I'll put my Bosch 18v stuff up against any Dewalt, Rigid , Makita , Milwaukee or whoever you want - pretty tough to beat . I wore out the Rohm chuck on my 18v Brute Tough hammer drill/driver recently and had to order a replacement 1/2" ratcheting chuck for it - ended up calling the service hot line since I could not get it off for nothing . They gave some excellent advice but in the end the chuck/shaft won the battle and the hammer/clutch mechanism section lost - badly . Now, to be very fair - I wasn't gentle nor nice to it , I need this tool regularly and wanted it back in service . The chuck has a large hex nut face on the end of it and after removing the screw and trying the go-to allen wrench and hammer tricks it didn't budge . Talking to a tech they said to try an impact , so I did . The 125ft/lb Bosch driver/impact didn't budge it either , nor did the Snap-On 3/8" air wrench . So...out came the Matco 650ft/lb 1/2" impact and the big air hose - that's when the hammer/clutch section decided it had enough and started letting to internally . Another phone call (I've never been beat by a drill chuck removal) the tech informed me at that point the transmission/clutch/hammer section had to be replaced . I did let him know what I had done to it , really just wanted a clue as to how it could be that tight and refuse to come off - it's down to the design of the threads and end of the shaft . Ok , so I ask him to help me order a new assembly since he explained that when their techs hit this same wall that assembly gets tossed and replaced . No longer under warranty and has been abused for 4yrs now - even drilling 1" holes in hardened concrete .
His solution - sent me a free clutch/hammer/transmission section , the whole nose at no charge . The chuck is $48 alone , that other big assembly is another $60 on top of that , nice of them to help a customer out although it was not expected . Back in service now and taking a beating like it was nothing , just as I would expect of Bosch . I also own their 36v Brute Tough hammer drill driver which will easily break your arm in low gear and has far more torque output than my old Makita gear drive plug-in that I had years ago . If I have room and a very tough job to do - that is the go-to unit . Have cut 4" holes with carbide saws in concrete , drilled 1-1/4 holes in steel and drove huge lag bolts into heavy wet woods with it , never fails . Same with the cordless 18v 4.5" grinder , 4.5" plug-in slim handle grinder , and one of my favorite tools to use - the 1/4" hex 18v impact driver/drill . Have barely used my air tools the last few years since that impactor can do almost any job - even lug nuts and is very compact . Can't recommend their power tools enough and their warranty is second to none , you can get 3yrs on new stuff with registration in their Pro-Vantage system and they have replaced a few things without question . Yes, more expensive initially , but for the way I've beat their tools I'm pretty happy with them .
Also , got the 50w rated jobsite radio - that thing is awesome . Had to order it out of Canada to get that model since they only sell the 26w version in the US - money well spent and use it a lot .
Sarge
