A friend has converted me to a Dewalt believer over the last few years. And I've always loved his 18V cordless drill. When I spotted this set on sale I couldn't pass it up!
The drill is a 3 speed, 3 mode, adjustable clutch, locking keyless chuck MONSTER of a cordless drill. Three selectable speed ranges lets you maximize availble torque to suit material and application. I have mine in the middle range which suits most applications. Three modes: Screw, Drill, Hammer... The screw mode engauges the clutches to avoid stripping your heads. With 23 clutch settings I think you'll find the right one for your fasteners. Drill mode disengauges the clutches and lets you run your bits without changing your clutch setting. The final mode is Hammer Drill mode for masonry drilling. You gotta love that! I've never seen a keyless chuck that works like this. Holding the cylinder and turnin the chuck unlocks it then spinning the cylinder will tighten or loosen the jaws. Once the jaws are tight, turn the chuck again to lock. NICE! I couldn't be happier with this drill!!!
Also in this set are two 18V XRP DC9096 Ni-Cad batteries and a one hour charger. The packs aren't that much larger than the 15.6V I'm used to with my previous drill but definitely offer much more power. They are heavy but not so much that you care. The one hour quick charger is mode protected to prevent over charging and even has an indicator to tell whether it's charging, complete, or even if their's a problem with the battery. One word about your batteries...keep them charged ALL OF THE TIME. Batteries tend to devlop issues if they'll left in discharged state. Fully charged batteries will have better overall performance and a longer life. I just put mine on the charge every month or so to top them off.
6.5" Circular Saw. I haven't cut anything with it yet but I have an up and coming project involving 1/2" ply, 2x4s, 2x6s, and 4x4 porch spindles. I'll let you know how it did. As for the physics of it. It feels like a beast. A good heavy motor and cast body. It has a nice lever lock for the depth adjustment and nob lock for for the angle.
Reciprocating Saw... Again haven't cut anything with it yet, but soon. It feels good in the hand. With a pack inserted it feels about the same weight as my 7.5amp Craftsman. I have high hopes for this little beauty.
4" Angle Grinder... This and the price difference were the reasons I went with this set over the 4 tool set. I caught this one on sale and the difference was less than $50. I wasn't sure how this thing was going to work but man am I impressed. It comes with one thin cutoff wheel and it does DAMAGE. I used it to cut some 1.25" x 1/8" thick angle steel to length. It went thru it nearly as fast as my 7" 13 amp grinder. You can feel the torque! The safty sroud is fully adjustable for the best angle with a lever tensioner. The stablizer handle can be mounted on either the right or left side. There's not much more to say about it. Great for those little jobs and in tight spaces.
On to the "what's with this?" category. The impact driver I'm not as impressed with but then I wasn't expecting much or even really to use it. I thought I read somewhere it puts out 400 in-lbs of torque. I'm not even sure it this converts but assuming there's not some strange law of physics I'm unaware of that's something like 33-ft-lbs? Okay... But I suppose if your lazy or you have TON of little bolts to take off that are rusted on, then maybe...
Update 4-28-2011: I recently installed a full glass storm door on my parent's house. I used the drill to pre-drill the three dozen or so holes in the project. I finally figured out that the impact driver has a locking collet and is actaully a "impacting" screw gun. And surprisingly it works really well. It made short work of this project and I had NO...NOT ONE issue with rounding my screw heads. All-in-all VERY impressed!
The light is...well a light. Though I can say it's strong and bright! Honestly, I would prefer LED just because I hate wasting my battery power on these little portable space heaters. Seriously, if your cold stand in front of this thing for a minute, it'll warm you up. That said if power's no where to be found, this will light up your little corner of the universe.
It comes also with a nylon bag that once closed is just about busting with your new toys. It's not really heavy duty nylon but at the same time it should be fine. It also comes with a few accessories. As I mensioned before a single 4" cutoff wheel for your grinder. It also comes with one 16 tooth carbide blade for your circular saw and a tool to install it.
All in all, the price is amazing and so is this set. If you casual hobbist or a professional contractor you should be equaly impressed. These are battery tools and as such aren't going to be as strong or reliable as your bigger corded models. But trust me, if for no other reason than sake of ease, these will be the ones I grab first. DEWALT DCK655X 18-Volt XRP 6 Tool Combo Kit with Impact Driver
I originally wanted a Makita set but the price on the Dewalt was too good. Having used Makita for years I'm super impressed with the Dewalt gear, the light built into the drivers is brilliant, power is great, function is top notch. The angle grinder is surprisingly powerful as is the circular saw, and the light which folds out on it's gooseneck is perfect for late night BBQ's!
I come from a Makita family and had always planned on getting a Makita tool set. While I was at Home Depot these power tools were on sale, and my wife surprised me with them. It has been over 2 years and I am so glad she did. I love (LOVE) my Dewalt power tool set. I use the drill most frequently (of course) but I can't even count how many times the grinder has been the perfect tool for whatever job I have been working on. I try and take care of my stuff, but I have dropped my tools several times and they still work great. This has been such a great purchase and I absolutely recommend them to anyone.'
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