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Only drawback, no storage room in case for drill bits and saw blades. Great power, improved chuck.
Only thr flashlight and the drill (when using in wood) hold up long enough to get one or two jobs done. Or, if a cordles saws are a requirement, carefully consider other brands and/or a 24V system. cable and pull out the 120V recip. I only use tools from this package when I only need to use them for a VERY brief period or when a corded tool is simply more trouble than taking an hour long break to wait for the battery to recharge.My personal reconnemdation would be to forego this particular kit and go with one that doesn't include the circ. By the title alone, you should be able to tell that I like the drill most of all in this package.
and recip. The circular saw is the weakest part of the package, as I expected it would be. saws. Also, while I am VERY pleased with the drill overall, if I had it to do over, I would have chosen a brand with less expensive replacement batteries and a 15-30 minute charger that can charge 2 batteries at once. The batteries also wear out and go "bad" far too quickly and at their insanely high replacement price, are hardly worth it. The worst part is the recharger, which only can charge on battery at a time and takes about an hour to fully charge (when the battery is completely discharged).
It is indeed VERY powerful and the hammer-drill function really powers through concrete block (common wall material here in Florida).The flashlight is also nicely designed in that it has a movable head and takes advantage of the flat base of the battery.I will also say that the "Tiger Saw" recip. It sucks batteries dry even faster than the Tiger Saw and is in my humble opinion underpowered even at 19.2 volts. I have had this tool set for going on three years now, and it has taught me to appreciate corded tools for their true worth as inexpensive, more powerful and longer lasting. saw has proven it can cut through any nail I have thrown it at, but if you have more than a few to cut , put it away and lay out the exten. They also have a rather annoying design, which while better than some competitors designs, still leave somthing to be desired. the batteries and their charger.
saw, as both batteries will go dead trying to cut out more than one door frame or a couple fence posts. However, I have spoiled myself by using the best quality corded circular saws over the years, so that should be of little surprise.Now, I am lead to the real weakness with this package.
I wasted $600 on the Porter Cable junk. One of the chargers died too. I bought Hitachi this time with a five year warranty. I bought the driver and saw kit and the hammer drill kit. I noticed that most stores are not carrying this line anymore, doubtless due to massive warranty returns. The saw worked well and the flashlight was the best part of this kit. In the first year I replaced the drill/drivers three times.while under warranty. Now it is a couple years old and all four batteries are dead and at $90 each I am not replacing them.
I immediatly returned the Dewalt to the store because the Porter-Cable only made 11 holes less. While my Porter-Cable combo pack was coming in, I decided to test my 2-year-old Porter-Cable 14 volt hammer drill. It made an astounding 28 holes. I bought both the Dewalt 18 volt combo pack and the Porter-Cable 19.2 volt combo pack. The new, 19.2 Porter-Cable Drill made a whopping 60 holes, 21 more then the new Dewalt drill. I used a 1 inch drill bit for both. I also purchased 4 2X6 to test the two combo kits on. The Dewalt made 39 holes.
PC customer service is difficult to reach for most people that work during the day. And there should be something simpler in the line of customer service. However, I was dissapointed to end up with a combo-pack with missing parts.
A rip fence is an item that is standard equipment with most other saws. Porter Cable products are going to be used primarily by profesionals, and I can't imagine these people having to take time out of their productive day to sit on hold for customer service. I buy PC because of the high quality, but I think the price warrants PC including basic equipment in their kits.
Porter Cable produces very high quality wood working tools and keeps me coming back for more. Case in point is the rip fence for their circular saws. That's the extent of my critique.All in all, Porter Cable makes truly GREAT tools and I highly recommend them.
The base insert and mounting knob for the circular saw were missing. I've also noticed that even the most essential items that should be included with their tools are always accesories and must be purchased seperately.
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