Rockwell 93-Piece Lithium Ion Super Kit

For those doubting the 12V power, remember these are lithium ion batteries, not NiCd. Lithium ion batteries generally don’t have a voltage drop until they are officially dead so you won’t really see a drop in performance as the battery discharges.

I have the Rockwell 12V drill and I think it’s great. It is not as bulky as an 18V drill so tasks like installing blinds are much easier. On the other hand, I have used it to drill 3/8" holes with a spade bit around a good sized deck (probably about 10 holes) along with drilling pilot holes and adding screws. 2 batteries was enough to accomplish this.

Best of all Rockwell has free replacement batteries for life! That’s hard to beat.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but don’t look past these little 12V tools, they pack a pretty good punch for their size.

Not long winded at all @karisk81!

Useful info from someone who has one of the tools.

I was not aware if the lifetime battery replacement deal - that’s big.

Rockwell Manufacturing/Tools is a well known company in the home woodworking industry, from the 1940’s on. Over its decades of business, they purchased companies like Porter Cable, Delta and others to absorb, revive, and later sell off to the Pentair group. Pentair has since sold those off to Black & Decker.
Rockwell invented the first power miter saw.

Company rep? Could you introduce yourself, please?

I am less than thrilled about the “piece pumping” that goes on with these power tool bundles.
Calling it a 93-piece super kit, when 40 of those are pieces of sandpaper seems borderline unethical. But that is just an opinion.
Thanks for reading.

jthebird1977 wrote:

@ssratracer,

I don’t think this is the same (industrial) “Rockwell Tools” of old. This Rockwell is a Chinese tool company trading on that name.

I believe the old Rockwell became the big Porter Cable/Delta/etc… tool conglomerate (now also Chinese…edit: Taiwanese owned) and then the “Rockwell” brand are died for many years. I don’t think the Chinese and Taiwanese companies are related.

Trivia: I believe the new Rockwell is also connected to Worx, the outdoor tool brand. That might make people more comfortable since those are fairly decent tools.

Hi! Yes, I am monitoring.

ThunderThighs wrote:

@TT sniffs out a Rep! :wink:

@suned, if you’re a Rep then can you please confirm/deny my post above about the corporate relationships of these tool companies?

We want to know more than that the batteries charge fast!

bluemaple, you are mostly correct. Rockwell and WORX are owned by the same company which is Positec Group.

@suned, Thanks for responding.

Sure thing, and BTW – the batteries charge fast :wink:

If you want a good light all around driver get an 18v impact drill. I have the Makita version its light, powerful and batter lasts a long time.

The 4 batteries , multiple chargers and jig saw make this a good kit, being 12 volt you’ll probably have to swap out batteries often for bigger jobs. Personally I think for the same money your better off buying an 18volt drill kit that comes with an Impact driver since once you start using that tool you’ll never want to use the standard drill/driver again.

Hi, sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Sunnee from Rockwell. Feel free to ask me any questions you have about the bundle today.

Thanks, Sunnee! Welcome to the forum. Looks like a great set.

I have the 18 volt Dewalt impact. I love the impact…but that 18volt battery hanging off the thing still makes it ackward. Maybe the lithium upgrade on my current 18volt set would make up for that. But the little lithium 12 volts i have used are nice because of the weight. I have not ran an 18volt lithium Dewalt tool to know how it handles. But the price of upgrading to lithium on my current set is not appealing when i already have 5 Nicad bats. But maybe 2 lithium would give me the same run time…

I have an 18V DeWalt kit that cam with NiCads. I have since bought 1 lithium battery. I doubt you’ll need 2 since they charge fast and have good run time. Besides, they are WICKED expensive: I think I paid ~$100 for a 18V DeWalt lithium that fits the “old” NiCad stuff (http://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-18-Volt-XRP-NANO-Lithium-Ion-Battery-Pack-DC9180/100671646#.UX6YI7WG18E)

Just want to add that I own several Rockwell tools and love them all.

I’ve installed a garage door / opener (including drilling into the header board), pre-hung exterior door into an old house (the door frame was not exact - needed to do a custom cut) in addition to average homeowner duties and can say the Rockwell tools far surpass any needs I’ll ever run into.

The tools are VERY strong for their size. The drill does not compete with an 18v, no - but then you’d pay more than this for just one drill/battery. To perform that one task that you may never need the extra power for.

I’d feel confident doing a kitchen remodel with my rockwell set.

Electrons are electrons and 12V or 18V they are the same. In general, however, tool companies use the voltage as part of their stepped marketing strategy.

In terms of raw materials there is 62 watt-hours of battery (412V1.3AH) which I’d value at $30-$60. I assume the warrantee is for workmanship and defects, not unlimited replacement after normal life.

As a woodworker, I wouldn’t suggest this kit even to someone who would just be using it for around the house.
The 12V sonicrafter will struggle with prolonged use. A corded multitool will serve you much better.
The 12V electric screwdriver is ok, but shouldn’t be your only drill. It might give out on you if you are installing an interior door.
You could piece together a better set at your local big box store.