Someone asked the other day about where they can buy Porter Cable tools or accessories now that they’ve become scarce at Lowe’s. But even if they can find new Porter Cable cordless gear, should they invest any more money into the system?
Porter Cable’s 20V Max cordless power tool lineup includes some solid tools, and there have been some unique innovations. What other brand offers a portable charging bag, for instance?
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Back in August 2018, I asked in a post: What Will New Craftsman Cordless Power Tools Mean for Porter Cable?
You can still buy Porter Cable 20V Max cordless power tools, and the focus seemed to have been on value-priced kits and combo kits, such as shown in the image above of a Costco display during the holiday shopping season (thanks to Benjamen for the photo!).
A number of Porter Cable cordless power tools have been seemingly adapted into Craftsman offerings.
The new Craftsman tools aren’t necessarily direct relabels, as some updates have been made.
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We’ve seen adaptations in a number of product categories, not just cordless power tools.
But the question remains – what about Porter Cable?
Porter Cable’s last Instagram post was 87 weeks ago, or about 20 month ago. No social media activity in 1.67 years?
What about Facebook? Their last post there was in November 2018, and that was a Black & Decker recall notice. Before that, they posted about the then-new tile saws in January 2018. That was more than two years ago. The same happened on Twitter – Porter Cable’s last posting was in January 2018.
Let’s summarize the facts.
There haven’t been any new Porter Cable tools.
Porter Cable stopped promoting, posting, or sharing about the brand on social media.
Craftsman and Lowe’s announced their partnership in October 2017. It seems that it wasn’t long after that when Porter Cable to run out of steam.
Retailers, such as Walmart, Costco, and Amazon have offered Porter Cable 20V Max cordless power tool combo kits, featuring them during holiday shopping seasons.
At the time of this posting, Walmart seems to have shed most of their inventory of Porter Cable combo kits, with all but a single drill and impact driver combo kit listing being offered by CPO Outlets, a 3rd party marketplace seller. Perhaps that’s not surprising, as Walmart worked with TTI to launch a brand new exclusive line of Hart-branded tools, equipment, and accessories.
Is Porter Cable a dead cordless power tool brand?
I’m hesitant to use the word dead here, but it seems appropriate. Is there any life left in the brand and their 20V Max cordless power tool system? Is there any movement – any signs of activity?
I think back to a post I wrote back in 2012, about Porter Cable brand confusion and the mixed messages they were sending.
Porter Cable launched their 20V Max cordless power tool lineup with a decent drill and a decent impact driver. Then, they flushed out the line with a lot of more entry-level tools. They said they were after value-minded pros, but also that they saw Ryobi as their top competitor. Was Porter Cable a professional tool brand or a DIYer and consumer tool brand?
Porter Cable did come out with some serious-use tools and accessories over the years that I’ve been watching them. Their routers, router jigs, accessories, and other woodworking tools are still fairly well-regarded (at least as of the last time I conducted background research on the matter), although they probably lost some of their clout in recent years, due the strengthening competition even from Dewalt.
As you might know, Dewalt and Porter Cable are both owned by Stanley Black & Decker, and now so is the Craftsman brand.
Back when Stanley Black & Decker still held media events and luncheon events, they used to show a chart about how their many tool brands were positioned in relation to each other. Porter Cable, to my recollection, was positioned more as the “residential contractor” solution, with Dewalt aimed at tradesmen and commercial contractors.
Shown here is a more recent chart, from Stanley Black & Decker investor materials, showing how all of their tool brands mesh with each other in regard to pricing and target audiences.
Porter Cable, as the chart shows, stretches from tradesmen to professional, and with pricing between opening (entry level) price points and mid-level price points. Craftsman stretches nearly the full gamut, and at slightly higher than mid-level pricing. Surprisingly, the chart shows that the Stanley brand is higher on the pricing axis than Porter Cable.
While we cannot quite take this at face value, pricing targets often draw parallels to quality, suggesting that the higher up a brand is positioned on Stanley Black & Decker’s chart, the higher the price and the better the quality.
Porter Cable seems to be fading away. Where are the new tools? Why isn’t Stanley Black & Decker exerting any effort into marketing the brand?
I’m sure that Porter Cable tools and batteries will be available for a long while, to support current 20V Max users.
Should current Porter Cable users invest further into the 20V Max cordless power tool system, or should any new tool needs lead them to consider buying into a different brand?
Should anyone just looking for a value-priced cordless power tool combo kit consider Porter Cable above competing brands such as Ryobi, Craftsman, Kobalt, Hart, or Ridgid?
If you ask me, there aren’t any signs of life left in the Porter Cable 20V Max cordless power tool system, and probably not in the brand as a whole either.
I can’t say I blame them, with Craftsman being the new star of the show. Is Porter Cable just going to be the brand of tools that Stanley Black & Decker sells at retailers that don’t yet have full access to Craftsman offerings yet?
There’s still hope that we’ll see Porter Cable invigorated with new tools, focus, and efforts. But when? If not by now, have they given up? Will Porter Cable continue to be left to fade over time?
I don’t know, maybe Stanley Black & Decker will take a page from TTI and Walmart’s book, and relaunch Porter Cable as a Target-exclusive brand, although what would that mean for their somewhat serious woodworking tools and accessories? Or do people not recognize Porter Cable as a woodworking tool brand anymore?
Maybe I’m wrong in not seeing any life left in Porter Cable as a cordless power tool brand, but in that case I’d say show me that I’m wrong. Sure, I guess they’re still alive at the lower end of the spectrum, still catering towards beginners and bargain shoppers, but that’s not what the brand was supposed to be. Isn’t that were Black & Decker tools were supposed to be positioned?
Are any tradesmen and professionals, the target audience according to Stanley Black & Decker, still buying Porter Cable cordless power tools?
Toolfreak
>>maybe Stanley Black & Decker will take a page from TTI and Walmart’s book, and relaunch Porter Cable as a Target-exclusive brand
I don’t know if it will be Porter+Cable, but Target is clearancing out their Stanley hand tools and Black & Decker power tools, so it looks like some sort of change will be coming, perhaps in response to Walmart’s Hart lineup.
Overall though, I’d say Porter+Cable is at least on hold if not dead. Craigslist has lots of listings for bundles of Porter+Cable tools, so people who had them are jumping ship.
I would guess SBD decided to put whatever small amount of resources that P+C used into the Craftsman brand, including production capacity. They probably are still ramping up on the Craftsman power tools to compete with the selection of the Ryobi lineup, and producing any P+C stuff would eat into that.
Unless SBD gives up on P+C and actually sells the brand, I’d expect it will just sit idle for a number of years until they need it again, probably in the same capacity that TTi did with Hart, as a brand to stick on a line of tools exclusive to a retailer.
It would be nice to see SBD re-focus the brand on woodworking tools that aren’t found in it’s other brands, but hardcore P+C users have probably wanted that since SBD bought the brand, so I doubt it will happen anytime soon.
Matt J.
Maybe, but I feel like Target is just pulling out of the tools game even more. They seem to be filling the holes on the shelves with more DIY project stuff like paint and brushes and such at my Target. I’m not sure they would or should bother with power tools at all.
Firemane
I’m not seeing it.
I have all PC tools and laugh whenever I talk to a Dewalt fanboy because the PC tools are actually made in America down the road from Bartlett, TN in Jackson, TN. People pay more for tools that are made with the same PC specs in China.
Anyway, the PC social media account posts every day on Facebook.
Brandon
I bought the cordless drill & impact driver combo a couple years ago (on sale around $150, if I recall). I really like it. I also have the cordless recip saw which is decent. I haven’t been inclined to buy any more of their products since the 20v line seems to have one foot in the grave. I think most of my cordless going forward will be Ryobi.
Eric
I’ve been saying since the big Craftsman rollout the Porter Cable was on life support, especially on the cordless side. I do own a few of them though. It started when I got a 1/4″ crown stapler from Lowes for $16 on clearance. Since then I’ve gotten a grinder, vacuum, and multi-tool. All at really low prices. I wouldn’t buy any more though unless something popped up at a really good price.
Kizzle
I never understood why Stanley Black and Decker’s namesake line is their worst one. ?
Toolfreak
Name recognition, probably.
A gigantic tool company probably wants the tools with their name on it to reach the largest number of customers, so that usually means a low price point and availability mostly everywhere.
The higher end stuff is too expensive for the common folk, and it also works so the pros feel their tools are “exclusive” and something regular people can’t afford/don’t know about.
It probably works the opposite if you’re a smaller company, you want your highest quality flagship stuff to have your name on it or at least be directly associated with the company, and maybe you have a cheaper lower tier brand that’s lesser known for more sales at a lower price point or you license your company name for use with cheaper imported tools when your main line is quality USA-made stuff. Like Channellock.
Kizzle
This sounds good. Don’t know if it’s correct, but I’m convinced.
JSievers
Makes some sense, but the current B&D offerings are total crap compared to my older Firestorm 18v tools which have been decent mid-level performers.
Jp
Yes! This is reminiscent of AT&T phones in the 80s. They were the worst quality phones and they are a telecommunications company!
Nathan
I’d like to see porter cable moved back to a corded and stationary tool brand and maybe more pro focused.
IE yes there’s a dewalt table saw but it’s the portable contractor device . . . . . . . same motor, most of the same frame, bigger table, stationary stand (or whatever) PC table saw with the rack fence or ________ has a reasonable priced not quite cabinet saw.
Then also for more have the PC cabinet saw.
Drum sanders, etc etc. Just a thought. And just leave the cordless to Craftsman and Dewalt.
Steve
I’ve thought this since SBD acquired Craftsman. Take PC and make it a stationary, bench, corded and air tool brand for the workshop. Focus on table saws, bench grinders, drill presses, band saws, corded and bench sanders, routers, air nailers and compressors, routers, and the like, leave everything else to the other brands.
Matt F
There does seem to be an opportunity to use the PC brand as a mid/high level specialty tool brand. The PC pocket hole and dovetail jigs are unique in the lineup and could be the inspiration.
Matt J.
Came to say this same thing. Porter Cable was always the woodworking brand in my mind and while that’s faded, it wouldn’t be hard for them to jump back in and compete. Given their recent corporate alliance with Lowes, I could see them replacing the Delta stuff in stores (table saws, miter saws, planer, etc.). SBD doesn’t have a big presence in this segment and although the Dewalt stationary stuff is really pretty solid, it’s not pushed or widely available. It could be easily rebranded and slightly value engineered in order to move into that segment in big box land…
Mopar4wd
I agree it would seem making PC the stationary tool brand (and routers) would make the most sense. SBD seems a little lite in that side of the market, but that may be on purpose.
Fred Carlisle
I love P.C. cordlesspower tools . I do home renovations every day and they have always got the job done for me. I have used them for years. They spin circles around Ryobe and Dewalt and Craftsman.Belive me ,I have tried them all in the past 40 yrs.
Ron Leach
I had bad luck with the PC 1/2 20 v drills. The saws all,flash light(used daily) and multi tools have always worked great.
Stacey Jones
Dead. Glad I never bought in…
Levi
The PC 20v line is what started me down the tool addiction road. Got some REALLY good pricing and ended up with almost all of the 20v line (impact, drill, recip, jigsaw, circ saw, multitool, brad nailer, vacuum). They have all been worked hard and not let me down.
I’ve moved on to Milwaukee though and supplementing it with Ryobi for the oddball stuff.
If they would have continued to support PC I would probably keep buying. Will probably sell off most but keep the 2 Brad nailers I got for $60ea and the vacuum for $15. All clearance at Lowes last year.
Ecotek
I dont know about their 20V line, but in the last couple years I’ve bough their floor standing band saw at Lowes, and their pocket hole jig. I dont use the band saw much, but it seems of good quality, and at my rate of use, will last a lifetime. I can say that the pocket screw jig is brilliant ( I use that word intentionally), and is leaps and bounds ahead of anything else I’ve seen. Aren’t their routers well regarded as well? As someone else said maybe just make Porter Cable more of a good quality/affordable wood working brand. Get their name off of lower priced cordless stuff. It seems theyre already half way there, or more.
Dave Tolli
This is disappointing! PC are my favorite cordless tools. They’re light weight and the batteries hold a charge well. Also, they feel and look good.
Newbie
Hi I just bought the porter cable 20v max cordless tool set that included the lithium reciprocating saw, lithium oscillating multi-tool compatible with DeWalt, 1/4 Hex Chuck lithium impact driver, lithium 6-1/2 inch (165mm) circular saw, 4-1/2 (115mm) lithium cut off tool/grinder, led flashlight and two batteries and one charger and two bags at a pawn shop for $185.00. It did not have the drill with it and that was fine with me because I already have a great cordless drill… I just need it to do small diy stuff around the house inside and outside. My problem is I don’t know what type of blades and sanders to buy for it and what is compatible with them to buy and where to find them? So if anyone good let me know I would really appreciate it!! Also if you guys think I got ripped off and should try to take it back and get my money back or sell it myself???? Please let me know…. thank you very much
Stuart
I don’t know where you could get a sander, but the blades should be standard sizes available at all home centers. Selection, (as long as you match the size on the circular saw,) depends on what you were looking to cut.
Honestly, I would not be buying Porter Cable cordless power tools these days, but if you’re happy with the tools they should serve you well.
If you return it, you’re probably not getting the same value for the same money in new tools. If you’re okay with that, it might be worth attempting.
For similar tools, I would look at Ryobi, Craftsman, or Skil.
Thom
The decline of Porter-Cable as well as Delta seems to me related to the disappearance of the New Yankee Workshop. Norm was sponsored by and a user of their products for 20+ yrs. No longer do these brands have that kind of exposure to potential buyers. A shame, too! A good example was the PC drills which had metal gears not plastic which provided long-lived durability at a fair price.
Another huge factor is the consolidation of manufacturers.
Stanley, Black & Decker, Craftsman, DeWalt and Porter Cable now owned by the same company. Our “gubment” has allowed that to happen, stifling competition…wtf with antitrust laws!!
Jared
I have cordless tools from Dewalt, Ryobi, Bosch, Worx, Ridgid (plus 12v Dewalt and Bosch) – and Porter Cable. I’ve no brand loyalty. PC has some good tools at very good prices, but it appears the lineup is dead.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to a homeowner who wanted to buy a big bag of tools all at once for cheap, but they’re not a good choice for someone concerned about expanding to more tools on the same battery lineup.
It disappoints me. I own more PC tools and batteries than any other brand in my portfolio. In large part though, just like many posting here, that’s due to opportunity buying. But they are pretty good tools. The low prices let me justify adding cordless tools I don’t us regularly as the ones I bought from Dewalt and Bosch.
I got the grinder, jigsaw, reciprocating saw, and 16ga nailer – and a drill and impact driver (the latter two I’ve never used).
Michael
Wasn’t it Porter Cable that sued and won a patent infringement case against DeWalt for the fence design on the biscuit joiner?
Bob
Black and Decker waaaay back was the festool of its day. Specialty, well built tools was the norm. Then it eventualy became junk due to shuffeling of volume vs quality. Though I have heard in some markets B&D is used as the label for DeWalt tools brcause B&D has the better name recognition. I think I heard South America??? Duno could be BS
I know its just marketing and sales channels but yes SBD please let Porta Cable die already. Or start making awsome tools again like my D-handle router. Gotta be 30ish years old. Well used and still kicking.
fred
I’ve done my share of lamenting over the demise of Porter Cable and diminution of the B&D brand name – but it think that the train has left the station – as the old saying goes. The great professional tools that they made were a product of the halcyon days when corded tools were king. That’s past – so we should not expect to see the likes of the B&D SuperSawcat or the PC Power Planes and Routers of the Rockwell International era return.
After B&D had tarnished their reputation with lots of cheap DIY orange plastic-cased corded saws and drills – it was nothing short of a miracle that they turned their purchase of Dewalt (known pretty much only for radial arm saws) into their flagship brand. Messing with that success – when they acquired Porter Cable from Pentair was not in the cards. Turning PC back into a niche-market corded hand tool company might not be in SBD’s DNA either – and it might be almost as futile as Leica, Zeiss or Nikon trying to reintroduce a line of film cameras. A bit sad for those of us who still use (every now and then) corded PC tools, a Leica M4 and Nikon F2 – but the world moves on.
GeorgeMzc
I moved into the DeWalt toolsl system this winter, starting with a brushless drill/driver/2 battery combo. I passed on the limited PC line and walked right past Craftsman because their kit at a similar price point was brushed. So far I’m happy with the kit I have and will probably add more DeWalt as needs evolve.
dstblj
SBD is just as happy with that choice
Robin
I think what most of the comments are missing here is the change in the market. It almost doesn’t matter if SBD wanted to make only expensive high end tools under the PC name or not. It comes down to whether Lowes/Home Depot will carry the line up. Those two retailers are huge gateways to the consumer. Without their buy in, your brand goes nowhere. There is only so much room on the shelves and retailers don’t want all of their products from one company. With Craftsman in the mix, someone was going to get bumped.
The other side of this is that PC clearly wasn’t selling well. Consumers ultimately decide the fade of brands. We can sit here and fantasize that PC was a great brand, but it’s obvious that most people didn’t feel that way. At least not in the sense that translated to enough cash to keep the brand alive. There is a life cycle for all brands.
fred
Good points.
Maybe that means that Porter Cable needs to be sold if it is to survive.
In its current role model as Stuart has shown it being positioned – it certainly needs lots of either real or virtual shelf space to remain viable. That does indeed mean HD/Lowes/Wal-Mart or alternatively some special deal with Amazon.
An alternative might be to sell off the brand and have the new owner downsize it into a niche player. In the manufacture of specialty power tools – I suspect that that would be a hard path to successfully follow. Having them repositioned to compete with folks like Mafell would require a sea change in company thinking. Furthermore the brand reputation has been tarnished over the years and new buyers don’t have fond memories built on the solid tools that PC was innovating and building in the 1970’s. If B&D had tried this 16 years ago when they purchased PC – it might have worked – but they probably did not want the brand to compete with Dewalt .
skfarmer
for what it’s worth i saw a sbd rep at fleet farm last week. most of the porter cable and black and decker items were on clearance and had been cleaned out. i asked him what was up. his fast and simple answer was making room for sbd made craftsman tools and pretty sure he meant all power tools as that was all that was in that row.
he also said that sales reps from every store were being sent to a release event to get training and info in the line. whether that has happened or still will i have no idea.
Mike
Hard to take any of these comments or article seriously when you say things like craftsman is good, or recommend to buy ryobi. Literally the 2 worst brands imaginable.
Stuart
“Good” is relative. I’m sorry that you’re biased and closed-minded against lower-priced brands.
If someone is or was looking at Porter Cable’s 20V Max cordless power tool line, Craftsman and Ryobi are the biggest brands in the same price range and the best alternatives. Or do you expect for potential Porter Cable shoppers to look at Dewalt, Milwaukee, Makita, or Bosch tools that cost at least 2X or 3X?
Porter Cable’s 4-tool cordless combo kit is $179 at Amazon.
Which brands do you think come close to offering the same capabilities at closest pricing? That’s right, Craftsman and Ryobi.
Big Richard
They’re good enough. They are DIY budget brands, yes, but still much better than some of the no-name stuff out there. Just type “cordless drill” into amazon and look at some of the brands.
Mopar4wd
I used to need tools for work (very rarely now mostly a desk jockey) and had Dewalt, and still have some. A while back someone bought one of those Christmas special Ryobi kits for me, and while the Dewalt was better, the Ryobi really have been pretty damn good, and I would have no issue recommending them to the average DIY’er. Other then the old blue circ saw I have acting up and replacing batteries of course I have had no real issue over 10 years of Ryobi ownership.
One thing that has surprised me is that I see some pros using Ryobi these days, including an old boss of mine who used to run Hilti and Dewalt, now has a surprising about of neon green tools in the shop.
James
I’d agree that Ryobi of a decade ago we’re unreliable, but Home Depots relaunch of redesigned tools had been a wholesale improvement. They provide long warranties easy replacement if necessary. For past 5 years I’ve only needed one battery replaced, every tool is going strong.
Tradesman Essentials
Anyone mention that a good chunk of the entire Porter Cable catalogue, both corded and cordless are available on Home Depot’s website for seemingly premium prices?
Stuart
That’s strange for Home Depot to offer Porter Cable cordless tools online, but not a big deal.
Home Depot’s website also has college-themed party bowls, salad bowls, bone china salad plates, recliners, Roku players, a Star Wars arcade game, flour containers, a hot wheels plastic kids bed, a hot dog stand, a hot pink inline scooter, jewelry boxes…
Are listings of Porter Cable 20V Max tools indicative that Home Depot will actively promote the tools, or are they passive and even drop-shipment listings that are only there so that Home Depot can compete with Amazon and other retailers on search engine listings?
Diamond Dave
Agree with Stuart. Porter Cable being marketed through Lowe’s was the answer to competing with Ryobi. Now that they have Craftsman, there is no longer a need to keep the lineup however, as mentioned, perhaps a name brand exclusive to say Costco or Sam’s?
Diplomatic Immunity
Porter Cable should become a stationary brand and corded tool brand. Once Craftsman was brought in it took the spot that Porter Cable would have occupied. It needs to go back to what it originally was or become a specialty tool brand. I don’t trust SBD to figure that out though.
SBD seems to just like to repackage it’s cordless tools under different brand names instead of moving competitively into different sectors that other tool companies such as Milwaukee, Makita, Hilti, Metabo, etc already occupy.
Loup68
I was curious about the Sidchrome SBD brand mentioned in the recent SBD fastener company acquisition posting, because I had never heard of the brand before.
It is an Australian tool brand that made their tools in country.
SBD bought them and immediately scrapped the Australian made manufacturing and sourced the tools from Taiwan.
Just like they bought Craftsman and all the stuff is cheap made in China. They make tape measures and knives in the USA, and could have made screwdrivers in the USA, or bought Western Forge.
I am really not happy with this. All of my ratchets, sockets and combination wrenches are Sears USA made, and I used them in maintenance in an automotive parts plant.
Why didn’t they use the PC 20 volt battery design in red for the new Craftsman?
Look at the money that they would have saved. Even if they killed off PC in the future. They look almost the same as the new Craftsman V 20 design to me.
And Stewart, there is one Craftsman tool better than the Dewalt light that they copied. The tall stick light has more lumens than the Dewalt.
CT
Craftsman was China made long before SBD bought the brand. You can thank Sears and Apex(Bain Capital) for that.
Paul
1. With the “not” in this line, “As you might know, Dewalt and Porter Cable are both owned by Stanley Black & Decker, and not so is the Craftsman brand.”, it makes no sense. I’m thinking delete the not.
2. Don’t take that investor chart too far. There is nothing in the Craftsman line where they have positioned it to get anywhere close to their premium Dewalt brand.
3. A lot of guys on my crew used the Porter Cable 20V Max stuff for years because it was (1) cheap, and (2) decent quality. Basically it was a cheap Dewalt. So understandably the brand probably needed to go. Underpowered to be sure but Dewalt hasn’t kept up with Milwaukee in that regard.
4. If you haven’t noticed they haven’t exactly been promoting or doing anything with the B&D or Skil brand either. Basically that chart needs to be revised to where the Stanley brand stays around for things like the Fatmax measuring tapes just like Bostitch for staplers. Irwin sort of for value priced tools. But other than that they are all quickly sinking below the Craftsman red wave. Unfortunately the expectation was that Craftsman would be a value priced premium brand like the old Apex/Sears lineup but that is not the case. It could be branded Porter Cable, Irwin, or anything else. It’s the same value priced stuff you can buy at HF.
Stuart
1) Thanks – fixed. It should read “now,” not “not.”
2) I would agree that you can’t consider Craftsman as being close to Dewalt, but look at the qualitative aspects. Craftsman is above the mid-price point line, Porter Cable is below.
4) I did notice that too, about Black & Decker. SBD doesn’t own Skil, Chervon does – they acquired it from Bosch.
Craig
Are we sure craftsman does not have a deal with stanley Black and decker? The tools look familiar and the features are close.
I personally own a ton of porter cable 20v tools and corded. Even the angle grinder, finish nailer and impact wrench. They have served me well and it’s sad to think this could go away.
I also heard the craftsman and porter cable batteries are interchangeable. I have not personally tried it verified this. I would be ok with that.
These monopolies with tools is nuts. Example craftsman makes husky and cobalt? Same factory just stamped different. I’m personally not a fan of dewalt due to the monopoly and would prefer to buy hilti, bosch or festool for serious wood or industrial use.
Stuart
Stanley Black & Decker owns the Craftsman brand.
I haven’t heard of any Craftsman-Porter Cable compatibility, and although I also have not tested this, I would be extremely doubtful that they work together in any way.
At this time, Craftsman is not affiliated with Husky or Kobalt brands or tools.
Eric
I guess the real question is if you didn’t already have cordless tools and you didn’t need more than a few tools , you no like the basics and SBD decides to discontinue the 20v system and places like Lowe’s put the tools on clearance, would you buy the porter cable tools over other competitive brands out there knowing you’ll be able to buy batteries for porter cable online for years ahead
SumTxDude
I,ll say it.. I love Porter Cable tools. I could care less about the politics, sales marketing, etc. I’ve pretty much every tool I could ever need and probably 95% of it is PC.
Not a pro just a serious DIY but I’ve worked in lumber yards (not big box retail) all my life just over 30-yrs using and selling PC. To me it was the worst ever when SBD bought up PC. I thing more than anything because back in the day PC was easily superior to any of the yellow SBD tools. They needed to own the compitition so they could push mediocre tools while selling the “DeWalt” name on everything thing in the hardware store.. heck now you can by DeWalt phone cords and trash cans and people buy it to match the rest of they’re yellow.
I try to resist all I can, I do have the big DeWalt thickness planner but I think that’s it.. while I still use my PC compound mitre saw bought before my grown daughter was born. I know this.. many of times while the market was changing, Rigid and Ryobi brands growing, Craftsman all over the place.. I’ve pulled out my old corded gray PC tools and gotten the job done as usual. In fact when I finish writing this I’m headed out to use the first of my two original PC circular saws (keep one rigged with a metal cutting blade) to finish cutting metal panels for the garage I’m building.
Eventually just through out all the PC NiCad tools but do have 7- 20v system batteries and 8 or 10 tools. They’re not the PC of the past but they’ve not let me down. Hanging that garage metal with a 7yr old 20v driver.
I’m patiently waiting in my shop with my “Porter Cable” sales banner on the wall waiting for someone to make PC a great woodworking king again.
Ironically probably won’t truly need to much, since everything from back when they first wore the crown works just fine, but I miss the title.. and the innovation and the occasional tool surprise that one up’s the current PC tool I have.
For now a patient PC fan I guess.
Dave Townson
I love my Porter Cable tools. The 2nd gen Tiger Saw is much better than the 1st gen recip saw, though, by far. I do hate that the combo kits include the cheaper drill & drivers. The premium drills & drivers (both brushed and brushless) are on par with the BIG Bloys in Red, Blue, Orange & yes, Yellow. Pointless speed and torque tests are geared for the male ego and don’t matter for 90% of the work performed by most. Quality comes from the tradesman. not the tool. If the tool drives, cuts or sands as long as the worker, it’s a good tool.
The PC tools are lighter than most and keep the tradesman in the game, stronger & longer.
Love your articles!
David (Bama) Townson
Les
It doesn’t worry as long as I can still get batteries for my Porter Cable 20V tools. One thing I am sure about is that I won’t be investing into another SB&D line after buying the Stanley FatMax 20V then the Porter Cable 20V. I’d prefer going to Ryobi, Ridgid or Milwaukee next. I actually picked up more PC 20V stuff where I could find on clearance such as the Wet/Dry vacuum, the dual charging bag, brushless combo, etc. Craftsman is the new Porter Cable with some upgrades but not much. Only as few of the Craftsman 20V tools appear to be better on specs from what I’ve seen. TTI seems to be kicking SBD’s butt which SBD dropping brands like hotcakes and TTI increasing with brands like Hart.
Jeff
The name “Craftsman”; to me anyway – has always been synonymous with mechanic’s tools. Their quality and more importantly, their warranty, had made them economically prudent alternative to Snap-On. All the old guys that taught me what I know have always sworn by the Porter Cable brand. I own the entire line of Porter Cable 20v less the nailers. As well as 12 batteries, 4 4.0ah and 8 2.0ah. I use them every day and intend to continue doing so as long as I can. I’ve never cared much for Craftsman when it came to power tools. They may be better now. The opposite goes for Dewalt. I feel like they used to be a fantastic tool but over the last 12 years or so have sacrificed excellence for variety. I know for sure they used to make a better chuck. Maybe I’m sticking with Porter Cable when I should be investing in another brand, we’ll see but for now, I have no complaints.
Robert
I used Porter Cable battery powered tools when I worked maintenance at a large newspaper. Always enjoyed working with them and they served me well. I recently saw a PC 5 piece tool set on sale and was excited to try them out again. One of the batteries died after the second charge. I thought ‘no big deal’ they’ll respect their waranty. But I was wrong after mutiple attemps to get them to respond, I received 0 replies from them. So that’s it. I won’t be buying another Porter Cable tool. I will not support a company that doesn’t honor it’s waranty or it’s costumers.
Fred Carlisle
I still buy PC and will until I can’t anylonger get them.
Robert Johnson
I’ve always like PC tools in the past and they served me well. I was exited when I saw a five tool set for sale. When one of the batteries
went bad on it’s second charge and PC’s warranty department wouldn’t respond to my communications, it ended the love affair. I have never been ignored by another tool manufacturer, though I have to admit it is extremely rare that I’ve had problems.
George Taruc
I used to like PC tools but they’ve cheapened over the years. I have 4 Ryobi cordless drills of varying years. They’ve always held up with no issues. I have a PC 20v cordless drill which is not used as much as the ryobis. The brake of the PC drill now slips. I was told that’s it’s a bad switch. The switch is $50. I can now buy a new pc601 for $62 in Amazon. Forget PC.
RadioPhil
Breaking News! Tractor Supply has just announced that they are the “exclusive” PC partner. (“Partner,” not “supplier.” What do these words mean?) They have kits and lots of individual tools on their website.
https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/brand/PORTER-CABLE
Stuart
https://14cyiuhvcgv.com/porter-cable-tractor-supply-exclusive-cordless-power-tools/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E