That’s right, Stanley Black & Decker is coming out with yet another line of corded and cordless power tools, this time under their Bostitch brand.
Word has it that the Bostitch tools are intended as affordably priced power tools. It’s hard to tell from early images, but to me it looks like the new Bostitch power tools are rebranded Porter Cable and Stanley FatMax designs.
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What is interesting is that Stanley Black & Decker is giving the cordless Bostitch power tools “18V Li” branding instead of 20V Max. Perhaps this means that an upgraded 20V Max lineup of cordless tools is already planned and in the works.
Update: Bostitch’s new power tools will be launching at Walmart, and will follow at online distributors.
It will be interesting to see how well Bostitch power tools will sell in larger cities. Walmart has for a long time taken a firm anti-union position, which doesn’t sit well with a lot of unionized tradesmen.
New Bostitch Corded Tools
- 3/8″ 6.5A drill – BTE100K ($50)
- 1/2″ VSR 7A 2-speed hammer drill – BTE140K ($80)
- 7-1/4″ 15A circular saw – BTE300K ($90)
- 6A orbital jig saw – BTE340K ($80)
- 8.5A reciprocating saw – BTE360K ($90)
- 4-1/2″ 7A angle grinder – BTE820K ($60)
New Bostitch 18V Li-ion Cordless Tools
- 1/2″ drill/driver kit – BTC400LB ($150)
- 1/4″ hex impact driver kit – BTC440LB ($100)
- Compact Li-ion battery – BTC480L ($70)
- Charger – BTC492L ($55)
- Drill/driver and impact driver combo kit – BTCK410L2 ($190)
In addition to the new tools, Bostitch will be coming out with a limited line of power tool accessories, such as drill bits, screwdriver bits, and saw blades.
Under the Stanley Black & Decker umbrella we now have:
- Black & Decker
- Bostitch
- Dewalt (with 2 separate lines of cordless products)
- Porter Cable (also with 2 separate lines of cordless products)
- Stanley FatMax (sold at Walmart in the USA, although SBD marketing has continued to insist these tools are not available outside of Canada)
Black & Decker power tools are aimed at homeowners and DIYers, Dewalt power tools are aimed at professional users, Stanley FatMax power tools are apparently aimed at Walmart shoppers, and Porter Cable tools have been marketed as being below Dewalt as professional-grade affordable tools.
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Public opinion about Porter Cable has differed in recent years, with a lot of professional users having lost respect for the brand. Porter Cable sees Ryobi as their main competition, which doesn’t really help things in my opinion. Their 18V tools are reasonably good, but are not considered in the same light as Porter Cable’s tools from years back. It looks like their 20V Max cordless tool line expansion is an attempt to change this, but the outcome is uncertain.
So where does Bostitch fit in? According to early information, the Bostitch power tools are contractor-grade and affordably priced, but the same has been said about Porter Cable’s new 20V Max cordless tools and recent corded products.
At the surface it is possible Stanley Black & Decker’s marketing team took existing tool designs and slapped new Bostitch labels on them. This is what a lot of users believe Porter Cable did when Black & Decker FireStorm tools were discontinued a few years back. It will be interesting to see what pro’s think of these tools once they hit store shelves later in the year.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind so much overlap if the different brands’ batteries were cross-platform compatible. Imagine a world where you could use a Dewalt drill with a Porter Cable battery and Bostitch charger. But that’s not going to happen.
If I’m confused about how Bostitch plays into Stanley Black & Decker’s other power tool lines, I can only imagine that consumers will also be confused. I am not a fan of Bostitch hand tools at all, although my experience with them has been limited to a handful of products, but apparently they’ve been selling well enough for SBD to put Bostitch branding on a new line of power tools as well.
When I think Bostitch, I think staplers and nailers, not drills and saws.
What do you guys think? Yay or Nay for Bostitch-branded power tools?
mike
I have a few bostitch branded tools but none of them are power tools, I have some of their hammers and bubble levels which I consider nice and made well. My cordless drills have always been Dewalt,althou I have owned one porter cable drill iun my life and it was very nice but it was when they made a higher quality product as well.
Hang Fire
I think this brand proliferation is a natural extension of brand lock-in, especially by Home Depot. In order to compete in more than one Home Center, B&D has to essentially create brands and product line-ups at will.
mnoswad1
That would be fine if the different brands all somehow just happened to be able to use the same battery packs even if not a feature that was advertised.
Jason
I though the idea was for companies to have as few strong brands as possible look at GM before they reorganized. I know they are standard SBD tool designs with different colored cases nothing is really a new clean sheet design. This is just going to cause them to have to shift marketing and design teams around and that seems that could be disruptive to the other brands.
Tim
I think it makes each brand strong for an impending sell-off of brands under the sbd umbrella. It may not be good for marketing but if everyone’s buying everything from sbd (and lets face it half the consumers don’t know who the parent company is) they can’t lose. My big quandry is why are most of the kits around the same prices if ones a budget conscious pro grade tool and the other is a pro grade tool for budget conscious users… Or did I just answer my own question?
Stuart
On the contrary, I feel it waters down brands in some cases. In regard to Porter Cable, they lost a lot of respect over the years. It’s hard to convince users that a $90 cordless drill and circular saw combo kit is “pro-grade” when other pro-grade kits are priced so much higher.
With these Bostitch tools, I read “wow, you won’t believe these prices” somewhere, which doesn’t sit well with me. If they start selling a line of cheap power tools, eventually that could cheapen the perception of their nailers and pneumatics line.
Joe
I agree, why not just sell their homeowner grade power tools under black and decker and stanley?
Hang Fire
Because those brands have lost respect among home owners who have own them recently.
Stuart
Not really. From what I can tell, Black & Decker tools continue to sell well. They don’t seem to be as popular as Craftsman or Ryobi tools, but they’re not exactly warming the shelves.
Black & Decker’s Matrix modular tool platform, as well as the Craftsman Bolt-On tools that are also made by Black & Decker, have sold incredibly well this past year.
It’s easy for more seasoned tool users to scoff at entry-level and DIYer tool brands, but they continue to be quite popular with their targeted users.
Don Smith
I was away from the house and needed an impact driver and drill. I took a chance because of the price, and I thought I would have these as a backup for Dewalt. I now have two of the impact drivers and three drills. They have held up and have plenty of power. I could care less about brand names or even which big box store carries what I need. IMHO these tools are a good deal and, are worth the asking price.
rob
I am not their target audience but to me Bostich is/was a very good line of fasteners and air powered nail guns/staplers. Now I am not sure what it is or is to become…
Allen
Seems someday the companies will run out of brands to milk. Everything will be homogenized. ( see what i did there ?)
How many new brands have come onto the scene in recent years ? I’m not in the loop so much anymore but Kobalt is the only one I can think of. Maybe it’s older than I think.
gregg
Arn’t these companies all related some how? Just w/different colors/logos/etc………………..
fred
Over the years we bought quite a number of Bostitch pneumatic tools – where (along with staplers) the brand seemingly built its reputation. Some of their products represented innovation at the time they were introduced. Their MCN150 metal connector nailer was a solid tool that was much more compact and user friendly than what it once had for competition. We used a few of their flooring nailers and liked their SX150-BHF-2 and LHF97125-2 flooring staplers – but I recall that their house wrap stapler (SB150SLBC-1) soon got superseded by a Senco tool and we came to like the Powernail 50P-FLEXRL much better than our older Bostich and Porta-Nail (at one time a Porter Cable brand) flooring nailers. If I recall correctly – our small pneumatic tool inventory (nailers and staplers) was probably equally split between Bostitch and Hitachi tools with a few others (like Makita siding nailers, Senco house wrap staplers, Senco Senclamp staplers, Mangone Pex staplers, Grex and Cadex Pinners, and Powernail flooring nailers) thrown in. For whatever reason – we never bought a Paslode pneumatic tool – but bought quite a number of their impulse (fuel gas engine driven) tools.
With SBD moving the brand into the electric tool market – I’m reminded of what once was a classic Detroit strategy of trying to sell more cars by offering more brands. While not a precise analogy – one is reminded that many of the so called “big-3” automakers now have many fewer ( not more) brands.
Aellynh
Too much brand overlap, not enough differentiating factors. I fail to see the point of adding another tier to an already crowded set of brands when they are all cross-competing between themselves. Can’t remember the last time I’ve seen anyone using a PC 20V max system, let alone a single tool. Same goes for B&D, they seem to be relegated to homeowner special at best, at worst they’re the brunt of jokes about value-priced low quality tools.
Stuart
To be fair to the Porter Cable 20V system, they only have two tools – a drill/driver and impact driver – and single battery size in the platform. An expansion is planned for later this year, after which the line might see increasing popularity.
Aellynh
I don’t really feel that PC 20V tools are inherently bad in any way, they just don’t really have a lot in the ways of market appeal when there are (relatively) comparably priced models of tools with more reputable brands. If anything, that is probably the biggest thing holding back Porter Cable at this point, brand recognition and reputation. I’ll echo the sentiments of what other folks have mentioned, I’m not sure if they hold the same name strength they once held.
Chris
When the PC brand 20v max system come out, the local hardware store, a big quebec chain called BMR had them on special for like 189 canadian for the kit… Store got like 10 kits and sold them so fast it would make your head spin… It was a good price for a name brand kit so people bought it… Your probably not often gonna see em on a jobsite but for people who want a good tool and no longer want cheapo B&D will buy it
Stuart
Right now that kit is $149 at Lowes. That’s a great price, but approaches too close to the DIYer pricing of their 18V NiCd and Li-ion kits, in my honest opinion.
I am a big proponent of Porter Cable’s 20V Max tools, but I just cannot see them in the same light as Hitachi, Ridgid, or other brands that hover around the fine line between “affordable pro-grade” and “pro-grade”. The PC 20V tools seem to hover more between the line of “DIYer” and “affordable pro-grade,” and I don’t think that’s where they want to be. Perhaps Bostitch will take this spot and bump up the perception of Porter Cable tools a notch.
Chris
Ridgid tools to me seem like cheap tools and no better then I’d probably get with a PC type tools…I have no real experience using them but when I seen them at home depot I was never tickled pink about them. With the 20v system coming from PC I can see the old systems being phased out
Stuart
Ridgid tools are actually quite sturdy, in my experience.
Porter Cable reps have indicated that the 18V line will NOT be phased out, as the tools have sold extremely well at Lowes stores.
LORDDiESEL (GJ Forum)
I don’t know about the newer ridgid cordless tools, but in 08, my coworker bought the best kit they had. We worked it the same as we did our Dewalt, and it lasted 4 months. The impact actually caught fire driving in 5″ screws. The drill didn’t do much better.
Stuff was junk.
Jerry
If they want to have 4 brands of power tools, so be it, but simplify things, please.
Might I suggest something like this:
DeWalt – top of the line, full featured tools
P-C – high quality ‘basic’ tools (the DW could have the 3 speed drill, PC the 2 speed as an example)
Stanley/Fatmax high end homeowner tools.
B-D – basic budget tools
An added bonus would be the “contractor” grade tools could share a battery platform, and the homeowner and budget could share another. Do it all with 2 battery platforms, just different AH ratings (and size/weight), and simplify, simplify, simplify.
Too much overlap, just makes for too much confusion.
Stuart
Technically, they now have 6 power tool brands, if you consider how Porter Cable’s 18V and 20V Max Li systems are quite different, as are some of their corded tools.
If you ask me, the Porter Cable 18V cordless tools and lower-featured corded tools should receive Stanley FatMax branding, and be positioned above Black & Decker but below the Porter Cable 20V Max line. But even in that case, I just can’t see the reasoning behind a Bostitch line of power tools.
Jerry
I agree. Why do they need another brand (and yet another battery platform)? The last thing the average Joe needs are multiple batteries and chargers. As they are going to slide-on lithium batteries, I wish they would give us some cross compatibility. I like some DeWalt tools, and some PC, but I don’t want two sets of chargers and batteries.
JCC
I think the key is not to let yourself become wedded to one particular brand of power tool, unless that brand is the best available for whatever tool you’re trying to buy.
In my case, my two cordless drills are Bosch. Anything cordless I buy from now on will most likely stay Bosch, because I don’t want to screw around with another battery system. I have a Craftsman Industrial corded drill, a Skil Belt Sander, a Ryobi Planer, a Ridgid drill press, and a Craftsman branded DeWalt reciprocating saw. My woodworking equipment is mostly Craftsman or Craftsman Pro, but the router is secretly manufactured by Bosch, the Miter Saw is actually a Craftsman-branded Ryobi, the Band Saw is Porter Cable, the scroll saw is a Dremel, and the belt/disc sander is a Delta.
The problem is that all these brands have specialties, like Bostitch with their fasteners and staplers, but they all try to diversify and bank on the name. Sometimes these products are good…sometimes they’re junk. I tend to think this is why COO is important. If the product is made at the home factory in the USA, or where the company’s specialty products are made (such as the Mexican factory where Porter-Cable makes their routers) it may very well be a quality product. If it looks like it’s coming from some random part of mainland China with a brand name sticker slapped on it, I’d say the company probably has not invested too much energy into it, and it may be garbage.
Stuart
That’s my policy as well, and with corded tools it’s easy to shop around for the best tool that suits a user and their intended use.
But for many professional users, having to deal with multiple battery platforms can create slowdowns or other issues at jobsites. A lot of tradesmen prefer to buy into a single platform, maybe more if there’s good enough reason, and stick with them.
Javier
I like all of Stanley black and Decker brands and have never been let down by any. I still have a corded b & d drill from 09 that still works great. I use for mixing thinset. Along with an old cordless screwdriver collecting dust. Although I like their brands I thought that having b&d Porter cable and dewalt was pushing it then came their Stanley fat max power tools and that became crowded and now Bostitch. I don’t see the point of Bostitch affordable contractor power tools when they already have 2 Porter cable lines. None of the walmarts in my area have Stanley fat max power tools so I wonder if they are regional and Bostitch will fill in the gaps. I’m sure the power tools will be great for their price point I just don’t see the point of that many brands. It would be great if platforms were cross compatible. I’ve been tempted into buying certain Porter cable tools and even would be nice to buy some b&d yard tools to use with dewalt batteries.
fred
I believe that Black & Decker invented the portable electric drill around the time doughboys were going off to fight in the trenches of France in WWI (1917). I too have some old (1970’s vintage) B&D tools – including a 1/2 inch corded (Pipe Handled-Blimp) drill – and a Super Sawcat with electronic brake – that I consider quite possibly the best portable electric sidewinder saw ever made for general use ( I’ve used Mafell timber framing saws that may be of the same build quality – but I would not consider them general purpose jobsite saws). Used Super Sawcats still command prices in the $200 or more range. – and while we’re on the subject of vintage SBD brands – vintage sanders and power planes from Porter Cable also command steep prices. My 503 (locomotive style sander) with chain-driven 3×24 belt is 40 years old and still going strong. I see one (new old stock) on Amazon selling for over $1200 – and used ones going for over $200.
matt
Its probably a tricky way to continue to cheapen the flag ship line(dewalt). They can put out another bargain basement brand with sub par or slightly above that performance. And it makes a 10 year old design that they have for the Dewalt brand look ground breaking..
Boshtich, PC are both good names with contractors and DIYers. it will be easy to compare them to other high end brands even when its pretty much a sub par store brand.
joe
Price has nothing to do with quality the 20volt porter cable drill and impact driver are every bit as good as dewalt ,milwaukee,bosch and makita at a lower price just because something cost more doesn’t mean its better just take a look at the mafell jigsaw which cost almost 700 dollars and the bosch jigsaw cost about 200 dollars and they peform about the same and some people say the bosch is better i have never used a mafell but i have used a bosch and i really can’t see how you can improve on it shit my 80 dollar porter cable jigsaw does me just fine
Stuart
Price can sometimes be an indicator of quality, but it is just as true that pricing can also skew opinions.
Having tested Porter Cable’s 20V drill and impact driver, I can say that they are NOT in the same league as Milwaukee, Bosch, or Makita cordless products. They perform quite well, but they lack some of the bells and whistles the other brands build into their higher-tier products.
fred
A side-by-side comparison is sometimes difficult to do for the average Joe – but as you say the bells and whistles are often only put on the flagship brand. A good example is the compact router kits from Dewalt (611PK – $168 at Amazon) and the PC (450PK – $160 at Amazon) – for $8 more you get LED lighting (not sure what else lurks under the hood) – and a yellow – instead of black and silver color scheme.
LORDDiESEL (GJ Forum)
I’m going to pass on these home hacker specials. I have a Bostitch spiker and a coil gun and they’re awesome. I’m not liking their finishing guns as of late. They feel like cheap and have trouble setting the heads on 16g and 18g nails. It drives me nuts have to set them by hand. To my surprise, i’ve been giving the dewalt guns a try and they’ve been smooth and bullet proof.
amy
I have limited experience with most of these brands, most of my tools are DeWalt and as a previous commenter mentioned, it will likely stay that way for battery platform reasons. It seems to me that since Porter Cable can really only be sold in Lowe’s stores and some random Ace Hardwares, etc., SBD needed a brand they could take to other stores. Bostitch has a certain level of respect among the semi-professionals correct? So that’s gotta be the brand they take to other chain stores to get shelf space. Keep in mind that Wal-mart might be a sort of launch partner but do you really think its going to stay exclusive there?
Stuart
Now someone is saying that the tools will be available via other distributors as well. So maybe Walmart is just the launch partner as you suggested.
Bkelley
I gave up on bigger brands like makita bc of battery issues. I’ve been using the pc 20v max drill and impact since the week it’s been out and they both r beasts. I’m a traveling MRI room installer and on wall and ceiling install days the batteries get charged 4-5 times daily. The impact has been dropped by my co-worker from 14 feet and 8 feet and still kicks the dog. I’ve had lots of comments about how odd they look but all have like them. I’d love to have a fuel system or new Bosch brushless along with all the bells and whistles…. But why? I’ve got my trusty Pc corded hammer drill for drilling anchors for the MRI magnet posts. Hurry up and expand this system PC!
paul hatch
well its hard to comment on the quality of the new Bostitch line of tools because i havent seen one in action, but if the drills are anything like the new 20 volt Porter Cable it aint good, i bought one 4 months ago and it is already giving me problems, yea the price was good but the old porter cable quality is gone. when you make your living using powertools every day you and i really need them to last longer than a few months. lately ive been searching EBAY for tools that are in pretty good shape that were made in the ole U S A but i will probably try one of the new bostitch tools just to see , cause ive had great luck with their air nailers for years, we will all just have to wait and see
David
I use Dewalt tools everyday, however I am going to buy the impact drill from bostich and see what good it does. I’m also going to go ahead and buy the circular saw. Only time will tell. Hopefully they come out with a worm drive.
Kyle
Ill just stick with Mikita. Bostitch nailers are still alright but not what they used to be. Only Stanley tools that are good are their Proto hand tools.
Tyler McKellar
I purchased the Bostitch circular saw a few weeks ago. Did a little bit of research and read a few reviews on it and decided to go for it. While I haven’t really put it to the test yet, it seems like it is probably the best sub $100 saw from everything I looked at. It is very beefy. Very glad I bought it.
I also had a chance to see the cordless drill and impact driver today. The drill looks and feels solidly built and I have not doubt would do well on a job site. The impact driver is a different story. It isn’t heavy but it is huge. It seems really out of place in this day and age as impact driver get shorter and shorter. My old B&D Firestorm impact driver I bought back in 2008 was smaller and it was dirt cheap.
One thing I think is really getting old, SB&D makes 5 lines of cordless tools with almost exactly the same battery design but they’re just different enough you can’t swap between them. I can understand Dewalt and B&D being proprietary because they’re on the two opposite ends of the spectrum but Stanley, Porter Cable and Bostitch inhabit almost the same demographic. I think they’d save some money on marketing and probably make Stanley and Bostitch more popular if the batteries interchangeable. Imagine if one company developed a completely proprietary mounting system for saw blades every time they released a new circular saw. That company would be out of the saw making business real quick.
Danny
On my behalf Bostitch will prove itself to all and everybody. Bostitch is legendary and has been around too long and their reputation follows them. Time has come for Bostitch to extend its line of tools and fall into the future of power tools such as grinders saws and cordless power tools like drills and hammer drills. The BOSTITCH TEAM have made a dream come true! With fine genuine professional grade and top quality you can grab these new bostitch power tools and feel the power within these tools! The Technicians and the BOSTITCH TEAM have tested these tools by literally putting them thru HELL! If you know what I mean but the problem is that BOSTITCH and its bad boys tool line go thru hell and come right back for more. These power tools will meet exceed and surpass your needs backed by a 3 year warranty you couldn’t ask for more. Its time for BOSTITCH to prove itself to the future like it has been proving itself being a durable pro’s choice type of brand. So go for it go get the new line of power tools that Bostitch has out sure to gain your trust. Better brand the best brand be a boss BOSTITCH! 🙂
Stuart
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Bostitch is moving many of their new cordless power tools. My local Walmart still has a full endcap display of about two dozen $150 drill kits they couldn’t manage to sell over the winter holiday season. And then there were even more in the tool aisle.
Wayne
Your enthusiasm is notable but the Bostitch name has less brand value than Black & Decker and DeWalt. Stanley has good cache in the hand tool market but they are known primarily for air tools which they do produce some good tools.
danny
Walmart ok im not tryna be funny but who shops for big boy tools at walmart dude really bostitch power tools are in stock at walmart but arent a for sure thing to go for n look for power tools plus walmart doesnt specialize in power tools n tools period u guys just sell a little bit of everything thats all . Yall got movies but i dont shop at walmart for movies i go to Movie trading co. So u cant really compare the sells in a walmart to a huge tool store i can consider lowes or home depot but not walmart. Plus bostitch is just getting started you gotta give them some time…
Stuart
That’s the thing – these didn’t launch at Lowes or Home Depot, they launched at Walmart.
The fact that there are 20-25 Bostitch 18V drill kits at just one local Walmart means they intended to sell a lot there over the holiday season but didn’t.
danny
Well tools sell out all the time but remember bostitch is just getting started stuart and ya cant just judge a book by its cover there are plenty of tools that sell out everywhere dude but if they end up being non lasting tools well there you have it ya sold out but the tools are worthless. Bostitch is just gettin started so im not mad in fact i like the new line of tools if u dont thats cool dude why be negative about it who cares if the tools dont sell out at your neighborhood walmart… lol =)
ralph
I have purchased the bostitch cordless drill and impact driver ..i have nothing but good things to say about both of them..even with just the drill driving a 4 inch timberlock home was easy and thats not saying how well the impact can do it. As a contractor i can say im impressed with the bang for the buck..And i have abused this drill to no end and it just keeps taking it. Here’s to hoping they release a table saw and a miter saw.
Joe
I have the p.c. 20v max drill driver and impact. I see some comments about them being crap and some saying they’re great. I personally love them. I am glad I the kit instead of paying $20 more to get the 18v Milwaukee drill only. I also just bought a Bostitch angle grinder. Its identical to the p.c. and it seems well built. I haven’t used it much, so I can’t say whether it really is.
Wayne
This is a play to assuage Wal-Mart plain and simple. They wanted DeWalt but they would not do it. Just a simple financial move.
Logan
Bostitch should’ve stuck to its core. Making power tools under the brand seems silly. Seems to overlap w PC.
What if they had DeWalt toasters like they do B+D? Industrial bread heating and crisping?
Next: Neutrogena screws with added lotion to keep hands soft. Betty Crocker brand bug spray and Febreeze center fire ammunition. Would never happen because these brands aren’t in those markets. SBD has brands in those markets – why overlap? Bostitch buyers probably like PC or BD already.
Putting too much junk under one brand makes even its core products suspect to me.
Goodnight johnboy
I bought the B&D 20v matrix when it 1st came out. I was disappointed that it came with only one battery considering all the attachments. My brother got me the bostitch 18v impact driver, which was decent until it got hit by 30 amps & exploded. Then my dad got me the fatmax 20v hammer drill, which kicks ass, despite it being a Walmart shoppers tool. One day I was doing some work at the house & I needed to use all 3 of the tools. It pissed me off that I had to wait on all 3 to charge at different lengths of time. Then I realized that they are all SBD made. So I started to look at the battery inserts on all 3 & realized they’re the same exact battery except for a little plastic tab on the sides. So I grinded the tabs off & now my b&d matrix and fatmax all use the same charger & all fit my matrix which I use a lot. And yes that 20v max BS is a gimmick to get the average idiot to think they’re getting more power for more $ , they are all 18v batteries. (Put a multimeter on it). Believe it or not the matrix is probably the best cordless tool b&d has put out (with the exception of using the drill attachment which is a joke.) Other than that B&D should really stop making power tools. So yes the batteries are interchangeable with the matrix & they all charge with my fatmax charger.
Goodnight johnboy
The bostitch corded angle grinder kicks ass. I’ve had it since it 1st came out.I had to replace my Mikita which couldn’t handle cutting the concrete mesh walls from back in the day. Fucked the bearings up. At the time I didn’t have a lot to spend on a new one & I needed one to finish the job. Haven’t had any problems with it ever since I bought it. It will cut through anything with ease.