Customer Reviews

Factory-Reconditioned Bosch 93618HDCRF-RT 18 Volt Brute Tough Combo Kit with Bonus Jigsaw and Carrying Bag

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this kit because of the free battery offer back in June. The kit also includes a free jigsaw. I'll give my impression of each piece below:

Hammer drill/driver - Very powerful at 475 in-lbs. in drilling mode, although both the 18V Ridgid and the Hitachi 18V are even more powerful. I think the Hitachi is at 550 in-lbs. There is a 15 step torque setting for screw driving, plus one setting for drillling, and one setting for hammer drill action. This is a powerful driver in that even setting 1 is somewhat too strong for the most delicate screws. The drill is generally well balanced, but not as well balanced as Makita's T-handled drills. Whereas the Makitas have the weight exactly balanced and centered in the middle of the hand, so that there is no tilting force either forward or backward, the Bosch hammerdrill tilts slightly forward. This results in the drill feeling heavier in the hand than a Makita of the same weight because you need to grip the Bosch tighter to counteract the tilting torque. It just feels more tiresome to hold because of the extra force needed. The least well thought out part of the drill is the auxilliary handle bar. It grips by the friction of a neoprene-like rubber band underneath a metal band. There are no grooves or notches or anything to keep the rubber band aligned on and secured to the drill. No matter how hard I clamp it, the aux. handle just wants to rotate out of alignment and come off when I have heavy duty drilling sessions because the rubber just yields under force. Those aux handles that rely on notches or grooves, such as the one on the Ridgid and Makita drills, work better and more securely. Also the speed setting slider switch is touchy at times. To change from high to low gear or vice versa, the slider switch doesn't work cripsly 100% of the time. About 1 out of 10 times or so, it doesn't engage crisply and completely. If you operate the drill when this happens you can possibly strip the gears by spinning both the high and the low gears at the same time. When it doesn't engage completely, you should slide the switch back to the previous gear and press the power trigger to rotate the gear a tiny bit and then try sliding the gear slider to the new position again. This usually fixes the hesitant gear switch problem - that is until you switch gear again. No problem like this ever happens with my Makita drill, which switches speeds crisply 100% of the time. Other than these slight annoyances, the Bosch drill works very well. It has a 1/2" chuck with carbide teeth in the grip and I like the hammer drill feature. It does feel very heavy at 6 lbs. 10 oz.

Circular saw - The saw rocks when the battery is fresh and when the blade is new and sharp, but alas the battery doesn't last too long on the circular saw. You absolutely should use a freshly charged battery as well as very sharp blade with the circular saw so that your saw doesn't stall in the middle of a cut and ruin your cut and possibly ruin the work piece as well. To that end, you should also recharge the battery before it fully dies out when using the circular saw. I had an almost fully charged battery to try to see how many 2x4 or 2x8 douglas firs I could crosscut. I think I counted around 10 to 12 2x4 crosscuts on dense douglas firs before the saw stalled. My opinion is the saw is good for remote locations where you either don't have AC power or just dread dragging that dang power cord. For general repair work, etc, where you may need to cut only a few 2x4's etc. it's okay, but I wouldn't replace the corded version with it for any serious construction work.

Reciprocating saw - it works okay, again it eats up a whole lot of battery juice in a hurry. Surprisingly it takes almost twice as long to crosscut 2x douglas firs with the recip. saw than with the jigsaw with a Progressor blade in maximum orbital mode. For most cutting works, I still prefer either the jigsaw or the circular saw because they just work faster than the recip. saw. Also, the heavy vibration of the recip. saw just gets to you after a while, but then again there are situations where only a recip. saw can do that neither a jigsaw nor a circular saw can. It does have its place under the sun.

Jigsaw - this jigsaw is absolutely the gem in this combo set. It works extremely well, cutting very powerfully. In the maximum orbital setting, it zips through 2x douglas firs in crosscut mode with a Progressor blade. The cut is very clean and very fast compared to using a recip. saw. It also can plunge cut very well, but you do so at risk of snapping a blade. The tool-less blade change is extremely quick. The short battery life also affects the jigsaw but not as badly as when using the circular or recip. saw.

Light - The light works best as a handheld flashlight, but I look at this light as free lighting if you have an extra battery anyway. Overall, it works okay, but I still prefer a quality headlamp with bright LEDs over any flashlight for hand free lighting. I paid $65 for a very fancy expedition-style backpacking headlamp at REI and it works better than any flashlight because of its nimbleness and versatility.

Charger - It's a 1-hr. charger that comes with the kit. I immediately shelled out $70 to buy an extra 15-minute charger with the fuzzy control. One hour is too long at the rate the circular saw and the recip. saw drain batteries. The fuzzy control 15-min charger will also make the batteries last through many more recharge cycles because it's gentler on the batteries, or so it claims. The drawback with the 15-min charger is that you must remove the battery as soon as it's done at around 15 mins because it's not THAT smart, as it claims. It will keep on trickle charging at a high rate once the full charge is complete. Once the 15 mins is up, the battery heats up quite dramatically rather quickly. It's this high heat near the full charge that kills batteries. So advice with the 15-min charger is to stand ready at near 15 mins to listen for the ringing buzzer that signals when the charge is full. It's a weak buzzer. If you remove the battery as soon as the buzzer sounds, the battery will be only barely warm to the touch. If you wait a few more minutes after the buzzer, the battery will heat up a lot quite quickly. Also the 1-hr. charger doens't have a ready buzzer the 15-min charger does. The 1-hr. charger only has a blinking ready light, but has no buzzer. That's another reason to get the 15-minute charger.

Nylon bag - Some folks hate the bag and would rather have a hard case, whereas some like the bag. I have mixed feelings about the bag. It's much more convenient to carry around than a hard case, but it doesn't protect your tools the way a molded hard case does. With the bag, you just lump all the tools together such that they may scratch or dent one another during transport. Because both the case and the bag have their own strong points, I ended up buying a Bosch hard case for $40 extra. It's molded to fit the circular saw, drill, light, recip. saw, fence, and charger. There is no room for the jigsaw in the case, whereas the jigsaw can fit in the nylon bag just fine.

Planer - This is not normally included in this kit, but I bought my combo set somewhere else where the merchant threw in an 18v Bosch cordless planer "for free". It's the first time I ever used a power planer and I loved it. It has a chip chute and bag that collects the shavings. There is a slight learning curve with using planers, but once mastered it gives very flat faces and edges.

Overall I love this set in spite of some minor complaints I pointed out above. I give it 4 to 4.5 stars overall. If the battery life were much better and if it included a 15-min charger and if the drill's aux. handle worked better, I'd give it 5 stars, but as it is now, it merits only 4 to 4.5 stars.

I purchased the Bosch tool set in late December. I am a contractor who needs durable and reliable tools. When I started my search, I researched the Porter Cable, Milwaukee and Dewalt cordless sets. I have all three brands in corded/pneumatic tools and have been satisfied with their performance. I limited my search to these brands until I saw the Bosch.

Hands down, the build of Bosch was superior to the other three. And their attention to little things makes me very glad I made the purchase. For example:
1. The drill with its hook is invaluable, especially when hanging sheetrock. It is heavier than the others, but sturdier in the hand.
2. The reciprocating saw has an adjustable foot and varying blade stroke. Both features are used often by me. My job has me cutting pipe, 2 by's, sheetrock, etc. and these features have made the job easier.
3. The circular saw comes with and exhaust port to attach to my portable vac. I can cut inside now with limited dust. Additionally the depth gage is handy
4. The jig saw with the blow port helps keep the line open to the eye and the ability to change the orbital action is great when stepping up the cut. (the saw works the best with bosch t-blades)
5. Ok - the light is the worst - Dewalts is much better.

The kicker in making the decision to purchase the Bosch was the 3 year warranty. I have had to use it once already. The head on the recip saw broke. I was sent a new one in a few days and was up and running. I get the feeling that the head has been an issue. The new one I received was made different.

The bag is a bit of a pain, but it does allow me to carry the charger, and three cases containing recip saw blades, jigsaw blades and drill bits.

For the money, the Bosch Cordless set is a very good choice.

PRO - more bang for your buck
CON - the darn bag
I was debating with myself should I go with DEWALT, MILWAUKE or BOSCH and after buying Bosch tools I couldn't be happier. The hammerdrill has great power although I haven't used it in a hammer mode.The feature that I like on it is that you can hold the nose of the chuck to steady the drill and it won't burn your fingers. Jigsaw cuts with great power, and ease, and the circular saw cuts the 2x material as if it's butter. I still haven't tried the reciprocating saw but it seeems strong and tough enough. The only con is the bag. It is great by itself but I would like to see this combo in a hard case. The whole combo is worth more than I paid for. If it helps anyone, HD and JS-made in Switzerland, RS-made in Mexico, CS-assembled in Mexico, Flashlight-made in China, Battery- made in Japan.
P.S. I'm thinking of buying a planer too.

Update 2006

Yes! After 2 years of owning the combo I finaly bought the planer. The tools are in a great working condition and all of the are performing admirably. My friends allways want to borrow them:)

This is a good combo kit with useful tools as well as the bonus jigsaw, and as always great Bosch quality. The only thing that sucks is there is no hard case. As a finish carpenter who has to haul about 600 pounds of tools from unit to unit, I'm a little worried about damaging a tool through a soft carrying bag. I would have preferred to pay an extra $35 for a hard case even if the jigsaw was separate. Just have to be careful I guess.....

Bosch made a great offer with this set. Having used every tool in this kit quite frequently here are my thoughts:

Jigsaw--Nice having no cord to worry about, easy blade changes, plenty powerful for every thing I've needed it for. Excellent, replaced my cordo.(wood,PT,plywood,MDF,aluminium)

Drill/Driver--Excellent power, balance, and good clutch. like the bit holder in the base, good ergonomics--(chuck is unconventional but seems rugged and easy to use). Hammer drill works well with tile, stone, masonry.

Circular Saw--Helpful for plywood and "2x's", needed a full charge on battery and insurance of another battery around. Nature of the beast(my experience is cordless circs just drain battery power). Good for occasional use.

Recip saw--Good enough for me...used it to cut pvc, wood, etc...good blade changes. Again similar battery consumption as Circ. But great for the occasion when you need it.

Flashlight--c'mon its a freakin light! (Nice to have--even a spare bulb has its own home inside this light)

The initial price seemed like a lot...but considering an average drill/driver alone is about half of that price. It is a good investment. I am impressed by Bosch's engineering and their commitment to making durable, tough tools. They are joy to use and own. Take advantage of the free jigsaw offer.

Overview

This combination is the best value for your money! I spent several weeks reading reviews about which 18V kit to buy. I even went to the home center to give them a feel before ordering online at Amazon. Everything in the Bosch kit felt very solid, plus for around the same price, they were the only ones throwing in a cordless jigsaw. Now that I have the cordless jigsaw, I can't imagine going back. This kit has everything (except a router) that the weekend warrior would need for cordless freedom.

Drill

Plenty of power, auxiliary handle, hammer drill, and a clip; very solid performer. Coming from an old 12V Dewalt, the drill is much heavier, but very well balanced. The hammer drill feature should not be overlooked; less than 50% of the competing kits have it. Even if it is just an occasional shelving or bracket mounting, it makes the masonry work so much easier. The only complaint I have is about the bit holder. I would like it to hold more individual bits rather than holding a bit extension holder. Also, the Ryobi drill has some nice features like a magnetic plate for holding your extra screws and level/plumb vials. I would like to see more manufacturers incorporate these types of extras.

Circular Saw

The biggest blade on an 18V and a dust port stand out on this saw. Very solid so far. Still getting use to the cut-left configuration. Nice for visibility of the cut, just haven't figured out how to hold my speed square yet. :)

Recip Saw

Very nice quick blade change. Also has a selectable blade stroke for fine or coarse cutting. Very nice to have this as a cordless tool for the places these generally end up.

Jigsaw

More than a bonus. This might be the best part of the kit. Now I know what all the fuss is about over Bosch jigsaws. Very solid, has 4 settings from very fine metal work up to extreme orbital coarse cutting. Also includes a blower that can be turned on and off as well. Very nice not having the cord catching on the edge of the work piece as you are rounding a corner.

Flashlight

As with all these kits, nothing real special here. The head pivots, and there is an extra bulb stored in the base. They could make this an LED light or incorporate a laser pointer to step it up a notch.

Charger/Batteries

Batteries are 2.4Ahr, not too shabby. I would prefer NiMH over NiCad, but the majority of manufacturers seems to be sticking with NiCad at this point. I am still debating buying an extra battery or picking up the 15 minute charger. Both of which are a heavy expense. I wish they would have included a fast charger like the Rigid kit.

Conclusion

You can't go wrong with the Bosch kit. Backed by a 3 year warranty, you see they are confident about their design. I had originally held the bag as a negative against Bosch. Now that I have it and see that it is a quality Bucketboss bag complete with 20+ pockets and shoulder strap, I would not want a plastic case. Between the jigsaw, hammer drill, warranty, and the bag, I am convinced Bosch is well beyond the others. For this, I award this kit 5 stars.

Another Great Quality product by Bosch-Thanks Bosch -you continually make Great, non -stop Products--Keep up the Good Work

When I was shopping around for a cordless combo kit Bosch was offering a free jigsaw and also a mail-in certificate for a free accessory with their 4-piece set. I chose a third battery as the free accessory because you can never have enough batteries when working with cordless tools. Also influencing my decision to purchase Bosch tools was the great reputation that their corded tools have. Plus you never see their cordless stuff on jobsites, and I wanted to stand out from the typical Dewalt user. I will be comparing these tools to Dewalt's because that's what I've used the most before this purchase.

Let's start out with the tool I use most, the hammerdrill/driver. It was the biggest disappointment in the whole kit. The auxiliary side hande would be a great addition to the tool if it actually worked. There is no way to attach it in a stable and safe manner due to the lack of notches or anything for it to grip on to. In fact, it seems as if the more you tighten the handle in place, the more likely it is to slip off. I think this is a huge safety issue, and I can't believe Bosch would sell such a cheap thing. As for the rest of the drill, it only has 2 speed settings, where Dewalts have 3. And compared to the Dewalt, Bosch's drill is extremely heavy and it's max rpm seems very slow. It does have a lot of torque, and works pretty good in hammerdrill mode.

The reciprocating saw was also a disappointment. At first it seems like a great tool with a lot of extras like 2 stroke length settings, the toolless blade clamp, and the pushbutton foot adjustment. The blade clamp is a joke compaired to Dewalt's. The blades seem to get jammed in there a lot and you can't undo the clamp without a pair of pliers. Overall, this sawzall vibrates way too much, and the dual stroke settings don't help this at all. Cutting metal conduit and threaded rod is a pain because this thing bounces all over the place. I think it has to do with the speed of the strokes, just like the drill it doesn't seem to have the speed of a Dewalt.

The circular saw is great. The only complaint I have is that it eats batteries very quickly. But this is a problem for all corless circular saws, and I would say that I like the Bosch better than the Dewalt corless saw.

The flashlight is a flashlight like all the others, but Dewalt's snakelight can be a lot more usefull. But I've seen a lot of those where the neck goes limp and then they become useless.

The jigsaw seems like a great tool but I haven't used it enough to give it an honest review. Bosch is known for having quality woodworking tools and this seems to be of very high quality.

The tool bag seems like a great idea but I began to dislike it after a while. There is almost infinite room for all your accessories but it just doesn't protect the tools like a hard case would. And as big as the bag is, it doesn't seem nearly big enough when all the tools are stuffed in it. Another thing I didn't like was the 1-hour charger that comes with the kit. Yeah it charges the batteries in about an hour, but it doesn't begin the charge until the battery cools down. Supposedly this is preserve the long life of your batteries but it is impractical in the real world. If you've just killed your battery using it, chances are it's too hot to be charged. So if it takes 1 hour for the battery to cool and another hour to charge, it's actually going to be 2 hours before that battery is charged and ready to use

So in conclusion, after about a year of using Bosch's cordless tools, I still feel I should have just stuck with Dewalt. In all fairness, I don't believe Bosch has been making cordless tools all that long and I'm sure they'll be making improvements over time.

This is extremely well-designed and well-built. If I could I would give more than Five stars for Bosch tools. I highly recommend it.

Admittedly I have a preference for BOSCH tools as I have been using them for many years. The Bosch jig saw is the industry standard and its reputation paved the way for my purchase of this set. As a professional I've used many types of cordless tools from all the major manufacturers. I believe they are all good and one should choose based on personal preferences; however, at the same time I feel this set has a few advantages over the competition.

The jig saw is superb. Bosch offers a rapid change blade system that literally spits out the blade with the flick of a lever. The blade stabilizer allows for very precise cuts as it keeps the blade straight with little deflection when cutting a straight or curved line. The grip is comfortable and the saw is not too heavy. Ditto for the circular saw and the sawsall reciprocating cut off saw. All are well made and offer reasonable power.

I use the term "reasonable" because one should realize that even the cheapest plug in saw-jig, circular, or cut off- offers much more power than the most expensive cordless equivalent. In terms of wattage, 18 volts cordless versus 110 volts direct current is no comparison, so anyone who relies solely on their cordless saw tools to do heavy duty cutting on a continuous basis will be very disappointed in the absence of power needed to chop up, for example, several 2X8's for a framing job or using the jig saw for a lot of plywood cutting. Having said that, I am not opposed to running an extension cord and plugging in my Bosch 1587 AVS jig saw to use should the cordless prove too weak for the task at hand. Note that battery life is limited when using a cordless saw for continuous heavy duty cutting.

Nonetheless, for those occasions when the convenience of a cordless saw outweighs the power requirements of the task at hand, you cannot go wrong with this set, and in fact, your work will improve due to the quality of cut each tool offers.

Finally, the cordless drill/driver is also a fine tool. It has a hammer feature that is crucial when drilling into cement or brick. The drill offers loads of power and is reasonably well balanced and the grip is comfortable, even for someone like myself who has a smaller hand. I do have two quibbles: the first is the auxillary handle that comes with the drill. It is cheaply made and does not attach to the drill's column in a way that offers stability. The neck of this handle is rubber and it is flexible, even flimsy, which stinks if you are attempting to hammer drill through cement and need and extra grip to keep the drill steady. Shame on Bosch for this cheapo excuse for a handle.

The other quibble against the drill is not directed toward Bosch, but the entire idea of using such a large drill for smaller applications, such as attaching small door hinges or cabinet hardware.You don't need a hammer drill, nor a drill with a 1/2 inch chuck for delicate work. You probably don't need 18 volts either, as you can easily rip the screw head off (or worse) if you use this drill for a light weight application, regardless of the variable torque setting. As a solution I also own a Bosch 18 volt regular drill with a 3/8 inch chuck that works much better for lighter applications. Nonetheless, between everything offered with this set including some nice accessories, blades, carrying bag, and two high capacity batteries, anyone planning to utilize these tools to their fullest potential will not be disappointed.