When Dan told me we were going to do another review on an Oscillating tool, I have to admit, I wasn’t to excited. How could I be, every company has their own version of the Oscillating Tool. In fact we have all ready done four different reviews on these tools: Milwaukee, Bosch, Rockwell and i-Drill. Granite these were all cordless versions and the one we were testing is a corded version, so its is a little different. Dan let me finish whining like a 3 years old then he told me it was the Porter Cable Oscillating Tool. Thats when something clicked in my pea sized brain and I remember seeing this at the International Home Builder Show. The thing that stuck out the most was the design, a tool free blade change system. Check out Porter Cable
Dan brought over the tool and we had a chance to play with it for a while. The model number for this tool is PC250 MTK and the cordless version is PCL120MTC. Of course when Dan brought it over the box was ripped opened and everything was all over the place. The first thing I noticed was that Porter Cable included a lot of different accessories which is always cool. One thing we noticed is that Porter Cable doesn’t mess around when they sell their tools. They don’t cheap out and give you just the tool, they include everything you need to get started on your job. The Porter Cable Angle Grinder we reviewed was the exact same way.
As you can see by the picture above, this tool has a nice over molded grip on the top and bottom of the tool. Overall the tool is extremely well balanced. The on/off switch is located at the top of the tool which makes it easy to access with your thumb and controls the 2.5 amp motor. On the back of the tool is where the variable speed dial is located and provides oscillations per minute (OPM) of 10,000 – 20,000. Another item to point out is the 10 ft. cord. There is nothing more disappointing when a company makes a great tool only to cheap out on the power cord and have it 4 ft. The 10 ft. cord Porter Cable included on this tool is awesome. This means there are less times you need to pull out that extension cord, but when you do you don’t have the connection from the power tool cord and the extension cord getting caught around corners and other places that makes you want to pull out your hair.
OK lets get into the heart of this tool, the tool free blade change. Besides Fein and Craftsman, the Porter Cable is the only other tool free system on the market. After using the tool free system, all I can say is this is awesome. No more fumbling with screws and wasting time changing blades. Just pull the lever up and insert the new bit. No more accessories coming loose when using the tool. The Porter Cable locks the accessory in place and it stays there until you want it to come off. On the downside, it doesn’t accept competitors accessories. Not to worry, we heard that Porter Cable is working on a system that will allow you to use competitor accessories on this tool, so don’t throw away your old accessories just yet.
We ended using this tool for a couple small projects around the house. We cut through some drywall, pipe, nails, wood and some other stuff. The motor was powerful enough to tackle the jobs we threw at it and the oscillating angle of 2.8 degrees was nice. I have to keep going back to the tool free changing system as this is an awesome feature.
Conclusion
This is one of my favorite oscillating tools on the market. The tool free accessory changing system is awesome and the tool has enough power to tackle all most any job. We like that the kit came with everything to get started. We could open the kit and get started right away without having to run to the store and spend more money. If you are looking for a great corded oscillating tool, you have to check out the Porter Cable PC250MTK, you won’t be disappointed.
