Customer Reviews

Bosch CPK40-18 18-Volt Ni-Cad Cordless 4-Tool Combo Kit

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

 

 

My whole life (at least the past 28 years) has been spent in the housing industry as a carpenter. I've done everything from footings to ridge cap, that could be described as carpentry. In my career I've abused, misused, torn up, and wore out more tools than most people will ever own in their lives. I'll be the first to admit it, I am very hard on tools.



I purchased a cordless tool combo-kit of the 18-volt aqua blue variety in the late summer of 2006. The bag contained a quick 30 minute charger, two 2.4 amp/hr batteries, sawzall, circular saw, flashlight, drill, and a jigsaw. I took it home and fully charged the batteries as the manufacturer recommended. Within a couple of days I had to drive approximatly 1,500 3" screws in treated lumber. My new aqua blue drill performed this task with room to spare, something that would have sucked the blood out of my old yellow drill. As of this writing I have no complaints about my aqua blue tools, and would recommend them to everyone.

I have been using Bosch Cordless tools for about 5 years. I bought this set about 6 months ago and sold my older ones on Ebay. That was a mistake. The blade holder on the Reciprocating saw just broke. A new one (minor part) with shipping and handling fees costs almost $30! The drill is already making weird noises and unlike the clutch on the older model slips and hangs up between speeds. The batteries are needing charged much more frequently already. The only real improvement is the battery charger and perhaps the swift charging is behind the shorter battery life. The last straw was the cordless jigsaw I had purchased separately. I used it four times in 2 years and it is dead. The brushes welded to the armature! The only use was on 3/4" plywood to cut out sink templates. Unacceptable! I think an excellent clue to Bosch Quality problems is the large number of Factory reconditioned units for sale. I am going to buy a set of Milwaukee cordless and give them a try. If they work out you will be able to buy my Bosch stuff on Ebay soon. Too bad, another good company gone to heck.

I searched around for about two weeks before making the purchase of this toolkit. I am not a contractor, just a DiYer that was looking to make the switch to cordless tools. During my research, I compared kits found online, contractor supply houses, and the retail big-box stores. This was the kit that listed the most power, and had the majority of the pieces I was looking for. Beyond that, the price was right!

Have used each tool a few times and am very happy with the performance. The only thing I wish the kit had is a cut-off tool. ****