Tony
I concur with John. I have tried B&D plenty of times and found their
tools to be disposables. The old B&D of 25 years ago was bomb proof.
Its hard for me because much of the B&D line up was originally built in
my home town, and I have friends who work for B&D. Still I think your
better off with the P&C

The B&D brand name now is designed as a home owner grade tool
line up. The other market that tool companies design for is the
contractor grade tool line up. Contractor grade being more durable and
often with a little more finesse in the design. Oh yeah and a bit
more costly. The difference is you'll pay out only once for a contractor
grade tool.

The B&D's tools are often undesigned with motors that burn out but also a lot of parts that should be steel being bake light plastic. Read breakage.
The truth is that most of the B&D line up is meant for the homeowner
and for light occasional usage. The hardest truth is that Planned
obsolences is part of the B&D designs. If your an average home owner
doing occasional maintance, and only use a tool every once in a while
and only on small, light and occasional projects the tool might last
1 to 5 years. From that perspective the lower cost of buying another
seems worth it to the home owner tool buyer. So in the harry homeowner
segment of the market the money saved is worth it. Hey the tool lasted
a few years, but mostly unworked. For a home owner it makes sense to save
a few bucks and buy another cheaper "disposable" power tool.

The problem is that boat building isn't a small light or occasional
sanding project.Every time I have put a B&D on serious WW I got one year
or less out of it.

The P&C ROM your looking at is perhaps the best contractor grade ROM design
on the market. Uts rugged but not to heavy.Yeah It will cost you a
bit more, but you'll have it for the rest of your life. If it does
break parts are on-line with diagrams and help. The warenty is a point
of pride with the company,and is twice as long and if you ever have
to use it I'll eat my hat. Its a case of spending 50 dollars once or
spending 40 dollars every couple of years.

We have a P&C ROM in our shop its done 4 boats, a hardwood stairway,
a multitude of other WW projects most in hardwoods and its is still
looking for a challenge. We also have the P&C beltsander and I recommend
it as highly. Got the belt sander after my B&D and Ryobi both burned out
again on the same day ...... for the last time. Best of all The P&C
is the best ROM I have ever used. It fits in the hand like a glove its vibrations are dampened nicely and it makes dust with out any pressure.
It Hooks right up to my dust system or to my shop vac directly.
Making messes smaller lungs cleaner.

Most P&C stuff and other contractor grade line ups are a bit heavier
then other tools lines becuase they are built bomb proof, but they are
also better balanced making it easier to handle and with less shake.

The biggest advice I can give you is don't buy any tool until you
have tried it. Balance and weight are everything in tools. Most
lines are similar, but some tools just feel better in different hands.

I often tell folks that if your cash strapped you can buy B&D stuff
knowing your buying short term capability that gives you something now,
but know at the outset that your going to have to buy another one later.

If you want my recommendation spend the extra 30 bucks and buy the
tool that is a true pleasure to use. In the end, that extra 30 bucks
will save you 300 dollars in a life time of future repalcements
and the iterative frustration of burned out tools.

Well the epoxy is dry I gotta get back to work

!RUSS