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NOT very useable surprisingly...
I cannot believe I am having to say this about a Dewalt product. I am so used to them being about as good as you can get, but I found serious useability issues with this set.
The case is good and strong with the usual sliding lock. The problems start out as very minor, but slowly get worse. The case has lots of sharp edges and after a long day working, if your fingers are tender, the case is not too comfortable to use. It also has lots of spaces inside which trap dirt, and worse rain. This speeds up corrosion of the boys inside when you close it up to go off site.
The bits themselves are tempered well, and accurately ground. However they seem so determined to stamp them as made in China, and Dewalt, that it is hard to tell if it supposed to be a P1, P2 or P3 type bit and so on. One bit was not marked at all and two were so faint that I practically needed a microscope to read what they were. PLEASE less of the "China" and "Dewalt" I know who you are and where you are made. I am more interested in knowing what size you are. Or stamp them properly at the very least.
The bit selection is a bit odd also. Possibly too many P2 bits? Certainly too many S2 bits at they do not wear as quickly and are common mainly in Canada. The arrangement of the bits in my set was odd, with the P3 in with the S series of bits and so on.
These are fairly trivial so far, but where it becomes much more of a problem is getting them in and out. Mine will not press back in, as the little black tabs get pressed inside the rest of the holder if you try. You have to slide them back in, and that is not easy as space is cramped. The holders do not even swivel up to make it easier to get them back in. They tessalate into the case, so cannot move. It is even really difficult to get the holders in and out at all, as I don't think they are meant to be tampered with.
I am lucky, I had an old blow-molded case from a cheap set of bits I got years ago. So I was able to move them into that as the proper Dewalt case is so unusable.
One last problem was that I don't understand the markings on the slotted bits? I am used to them being marked according to the width of the blade, or even a combination of the width and thickness. I ended up with my micrometer trying to make sense of one marked "8" being 6.97mm, pretty much just 1mm more than the one marked "6" , but 1mm less than what I would have thought it should be. If this is how bad quality control is that they cannot even get the size right on plain slotted 1/4" hex bits, then it is worrying about if there are any other nasty suprises that are hiding, waiting to be discovered?
December 2018 · Tools and Home Improvement · verified purchase