Porter-Cable Reviews

The accuaracy of cuts, ease of blade replacement earn five stars from any tradesman who has every used this type of tool.
Mine was stolen, my neglience, for leaving it visible while quoting an add-on to the job. I bought a Dewalt for a replacement and there is no comparison. I am buying another Porter-Cable period. I use Dewalt 19 volt cordless tools exclusively and I am delighted. But I have to go back to my "shop tool" brand for this type of saw. SORRY DeWALT but in this specific instance you just don't measure up!!!

I bought one of these pin nailers from Porter-Cable and I love it. I haven't had a problem yet, other than cutting the oil bottle top to short & it leaked in the case. It fires great & hardly leaves a hole. You just don't want to push to hard on the wood surface because it will leave a small dent. It takes time to get use to it. Just keep it oiled & clean & it will work great.

I got this for christmas and i love it. i've been able to put up base molding and chair railing. The gun has never misfired or jamed.

I purchased the PSH1 sprayer based on the positive reviews of others. They suggested a large nozzle and so I had to choose between the 2.0 and 2.2. I went with the larger and the results are good. I sprayed the interior walls with latex KILZ then two coats of exterior latex house paint. I thinned the primer and paint at 10% with water and no trouble with plugging or spattering, nice finish to treated plywood, OSB, and pine board. I used a Makita MAC 2400 compressor to supply the air. Very glad I bought the sprayer because it saved me hours of labor if I used a roller and brush.

I own a Harbor Freight 43430 spray gun that is only available with a 1.3mm nozzle. HF does not offer other nozzles for the 43430. I had heard that the HF gun was identical to the PC PSH1 gun. While I do not know if they are identical, the PC 2.2 nozzle fits the HF 43430 perfectly and allows me to spray thicker coatings that are difficult/impossible to spray with the 1.3mm nozzle that comes with the HF 43430.

Comes fully assembled. Made from quality materials with better than average workmanship. Appears to be identical to DeWalt tripod that sells for almost twice the price.

I know this is a popular tool and has garnered good reviews in comparison tests. I liked it when I first started using it but after about 500 cuts I noticed the plunger wasn't working as smoothly as before, and I keep my tools clean & oiled. The sliding mechanism was wearing out far too rapidly than a 'professional' tool should. Then one day at work it just went dead; hadn't been dropped, wasn't overheated. So I probably got about 1000 cuts on this machine. The replacement? A Lamello, what I should have gone for originally.

This is the first plate joiner I have ever owned. I'm getting lazy, and no longer feel like cutting stopped dadoes for splines when edge gluing boards. So what to do? Buy a plate joiner! After all the positive reviews on Amazon, and the recommendations from a few people, figured the Porter Cable is the one to buy. Overall, this is a solid tool. The fence is long, and sturdy, the plunge mechanism has close tolerances so there isn't any "wiggle" (that is a highly technical term), and the micro adjust is great. If only using the dust collection bag, good luck! The tube leading into the bag clogs up, and the wood chips wind up everywhere except in the bag after cutting a few slots. Hook it up to your shop vacuum or, for you high end folk, your dust collection system, and there will be no problems.

This is a great product, and you can get it, along with any other products on Amazon up to $500 Free! Participate in this special promotion and get a free $500 Amazon Gift Card at this web site: nocoststuff.biz/amazon

I have a house under construction and I spend a lot of time working along side my contractor on various projects. We both own this nailer, and run them both simultaneously from a single Porter Cable Job Boss compressor. I've enjoyed the nailer enough that I have since bought an additional three Porter Cable nailers in various sizes and a pancake compressor. I also bought another Job Boss compressor as a gift for a carpenter who has been helping us on the house, and he was thrilled. The compressor has a detachable control head so you can take the regulator and connection points with you onto a scaffold or into the house, and leave the compressor behind.

The nailers are dependable, well built, and easy to use. Loading the framer is fast and straightforward. The one criticism I would have of the FR350 is that changing from trigger-actuated to contact-actuated firing is a two handed operation that normally necessitates removing my work gloves. I understand the additional safety that provides, but I think there must be other ways to handle the switching without compromising safety.

I would recommend not only the FR350, but Porter Cable in general for any homeowner who wants to have professional grade tools at a reasonable price.

You get a lot of bang for your buck with this nailer. I've shot a few cases of nails with it over the last couple of years, and it's only jammed a couple of times (off-label nails). Other than that, it's a workhorse and an excellent value.

Based upon my excellent experience with a Porter Cable finish nailer / compressor combo, I obtained the Porter Cable FR350 framing nailer. I am in the midst of building a 24x30 workshop on our property. Have completed the framing and the tool has never missed a beat - not a jam, misfire, or quirk. Easy to end nail or toe nail.

If you have a need or want for a framing nailer - this unit works great.

Rockler.com has this same router for $309.99. Whats up with this price of $424?

I bought this router in order to place it under a router table. Currently, it is mounted in a Bench Dog Prolift, which is, in turn, mounted to the Bench Dog Cast Iron router table. All of this is mated to the left side of my trusty table saw. I think the weight of the set up contributes to a vibration free cut. A vibration free cut makes for a very happy me!
The very first thing I did was to raise a panel with a 3.5" Freud bit. I had used this bit before with a Makita 2.25 hp router. The results were fine, but it took forever and I thought I might burn up my little Japanese friend. Fortunately, we survived intact, but it took a toll on my nerves.
Skip ahead to now, I was able to make the exact same cut in 3 stress-free passes. Then I noticed the most amazing thing: the floor underneath my router table was littered with the most beautiful little shavings of wood. Imagine the fine, translucent shavings you would get with a well tuned Lie-Nielsen bench plane. The cut was beautiful! obviously, just as with stationary power tools, weight is a good thing!
As for the router, it is a solidly made tool. The electronics that control power work well. Upon startup, the router revs up and then slowly winds down to the proper setting. Start feeding your work too quickly and you can almost hear the router grunt as it applies more muscle to the job at hand. Back off on your work and the router speeds up and then slows back down to the correct rpm. I'm not too sure how I feel about the power switch and speed selection switch. neither seem to be protected from dust. I really do not care for the base casting. It is quite rough, with that "made in China" feel to it. However regarding both of these points, I am sure that this router was designed and built with table use in mind. In that case, perhaps these little concerns aren't particularly important... all in all, I am quite happy with my setup. I feel safe in saying that when mounted in a table, this router will produce consistent, high quality work!

If anyone wants a real router table and router that works try the Grizzly table this is one real working table and router .Adjustment is not that easy but what a product

This nailer has either misfired or failed to load a brad since the day I got it. I tried everything from 3/4" to 2" brads in half round, quarter round and base molding. I was putting some finishing molding on a bench seat and I would end up with 1, 2 or 3 holes because the gun would not reload or feed from the strip of brads. By the way, these brads are all Porter Cable OEM.

The gun is brand new and is in the Factory service center in San Diego for warranty work. I was originally promised a repair in 5 to 7 working days, then 7 to 10 working days. It is now going on day number 12 and I still don't have my tool repaired. I just got through reading all the glowing remarks about the quality of this tool and its great performance in the previous reviews. I must have gotten the "Mother of All Lemons".

Picked up the repaired (?) tool 3-24-06, 14 working days after dropping it off at the Factory Repair Center in San Diego. The repair receipt said they cleared a nail jam (there was no nail jam), cleaned, lubed and tested the gun.

On 4-10-06 I loaded the gun with 2 inch Porter Cable brads and fired it 11 times into a pine two by four. It failed to shoot a brad four out of the eleven times. So, back to the repair center it went. The clerk took the gun and some brads into the back room and test fired it. She came back out and told me that they were going to keep my nailer kit and that Porter Cable would send me a new kit in about 14 working days. The saga continues.

The clerk also told me that if I expected the tool to work all the time, I would have to pay more than $100.00 for a brad nailer. I thought I had already upgraded instead of buying a Harbor Freight $30.00 knockoff, but apparently, I was mistaken.
We'll see what happens when I get the supposedly "New" tool.

Just received (4/18/2006) my new (Mfg Jan 2006) BN 200A nailer kit under warranty replacement. I loaded it with a strip of 2" brads and it misfired 2 out of 10 times. I then loaded it with 3/4", 1", 1 1/4" and again 2" brads. It never misfired after that. It seemed to work better and freeer as the parts of the gun wear and break in. Hopefully I've had the last of my maintenance problems with this tool.

This was my first air operated nailer. I had no problem adjusting the nail depth and using it with a small 3 gallon air compressor.

I did a lot of research before I decided to go with the Porter-Cable. I have only out about 500 nails through it, but so far so good. Good action, light weight, and a great price for the upper end of the brand names. I am happy with my decision.
Travis, Johnson City, TN

Great saw. I'm a righty and really like the left hand blade for visibility (especially cutting sheets). But what really sold me on this saw was the "feel". You can't pick this out from a spec sheet but you know it when you use the tool. Let me say that I'm normally a HUGE Milwaukee fan, so that's the first place I went when I needed a new saw. They looked great and had some nice features but then I tried one. For me, the grip and balance of the Porter Cable felt a lot better.

I also picked up a dust bag and was surprised at how well it worked. It's a little annoying hanging out there but it really catches a lot of dust (nice for working inside people's houses).

SAW - I bought this saw for building decks and doing residential remodeling. It has proven to be up to the task --- lightweight, powerful, and makes accurate cuts because I can see the blade's alignment with each cut. Overall, I agree with all the other positive reviews of the saw, so no need to repeat.

CASE - The reason I'm writing this review is that some other reviewers have commented about the case, that it's too small and doesn't have room for accessories like extra blades, the rip fence, and the dust bag... I say, please take another look. The folks at Porter Cable didn't make a great saw, only to have a mental lapse when designing the case. Perhaps the case design is just a bit too clever, and the otherwise great manual didn't give any clues as to how to get everything to fit. So, here goes:

Let's assume you have the saw, along with an extra blade or two, the rip fence, and the dust bag, all out of the case. Here's how to get them to easily fit:

1) Blades - Notice the small post in the bottom of the case. It's 5/8" dia., just like it should be for blades, and about 1/3" tall --- good for storing at least two blades. Put the blades on the post.

2) Saw - Put the saw in its normal place, sitting on the left and right "ramps" in the case bottom. Now, the saw holds the blades in place, so they can't get tossed around in there and nick the power cord.

3) Stuff the power cord into the space behind the hand grip of the saw, and to the right of the motor housing.

4) Rip fence - Place the rip fence horizontally across the motor housing, with the "T" end to the left, and the long bar toward the power cord. It's okay if one of the ends at the "T" points upward, because the lid has clearance for it when it's closed.

5) Dust bag - Roll up the bag aound its internal wire frame, just like rolling up a windowshade. Then place the bag in the case, right along the front edge of the saw, between the case handle and the blade arbor. Orient the elbow end of the bag toward the left, so that it "turns the corner" around the dust chute end of the saw. Finally, the right end of the wire frame will need to be "tucked" into place inside the rim of the case bottom (bends the wire just slightly; don't worry, it snaps right back).

6) Close the case lid. If everything is in place, nothing binds at all as the lid closes.

Well, if it sounds complicated, just do it once; it isn't. -Took me less than 20 seconds on my first try, and I wasn't even hurrying.

True, it would be nice if the case came with metal latches like Porter-Cable's Tiger Saw case. But, if the plastic latches ever break, I'll just cut them away and put metal latches on the case from a hardware store.

I like the high impact plastic case better than a metal one, because it absorbs shock better if dropped, and doesn't scratch up my truck bed and tool box, which would then begin rusting. Though I have the largest WeatherGuard saddle-style box, there's still only so much room in there, so the compact case helps.

Also, the storage of the blade wrench in the saw's handle is a nice touch.

Bottom line - The P-C 743K saw and case have been refined to near perfection, especially for the money, which is why I give them 5 stars.

The Porter Cable 743K is the best circular saw on the market.

The main thing that sets this saw apart from the rest is the magnesium plate. Pick up any other brand and you'll find the bases are usually warped (even if they aren't, just one drop and they will be). The porter cable bases are straight everytime and are stronger than any other brand. The porter cable bases also slide accross materials very smoothly, other brands often catch on imperfections in the wood, not the porter cable.

I use my saw for precise rips and crosscuts (because I can't fit a table saw in my shop) so I need accurate and consistant cuts, this saw comes through everytime. I recommend buying a clampdown fence if you'll be doing a lot of rips and bevels that require table saw like accuracy, plus it's nice for routing and a host of other uses.

My only minor gripe is not with the tool itself. The case pretty lame. It's fine if you just want to store the tool in a safe place, but if you're doing any job-site toating you might want to invest in something that can fit your saw and it's accessories (like another blade) into one case.

I also recommend getting a Freud Diablo 40 tooth blade if you care about making clean cuts. The blade that mine came with is not bad, I use it to cut joists, decking, sheets, or whatever else that doesn't need a super clean cut. Freud makes my favorite blades and this one cuts like butter. It's also got thin kerfs (though it's still very very strong) so it takes less of your wood with it. Perfect match for this saw, rips purple heart and iron wood with ease.

I'd recommend looking at the 347K as well to see which side you like the blade on better. I thought that I wanted the blade right at first but after cutting a while with both (my work buddies happen to have both models, lucky me) I found that the blade left was actually better for a right hander like me.

The bottom line is you can't get a better saw for the money. This tool will be around as long as you're a woodworker (not sure how long if you're a serious framer, but I suspect it would last as long as any saw (including worm-drives) that you can buy). I got mind for ... $$ dollars at Home Depot (20% of all tools christmas sale) and it the best money I ever spent. Buy this saw. Five Stars.