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Thread: How bad are Ryobi 18 tools?

  1. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wade Lippman View Post
    I have a set of 15 year old Dewalt nicad 12v tools. The batteries die about 1 per year, and I have 4 left, so I can keep going for a while.
    MTO Battery can repair your old battery packs. I've had several of mine repaired and they work better than new.
    Lee Schierer
    USNA '71
    Go Navy!

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  2. #32
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    Ryobi tools, for the most part, are a tremendous value for the occasional, undemanding user. Great for the home handyman that isn't so handy. But man, if you use them side by side with Milwaukee, Makita or Dewalt (those are the ones I have experience with) there's no question that the Ryobi are vastly inferior. But like I said, if your expectations are low, then they present a lot of bang for the buck.

  3. #33
    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    MTO Battery can repair your old battery packs. I've had several of mine repaired and they work better than new.
    Interstate Batteries (retail store) sells the 12V DeWalt battery packs (rebuilds.) Apparently they sell quite a lot of them, because the DeWalt 12V chargers don't work so good.

  4. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    MTO Battery can repair your old battery packs. I've had several of mine repaired and they work better than new.
    Thanks for posting this Lee!
    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  5. #35
    I realize this thread is 2 mos old and you may have already bought something. But here are my thoughts in case they help someone.....

    I had an early version Ryobi 12v. Used it until the batteries crapped-out and it worked just fine for arouns the house. At Christmas this year, the BORG had a nice 12v Milwaukee Fuel with charger and one battery for about $100. I bought it, based on Malcolm Schweitzer's hurricane experience and subsequent advice. I love that tool. It really holds a charge, too. I see that CPO has a reconditioned one right now for $79. That might be worth a look if you haven't already bought the Ryobi.

    Fred
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  6. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Wolfe View Post


    +7



    18-Volt ONE+ AirStrike 16-Gauge Cordless Straight Nailer



    I use oneof the Ryobi 18 gauge nailers quite often
    pretty handy and reliable until you try driving 2" pins into hard maple
    Carpe Lignum

  7. #37
    The people that say Ryobi tools are junk either never owned one or bought one of their tools that really is junk and never tried the others.

    In the 18V line, I have most of them and I haven't found any bad ones but I don't use the jig saw much. It is noticably worse with blade lean than my Bosch. But Bosch makes what I think are the best jig saws. The circular saw and reciprocating saw were not very useful on Ni-Cd but work well with lithium ion batteries. The drills work great. I broke one drilling 2 1/8 holes for locksets in exterior doors. It did a few but failed. It was probably 10 years old. I had another go missing. So I bought two new ones. I've drilled 1/2 inch holes in my boat trailer with my Ryobi drills. I did all the drilling for the wiring in my shop with them. It was the only drill I had with the torque to drive an Irwin speed bore bit. I went through up to 5 2x4s with it. The 18 gauge brad nailer is GREAT. I've driven close to 10,000 brads with it so far, most of them 2 inch. I've retrimmed my house, mainly with this nailer. I also have a weed whacker and a bush trimmer that use the same 18 V batteries. They are also very capable tools. My newest is a 18V shop vac. It works great with my sanders and to clean out the car. Surprisingly powerful.

    Ryobi is not a brand where you can assume any tool they make is a great tool. They do make some junk. But they also make some pretty good tools. They are not Festools. But they aren't priced like them either. The only DeWalt cordless I've owned was a drill. It was OK but no better than my Ryobis. I own Bosch, DeWalt, Festool, Rigid, and HF tools in addition to Ryobi. It is just wrong to assume all Ryobi tools are junk. I am happy to compare my results with anybody who wants to bash Ryboi. I am pretty sure I've done as much or more and done as difficult things.

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Pratt View Post
    Ryobi tools, for the most part, are a tremendous value for the occasional, undemanding user. Great for the home handyman that isn't so handy. But man, if you use them side by side with Milwaukee, Makita or Dewalt (those are the ones I have experience with) there's no question that the Ryobi are vastly inferior. But like I said, if your expectations are low, then they present a lot of bang for the buck.
    ya know, frank, if I wasn't so tired from driving 1/2" x 5" lag screws all day for my new deck with my vastly inferior, low expectation, not so handy ryobi driver, I'd take umbrage at your comments. But it's a holiday.............
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  9. #39
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    MTO Battery can repair your old battery packs. I've had several of mine repaired and they work better than new.
    Yup, I had 2 Porter Cable 14.4 v. battery packs rebuilt 10+ years ago. I lent it to a family member where it sat in an old garage unused and uncharged for years. I got it back a few years ago and figured it was toast but decided to charge it and see what happened. It did take a charge and power seemed where it should be, don't know about endurance. In some cases they replace NiCad with NiMH, the chargers will work with either. I haven't looked at their site for years, haven't needed their service since getting Bosch LiIon tools. They weren't doing much with LiIon last time I looked, it looks like they are now.

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Carey View Post
    ya know, frank, if I wasn't so tired from driving 1/2" x 5" lag screws all day for my new deck with my vastly inferior, low expectation, not so handy ryobi driver, I'd take umbrage at your comments. But it's a holiday.............
    Bill, I did get a little carried away with my hyperbole there. I should have left out "vastly" & said "lower expectation". I'm speaking as a guy who uses my cordless tools all day long. I didn't mean to offend, just wasn't thinking.

  11. #41
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    Based on the Ryobi router & CMS I've had, I'd take Ryobi any day of the week over the newer Porter Cable stuff from Lowes, Black and Decker and/or Harbor Freight (unless I had a one time "throw away" type of job.

    HOWEVER - - as with all lower cost/lower quality stuff, you don't see a huge difference except when you try to push something to it's limits.
    The cheaper stuff poops out a lot sooner and often, it never recovers from the experience. DeWalt, Milwaukee, Bosch & Makita - just bounce back and ask for more.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  12. #42
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    no worries Frank - but I am speaking as a person who used his tools every day, all day, for 50 years (and still going strong) building everything from houses to skyscrapers to boats to furniture. I guess we just differ on our opinions. But whats nice about SMC is we can differ without getting cranky. And that's great.

    My expectations for my tools have always been that they work. Never cared what name was on them. I'm still using (by coincidence) a Ryobi sliding miter box that's about 30 years old because it still cuts dead nuts 90's and 45's.
    20171224_115202.jpg
    When it quits working to my standards I'll look to replace it. But I'm not going to look for the next shiny new thing just cuz. I have Dewalt battery tools as well as Milwaukee, and I use them - no significant drop off in performance when I use the Ryobi tools. Still using my ancient sawzall. And I love my 25 dollar pin nailer from HF. Been going strong for over 2 years. I'm not one of those guys who likes to "have" tools - I like to use (and sometimes abuse) them to get the job done right.
    Stand for something, or you'll fall for anything.

  13. #43
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    I has in Hoe Depot the other day looking to buy the Roybi corded clutch drill. They no longer have any corded Roybi stuff. Despite what the web site says.
    Bill D

  14. #44
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Dwight View Post
    Ryobi is not a brand where you can assume any tool they make is a great tool. They do make some junk. But they also make some pretty good tools. They are not Festools. But they aren't priced like them either.
    Is there any confusion between Ryobi's new color scheme and Festool's original color scheme, from a distance? Something IMO is off here.
    Last edited by Doug Dawson; 07-05-2018 at 6:43 PM.

  15. #45
    Quote Originally Posted by Bill Dufour View Post
    I has in Hoe Depot the other day looking to buy the Roybi corded clutch drill. They no longer have any corded Roybi stuff. Despite what the web site says.
    Bill D
    I have one of those corded drill drivers and think it is great value for the money. It is cheaper now than when I bought it 2 years ago at the store. Order it on line and if you don't want it delivered to your house, pick it up at the store when it comes.

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