Porter-Cable Reviews

I bought the 39332 Vacuum hose with the 1" port to hook up to my Porter Cable Model 340 Palm Sander and to hook up to my Porter Cable Model 7812 (10 Gallon) Vacuum Cleaner. I bought the hose and vacuum cleaner at the same time. The hose fits very nicely on the palm sander. But for the life of me I cannot figure out how it hooks up to the vacuum cleaner. Not one of the diameters fits properly anywhere.

I discovered that the vacuum cleaner comes with a 1" adapter (for just what I wanted to do). No where in the online literature is there any mention of a 1" adapter I spent $22 for nothing.

I recently sanded the finish off of kitchen cabinets with my PC orbital sander with the hose hooked up to a not very powerfull shop vac. There was virtually no dust in the kitchen when I was done. I estimate the dust removal at 90 - 95%. I solved the common problem of attaching the hose to the vac this way. I purchased an adaptor from a local store and it didn't match up with the vac. The hole in the vac was 2 1/4" and the OS dia. of the adaptor was over 2 1/4". Wouldn't fit. The IS dia. of the adaptor was 2 1/4". What I needed was something with an OS dia. of 2 1/4" that would snugly fit into the vac and the into the adaptor. I found it in the plumbing section of the local hardware store. An ABS (black in color) 1 1/2" coupling measures 2 1/4" on the outside. They are only 2" in length, so I glued two of them together using a short piece of ABS pipe. Basically, I created a 4 1/2" long cylinder that fit inside the vac and inside the adaptor for only a couple of dollars. Makes a nice slip fit. The hose would get 5 stars if it were easier to fit to most vacs.

I love the way PC says it fits "standard" 1.5" fittings. Anyway, I bought a Shop Vac 1-1/4" extension wand for about $5. If you cut off the last couple inches of the wide end of the wand, it makes a perfect bushing for this hose. I will probably glue it permanently into the 1.5" end of the hose and then it will fit the truly standard 1.25" fittings.

The hose does a good job of what it is supposed to do. PC just needs to get away from these non-standard dimensions. Did somebody in marketing think this would force people to buy PC vacs?

- why so many broken and defective? Now when I go into Lowes and look at their cans I don't see any broken ones. Could it be the shipping method which Amazon uses to receive the items and the shipping method used to send to the customer? It seems that the Biscuits would spend as much time on a truck getting to a Lowes store. I don't know what it is. The biscuits are great and out of a hundred I will have 1 or 2 defects, ie too small (and no it's not my joints that are too big!). The biscuits will measure smaller. I am going to order a few of the 1000 boxes. Maybe the problem is with the plastic can.

I must agree with a previous reviewer about there being quite a few defective biscuits. I picked up several containers at a local home center and took a good look at them. It was very easy to find them with chipped corrners or with cracks. The Freud biscuits that came with my cutter were much better in appearance. I'm not sure how it will ultimately affect the strength of the joint.

For years I have been using these P-C biscuits for building tabletops and panels in various furniture projects. Since I work with alot of 3/4" - 5/4" wood, I use these #20 biscuits more than the smaller #10 and #00.

I have not had any significant amount of "bad" biscuits from Porter-Cable. There is an occasional thick one - meaning it either didn't get compressed as it should have or it swelled from moisture - but these are few and far between.

Basically, I have had nothing but good luck with these so I highly recommend them!

Home Depot now has a Generac 14 hp engine/generator #1470 with a 2 year warranty and is selling it for about 1150. This includes a cable, wheel kit and it is electric start. Generac says this is for Home Depot only,you have other names, but not the warranty. I am afraid for the money, warranty and electric start nothing you have compares.

Having just returned from Home Depot, the overwhelming majority of generators have a 5 gallon gas tank - only at 7500 watts does the tank go up to 7.5 gallons. My rating of 3 stars is just to get this to post - I have not purchased the generator (yet), but am considering it.

First of all, comparing an el-cheapo Generac ( the cheap ones - not the more expensive stanyby ones) to a Honda GX series engine is like comparing a Kia with a Lexus.

Make sure your generator has a brushless alternator design for starters, like this one. The Honda GX series engines are some of the finest around in use for portable power in this range of output.

If you have a well and septic pump, if you have electric heat, you will probably need at least this big of a generator. It might be pushing it trying to run an electric hot water heater on this sized generator, though. In any case, if you live in the country, you probably will need at least this much generator, not a small 1-2K generator like someone else wrote.

I prefer brass. The Porter Cable guides are fine, they install easily, center easily, and perform flawlessly,, Most of the time. Just once in a while though, they fail completely. Steel, no matter how you protect it, will eventually corrode. Mine turned white and rusted, not all over, but on one side or the other. My guides often get removed from the case and hauled out to the job-sites while attached to the router. Early, foggy mornings and those sudden summer-time cloud bursts, expose my tools to far more of the elements than I like. So maybe,, it's my fault. But brass just hasn't let me down yet.

Search "brass template guide set" and be amazed at the difference in price and the fact of the quality of these "no-brand" guides. Occasionally you may need to shine them up a little, but being solid brass, that's not a big problem. I've used both steel and brass on door hinge templates, dovetail templates, stair tread templates and strike plate templates. Brass just slides easier, smoother. On dovetail templates, especially plastic and soft aluminum the brass guides show less wear on the surfaces that the guides contact.

I'm sorry P.C. ,,, I can't recommend these guides.

I saw a review with a problem, the steel guides were too long and reached past the bottom of the dovetail template. With brass you can simply file the guide down to size to get the right length. Simple.

I've had a 42000 template guide kit since the mid 1990's. The set works OK, but my advice is to buy another brand. The P/C kit comes in a cheap & fragile hard plastic case that must have cost all of ten cents to make and the components are held in place with inexpensive cardboard separators. In addition, after a dozen years or so, every component in my set had corroded terribly -- the metal looked similar to very old aluminum storm windows, pits and all. It's not clear why this happened, since they've never been outside the basement workshop, and no other tools corroded. There is so much corrosion, there is significant resistance when screwing on the lock-nuts. Steel wool reduced the roughness of the corrosion, but the pieces still look dreadful.

The three largest guides in the P/C set are too long for numerous dovetail jigs, such as the Leigh jig. It's possible to modify them to work with these jigs, by hack-sawing the excess length off the offending guides, flatten the cut end on a grinder and sanding the edge smooth. A no-cost approach.

If you want steel guides, the Milwaukee's 49-54-0700 set comes with a nice case, and the steel finish looks a whole lot better than P/C's. Unfortunately, the three largest guides in the Milwaukee set are also too long for many dovetail jigs

In any case, brass is a better material for guides than steel, because brass glides slide more smoothly against a jig, and brass is easier on a rotating router bit if it ever touches a guide. Once, near a day's end of routing doors for hinges, my template's locking ring came loose, allowing the guide to touch the spinning bit, and the locking ring to rub against the router-bit lock nut. Since the guide and ring were brass, no noticeable damage to the bit or router occurred. Had I been using any steel template with a steel locking ring, the bit or router could have been damaged. Try "brass router template" via Goggle - and buy a kit made of solid brass, in a decent case, for less money than this set. Also check out the Woodstock International H3134 Brass Bushing set at Amazon.

The Tempalte Guide Kit is a perfect match with the Porter Cable router. The guides fit perfectly in the router base.

I have several Porter Cable routers, and they have been reliable and well built tools. That is why I chose this when I was looking for a lighter plunger router. The router is fine when in the fixed base, but the plunge base is a different story. There is quite a bit of slop in the plunge bushings which allow the router to angle from side to side as it is plunged, and it invariably binds in the process of plunging which forces you to rock it back and forth to complete the plunge. It is essentially useless for precision work. I had originally purchased it for exactly that; as a plunge router for use with guides on templates. The plunge base is now just a useless relic, and it is suitable for use with the fixed base only. If you're looking for a medium sized plunge router, look elsewhere.

The 890 router is a fine, quiet machine. However, the grip-vac and plunge bases leave a lot to be desired. I have only found one type of router operation in which the dust removal functions adequately-template routing of dishes. All other operations, free hand or on a table less than 10% of chips and dust are removed. Additionally, the dust port on the plunge base is too small for any vacuum hose/fitting I can findand I finally rigged a dodge 318 bypass hose to facilitate connection to my shopvac. Since dust and chip management were my primary for selection of the 890, I am very unhappy with this purchase. Yard sale bound. Maybe I should have waited for the arrival of the new MLCS

Overall, it's a fine system, and I'm glad I bought it.
However there are some astonishing design blunders:
1. On some of the plunge bases, the depth indicator is made of translucent plastic instead of transparent. This makes it impossible to read the depth indicator.
2. The spindle lock actuator on the plunge base is completely disfunctional. The motor unit cannot be brought down far enough to engage it.
3. With the dust shield in place, it's impossible to make above-the-table bit changes. Worse yet, with large bits, the entire unit must be removed from the table to change bits. Without the dust shield, above-the-table bit changes are quite easy; but you get a lot of dust sprayed around.

Purchased this tool 2 1/2 years ago to replace an aged Makita and used it lightly for home remodel and weekend projects. I'd say it has been a very good tool, but recently the clutch died despite the fact I rarely changed the setting. It also had the tendency for the chuck to loosen up during use and drop the bit despite being well tightened. I'm disappointed with the durability.

The Porter-Cable 14.4 Drill is well designed from a balance and handling standpoint. There is more than enough torque to handle normal applications that the tool could be used for. My drill/driver has been in use for more than three years,which I do not consider to be a long time for a $180 dollar drill/driver. Shortly after purchasing the drill one of the battery flanges broke from a minor accidental blow. Since the broken flange did not effect the operation of the drill, I did not consider the damage to be serious. A few months ago while placing a battery in its charger the charger's battery guides (plastic flanges that guide the battery connection to the charger) broke off completely. I assure you there was no excessive force of any nature beyond normal use that would have caused the failure. This charger failure renders the drill/driver nearly useless. I would have considered replacing the drill/driver with another 14.4 Porter-Cable if it were not for the thoughtless response that I received from Porter-Cable after notifying them of the defect. Their (we aren't going to do anything about it response) did not even say, Sorry. From what I have read and heard, Panasonic is the way to go for top quality. I have a lot of Porter-Cable tools but it may be time to move on to another make.

I have only just recently(Jan 2006)got my drill motor. In the few times used,the balance is good and power is fine. Getting the second battery is a must. I only use it for home use so after 3+weeks of sitting I picked up the drill and the charge left in battery pack was great.
A 1/2inch keyless chuck came with tool, but I'm going to change to 3/8" chuck because I mostly use drills below 3/8". The 1/2" does not close tight on small drills.

I'm with the other reviewer on this one. I'm not sure what advantages are offered by buying this router over the 310 model, except for a savings of about 15 bucks. The 310 is also compact but more powerful, and can be fitted with optional tilt and offset bases, whereas the 309 cannot. The base on the 309 is a smaller diameter than the 310, and thus is tall, skinny, and unstable. I'm really not sure why Porter Cable makes this router, as it seems an inferior redundancy to the 310. Don't buy cheese on your burgers for a month and spend the cash you save on a 310. Absolutely worth it.

why bother with this router? spend 20 bucks more and buy a Portercable 310 instead. Better housing, micro adjust. this tool is a copout from PC, I don't know why they bother making it.

I'm a professional woodworker. I've owned and operated a small woodworking shop for more than twenty years. Over the years we've used several of these little 309 routers (more accurately, a laminate trimmer). This is one great little router. We sometimes use it in the shop with a 1/4 inch profile bits to put an edge on some of our woodwork. One hand hold, and not very heavy to use for long periods of time. It's just your basic 1/4 inch laminate trimmer/router. It doesn't have a lot of frilly micro adjustments or other things for the hobbyist, but if you're a professional woodworker and need a good, solid 1/4 inch mica trimmer/router this is the one to get.

One time I was talked into buying a Porter Cable 7310 laminate trimmer instead of a 309 - what a mistake! Like I said, if you're considering a 1/4 router don't get the 7310, get this one, the 309 is the one to get.

Two weeks old and it's going back. The router base setup is less than ideal. A mounted bit should be at 90 degrees to the base but it's off by a degree or two. If you're trimming 1/4" to 3/8" off the side of a hardwood facing this is less than ideal. The bits pilot bearing runs hard against the lower material leaving a mark and the edge of the facing requires substantial sanding after your done. Checked out a few others in the store and they have the same problem. Called P&C and they claim it should be 90 degrees. The offset base heats up from the vinyl belt in the housing making the unit warm to hold for long runs.

The unit itself feels well made but adjusting the depth is a bother with the base lock loose the base is free to canter a 1/16 - 1/8 so you're always adjusting and then tightening, adjusting then tightening trying to get it just right.

Disappointing.

I have a PC heavy duty router and it is great, so i ordered their laminate trimmer. The chuck does not hold the bits very securly, and must be retightened every minute or so no matter how hard you torque on it. The bases are very difficult to change, requiring a tool and a couple of minutes. I would recomend looking at the other options available.

I can't think of any thing else you would want in a laminate trimmer. It's got everything. It's not hard to change out the bases when the time comes. I wish it was a little smoother and a lot quieter in operation though. It's not any better in those respects than my ten year old Bosch. It is far more flexible though . I was going to get another Bosch but this was cheaper and Makita didn't offer one in a kit.

I'm a contractor, and I've been a loyal Porter Cable customer for a long time. I own many P/C tools. I purchased this 12v drill as a replacement for a DeWalt 18v drill that I felt was too heavy and cumbersome for all-day use. Now I'm sorry I sold the DeWalt. This 12v has caused many frustrating moments on the job site...poor battery life, faulty keyless chuck (very annoying), and a 2-speed gear switch that sometimes slips into neutral if you're not careful where you grip the drill. I just can't recommend this drill, which is unfortunate for such a Porter Cable fan.

This is a super driver/ flashlight combo with the exception of two problems. The chuck is difficult to tighten on drill bits for the really tough jobs. And the batteries, if one should begin to leak (noticed by blue color on the contacts) had better be disposed of promptly. It will spread like cancer to the charger, then to the other battery and components. My entire system had to be disposed of due to a little blue color that I didn't think was a problem until too late.

Great product but too heavy for continous use. Ways 2 lbs more than the smaller chuck with same volts. When you are constantly using for fencing drywall or assembly it will get heavy on you.

bought this unit from a local home improvement center. I took advantage of the 30 day satisfaction guaranty and returned it.
The hook and loop pad came apart after one hour. The sand paper for the profile parts would only last a minute before it wore out. After that it left black rubber marks on my work. It was very uncomfortable to hold. It has a variable speed control on it. I would suggest using Slow! This model does not come with the vacuum hose attachment adapter. I can't believe it is a Porter Cable.
I am going to try a B&D Mouse instead.

Dear Fellow woodworkers:
I just purchased a Porter Cable 9444vs detail sander. I was hesitant to buy it because of all the poor reviews. I decided to borrow one before I bought one of my own. I am restoring an old
cape cod & need to do alot of sanding on doors & windows that I have either stripped or burned to remove paint. This tool is perfect for this job. I can get into tight corners. I can slow it down with the variable speed & it is easy to control and does not gouge the work. I must suggest that the other reviewers are
not giving this tool a fair chance. It works quite well on my old
fireplace mantel and inside corners on the old baseboard. It does
a fine job on old exterior window sills where they meet the jambs. Overall I am very happy with this tool, I would recommend
it to anyone, but you must remember to take your time and let the tool do the work. By the way, you can run it for hours and it
does not heat up. Nice job, Porter Cable

I refinish furniture. I have about 10 sanders that I use to strip and refurbish old pieces of furniture. This sander is my favorite of them all. It gets into places other sanders never dreamed of. The sandpaper rolls that fit the profiles doesn't last long but the heavy duty pre-cut profile sanding sheets do last long. This sander eliminates tons of extra work for the furniture refinisher.