Customer Reviews

POWER8 Workshop WS1 Full Workshop-in-One with Armored Case

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Negative:
I have 2 concerns about this kit:
1) The armored case is far from durable. It is made of cheap brittle plastic. I can imaging it cold outside and cracking/breaking when you throw it in your truck bed. If this was made of tougher rubberized plastic it would be better. Case will NOT take much abuse and you must be delicate with it. Considering the case is the unique key feature of this kit, they should have "beefed" it up.
2) The tools themselves are typical mid-range NiCad quality. I have some concerns about the connection points between the handle and tools. If you step on the drill on the floor the weakest point is this junction point between the handle and the tool. If this breaks, it will render the tool useless.

Positive:
- Like the features/Idea
- Like the jig/saber saw. Most kits don't come with this.

Over all, this kit needs to be more durable and is NOT for someone(contracter) that works with these tools everyday. However, the kit is "nifty" and is a great Idea. I just wish they 1) Made the Armored Case tougher and 2) Had used lithium rather than NiCad or 3) Priced the Kit lower.

Six-months ago I got one of these to try, but do not have it anymore. I had it for a weekend and promptly returned it. I bought it out of curiosity and confess I had little intention of keeping it, so that may skew the value of my opinion. Having stated that up front, here is what I think.

Pros
--- This truly is a clever design for portability, lightweight and compactness. It is small enough to fit in a small trunk or in the corner of a crowded apartment. (Though I am not sure what kind of renovations you might be doing in a crowded rental property)
--- It has sufficient safety features to protect a moderately careful amateur, and that's good, because i can only imagine amateurs using this.

Cons
---None of the individual tools are ANY good. In fact these may be the cheapest imported toys I have EVER seen. Even the light is crummy, and I don't count the light as a "tool" unless it's dark.
--- All of the mounting mechanisms are sloppy. The "table saw" is held in place loosely and slips back and forth, canceling any possibility for accurate cuts. The hooks that hold the "drill press" in place wobbles.
--- The "fence" of the "table-saw" attaches firmly at both ends, but is hard to move and nearly impossible to square.
--- The "drill press" lever-arm sticks and binds. The post is weak and prone to twisting. Its action is loose and sloppy, even with only light pressure in softwood.
---The circ-saw is too small and underpowered. Its bearings are junk, noisy, plastic that could not possibly last long. The stamped-metal baseplate is out-of-square, thin and weak. My was bent right out of the box.
---The jig-saw is even worse than my son-in-law's B&D clone that cost $18 dollars. The blade moves up and down, but also wobbles left and right, with almost no cutting power even with a freshly-charged battery and a good blade.
---The Bag is a nuisance to pack. (Especially if you try to pack everything the way it came so you can return it)
--- The box is brittle thin plastic that would easily shatter if dropped or pounded on as shown in videos. I doubt the thin Polypropylene latches would last either.
---None of the motors have enough power to cut anything except thin soft pine.
---The drill has a nice handle, but bogs down when you press into wood or even soft metal, like aluminum.
---The blades that come with the saws are ultra cheapo, not sharp, and get duller quickly.
---Batteries do not charge in one hour as stated in the manual and advertisements. Even if they did, they don't last long.
---The manual is terrible; one of those poorly-translated, "Gee-wiz! Look at all these groovy things this swiss army-knife will do! Congratulations on your most wise purchase" kind of manuals.
---The price is ridiculous for this level of "quality." You can get MUCH better quality tool-sets for this money at almost any home-store, or even Wal Mart. It would be no bargain at half the price.

As admitted, I got this partly out of curiosity, expecting it to be junk. Also, I often buy inexpensive tools to try out to see if they work at all, or if they can be modified for some special use. Over the years, I've learned a lot about customizing cheap tools or building my own using features of commercial designs. Occasionally, I'll find a "diamond in the rough;" some tool that can be tweaked, modified, reconfigured or adjusted to work well. That's great when it happens because you can save some money and still get a certain minimum level of performance. Or sometimes cheap tools can just be cannibalized for motors and other parts. But this? It's surprised me by being even worse than my low expectations.

Nevertheless, you could cull a few ideas from its design by incorporating GOOD tools into your home-made portable tool-box / work-station.

I will also admit that I got one good idea from this design which I then incorporated into my home-made jig-saw table; the blade guard. The guard on this is merely to prevent wandering fingers from touching the blade. It is flimsy but functional.

After thinking about it, I redesigned my own jig-saw table (a board mounted to a tall trash-can) to guard my fingers AND provide lateral support to the blade using two ceramic guide-bearings called "cool-blocks." With a solid plywood table and this rigid guard / guide, my Bosch jig-saw now operates like mini band-saw / scroll-saw.

If someone was motivated to do so, he or she could adopt some of the design features of this gimmicky little set-up to his own tools or custom workstation. Other than that, I can see no reason to spend money on this disturbingly flimsy junk.

I have no compunction about using cheap tools when they work, and I revel in light-weight, portable, clever engineering. I Actually LIKE some cheap tools better than high-priced stuff in some cases. But this tool-set only guarantees poor results and frustrating woodworking attempts that would probably thwart anyone's interest in craft-work forever. Even if you were the most inexperienced home-owner looking for a cheap "one-size fits all" solution to home repair or DIY projects, you could do much better for much less with standard tools from any home-store.

Ryobi or B&D tools are better. "Tool Shop" and "Work-Force" tools are better. Harbor Freight has better stuff.

Avoid this, unless you just want to return it to annoy and punish those who sell it for hawking such junk.

I bought this product for use on a sailboat. To date, I love it. No, you won't build the Ark with it and it won't rip 4x2's but for most boat projects it fills a perfect niche between expensive bench tools and hand tools. I did have a problem with the charging element after a few months and e-mailed the company. Same day reply from the UK boss, same day reply from the US (Jon T. F. Martin -Vice President of Sales). Next day shipping of replacement case at no cost to me. These people deserve to do well.

I have no affiliation with the company etc.

Gerry

First of all, This product rocks. it was so easy i could use it and im 12. The one guy, g. conner must have been trying to cut a huge tree with this thing becuase his description doesnt match this product at all. and the 1 star review is wrong. i may be 12 but i still can see quality and its here. the first thing i used on this was the drill and it is great. these tools may only be 18 volts but they have alot of torque in them. i believe this may be something ill use forever and someone said the box was brittle... ya,maybe if you leave it in the sun for weeks and let it get destroyed, duh. i have showed this to my entire family and all are impressed and that includes my dad who manages a factory that has every tool imaginable and i swear he was thinking about replacing about half of them with this. if you like diy, cant afford the big tools(table saw, Drill press, etc.), or dont have a space of your own to work on wood,metal,etc. then get this. if your wurried about annoying that old lady down stairs, get this its quiet. if you see this and you like tools, get this. OR JUST BUY THIS ANYWAY.

For those of us part time carpenters and do it your self'ers this is perfect. somebody put alot of thought in to this thing. i was very impressed with how they got so much in such a small package. i was expecting cheap second grade power tools and was pleased to find as good a drill as my name brand cordless. all feels well built. havent had a chance to use everything yet so this is short. out of the box i think this is the best all-n-one i have ever seen. more after i get to play with it.

I didn't care for it. There wasn't enough power in the tools so I returned it and purchased the tools I needed individually.

I've purchased the POWER8 when we bought our home in 2008 and have NOT been disappointed at all. I have not had a chance to use all the tools this little machine offers. The tools I use the most are the circular saw and the drill. Although we have the room for full size tools - I like the fact that the POWER8 does not require us to give up any space in our garage. The tool I wish the POWER8 included is a router and that missing tool is the only reason I didn't award this item the full 5 stars.

I am pretty satisfied with this product the only complaint i have is that it has a bulky design and the release for the battery rests right inbetween your thumb and index finger making it un comfertibal to use outside of that i ran over 800 screws on one battery and its a good price i would recomend it for any doit yourselfer

This tool is well made and valuable for those who are short on storage. The compact package provides an easy transformation from one function to another. Highly recommended!!!

......on ANYTHING!!! It is garbage.......PLEASE trust me folks...save your money. Why could I not have just listened to my buddy and go with a table saw????? I was like a child on Christmas day awaiting its arrival.....Santas elves manufactured a poor product. I wish I could rate lower than 1 star