Review: Ryobi One+ Combi Drill & Cordless Jigsaw 18V

[joiner_sim]

You can get the full review on my website http://www.simonswoodwork.tk :wink:

Price Paid When Purchased: £99.99 (June 2007)
From: ScrewFix.com
Current Retail Price: £146.80 (April 2009) -Screwfix.com

The Review

- The Drill

The cordless combi drill has two speeds, a 13mm keyless chuck and 24 torque settings which include a drilling setting and a hammer drill setting for masonry. The two different speeds are just at the right setting, the slower one is fine for putting in screws and where a slow drilling is required. The faster setting is also perfect for all types of drilling in wood, metal, and masonry. So I cannot fault the speed settings, as Ryobi have got them spot on. The keyless chuck has its limitations, obviously going upto 13mm, but anything bigger than this, shouldn't really be put in a cordless drill anyway. Generally it works fine, but it does have a tendancy to loose it's grip sometimes. The 24 torque settings are superb. I have had to use settings 1 and 5 for putting screws into metal without bending the metal and it works well every time! The drilling setting is great for wood and the hammer setting works well in masonry.
More about the drill on my website www.simonswoodwork.tk

- The Jigsaw

The cordless jigsaw has a 4 stage pendulum action, can cut at variable speeds and also provide bevel cuts upto 45degrees. Having 4 pendulum stages to select for cutting means this jigsaw can cut a variety of materials. However it does struggle if you're trying to cut something like a arch on the top of an 18mm softwood boarded gate. The variable speeds are controlled by how much pressure you apply to the trigger, so it's not that great if you need to maintain a really slow cut, but I did not find this a problem as I found that the fastest speed was required most of the time anyway. The bevel cutting facility isn't brilliant. I found it wasn't very reliable and would slip quite frequently, so that was disappointing.
More about the jigsaw on my website www.simonswoodwork.tk

- The Batteries & Charger

The batteries are 18V, 1.7Ah Ni-Cad. They hold their charge very well, and provide really good power to the cordless drill. The jigsaw will use the power from the battery quite fast though. A thing about these batteries though, is that they are part of the Ryobi One+ system. That means you only need to buy the skeleton of Ryobi One+ branded tools and you can just click in these batteries, saving you money in the long run.
More about the batteries & charger on my website www.simonswoodwork.tk

The Rating: I give this Ryobi One+ Cordless kit a 7 out of 10.

Get the final verdict, on value for money, recommendations and best/worst features on my website http://www.simonswoodwork.tk

 

[CroppyBoy1798]

Good review Sim. I Got the very same kit myself a couple of months back and am now on my second set, yes, I had to return the first one :roll: . Let me explain.

So I have my B&D cordless for 6 or 7 years now, it was a 12v, reliable enough, but took 5-6 hours to charge, the battery didnt hold a great charge and I had only one battery. So I decided to splash out and seen this particular set on offer at Woodies (an Irish DIY superstore). Paid €118 for it. Used it for approx 3 weeks, nothing too serious, just your average use. Swapped batteries one day after the one I was using had run out. So, pop in new battery, do a bit of drilling, leave it down and come back to it an hour or so later, press the trigger and the drill would just barely crawl. There was little life in it, I thought it odd seen as it was a fresh charge and hadnt much use! So, I pulled it out and put it into the charger, when I did both the red and green light on the charger flashed and then nothing........no charge, nilch!

So, I returned that set and got another one (giving Ryobi the benefit of the doubth ). So far so good after about a month, and whats more, when i returned it they had gone down in price since so I got €18 back! :lol:

One issue I have with these batteries/charger is they are supposed to be one hour charge? But I've yet to see the green light come on after an hour, in fact, sometimes I've had to pull the plug as it was on for five or six hours, was getting late and I was afraid to leave it in at night! I think the quickest charge I've gotten is about 2 hours! Whats the secret to the one hour charge anyone? Is it charged after an hour even if the green light hasnt come on? But of course the two batteries are handy (an experience I've never had before ).

Havent really used the jigsaw that much to be honest, I only really got the set for the drill, the jiggy is handy for quick work where you dont want to bother getting out the electric one, having to unwind the cable and..........god forbid......plug it in (such a tiring task :lol: :lol: ).

 

[NeilO]

Thanks Sim..

I personally own the 2 speed drill, drill/driver and Impact driver, the torch and the radio all pretty robust tools for hobbyist work IMHO.

Croppy, I found that some of the batteries would take longer than stated 1 hr to charge, and I`m not saying this is why but I used to slap them on charge when the drill would barely be crawling as you state and have to wait 2hrs + for the battery to charge.
Now I remove the "wasted" battery from the drill and clip it onto the torch or radio and run it till they also stop working, so I have indeed a flat battery, and since then have never (not standing over the charger and timing it) had to wait more than 1hr (+/- 10 min) for a charge.

HTH

 

[joiner_sim]

When charging Ni-Cad batteries, you should really empty the battery completley before re-charging, this prolongs the life of the battery, meaning it will hold the charge longer in it's lifetime. As it goes more in depth, the review on my site, you will know that the new Li-on batteries are now available for the Ryobi One+ system.

 

[NeilO]

Sim,
also suffered from the chuck working loose, but since retraining my trigger finger I find it doesnt happen anymore (very rarely)
try decelerating the drill when stopping as opposed to an abrupt stop, as I think the inertia actually forces the chuck to work loose....

my findings anyway

HTH

 

[joiner_sim]

I know what you mean by that abrupt stop. Just shows it has got some mighty power behind it though.

 

[Waka]

I'll second your review on the Ryobi one kit, I bought a circular saw and a panel saw for doing up a beach hut and have to say that I was impressed with both of them, also bought the strimmer which is used around the base of the hut when the grass gets too long.

 

[p111dom]

Yes the chucks are a weak spot. Replacing them with these helps. The impact one has click lock.

 

[oddsocks]

Another thumbs up for Ryobi - I bought some 100mm x 260mm iroko earlier this week and had to buy the board (full 4metres). The Ryobi garden/alligator saw with a tree pruning blade and Li battery cut it into 3 sections easily, avoiding the expected use of a handsaw.

One point re battery charging (validated on other international web sites when I searched) - I use the new Li charger and it needs to be in a warm room - trying to charge in my cold garage in Jan gave the fail lights every time i tried to do the Li but the Nicad charged ok. Of course it could be the Li battery that cannot cope with the cold!

Dave

PS I'm taking photos of the WIP for the garden table and will upload tomorrow

 

[BillyJean]

I bought this jigsaw and I’d recommend it to everyone! Found this video on youtube well worth a watch so you know what you’re getting for your money. I’d say the battery lasts half hour or so continuous cutting but usually over an hour if you’re marking out inbetween. If you have 2 batteries you can work non-stop cos a full charge is an hour

Youtube reference watch?v=AniFOtj-rqs

Or search Ryobi Jigsaw Expert Review

 

[katellwood]

I have three drills, a jigsaw, circular saw, sabre saw, an angle drill and the Pièce de résistance the impact driver which I find brilliant. I also have the torch and the small vacuum which is the only item I am disappointed with (the filter bag fills almost immediately.

With the kits I have got seven batteries and three chargers which dictates that I am never without power.

I am waiting for the batteries to start slowing down as an excuse to purchase the new batteries but so far have never had a problem

I would recommend this system to anyone and with the use its had feel it is a good competitor to more industrial units (dewalt et al)

 

[No skills]

You will like the newer li-ion batteries when you do eventually get them, save up and get the 2.4ah ones - they are lighter than ni-cads and give much better power for longer.
I use some ryobi 1+ for work, much as I like some of the offerings from dewalt and makita (and have them at home) their too expensive for the enviroment I work in where they can get stolen/dropped/crushed/soaked etc etc - good performance from some for a third of the price.
My first two speed drill has just give up the ghost after nearly 4 years of abuse and I cant recommend the impact driver enough, we have used several way beyond their specification for a long time now.

I'm supprised so many of you like the jigsaw, I have a couple of the older models and I thought they were rubbish!

 

[sparkus88]

When charging Ni-Cad batteries, you should really empty the battery completley before re-charging, this prolongs the life of the battery, meaning it will hold the charge longer in it's lifetime. As it goes more in depth, the review on my site, you will know that the new Li-on batteries are now available for the Ryobi One+ system.

Hi read this a few days ago and realised I haven't been empting the batteries completely. Anyway I did that today but when I put the battery in the charger the green light come on not the red, its never done that before. Now how do I know when the battery is finished?