TheOldHouseMan Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Thinking of getting one of those kits that come with a light, drill, recipricating saw and a circular saw. The Rigid is $399 and the Dewalt is $499. both are 18v battery opperated and pretty much have the same specs. According to the guy at Home Depot the Rigid has a life time warranty and life time replacement on the batteries, the Dewalt has a 3 year warranty and once the batteries are dead you have to buy them yourself. Now if this is all true it seems pretty clear to me witch is the better choice, Rigid. Has anyone had any experience with Rigid or Dewalt? Aaron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pale Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Go Ridgid. IMO DeWalt has really dropped in quality in the last few years, while the big competitors are doing quite well. In my experience ridgid makes bomber tools. I use various woodworking tools everyday. Makita puts out good packages too. Sounds like the warranty for the ridgidd is definitely better. At $60-80 for a dewalt battery it'll be worth it, but only if you use it everyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chirp Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 Good god bro get a bosch annihilator. Going for price will get you dubious quality unless your ultimate goal is the family deck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pale Posted September 18, 2005 Share Posted September 18, 2005 The best thing Bosch has going for it is it's jigsaw, and it's jobsite radio. I've had lots of problems with their batteries, and that portable table saw of thiers is poorly designed. My advice would be to stay away from Bosch unless you buy the most expensive model they have. If you're a weekend woody then a mid-level Ridgid is perfect for you. No financial interest, I just know my shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_m Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 I just played this "combo" game as well. I worked rough framing job for several summers and learned what abuse tools could take. Dewalt, Porta Cable were my favs so I looked there to start with. The rigid stuff also looks solid. The KEY question you have to ask is "How often will I use this stuff?" Once in a LONG while? Monthly? Daily? If you have several home improvement projects on tap or work in the industry - go bomber or bomber warranty. Right now if that were my need I'd go Rigid. If it's just a hankerin for some tools to do the ocaisonal picture hang or wood cut you need to fight the built in Guy urge to purchase SICK tools. You have no need for that kind of quality if you'll be taking them out once or twice a year. I got the $99 Ryobi set with 2 bats, drill, saw and light. Frankly, I don't know how they sell it for that little. Worth checking out. If you're gonna abuse them though.... Porta Cable Circular saw is the ONLY corded saw to own. That and a Bostich N-80 nailgun.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billcoe Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 I just played this "combo" game as well. I worked rough framing job for several summers and learned what abuse tools could take. Dewalt, Porta Cable were my favs so I looked there to start with. The rigid stuff also looks solid. The KEY question you have to ask is "How often will I use this stuff?" Once in a LONG while? Monthly? Daily? If you have several home improvement projects on tap or work in the industry - go bomber or bomber warranty. Right now if that were my need I'd go Rigid. If it's just a hankerin for some tools to do the ocaisonal picture hang or wood cut you need to fight the built in Guy urge to purchase SICK tools. You have no need for that kind of quality if you'll be taking them out once or twice a year. I got the $99 Ryobi set with 2 bats, drill, saw and light. Frankly, I don't know how they sell it for that little. Worth checking out. If you're gonna abuse them though.... Porta Cable Circular saw is the ONLY corded saw to own. That and a Bostich N-80 nailgun.... Nice call. Things change all the time out there. At one time, Milwaukie Cordless were the schizel, then Ryiobi for the reciprocating saws. I have replaced 3 batteries for my Milwaukie. They cost $85 each. I'm into batteries for $255. That might make buying the Ridged an easier choice. The Chinese quality is getting much better, and if a reputable company like Home Depot is willing to stand behind it for eternity, you gotta go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barjor Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Get the cheapest crap you can find or borrow from your neighbours ,then go get a new Arc Teryx jacket instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Off_White Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 Yes, Dewalt cordless tools have lost major quality over the last few years. As others have asked, what's your level of use? Cordless woodcutting tools are small project items only, for when the job is too small to flake a cord or when you have to slither through some dank spider infested crawlspace to make a couple cuts. Aside from cordless drills (especially some of the newer impact drivers), I haven't seen anything that inspires me to divorce wall current. Of course, for some folks, even 110 volts may not be enough. A true nightmare for a general contractor is the sound of the plumber firing up a gas powered reciprocating saw down in the crawlspace. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 A true nightmare for a general contractor is the sound of the plumber firing up a gas powered reciprocating saw down in the crawlspace. "Just going to remove some of this beam and a few joists under here; shouldn't be a problem!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWolfe Posted September 20, 2005 Share Posted September 20, 2005 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IceIceBaby Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 Both good, However, I will stay away from cordless unless you occasionally use the tools; I mostly use corded one. Only corded tools will give you the POWER and constant preformence. There is nothing worse then when you in the middle of your work and both batteries going charging because the job is too big for cordless. Also cordless tools are MUCH heavier than corded it will matter when you need to hold that drill for a long period of time beside you or over your head. That said I also own the set from Dewalt and I use it when access to an outlet is a complicated issue and the need for the drill is minor like few holes and/or several cuts. BTW, stay away from Ryobi (I will go Black & Decker before that) Best brand are: Fain (the most expansive…but hands down the BEST), Milwaukee (also very well balanced), and Hitachi (can you say POWER). If I will to do it again I probably will go Milwaukee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iain Posted September 23, 2005 Share Posted September 23, 2005 As far as I know DeWalt is owned by Black and Decker. I have a DeWalt 18v drill, cutoff tool, and impact wrench (!) and all seem to be pretty good at what they do. The impact wrench is pretty giant though, so it sucks a bit for getting to hard-to-reach stuck drain caps on trucks etc. The 18v cordless recip. saws definitely require extra batteries on hand for almost any job. Churned through the batteries cutting into a Cessna recently, and that's like cutting a tin can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr_Flash_Amazing Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 The impact wrench is pretty giant though, so it sucks a bit for getting to hard-to-reach stuck drain caps on trucks etc. Hayduke? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayduke Posted September 24, 2005 Share Posted September 24, 2005 I had a Ryobi cordless that died on me, though it was just recent;y returned to me by my exwife and I suspect she may have killed it. I've been looking at the 18 volt cordless tools too, but I may just get a drill with a cord to replace the Ryobi. A friend of mine has the 3 piece Dewalt set and it has worked really well for him. When I buy my next set of cordless tools I will only get 18 volt-- heavier, but so much stronger. I saw a 3 piece set of Black and Decker's with the drill, sawzall and circular saw for $179 at Target-- maybe I should have picked it up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ncascademtns Posted September 26, 2005 Share Posted September 26, 2005 If you want quality cordless, nothing beats the Panasonic drill. I've owned or worked with all the cordless drills and the Panasonic beats them all hands down. Solid and reliable. Panasonic runs a 15.6/18/24 volt drills with a NiMH 3.5AH battery. These batteries charge fast and run for ever. I have not tried one of the Panasonic saws but I'm sure that they work just as well. Check them out. To bad but I don't believe Home Depot or Lowes carries them. Let me know if you want to check out mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjizzy Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 All I see on big commercial job sites right now are DeWalts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pale Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 Ryobi sucks. Also I disagree with the comment above about buying corded versus cordless. Batteries have come a very long way in the last few years. Even some cordless chopsaws are beginning to be seen on some of my jobsites - but I wouldn't be cutting 2x material with them. Dewalt is popular because it's the "GoreTex" or "Mountain Hardware" of tools. People think when they buy Dewalt they are one of the cool kids. As a person that uses these tools everyday, I say Ridgid has a better product, as does *newer* Panasonic. And for cordless drills, you still can't beat Makita (except for the weekend woodie Makita's) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EWolfe Posted September 29, 2005 Share Posted September 29, 2005 All I see on big commercial job sites right now are DeWalts. Agreed. Same at the residential level in a major new development in Ferndale. The balance and weight is better on some of the 14V units, and the panasonic sounds really good. Since I am running 4 DeWalt 18v batteries, replacement is not an option. I really like the trim saw, the jigsaw sucks, and the sawsall burns through batteries (as noted). The drill is Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyjizzy Posted September 30, 2005 Share Posted September 30, 2005 Who makes Ridgid? Not the Ridge Pipe Tools Company! They have whored out their name to Home Depot for $$$$. Right now, I believe that HD has it's second manufacturer building tools under the HD/ Ridgid moniker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalX Posted October 3, 2005 Share Posted October 3, 2005 I have the Ryobi 18v set and I like it. It's half the price of the Rigid and rated the best choice on consumer reports. I've done a bunch of stuff indoors and built a 500sq ft deck with the kit (though i used a wired, compound miter for most of the wood cutting). The batteries last a long time in the drill, not so much in the saw. I'm not a construction expert, but it seems that for the average home fixer it would work fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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