Ridgid 12v Lithium-Ion Drill/Jobmax Combo

Smallness. That's the main feature of the Ridgid 12v Lithium-Ion Drill/Jobmax Combo. Each tool is easy to hold for long periods of time. Not a must-buy-now item, but something to buy after you have a full set of tools already. An unusual set of lithium ion-based tools.

Be forewarned. The Ridgid 12v Lithium-Ion Drill/Jobmax Combo may have tool for you at the far ends of the spectrum, but little in-between.

Here's what I mean. On the one hand, you've got specialty tools that don't come into play in your average day's remodeling work. You have a power base that accommodates a multi tool head for cutting wood, metal, sanding, scraping, grout removing, and so on. This base also accepts an auto hammer head.

On the other end of the spectrum, you've got a pint-sized 12v cordless drill.

I spent a long time looking at this drill, trying to figure out what made it so unique that it had to be included. As it turns out, it's just a cordless 12v lithium ion drill--nothing more, nothing less. Homeowners purchasing this Jobmax Combo will most likely already have a cordless drill; and unless you have an usually lousy cordless drill, the Jobmax drill will not replace it.

The multi-tool head is one of those tools you never knew you needed until you had it. Until this point, you did all of these things manually, and with great effort.

Instead of laboriously chipping away that grout, why not grind it off? Need to sand a tight area? The sanding element easily replaces you Black & Decker Mouse.

The auto-hammer head leaves a bit to be desired. It will hammer in light nails, but not much else.

In general, the Ridgid 12v Lithium-Ion Drill/Jobmax Combo is a nice addition to your workshop, but far from essential.

Notes: Nearly 2 Years Later

As it turns out, the multi-tool turned into a big fat zero. It looked good on paper, and it was cool to test out at first--but I was never able to really use it for anything. Which is kind of the point, you know. The blade attaches by means of an Allen wrench. To get it off, I would have to laboriously scrape out the gunk in the screw head just to get the wrench tip in. But that's only a small part of it. The worst is that it worked only when it decided. I would be merrily cutting off a nail or something and--bam!--it stops working. I would charge up the battery, but nothing would happen. I would try another battery. Nothing. Hitting the multi-tool on a hard surface would sometimes get it working again. But who can rely on that? I do not recommend this tool.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.