18v Firestorm Tools...anyone Use Them?

superdeez

I was wondering if anyone had tried/used Black&Decker's Firestorm tools yet. A buddy of mine has the drill and the nailgun, I've used both (borrowed the nailgun a couple times and the drill once when I'd killed my batteries) they seem to work alright.

Picked up a little B&D 14.4 homeowner special for $15 in a pawn shop yesterday (it looks brand new) and was debating getting one of their universal chargers and then going after the 18v hammerdrill/sawzall/nailgun, etc, and keeping the little drill to go inside cabinets, as a screw gun, etc.

Sp, has anybody used/liked/disliked these tools? Should I stay away or go for it?

I was even debating getting one of their 18v leaf blowers to use as a tool to drain the batteries once they get a little bit weak and to shoot my sawdust out the door and into the flowerbed!

PA woodbutcher

I have a couple of the drills. I keep 1 in the shop where it does nothing but run a countersink in hardwoods and pocket screws....clutch on it seems to work well. I have another that goes to the work site with me occasionally when I'm running vinyl siding...Works great to pre drill the holes in the facia, nice and light

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Inner10

My dad had one of the drills, cheap throw-away tool but it worked alright for light duty stuff.

I wouldn't bother with the saw or blower, just save up for a better set.

TempestV

My Black and Decker tools are metallic silver or yellow. Not orange. I've used the orange tools before, but they never seemed to have much power. For light duty stuff it would probably work, but I can buy a quality tool that will do the light duty stuff and the heavy duty as well. For occasional homeowner stuff it would probably work, but from a professional standpoint, it doesn't make sense.
The saws would be even worse- cordless saws from quality brands often don't work well, so I couldn't imagine a cheapy working that great.

samthedog

I had the orange 18 volt drill. I dropped it once while working and the handle split to the point the battery would not sit in the drill. It had enough power but was too flimsy for my tastes. I ended up buying a Makita 14.4 because it was lighter and although slightly less powerful it has stood up to being dropped and mistreated on the site.

samthedog.

TimberTom

Agreed. I find that they are best for light duty stuff. I consider Black and Decker to be more of a homeowners tool brand than a craftsman's tool.

superdeez

Well, after using that orange drill I would tend to agree with you all. 10 screws and it was losing power fast. I figured since Ron liked his orange drill it might not be too bad, but then again he swears by Ryobis too so...

I've got a couple green B&D tools and a couple of the black ones, and because my new Dewalt sawzall looks and feels almost just like the 20+ year old Black&Decker "cut-saw" it replaced I figured the orange stuff might be decent too...

I might just keep running my current setup for a while. One drill I have that kinda surprised me is my little 14.4 Skil POS. It's a lot lighter than my Dewalt and as long as you don't don't ask too much of it it does well. Takes abuse really well too, sliding halfway off a roof and onto the driveway below barely even scratched it.

Well anyway thanks for the replies, guys, that answers my question.

samthedog

I know there are people who are power junkies but weigh up wether you need the extra grunt or not. If you don't or you could run an extension lead and a mains powered drill, buy something smaller. I find I use my cordless in fiddly areas where I am sweating and barely have room to breathe let alone swing around a big 18 volt drill. The smaller cordless drill are lighter, cheaper and smaller. this is a plus in my book so I have not gone down the 18 volt+ route.

samthedog.