DeWalt tools

[navy2kcoupe]

Anybody have anything to say about DeWalt tools?
I just bought a 20V DCD790 drill and am curious to find out what sort of
experiences others have had with this brand. Good, bad, indifferent..........
makes no difference as I would like to hear them all.
Andy

[Rich Z]

I believe my portable air compressor is a DeWalt, and so far no complatints about it. I consider them as a "name brand", but not sure how much that counts any longer, as it seems everything is made in China, then sold to the "name brands" who put their own labels on them. Some companies will say that they impose their more stringent quality control requirements on this stuff manufactured off shore, but not sure how much truth is behind it.

Truth of the matter is, sometimes I just look at price and ponder whether paying 10 times as much for name brand over something bought at Harbor Freight is really a smart idea. For instance, I was looking at a Flex buffer that was going to cost me around $400. Made in Germany and supposed to be really top of the line. But I could get a buffer from Harbor Freight on sale for around $50 plus a 25% discount coupon. If TEN (10) of the Harbor Freight ones failed over my lifetime requiring me to buy a replacement, I would STILL come out ahead buying the cheaper one. So sometimes you just have to think things through I guess and balance out the price with what sort of reasonable lifespan you would expect out of it.

But on the other hand, I HAVE bought things in the recent past for more money just because they said "Made in USA" on them. Might have been a lie, I suppose, but still, at the very least it will likely become a collectible.

[Rich427]

DeWalt is supposed to be the commercial line of Black & Decker tools. At least that is how that line started. DeWalt did much better in sales, so you don't see B & D as much as we used to. So I think from a marketing standpoint most of their power tools (commercial and home) are now under the DeWalt brand name. B & D still does some manufacturing in the US, but to keep up with the competition, they obviously have had to move some, if not most of their production overseas. I have found that they typically make a quality product.

[vett boy]

We buy probably 20 DeWalt pieces a year mainly grinders and drills plus a few cordless .I've had decent luck with them mikita and Milwaukee .All about the same.

[Mark Dalton]

We carry DEWALT stuff in my store. It seems to sell as well, if not better, than the Craftsman stuff we carry. B&D may make a good product, but they are sadly lacking in customer service skills. Especially when it comes to returns for defective items. It's one of the main reasons we shy away from their power tools.

[Rich Z]

FYI, Graingers is running a sale right now on DeWalt tools if anyone is interested.

[grumpyvette]

I use my tools constantly and while I was rather impressed with the tools , the long term durability was not as impressive, I purchased two hammer drills and two power screw drivers as i built my shop.
I have several dewalt hammer drills and power screw drivers
they all worked great when they were new, but the battery powered screw driver batterys have a very short life span, most were useless after 2 months of use and a couple dozen recharges
and Ive replace the trigger switch on both the hammer drills

[Rich Z]

Heck, I don't buy battery powered tools any longer. I figured out that they are just a lucrative vehicle for companies to sell replacement batteries. And anything that is supposed to actually deliver any substantial amount of TORQUE to be useful, often fails to make the grade.