DeWalt Reviews

I chose this sander based upon a review in Consumer Reports which ranked it #2 (behind a Craftsman sander). The dust bag is not worth using. I could never keep it attached. The vibration from the sander would constantly cause it to fall off. I bought an adapter for my shop vac which mostly fixed the dust extraction issues. Another problem is that the sander bogs down significantly when performing heavy sanding duties. DeWalt's quality seems to be constantly falling. I wish I had bought the Craftsman sander instead.

I've had the sander for just over a year and it has performed very well, until now. The dust collector assembly keeps coming off, every 30 seconds! The design of how the dust colletor port is attached is very weak, in my opinion. My work-around is to wedge a small piece of anti-skid matting in the port. A small sheet metal screw driven through the dust collector assembly and the port may also improve this poor design.

The $%^& collector keeps shooting off while working. I'm taking it back.

which is true, I think - I'm on my 3rd set of replacements now, works out at about every 2 years for as long as I've had my tools - they get a lot of useage.

One tip of advice, keep these batteries warm - I mistakenly left my last set out in the garage over winter (in NJ, so it's not too bad) and they both died a death - I put them away charged, came back a couple of months later, they were flat, and I was unable to recharge either of them. Now I keep them in the basement, they last whilst not in constant use.

I've had to replace the trigger on my hammer drill / driver and the brushes once. At least the dewalt website allows you to buy any spares to replace yourself...

Interesting how the single battery costs $85, yet you can buy this two pack for $98... does this mean that Dewalt can really sell a battery pack for $13....? think about it.

Simply put, they just work! I bought one of those drill/circular saw combo kit when the 18V line was first introduced. Forgot how long it has been but the old (original) batteries are finally showing their age - each charge can only do three 8' cut on a 5/8" plywood sheet. I have the new batteries for several weeks now and I'm still only using one of them on its first charge (ok, I don't cut very often). I am also happy that the "catch" mechanism where the battery hook onto the tool has been much improved.
Important: I just found out that the newer charger (DW9116) has an Automatic (or Manual) "Tune-up" mode that brings old batteries back to live. I got one and it seems to work. So try it before trashing your old 18V's.

I'm hearing a lot of complaints about the batteries. Face it, the batteries are based on NiCad technology. NiCad are not known for infinite shelf-life, has a memory, and absolutely hates to be placed on a charger for extended periods of time.

Now knowing all the good and bad things about NiCads, these batteries are absolutely no different than you will find in any other system using NiCads. If you don't understand the why your batteries are dying off so quickly, it most likely can be explained by researching the things to do and not do to NiCads.

I've beat the hell out of the tools and the batteries and still manage to get an excess of 2yrs of service out of these batteries. If you open one of these up, all you find is a series of sub-C NiCad batteries in them. Count them up and just go price sub-C NiCad batteries with the same Amp-Hr rating. You will soon fine that even if you tried to replace the batteries into the existing battery case, it is still cheaper and easier to buy replacements.

Rechargable batteries of any technology do NOT have infinite life. With absolutely following standard practice care of the battery type, you can extend this life to the theoritical max. That is hard to do on the job site when you need to get the job done quick. I use the 15min. charger, which is great but at a significant cost in service life of the batteries. You are never supposed to charge the batteries while they are hot. This means if you run it down at the job site, you shouldn't be placing them into a rapid charger. You should have enough spare batteries to get you busy while letting a natural battery rotation occur that insures they are cool when you charge. Slow charging extends the life of the batteries as well by getting internal temperatures lower. You should never leave a NiCad on a charger. You should run down the NiCad battery before charging to help avoid memory.

You can mention any battery technology and there are do's and don'ts. I've had Lithium Ion batteries in a cell phone last less than 1yr.

It all depends on your battery usage habits. Once you understand what you are supposed to do to extend the batteries life, you can usually figure out pretty quickly why you are not getting the life you expected.

Good solid product. I'd buy them again without hesitation. And I have yet to see any group of cordless tool manufacture's use a standard battery interface so that you can use the same battery in different brands of cordless tools. So being locked-in to a particular cordless tool manufacturer is a given.

This is all the price you pay for being cordless. The only way around all this is to pull out the ole 50' extension cord.

IMHO

This is my second DW621 Plunge Router. The first one I had for about 5 years and used it moderately in my home shop. About two years ago I began having problems with it shutting down in the middle of a cut for no apparent reason. It finally got worse and lost power and RPM's so took it apart to see if brushes were faulty or a bad switch. They were fine but there is an "electronics module" built into the device that went bad, had to be replaced as a module. The cost was $102.00 at the authorized repair facility. For $180.00 I could get a new one on Amazon. I will use the old one for parts as the new one hopefully does not fry the electronics module.

Pluses - Has a good motor, spins almost like a dentist drill. Good plunge action. I like its size. Good speed control. Good dust collection.


Minus - Base is poorly designed and I can't use a straight edge with it. The casting of the base is rough and not straight and the base plate edge is not a good reference for the center. My Porter Cable 8529 base plate is better referenced. At least it lands on a 32 inch gradient on my strait edge. I will make a base plate to use in conjunction with a bushing so that I can use a staight edge for dados in plywood.

The bushing center is off by about .025" toward the right (fixed handle). It is at least centered between front and back.

I hate the plunge lock mechenism. I want the handle to act like a handle that I can grab without fear of unlocking the plunge lock and having the router pop up. This would be real bad if using a splining bit or a keyhole bit.

I like the position of the PC 8529 dust collector better. The dewault dust port extension gets in the way when inverting the router to change bushings, bits.

I like the PC 8529 height adjustment better. The Dewault has two height adjusters. The micro adjust knob on the Dewalt is for veneer work or tweeking once you've set the main height adjustment and made a test cut. Also, one turn of the micro adjust doesn't correspond to a convenient gradient like 1/8". The PC height adjustment is one continuous thread and each turn is 1/8". Although cumbersome turning the knob, you can get 59/64" without a test cut. The PC height adjust is however, better suited for the router table

I used this router as my first choice hand held router for several years. I thought that my reason for doing so was simply because it had the best dust collection (it did) but since I ruined it by using it in a table to cut raised panels in mdf which it just wasn't designed to do, I have come to realize that there were other reasons that it had become my favorite.

The fit and finish of all of the height adjustment controls, the easy to use plunge release and the switch built into the handle are all features that none of my other routers have and I just didn't realize it until I no longer had this router and had to go back to some of the others. The ease of changing bits and collets has spoiled me and I despise having to go back to the two wrench method.

It wasn't perfect. The clear cover that is part of the dust collection port was flimsy and one of the little catches broke off about the third time I used it. The removable base was made of some type of fiber-board or fiber glass and was easily nicked or would develop rough edges. The base was oval instead of round, which is my preference and of course there was the problem of the smoking motor (not DW's fault).

I have been looking for a router with the same features that I am missing and at this point it looks like I'll buy another 621.

This was a real disappointment to a loyal DeWalt user. This is nowhere near what you are looking for if you are going to be drilling into masonry, especially concrete. And if you are not, why are you buying this instead of the drill/driver model (which I own and love)? The good: a great redesign of the keyless chuck. The bad: does not have the power for even the most basic work you'll do (drilling a 3/16" hole a couple inches into a tough concrete slab). I cut my teeth on a real heavy-duty hammer drill (worth at least twice the price, I admit), which I had to always borrow. Bought this DeWalt model, and went through several bits, cursing the bits. Worried, I went back and borrowed the real tool, stuck in one of the bits I'd been cursing, and...zip zip zip, right through the material. If you buy this thinking you're getting a heavy-duty hammerdrill, you will be disappointed. Unfortunately, a true heavy-duty hammerdrill is going to run you twice what this does. No free rides. I had to learn the hard way what the extra money buys you; hopefully I've saved you a lesson.

Well, I'm a hobbiest, in fact, my neighbor, a real mountain man who calls me a sissyman since unlike him, who was actually born with a hammer and chisel in hand, I am in the process of learning the craft of wood work. I would like to at least imagine with great success (I was a metal worker before). I've never been able to cut a straight line or drill a hole without travel.

This drill has been wonderful for me. In fact, I've purchased the 18v 5.XX inche circular as well as the 18V Jig and a mitre saw. When I was younger, I often purchased and used Black & Decker. I found that for a newcomer to wood working these other tools were quite clumsy. The Dewalt tools on the other hand, I would imagine are definately the top of the line for people like me. This drill is heavy enough to help hold the bit still without travel and has enough power to cut the most stubborn surfaces.

Recently while using a rather large hole saw to cut an openning in the back of a set of shelves for cabling, I was using my 12V Dewalt and the hole saw regularly got caught and the drill nearly busted my wrist. When I broke out this drill, although the jam could still occur, the torque let the bit keep moving without missing a beat.

Also, I no longer use a stone cutter to break bricks. Recently, I drilled approximately 500 holes in 4 inche thick bricks and using the back side of my axe snapped them in peices. Later I moved on to drilling holes into the concrete foundation of my house for mounting my new deck. The hammer drill really shined. I can't wait until someone else lets me drill into their house as well :)

I highly recommend this tool for people like myself that have spent so much time in front of computers that we can no longer use a pen and drawing a straight line without an orthagonal feature is unheard of. Don't hesitate to buy this monster (Unless the 12v is preferable since it's easier to hide from your wife).

I've owned this drill for 3 years. The drill and batteries have worked flawlessly. The clutch on this drill does work a little differently than on most drills. This drill is for heavy duty work and not for finesse work. If you are going to install cabinets then buy a 2 speed DeWALT model. Because of the 3 speeds the clutch is very tight on the first gear and gradually the scale of retention lessens as you go up in gears. For example: 1st gear on clutch setting 1 will drive a screw into a 2X4. In 2nd gear it would take setting 5 and in 3rd you would be at about 10. DeWALT recommends that if you need a light touch, just increase to 2nd gear. You might ask, why would I want this drill? Lots of torque, speed and the hammerdrill function. Think of the gears and clutch like a 21 speed bike. Not only do you change the gears on the rear wheel but you change your torque with the large gears on the front set of gears too. More options for better overall performance.

First lets talk about the speed. At 2000 RPM this drill is faster than most electric drills. I find that I use this high speed setting a great deal when drilling. Torque. Lots of torque for driving big bits through wood or other materials. 2nd gear is great for driving wood screws fast. I built a 12x12 deck with 2x4s, driving all 300 screws in second gear and 2 batteries. What I really like is the hammerdrill function. This is used for drilling in cement or stucco. I have recently used this to drill 4, 1/2 inch wide holes in our sidewalk to mount a mail box. It did a great job and the cement was 30 years old. Hard nasty stuff and this thing cut right through it. Or as fast as you can drill through cement. Use windex to keep the bit cool. The suds will pull the loose material out. I have also used it numerous times to drill into the walls around my house and into the cement in my garage. This is a tough drill and really takes a beating. Make sure when you are doing high torque jobs you attach the included extra handle or you will be spinning around like Wiley Coyote.

If you own this drill you will almost remove any reason to own an electric drill. I only use my corded drill for mixing cement and drywall mud. This is a tough drill for tough jobs. Have fun.

reasonable purchase price-
lighter than 18v - which is nice with an already heavy tool belt
plenty of torque for most jobs-
Satisfied remodeling contractor

Although I've only had the Drill/Driver for less than a month, it's performed very well.

I bought it because of the tool review in Wood Magazine and so far they haven't steered me wrong.

I have had this drill for over 10 years and it is excellent, the first two batteries lasted me for 5 years. I love this drill it has outperformed anything else I have used, it survived working on industrial construction projects. It never lags unles the battery gets low and lasts for dozens and dozens of 1/2 inch holes in 3/4 plywood. Maybe the people that experinced battery problems might be sure they are reading the battery charging recommendations and following them.

I bought two of the DeWalt D51845 Framing Nailers. If you choose to buy this tool, you must buy two and hire two men. It takes two people, one to use the tool and one to get the other tool unjammed. I've had these tools in the Richmond, VA service center time and time again and evidently they can't be repaired to give unaggrevated use. Each time after repair, I'm able to get a couple hours use from the tool and then it gives problems. Sometimes it will shoot two nails at once. Then, it gets to the point where it will not recoil to shoot another nail without unplugging the air hose after shooting each nail. I use the recommended air pressure setting on the compressor, drain the compressor several times daily, take care not to let the tool get contaminated with dirt, and oil it frequently. It doesn't help. Now I use one tool with aggrevation and I have just set aside the other tool as trash. The service center always tells me that they have repaired the tool and of course charges me for it. I'm just tired of not having a nailer on which I can depend. My next purchase will be another brand. By the way, both of these nailers are less than two years old.

I read the previous reviews and I got the impressoin that this nailer "could" do the job. Well I was wrong, this nailer went head to head with a bostitch N88ww nailer and I was crushed. The dewalt lacked the power to countersink 3 1/2 nails into some old pine. The best I could do is get a bearly flush head about 60 percent of the time. I tried adjusting everything I could to get the perfomance I expected from a dewalt tool. This nailer lasted about 30 minutes on site before it was back in the box ready to get shipped back.

I purchased this nailer a couple of years ago because of the name. I own several other DeWalt tools and have always been very happy with them. This nailer has yet to let me down. I have noticed that the selection of full head nails at the local building supply warehouse is less than the clipped head nails. However Amazon seems to carry all I could ever want, so this has not been a problem.
The only times the gun has jammed on me has been operator error. I had left a single nail in the magazine when adding a new stick of nails. The single nail slipped out of place and jammed. However it takes under a minute to remove the magazine, clear the jam, reassemble and reload.
The safety by the trigger is the gun's only flaw. I have small hands and so do not mind it being so small, but someone with larger hands, especially wearing gloves may not be able to turn it. It also doesn't seem very robust. However I rarely use it, I prefer to disconnect the air hose as then I can be certain it will not fire.
When I use 3 1/4" nails, I do find if the nail goes into a knot, I sometimes need to finish it off with a hammer. Other than that, I've not had a problem with the power of the gun

I purchased this Hitachi saw 2 years ago while building my house. When I first started with the saw I wasn't happy. It has no problem with light material but easily bogs down on hardwood and pressure treated. My biggest complaint with it is the use of plastic on the blade height adjustment. The crank has stripped and I see no easy way to repair it. It is also very difficult to set the fence square. The saw will only accept a 3/8" dado. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone that had any serious work to do. I learned that you get what you pay for.

First off, don't believe Amazon's "list price." This saw would NEVER go for more than $300. And justifiably so, because it's not worth even that.
At first it seemed like a well-built saw for the money, but as is usually the case with power tools, you get what you pay for. The 10RA2 has a decent, but not great motor, and it's very loud. You also play hell getting an accurate cut on it because of arbor flex and difficulties fine tuning blade alignment. It can be done, but you have to be careful. But my biggest complaint is the miter slots are non-standard. They require a weird inverted T design that no other saws use, anywhere. That means that if you want to upgrade from the cheap stock miter gauge or, as happened to me, you misplace it, you're screwed. NO aftermarket miter gauges will fit the slots and Hitachi doesn't sell their design as an accessory. So you're forced to go through the parts diagram and order each screw, washer, handle, and everything piece-meal to rebuild a substandard tool to begin with.
Either that, or make your own. Pain in the arse.
But other than that, the dust collection is great. And the on/off switch works flawlessly.
Overall, with the benefit of hindsight, I'd have gone with a different saw. Even for the money, this saw has given me more frustration than satisfaction.

I'm a professional trim carpenter, and I've been very happy with my Hitachi saw. Some of the reviews I've read have been negative on the Hitachi because they're comparing the Hitachi with $1000 and up table saws. The Hitachi is good for those who have a larger table saw and want something to use on-site, and it's fine for the average homeowner. The saw is great because it's portable, light, no-frills... It also has a nice motor as well. It's the best $300 tabel saw you can buy, and I like it more than the Bosch, which I also own and is much heavier.

The dust colecter does not work at all. Will not pick any dust. I will not use it again. Own other DeWalt tools that are good, but this one is JUNK.

I am an occasional user. I've used my sander for approx 10 times. The motor burned up today. I was sanding 3 sheets of plywood with 60 grit paper, when all of a sudden it siezed up. Of couse I've had it longer than the warranty, but it should last under the conditions I use it. Will consider before buying Dewalt again. Also, the dust bag is a joke. It collects maybe 20% of your dust.

I purchased this belt sander about 5 months ago and found that it lives up to the product claims and design with one basic flaw, the dust bag. As you can imagine, a belt sander removes material aggressively and wood dust is the obviously byproduct.

It didn�t take me long to realize that none of the dust was being directed into the bag and perhaps this is due to a design flaw if in fact the designers gave this feature any thought. On the good side, you never have to empty the dust bag because it has no function since all dust is left on the work piece or shot into the air for potential breathing.

If dust collection is a concern of yours, perhaps a different model or manufacturer would better suit your need.

I was pleased with the quick shipping of this router - received it just a couple days after placing my order on Amazon.

However, the first time I used the router, it worked for less than a minute, cut in and out several times and then quit working altogether.

I took it to DeWalt's Factory Store/Repair Center in the Chicago area. They tell me they are "backed up" and it will be at least 2 weeks before they can repair the router.

I have a number of other DeWalt machines (planer, compound sliding miter saw and portable table saw). This is the first one to give me any problems - hope it isn't a design flaw.

One major problem with this router is the lack of a 'Dead Man Switch' which could allow the motor to turn off when the switch is released. This item has a VERY cumbersome ON-OFF switch; very difficult to operate. I find it hard to imagine that anyone would make such an item with this type of switch.

I will say this router has plenty of power for woodworking, but I am in the solid surface market, and it works good with smaller bits, but the big bits, it seems a little under powered. All in all the plunge works good, and I like the design of the switch. I just wish they made a 3 1/2 hp.

I just ordered the Festool 2000 to replace it.

I purchased the JS102 few years ago and the others cost about 50% more at the time but with more features. First there was no oil in the oiler - the plastic cap cracked and I had oil all over inside the plastic case. The plastic case is blow mold and never closed right, like my cheap Chinese tool cases. Initially the I thought the cutting blade was missed aligned or too wide since the biscuits fit very loose in the slots even with plenty of glue in it, but now, after a few years, its ok, nice and tight with the same box of 1,000 biscuits I purchased elsewhere. The stick-on angle scale came off but the factory gave me a new one - never needed it anyway, all my cuts are at 90 degrees. If you have different thickness boards, the height adjustment on the fence could be a PIA since there are no fine adjustments like the other biscuit cutters. You need to make a few test cuts to make sure the slot is in the middle of the board or where you wanted it - I don't trust the scale. I have no problems with the dust bag, just empty it every 10 cuts - yes, lots chips form those slots.

Now the most erratic part: the motor/gear box sounds like it has a bunch of loose parts inside, sounds like they forgot to grease the gear box at the factory or it has broken teeth in gear box. Sounds worse than my Craftman 4.5" grinder. Other than that it feels solid and it does cut well after its set up. If only they would put in one dollar more for a better case, two dollars more for a fine adjustment and a little better quality control.

I had been looking at this joiner for a while and finally bought it when it was on sale for $83.99 + 10% off + free shipping (marked down from $119). I am very happy with it so far, a satisfied customer. I just used it to build an entryway bench for the Mrs and it came out great.

Since I like to know the downside of items I buy on amazon, here are the things I would change about this joiner if I could. None of them are deal breakers:
- The on/off switch is slightly clumsy.
- The dustbag does not stay on. I solved this problem by wrapping some tape around the dust port a few times.
- Dust collection is very marginal. Hooking the shop vac up to the dust port completely solved this problem.
- Setting the fence height is slightly difficult. The scale on the front isn't super accurate, so a few test cuts in scrap wood helped get things lined up before making real cuts.
- There is no angle scale on the tilting fence. I probably will not be making too many cuts that are not 90 or 45 degrees, so no biggie once again.

Overall, I am quite happy with this joiner and feel like I got a great deal on it.

The first joiner I recived was defective and needed to be returned. The next one proved to be the easiest one I've used yet. The only weak point so far is the fence hold down nut loosens a little too easy. That is something that needs to be monitored during operation. The bottom line is that I would definitely buy it again.
My sincere thanks to Amazon.com, you are the most awesome people and faster than a magician and always willing to please a customer.