I picked up one of these kits:



It sells for $299 in all the major stores. There are also some variations on the kit with slightly different components, but this one seemed the best group. It contains:

FSD182 drill/driver
CRS180B reciprocating saw
CS180B circular saw
SPV180F hand vacuum
BDL100S laser level/stud finder
FSL18 flashlight
Workmate 375
PowerPak bag
Slow charger
Two batteries (everything is 18 volt)

The drill/driver has one great feature, the reason I was attracted to B&D to begin with. The chuck is removable, and there's a screwdriver bit (or any other 2" quick-disconnect bit) behind it. So you can have a drill in the chuck, make a hole, pop off the chuck and drive a screw, pop it back on for the next hole, etc... Extremely useful. I am very annoyed with swapping bits all the time. The best use I've found so far is to chuck my countersink kit, and a shortened large behind behind it. I drill the small hole/countersink with the kit, pull the chuck and drill the large hole for the screw shank, then re-chuck and flip the countersink kit to drive. Very useful.

Power is phenomenal. I know this sounds like a stretch, but it seems to have more power than my electric drill. At least in drilling stone, it does. Using a carbide bit while drilling stone, tile, and cement board, it didn't slow down at all on the high speed/low torque gear setting. Very impressive. On the low speed/high torque setting, you can really control screwdriving speed/depth exceptionally well. It will respond smoothly to trigger input. The electric brake means it will stop on a dime when you get to your desired screw depth/torque. Of course, it has a clutch, and it's a great one. 23-position plus "locked" for hard drilling.

Other features include an electronic level indicator, excellent handle ergonomics, and good balance.

The circular saw is nice for light work. It has decent power, though of course it uses a small 5 3/8" blade. Design is good, with a line guage and a sight window to see the actual blade cutting. It will bevel 0-45 degrees and depth is adjustable of course. The blade changing tool, a standanrd Allen wrench, is securely stored onboard (I hate tools that require other tools but don't store them onboard). Again, ergonomics are excellent.

The reciprocating saw is a big mofo, with power to spare. I haven't found anything that needed cutting that would be really challenging for it. Just plasterboard so far. Obviously it just rips through that like crazy. It's got a no-tool blade change (button on the side), pivoting foot, and a very nice rubbery grip.

The hand vac...well, it's a hand vac. Works well, has a couple useful attachments. I thought it was a useless addition in the kit at first, but not any longer. I find myself holding it under drilling/cutting areas in the house all the time to avoid making a mess. Dragging in the shop vac would be too annoying, so normally I'd just make a mess and clean it up "later." Seems so basic, but it's an appreciated addition now.

Laser level/stud finder is a pretty innovative piece of gear, though it seems oddly big. You put it on the wall, and it auto-levels and projects lines to both sides at a perfect level. Nice for shelves or anything else that requires multiple holes/cutting across a level line. Unfortunately, it can't do anything vertical. It features different bases and some pins for mounting it on the wall as you use it. The pins are thin enough to stick into a good wall and not leave a mark. The bases give different line lengths and one allows you to mark through it. The stud sensor is one of the best--clear and 100& reliable. Works right at the edge of the stud reliably. Has multiple LED's so you can tell if there's something else back there, like plumbing, instead of a stud.

The flashlight...um, ok, that's just a flashlight. Cheap and basic. Does what I'd expect from a $2 flashlight. I guess the plus is that it uses the same battery packs, and will stand by itself. But angle is fixed at slightly above 90 degrees from level.

The Workmate folding table works as that and a rolling carrier for the bag. Its design, execution, and overall quality is excellent. It is strong and put together well, nothing flimsy about it. You can open/close it one-handed. Once opened, the wheels are automatically retracted and it sits on big non-slip feet. In addition there are two big flats to put your feet on if you want the table to really stay in place while you crank down on some work. You grab a handle and pull up to close it while stepping on the foot pads to close it one-handed. Of course, it has clamping ability between the two table halves.

The PowerPak bag is a heavy duty Cordura bag with strong zippers and a place to hold a power strip. The power cord raps around the strip easily and securely. What can I say, it's a very convenient way to carry the tool kit, blades/accessories, and have a convenient power cord/power strip. The way it all fits together into a rolling kit that instantly turns into a work table is really nice.

The charger is the only let-down. It's a slow charger with NO intelligence. Takes "up to" 6 hours to charge a dead battery. It has no auto shutoff, so you need to remember to pull it off to prevent overcharging. A smart 1-hour charger can be purchased online for about $28. One of the other variations of this kit has a radio/charger unit that is fast and intelligent. However, it omits other more-useful tools. The radio/charger idea is cool, but don't think I'd use, and $28 for the fast charger is much cheaper than the tools you lose when getting the radio/charger.

That's alot of stuff for 3 Bones, nice tell me how it's all working in about 3-4 months. I have a Ryobi set and everything except for the reciprocating saw still works great. Love the 18 volt stuff.... like ya say, gobs of power, it's amazeing really.

Nice :cool: no wonder why you're running out of space, a tool a week soon fills the house up :roll:

just went to lowes to check this out. there is another set like you said has everything but the stand but includes the radio/rapid charger for 199. Thinking about getting that one I already have the work bench set up.

Wow someone just got hired by B& D. Make sure you keep your reciepts and no where the repair center is. Might be good stuff for home but my High School kids eat them up.

Yeah, unfortunately, I've heard a lot of bad things about B&D, too.

Hopefully they finally have their shit together, and this set lasts you a lifetime without trouble.




I have an 8 year old Ryobi 12 volt drill that I use at work every day, and it still works fine. The batteries have finally bit the dust, with only about 1/3 of their original capacity.

Last year, I bought an 18 volt replacement with the fast charger/flashlight combo, and that's the one I keep at home.

Price is right, and they seem to be unbreakable.

B&D are designed for the casual user--you know--the one who buys the tool and never uses it. I've had a couple of their tools ie cordless drill, and they are not even on a level with cheap Sears tools. The cheap Sears tools are just mediocre but last a long time. The B&D are crap and fall apart
MikeG

Yup, I've always thought B&D was mostly crap. But lately I've been thinking differently. I bought one of their top-grade drills about 12 years ago because I needed it on a Sunday night and Wal-mart was the only place open. I've abused the fuck out of it, still working. I tried to replace/update it a couple weeks ago (am I the only one that considers upgrading perfectly good tools just because?), looked at DeWalt...and see it's the EXACT same fucking drill! Then Joe clues me in that B&D owns them. And obviously at least some of the Craftsman stuff is made by the same people, because that same drill is also available with that name. My Craftsman Pro 9.6v drill from years ago is another that's also available with the B&D name on it.

So I went and tried a bunch of tools at places that keep them charged, like Sears. Also my tile guy showed up with the same drill I just bought, has been using it to drill tile, and it's fine. He let me use it, and I liked it. So, what else can I say? Works great, and at least one has survived professional tile work, so it can't be complete shit.

I think it's like anything else, quality costs money. B&D has $25 tools and $120 tools. I picked their most expensive drill/driver, probably isn't complete junk.

What gets me most about using this stuff (has nothing to do with durability), is the ergonomics. It's nicer in the hand, and to use, than most of the other models I tried. You know, if I had to buy a new drill every two years (warranty period), but it was the nicest-working drill, I think I'd still consider that a good buy. Yesterday I spent 11 hours doing a network/phone wiring and move project in a new building. I used most of the new tools. That sort of job, for that many hours, would suck with tools that you don't love to use.

Just to let you know Lowes is having a sell on all power tools this weekend only (20 percent off). Also the 7 piece B&D set that sold for 299.99 is now 199.99 plus the 20 percent off. I walked out with the 7 piece set tonight for 170 including tax. Better hurry if you want to get in on the deal My local store only had 15 boxes left and they just went on sale tonight. the 199 kit is now 169 I believe plus 20 percent off. This includes cordless and corded power tools and MOST accessories.

Wow, that's cheap. I meant to post an update on this since I've put a lot of use on all the tools.

The circular is just surprising. I really thought I'd never use it, but now I've retired my corded circular saw. Yesterday I was ripping full panels of 3/4" particle board and MDF and I was shocked at how well it did. It's really nice not to have the cord fucking you up on an 8' cut, and being so small and light has so many advantages.

The drill has been abused the most, and it just works well. I've used it for everything from cable installs where I had to drill large holes to building computers with the clutch on the lightest setting. Works well, lasts a long time.

The recip saw is powerful. Surprisingly so.

I was going to eBay the laser level/studfinder, but ended up using it. A lot. It's much more useful than I ever expected. The only unfortunate part is that the kit doesn't include the case for it as it does when you buy it alone. It does have a box you can keep it in.

I bought the intelligent 1-hour charger. If you buy this kit, plan on spending $27 to buy that, and do it immediately. The included charger in the kit is horrible. It is slow, and worst of all, has no intelligence to prevent overcharging. I guarantee this will ruin your batteries. I got it from http://www.nickandjack.com which has great prices and delivery was fast.