Customer Reviews

Black & Decker FSC718K-2 18 Volt 7-Tool Combo Kit

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The product works great and is easy to assemble. The hardest part is finding out how to put all the tools into the bag. On the first day, I used the circular saw, drill, vacuum, and light. All worked as well as my corded tools. I am a convert to cordless. One nice touch is the power distribution plugs in the front of the bag. My only confusion is why? With cordless tools, do you need more outlets? If they want to improve the product, add another battery and the Radio Battery charger.

As with most things, you generally get what you pay for with power tools. It is annoying when reviews appear to have some ax to grind. Black and Decker is a decent brand, but people I know who happen to be contractors or in the "tool business" will tend to turn up their noses and say Dewalt or some comparable brand is the only thing they will touch. So be it...if I were them, I'd probably feel the same way. If you are a professional and use tools for a living, you probably want to invest in something more substantial. If you need something to drive a screw or cut something in half around the house, it seems a bit stupid to pay $400-$600 (or more) for a combo set. I bought a set similar to the above for around $150 and all the tools have turned out to be very effective.

If you really want a cheap set of tools, buy a Ryobi 18V kit. They may not be the greatest in the world but they get the job done even in a contracting setting (a couple guys I work with have them). The same cannot be said for B&D in my experience (not very reliable, and very cheap).

Personally I can't stand cheap tools (thus I own a $600 18V Dewalt set) but if you aren't willing to pay that much, than I recommend Ryobi.

I sold tools at Sears for three years and I have never had a satisfied Firestorm customer. These tools are crap! Sure, they will do small projects. If you are putting together shelves or hanging pictures you will be fine. Build a deck or remodel the bathroom and I gaurantee you will be hating your cheap Firestorm.

Before buying this, look at the description of each tool. They don't list all the specifications with this item, so search Amazon for each separate item. You might get 150 in/lbs. of torque out of the drill. It has a 3-6 hour charging time. The entire casing for each tool is plastic. They are cheap for a reason.

Now, take those statistics and compare them to any other brand tool. A cheap Craftsman, Ryobi, or Skil is a little more expensive, but will give you far greater performance.

After working maintenance in a food processing plant, building garages, remodeling bathrooms and basements, and selling the tools I use, I could never recommend a Firestorm. Do the research, don't listen to the hype or focus on the price. Power tools are not paper towels or televisions where cheaper means it might takes more towels to clean a spill or the picture quality isn't perfect. With tools you need something that will do what you need it to. Drive some 3" screws into a wet 4X4. Drill a 1/2" hole through a double plate on a garage frame. You will find that the Firestorm won't do it.

Pay a little extra money for something that you can use time and again. Find a tool other people would like to borrow. My 18V Milwaukee has been with me for 6 years and still runs like a champ. I can outpower airtools when driving lag screws. Good luck with your Firestorm if you bought one!

My kit is very similar but not quite the same it's the FSC618K-2

Anyway I've read some reviews that say the chuck on the drill can't hold a bit at all and its only real use is as an 18-volt screwdriver. I've run a 1/2" bit to the hilt into a 4X4 several times just to test it, and there was no slippage at all. I'm not really sold on the pop off chuck, but it has saved time when I was building some books shelves recently. But I would say that 280 lbs. of torque is plenty for most applications, but have to admit that I am a novice and use the drill/driver around the house. I've only had it a little over a month but have played around with it, and am very impressed with it. Especially when compared to most of the other 18 volt drill/drivers out there. The circular saw cuts 2X4 with no problem and I have used it to cut about 10, 1"X6 "shelf's to length with plenty of power left over. The Cut Saw is just cool. I haven't had time to use it much but in your hands it feels as if it has enough power to do just about anything you might need it to do. The vacuum is a step up from the basic dust buster does a fine job and has great battery life. The flashlight is bright and I've used it to drain the partially used batteries before recharging. My kit is a little different in that I do not have the laser level/stud finder or the work table and the tool bag looks smaller, but this is as close as to what I have as I could find. My kit included the Radio/charger FS100 Stud Finder The Drill Circular Saw, the Cut Saw Light and Vacuum. But other than that the kits are very similar. I bought four extra batteries and the fast multi-volt charger on E-Bay so in case I ever do get busy with the kit I'll be able to keep it powered. I would say you would have a hard time beating this kit for the performance and price (check E-Bay). Plus it's been fun to play with, and I've read DeWalt builds the Firestorm stuff. I am looking forward to putting it to a real test. But I'm sure it will pass any tests I put it through with flying colors.

Batteries are dead after 2 years. Charge also burnt out due to the dead batteries. Bought new batteries and charger but then the blower fan is shattered completely for no reason. Checking other reviews shows that apparently this is a well known issue.

I bought an old house that I'm remodeling and started from scratch with nil for power tools. Picked up this kit for the value. I've re done a kitchen and now deep into the second project. Working with 100 yr old timbers and other challenges and these tools have perfomed great. No issues with the drill chucks and the circular saw is a great little trim saw. As with most things now the casings on these tools is plastic. Every one in my seven tool kit has been dropped and dropped on several times, and I can tell you they are tough enough. This may not be a kit for a profesional contractor or commercial application, but for most of us average Joe's out there doing home projects, I would highly recommend.

Price and quality all the way. The only negative item would be no rip fence came with the cordless circular saw and I was unable to find it at any of the local hardware stores that I shop at. Other than that it is a very good value.

Someone once told me a man is only as good as his tool. Well, when I purchased the Black and Decker 7-tool combo kit I became a man and for a year I was king of the neighborhood. I had become the most respected carpenter in the project. I built four house that year and was going strong as I was branching out my business. Until one night I awoke to find some of my tools missing. I figured I must have left them on a job or something. The next day I searched for them but to no avail. The next night I woke and found the rest of the kit gone. The next night I burned the candle at both ends waiting to find the culprit. I had fallen asleep and felt something tugging at my underwear. I awoke and jump out of my seat when I found little gnomes racing through the house holding my underwear in victory. I pulled my best 007 and tracked them down in the crevices of the basement. There they were singing "We are the tool and underwear gnomes. We need lots of supplies to make it on our way. Big business is a freight train on a path to money right away."
I stood there alone and cold as a breeze went up my pajamas, begging for my atleast my hammer in trade for my silence. They simply told me it was my word, a middle aged working class man, against that of a GNOMES. I guess it was back to the drawling board, without a pen.