Craftsmen cordless tool quality?

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: psiu
Craftsman should be good enough.



I have a DeWalt....was a cable contractor.

Maybe look at something like the DeWalt 14.4 volt lineup....they have lots of tools in the cordless lineup and the batteries will be interchangeable, (within the same voltage lineup, that is).

Certainly depends on a) how much use you will put into it;

and b) the scope of the projects.

If it's going to be some big time home projects (heavy remodeling) for a few months a year for several years, then maybe take the jump to Dewalt, Milwaukee...

If it's some smaller projects (build a bookcase on the weekend) a couple times a year, then the Craftsman will be more than sufficient.


Runtime isn't a problem....my 18 volt hammerdrill lasted plenty long on a charge.

I'm a general and electrical contractor and my Ryobi / Craftsman tools have outlasted my buddies Makita and Milwaukee stuff. For the money, I think it's a better value.
I also do AV installs and need that cordless drill all day long. By using the light to draw the batteries down between charges, I have gotten 10 year use out of the 12 volt old style Ryobi, where the Makita's have been replaced twice.
Like I said, better value, imo.

 

[Ornery]

HTF can ANYTHING outlast "Milwaukee stuff", when it's Lifetime Warranted?

Name: Corbert Garb
08/19/2002

Category:
Topic: Milwaukee Limited Warranty

Comments
Aristotle
The following is a quick explanation of how we view the ?official? version by the folks at ?the tool? who up hold it.

The Milwaukee Limited WARRANTY has no time limitation, except on Battery Packs and the JobSite Radio. The Milwaukee Limited WARRANTY has no proof of purchase requirement. The Milwaukee WARRANTY contains only a few limitations, of which time and "proof of purchase" are not requirements.

The Milwaukee WARRANTY is un-conditional in time of ownership, we do not view a number of months or years as a limiting factor on excluding defects in workmanship or material. Notwithstanding, as stated in Rich?s reply the warranty is conditional; it does not cover - wear and tear ? (Note, normal wear & tear is to be expected on any product and therefore, not covered under the warranty), misuse, improper maintenance, modification, et cetera and we do view these as non-warranty situations regardless of time and/or 'when purchased?.

Note: battery packs for cordless products and the JobSite Radio are warranted for one (1) year from the date of purchase. As such, Milwaukee?s warranty will apply to a defect in material or workmanship, which arise within one year from its date of purchase.

If you believe that you have a warranty problem with your Milwaukee product you should return the complete product to any MILWAUKEE factory Service Center or MILWAUKEE Authorized Service Station, freight prepaid and insured. The nearest factory Service Center or Authorized Service Station can be found in our product catalog or under the Product Service choice of Service/Warranty section of our web page. Upon it's receipt, the product will be inspected by a trained service technician, and if inspection shows the problem is caused by a defect in material or workmanship, all repairs or a replacement will be made at no charge and the product will be returned, transportation prepaid. If the product can not be warranted we will advise you of our findings prior to completing the repair and you will be given an 'estimate of the cost' of repairing the product.

We ask our customers to please feel free to discuss any warranty situation with us at anytime; we encourage them to call our Corporate Product Service Support, Warranty and Technical Information Hotline 1 800 274 9804; available Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central Time and speak to a staff member who will be happy to assist them. They can also contact via our web-site - 'Contact Us', to e mail us their concern.

The official MILWAUKEE Warranty can be found under the Service/Warranty tab in the left margin. Click on it to bring up the ?Select a Topic? for this section; you will then be able to scroll down and select the Milwaukee Warranty.

Corbert Garb ? Milwaukee After Sales Service

The new (as of October 2003) warranty is only for five years now...

 

[DrPizza]

Suggestion: Why not just buy a pair of new battery packs for the one you have now??

Also... do you use it a lot? The more you use it, the higher the level of quality you want. But if you seldomly use it, you could go with a cheaper brand and get away with it. Just bought my son a set of something from KMart... on sale for $70 - included 2 batteries, cordless drill, reciprocating saw, charger, and circular saw. He won't use it often enough to wear it out. Plus, this is the first time I've ever felt that the extra $7 replacement warranty was worth it.

 

[mugs]

Originally posted by: Ornery
I hate to break it to you, but a cordless screwdriver - by any brand, is going to be a P.O.S.

You truly have NOT used a serious cordless drill, that's FOR SURE! Do you NOT realize how much torque 450 in-lbs is? Not as much as a corded drill, but PLENTY to drive 3" long deck screws, one after another for an hour. Oh, and that's just the 14V job. The 18V units crank out 495 lb. in. of torque! They'll burry a 3/8" masonry bit in solid concrete, up to the chuck inside of a minute!

He was referring to a cordless screwdriver (like this), not a cordless drill/driver. 450 in-lbs of torque is pretty impressive, but the Craftsman he was looking at puts out 400 in-lbs for half the price. You do make a good point that he's locking himself into a particular brand of batteries, but most people don't use many cordless tools other than a drill. I'm assuming this is a homeowner looking for something to use around the house. I haven't seen many contractors who use Craftsman power tools, and I assume there's a good reason for that.

Originally posted by: Ornery
HTF can ANYTHING outlast "Milwaukee stuff", when it's Lifetime Warranted?

Like pretty much all warranties, that covers manufacturing defects, not wear and tear. If a tool dies after 2 years, it's hard to say it was a manufacturing defect.

 

[Ornery]

If you find a Milwaukee tool, burried under ground somewhere, or being discarded for any reason, GRAB IT! Chances are it WILL be repaired or replaced by the manufacturer. As long as the serial number shows it was made for before October 2003, it's gold.

This Tool Testimonials page used to have stories about tools being run over by bull dozers and still running, as well as twenty year old tools being repaired under warranty. Oh well, the current testimonials speak for themselves...

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Ornery
HTF can ANYTHING outlast "Milwaukee stuff", when it's Lifetime Warranted?

Name: Corbert Garb
08/19/2002

Category:
Topic: Milwaukee Limited Warranty

Comments
Aristotle
The following is a quick explanation of how we view the ?official? version by the folks at ?the tool? who up hold it.

The Milwaukee Limited WARRANTY has no time limitation, except on Battery Packs and the JobSite Radio. The Milwaukee Limited WARRANTY has no proof of purchase requirement. The Milwaukee WARRANTY contains only a few limitations, of which time and "proof of purchase" are not requirements.

The Milwaukee WARRANTY is un-conditional in time of ownership, we do not view a number of months or years as a limiting factor on excluding defects in workmanship or material. Notwithstanding, as stated in Rich?s reply the warranty is conditional; it does not cover - wear and tear ? (Note, normal wear & tear is to be expected on any product and therefore, not covered under the warranty), misuse, improper maintenance, modification, et cetera and we do view these as non-warranty situations regardless of time and/or 'when purchased?.

Note: battery packs for cordless products and the JobSite Radio are warranted for one (1) year from the date of purchase. As such, Milwaukee?s warranty will apply to a defect in material or workmanship, which arise within one year from its date of purchase.

If you believe that you have a warranty problem with your Milwaukee product you should return the complete product to any MILWAUKEE factory Service Center or MILWAUKEE Authorized Service Station, freight prepaid and insured. The nearest factory Service Center or Authorized Service Station can be found in our product catalog or under the Product Service choice of Service/Warranty section of our web page. Upon it's receipt, the product will be inspected by a trained service technician, and if inspection shows the problem is caused by a defect in material or workmanship, all repairs or a replacement will be made at no charge and the product will be returned, transportation prepaid. If the product can not be warranted we will advise you of our findings prior to completing the repair and you will be given an 'estimate of the cost' of repairing the product.

We ask our customers to please feel free to discuss any warranty situation with us at anytime; we encourage them to call our Corporate Product Service Support, Warranty and Technical Information Hotline 1 800 274 9804; available Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Central Time and speak to a staff member who will be happy to assist them. They can also contact via our web-site - 'Contact Us', to e mail us their concern.

The official MILWAUKEE Warranty can be found under the Service/Warranty tab in the left margin. Click on it to bring up the ?Select a Topic? for this section; you will then be able to scroll down and select the Milwaukee Warranty.

Corbert Garb ? Milwaukee After Sales Service

The new (as of October 2003) warranty is only for five years now...

Don't misunderstand, I have ONLY Milwaukee Power Drills, 3/8in hand, 1/2 in Hammer, 1/2in hand, Hole Hawg. But the battery powered stuff crapped out and they would not replace batteries or replace the broken case on the power screwdriver, inspite of warranty. By crapped out I mean died prematurely, case breaking on a moderate fall, things that the Ryobi's didn't have problems with. As for batteries, they have ALWAYS replaced them and when I sent in a broken cordless drill, they replaced it with the new model and included a flashlight as well. THAT's Customer Service.

 

[Kelemvor]

I have a 16.8 or something Craftsman PRofessional Series cordless Drill and I LOVE it. Never had a problem at all. Came with 2 batteries and the charger in a nice storage case. It's got great power and works great.

 

[Ornery]

...the Ryobi's didn't have problems...

Ryobi has purchased Milwaukee. Sad indeed. Like Toro buying Wheelhorse, Kmart buying Sears, and Ford buying Jaguar.

Deal with the retailer for satisfaction on the repairs, if they're getting crappy about it. My brother returns stuff to Home Depot all the time, and ALWAYS gets his way. I sort of doubt Milwaukee (or anyone else) is going to give Home Depot any guff!

 

[AlienCraft]

Originally posted by: Ornery
Ryobi has purchased Milwaukee. Sad indeed. See now that's the best of both worlds, imo.
My two favorite companies together. Although I prefer for American companies to remain American, it's my own personal zenophobia....
btw, I gave my friend the Milwaukee screwdriver as he had a couple in his rig and I just got used to using the big old cordless Ryobi driver drill.