Hi all..last week I had asked for thoughts on cordless combo kits and got some good feedback. The 2 kits I have narrowed down are the Bosch and the Makita.
The Bosch is a 24V kit that comes with a 10″ cordless miter saw. The biggest downside to this kit is the drill…the drill is VERY heavy with a 24V battery!
The Makita kit is 18V and comes with an 18V – 7 1/2″ sliding miter saw. Do any of you see any use for these cordless saws? Trimming out a kitchen perhaps? The way these kits are priced, they are almost throwing in the saws so I’m seriously thinking of either to compliment my 12″ sliding miter which is quite heavy to lug around.
18V….24V…..I’d appreciate any thoughts on this, especially the use of the saw.
Thanks! Mike
Replies
Mike
I've been around a lot of sites and I have never seen a single cordless chop saw at one.
If I had one I would probably use it, but someone would have to give it to me. I really dont see where the need for one would justify the cost.
Doug
I have one ...
it's the cheapest littelest Delta they make.
'cept it comes with a cord ...
but that's not a big deal ... as we're talking light and portable, right?
anyways ... got it at Lowes for $80 ...
put a $20 blade on it and it's just fine for little stuff.
bought it about 3 years ago for a job triming out an attic.
can carry it one handed up as many stairs as ya got.
works great as a loaner too ...
Jeff
Ditto what Doug says...
Go with the 18V series...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
24V is awful heavy. Hell, most of the time 18V is too heavy. But if there is a sidewinder circ saw lurking in that kit then maybe its worth a look. 24V is the only way to fly for cordless circ saws. I use Makita 24V at work and the circ saw is the first cordless I've ever used more than once. It uses the regular 7-1/4" blades and can crosscut 2 by's at 45 degrees. The 24V cordless hammer drill is the star of package and worth the money the whole kit cost. It uses SDS bits and has bags of power. Drilling in shanked wall anchors fro interior partition walls, it gets 50-60 3/16" holes on a single battery. Love that drill.
I know this has gotten off topic, but my answer would be, forget the mitre saw unless you can test drive it and you love it. Look for another 24V kit with circ saw, drill and recip saw. Those are useful.
Wally
Hi Wally, thanks for the great feedback. The Bosch 24V combo kit comes with 5 items:
-Recip saw; 6 1/2" Circ Saw; 1/2" Hammer Drill; jigsaw and token flashlight. I believe the miter saw is a bonus. All this for $725 US.
The only other downside to the 24V tools is replacing the batteries. I believe they are well into the $150 range. Yikes!
Mike
I've got the Ryobi 18V kit for monkeying around the house. It's got an 8 1/4" cordless miter saw. For some reason, the motor is slung so low that you can't cut a miter on the end of 2 1/4" base standing up on the right side of the blade. Also, the saw takes a little while to wind up, so you've gotta hesitate a second before dropping the saw into the molding. Other than that, it's great for simple little stuff like casing one door, or setting a bunch of shoe, etc. Beats dragging around a big, heavy corded saw, and it's mounted upside down to the top of the wheel-around case, so you've got a built in saw stand when you flip the lid over.
I'd test-drive the two saws if I were you, as someone mentioned, to make sure they'll do what you anticipate using them for.
Bob
Hey guys....thanks for the feedback. Thought I'd let y'all know I went with the 6 piece Makita 18V kit + bonus sliding miter saw. The store owner gave me a package deal on that and a few other items so I couldn't pass it up. I look forward to trying the tools out this coming week.
Thanks again...Mike
Smart move. Check out the price of a replacement 24v battery. Painful. Plus, they die faster than 18v according to one article.
Thanks for the note....I think I'll be very happy with the 18V. Dying to try out that 7 1/2" sliding miter saw that came with the kit - I think that'll be a good performance test.
Mike
Enjoy the saw and do post the results. How do they work?
I have found happiness with cordless is having one battery on charge - out of the sun. Heat the enemy of successful charging. Notice that the Ridgid kit has fan blowers on the charger to cool down the battery.
Nice kit, BTW. I got the Bosch 18v as I needed the jig saw (someone emptied the garage of all the boxed power tools - which were lined up, ready to move). Then I found you can't cope for @#$% with the 18v Jig saw as the switch won't lock on.