Cordless or NOT

[BrazosJake]

DeWalt 18v 4-piece, B&D 12v Firestorm, DeWalt 12v Impact Driver.

I could live without all except for the last. After that my 18v drill, which I use judiciously for drilling pocket holes and just had rebuilt. The B&D 12v is nice & light for indoor work. I could live without the recip, but it is awesome for fence work, taking down panels & such. The flashlight is actually quite useful, I keep mine next to the bed on stormy nights when the power's apt to go out.

I would say cordless circular saws are boat anchors, but they're too light for that.

If I could start down the cordless path all over again, I'd go with something like Milwaukee's 1/2" compact 14.4 drill, a 1/4" hex impact driver, and flashlight, all on the same batteries.

[gmack5]

No Soap!!

I have always wondered about this too, but it seems that Ryobi is the only manufacturer that thinks like we do .....
http://www.ryobitools.com/catalog/tool/d45ck/
If any of my corded drills would give up the ghost, this is the model that I would most likely buy.

Thom2, I checked the link you have in your post, hit the "Buy it Now" button and it sent me to HD, where I searched for the Drill and they're NOT carrying it!

I guess you'd have to "Special Order it thru their Customer Service Desk.

[Thom2]

Thom2, I checked the link you have in your post, hit the "Buy it Now" button and it sent me to HD, where I searched for the Drill and they're NOT carrying it!

I guess you'd have to "Special Order it thru their Customer Service Desk.

meanwhile .....

back at Ryobi .....

somebody's wondering why they can't sell these .......

[LCHIEN]

Thom2, I checked the link you have in your post, hit the "Buy it Now" button and it sent me to HD, where I searched for the Drill and they're NOT carrying it!

I guess you'd have to "Special Order it thru their Customer Service Desk.

LOL.
You could get the parts list from the online PDF manual, and order the replacement parts from M&D, wait 6 months, and build one from scratch.

Meanwhile back at the Ryobi factory,
"How come we're selling so many replacement parts and we've yet to sell a complete drill? "

[Thom2]

Thom2, I checked the link you have in your post, hit the "Buy it Now" button and it sent me to HD, where I searched for the Drill and they're NOT carrying it!

I guess you'd have to "Special Order it thru their Customer Service Desk.

I went a step further and checked Sears, it looks like they dropped it from their lineup too.

but .....

it looks like B&D saw a need to manufacture something along the same lines .... http://www.blackanddecker.com/Produc...ProductID=8968

and I checked Amazon, they DO show these in stock

[cwsmith]

Wow, really?

I bought this drill/driver about three years ago and I love it. For about $40, it does everything I ask of it and I've yet to have any problems. I think at the time, it was the only corded drill out there that had all those neat "cordless" things, like the two levels, on board bit storage, clutch driver, etc.

I think the problem with so many Ryobi tools being dropped lately, is that Home Depot doesn't have a clue as to why they're loosing so much market share, and in the process they are removing anything from inventory that doesn't turn over quickly or is in direct competition with tools that have wider profit margins. Unfortunate, I think.

CWS

[leehljp]

My RYOBI Flashlight is a tool!

I never considered flashlights in the same league as tools either, until I got one (unwanted at that but it was in the kit) with the Ryobi drill driver, 2 batteries and a charger.

Now, I don't travel without that light. Bright, adjustable, handy, doesn't roll around, doesn't fall over, easy to hold, easy to focus, bright and powerful enough to see in more than one spot at the same time. That light and the Ryobi Impact Driver changed the way I do things considerably.

I keep it by my bed, take with with me on trips, take it into the shop to find little parts that roll under things. It is too big to just lose by setting it down on the end of the sofa, and as mentioned above, it does not roll under the bed, sofa or tool cabinet. Hold about a whole hour or more of light. Stays bright until about 5 minutes before totally dying.

Can you tell I like it?

[brooks]

I own lots of cordless tools but I do think they're much more expensive than they have to be and oversold. Like cars, there is a tradition of going longer, wider, heavier, with a 7 speaker stereo. When you count up the costs over a five year period, it's costly.

I have the Milwaukee 18v set, with everything from a baby Sawzall to drill, flashlight, circular saw, bag, etc. I do not think I'd buy it again. It's overkill in most applications.

[Russianwolf]

Batteries hate me. They seem to stop holding charge real quick, they run out at most inconvenient times, and I generally remember that I forgot to charge just when I need to use the tool. I almost never work far from an outlet in any case.

Does anyone know if there are any tool sets that come with what is essentially a transformer that goes in place of a battery and turns a cordless tool into corded? If there was a cordless set that came with that thingie, I'd consider it - that way, I could have the best of both worlds.

Hitachi has one in there sets. Or did have one that works pretty well. It's actually part of the charger with a cord that plugs in to the battery receptical. Model number is ET18DM.

[Russianwolf]

I have a bunch of Ryobi 18v corless tools

drill/driver (A++++)
circ saw (c)
recip saw (c)
jig saw (b)
speed saw (A++)
Chain saw (d-)
Flashlight (A++++)
vac (d)
stapler (c)
and I think one or two more that escape me at the moment

I'm still on my first two batteries and they do a good job.

Just a warning to those of the 100foot extension cord philosophy. Using handtools with long extension cords can fry the motor.