Porter-Cable Launches New 18V Line
By Sean O'Hara
Porter-Cable just announced their new line of 18V tools. They’ve built the core of the line from a mixed bunch of lithium and Ni-cad tools — judging from Porter-Cable’s site, the combo kits only include the Ni-cad tools thus far.
In fact, the drill appears to be the only lithium tool in the launch — the recip, circ, hammer drill, and flashlight are all Ni-cad. There’s nothing wrong with that, as quite a few contractors out there prefer them. It’s just weird to see one Li-ion as the black sheep in a new line rollout with a “next generation of cordless power” vibe.
Still, the tools look nice, and the hammer drill produces 490 inch-pounds of torque, which is some serious power to have on hand, even if it is Ni-cad.
New 18V Line Of Power Tools [Porter-Cable]
October 22nd, 2008 at 4:40 pm
It mostly looks like the old B&D firestorm crap with a new color scheme. It really is a shame that PC’s good name has been whored out in this manner, they used to have some of the better cordless tools.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Koba said it…
October 22nd, 2008 at 8:44 pm
I hope that this is not a harbinger of bad things to come for Porter-Cable. We’ve used their tools in fairly large quantity – since the old days when they were owned by Rockwell International and bore the Rockwell name. I still think that our old PC locomotive (chain-drive) belt sanders are best in class – although they are out of production. We also swear by their door planer and versa-planes – even though we switch to Makita and Mafell when we need something larger. Their 4-1/2 in worm-gear-drive trim saw is also a workhorse for our crews. I also think that their biscuit jointer is a decent tool with a bit more versatility than our Lamello.
On their cordless tools – they were innovators when the introduced their Magnequench line – but it seems that they let leadership in this area slip away from them for several years now. Maybe their B&D parent is concentrating more on their Dewalt line. In any event, we had moved to Makita for most of our cordless drills and impact drivers with a smattering of Milwaukee cordless saws.
October 23rd, 2008 at 6:21 am
As fred pointed out …… BnD has been putting a lot of effort into thier dewalt line as the “contractor” style tooling, and seemed to make Porter Cable a stricly ‘woodworker” name. I hoped that they would take some of the tech from dewalt (metal ratcheting chuck that is awsome) and put it in the Porter Line. I would hate to see Porter Cable go the way side since it has such a long distiguished history……
October 26th, 2008 at 11:41 pm
Well my Harborfreight 18V drill finally decided to end it all. Jumped off an 8′ ladder on to a concrete floor. Poor little guy will be missed.
So I spent the good part of the next day going to various stores looking for a replacement. When I bought the HF 4pc combo, I paid $139. I ran across the Porter cable set at Lowes for $159. I have 1 other PC tool, a jig saw, based on its quality, I decided to give this set a try.
So far, I’m pretty impressed. Much better than the HF set. More torque, better quality of plastic, lighter/stronger. Nice!
October 28th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Toolmongers,
I understand from talking to a salesperson @ Lowe’s, these tools are supposed be an “in between” cordless line geared to a value oriented contractor who would normally purchase the Ryobi One Plus line vs. more expensive DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc. They do kinda look like Firestorms, I hope they are built better.
The lithium battery is available as an option (probably to keep cost down).
Just my $.02,
OhioHead
February 21st, 2009 at 10:52 am
To:Mark Bickford
Wondering how they are holding up? Thinking about buying a set.