule that all General(R) tools are great.

I've used these exact dial calipers for years for measuring natural body jewelry. We exclusively use these calipers in my company, and find them to be far superior to those cheap and inaccurate brass ones. As they are made from fiberglass reinforced plastic, they do not mar the jewelry surfaces as metal calipers often do. However, this means that the jaws will eventually wear down with repeated use (check to see that there is no light appearing between the measuring surfaces, especially at the tips), making period replacement necessary with frequent use if accuracy is of high importance.

The glorious thing about these calipers is that fractional, decimal, and millimeter measurements are all available. There is a handy mini-conversion chart on the back side of the calipers that makes fractional inches in 64th's easier to understand. Inside and outside diameters are easy to measure, as are the less frequently used (by us, at least) step measurement and depth gauge.

The only drawback, as mentioned above, is that the pointer on the dial may get knocked out of position if the calipers are dropped, though this is remedied by either twisting the dial back to zero with the provided knurled clear plastic covering to match the new position of the pointer, or removing the plastic covering and manually moving the pointer back to the 12 o'clock position.

A note on price: we've found these for under $30 at large home improvement stores.

Very good caliper for the price. Easy to read and use.

With the door closed in a small area (bedroom), the unit struggled to produce any measurable benefit. The unit was heating air, but heat was rising straight up from the unit. After a cold night we returned it and purchased an electric blanket and a quartz heater which we love.

On the plus side, this unit is overbuilt for safety. The elements are encased in a mesh grill, and the unit will turn off if tipped over. Unfortunately, it just doesn't produce as much heat as I wanted.

This little unit works very well in my bedroom and heats up very quickly just on the low setting. In the living room I've used it on the high setting and it also works pretty quickly. I use this unit when I am the only one who is cold and don't want to use the central heat. I really like the option to use 360/ front function and the thermostat capability. As per the directions, you turn on the unit with the thermostat on full heat and when the temperature is as hot as you want you slowly turn it down until the unit clicks off. Then it will automatically shut on and off to keep that temperature. My only complaint, which is why I didn't rate the unit 5 stars, is that it is too noisy for me. I mostly wanted this unit for nighttime use and when the unit clicks on and off it wakes me up.

It's freezing in my office at work, and this little heater is great!! Exactly what I was looking for. I have it under my desk so it warms up the area right around me. Thermostat is nice too, so that it shuts itself off every now and then and you don't have to worry about it. For $19.99... couldn't ask for more.

What can you expect from an item that costs less than $27.oo? You should be able to expect that the three main pieces would fit together! With only one height adjustment screw knob and one bolt through a welded bracket it should be easy. Unfortunately, the bracket was welded out of line and the two bolt holes were drilled out of line. After hammering the brackets into alignment with the leg it is welded to, and hammering the bolt through the two holes that don't line up, you are left with a pigeon-toed stand (the feet are not parallel). The legs would only open up about a foot until one leg hit the other causing the unit to be very unstable. The only remedy is to brace one leg while you pull the other and actually bend (cave in) the square metal leg. After getting the unit to stand up, I took my hand and spun the roller and watched in amazement as it bobbled up and down as it spun around. This was not caused by the holes that hold the roller pins being drilled too large (they are), but because the pins are not accurately centered in the middle of the roller. I have never seen so much wrong with such a simple device. This was to have been a companion to another roller stand I have, but I guess I will go back to Harbor Freight and buy another one of theirs. You should too! It is cheaper, and it works right out of the box.

Some of the reviews posted on this product are *NOT* about this
product. For example, there is *NO* plastic knob on this product.
Another talks about a $17 stand. They are obviously posted to the
incorrect product.

This product has a steel handle to tighten the heighth adjustment.

The stand is sturdy, and stable, as have been all HTC products I've purchased so far.

I bought two of these for use with my table saw and am generally satisfied. I give it 5 stars, however there are some limitations of the overall design approach. I use the rollers instead of out-tables for my tablesaw. This is fine for cutting most pieces, but for full plywood sheets (4'x8') you really need full out-tables. What happens is the sheet simply does not balance on two roller stands and the whole thing gets unwieldy. But it's fine for ripping 2x4s or partial plywood sheets.