Cordless power tools

[scap99]

I highly recommend you go lithium ion battery, and the higher batt voltages are amazing compared to the old nicad batt powered Makita drill that pretty much started this battery drill craze back in the 80's.

[maximus]

cannot go wrong with Milwaukee,by far the best..i use the 5 aH batteries..i believe dewalt has been bought out by Stanley and quality has dropped..always had problems with batteries on my dewalt stuff..18v Milwaukee brushless is best..more torque

 

[leftimatic]

Unless you plan on building things in remote parts of the forest just spend your money on a cordless drill with two batteries and a double charger. Bosch or Makita preferred. Put a cord on the rest.  I have found that any of the other cordless type tool's performance just a little less than disappointing.  But a cordless drill it's right up there with sliced bread and automatic washing machines. 

[CaptainQuintero]

I'm not allowed powertools either, my own rules! I don't trust myself!

 

I've a small collection of hand tools so I go slow and steady, a few from my grandad who was a carpenter in a steel works. I believe in the buy once buy well with these too.

I've never bought into the wireless revolution, from Hoovers to entertainment. I've always gotten better results and less hassle from just plugging the things in! 

What sort of jobs are you going to be doing?

[ElPuro]

Dewalt imho had gone downhill in recent years. They've started using rubber instead of metal in some areas, etc. I always recommend folks buy quality out of the gate or risk paying twice when the cheap stuff dies or batteries wear prematurely. Craftsman is junk except hand tools. Spend a little more coin and be rewarded. But you know that, since you shop here (when do I get my discount for this plug?)

[airtrade]

Milwaukee is great, dewalt is nice and light weight too,rigid, Bosch and hitachi are good. Still have a pair of makita 7.2v drills that work. Ah hell I like them all I guess.

 Ryobi works ok and all the batteries are interchangeable so they will probably be selling replacements for a long time.

the thing with the kits is I usually only use the cordless drills and screwdrivers. For saws and sanders I like to go to corded.

[ThePolskiOgorki]

You get what you pay for. So save your coin and get something good.  Although I don't work construction anymore I try to do as much stuff as I can manage on my own like renovations and repairs around the house. I make sure my spendy purchases are tools I use most. As far as cordless Tools go my drill and impact driver are used the most. I skimp on the stuff I need once in a while. The brands I use have all been mentioned so plenty of good advice already. And since you are going to buy when things are on sale instead of buying a reduced Black and Decker or Ryobi ..AKA...Fisher Price tool. Buy a Dewalt, makita, Bosch or Milwaukee tool at a reduced price. You will be happy you did. 

[GasGuy82]

I still use my Grandpa's old metal frame corded Craftsman from the 1960's, it's a beast.

[mcease022]

6 hours ago, ElPuro said:

Ryobi is junk. Makita or Milwaukee if you plan to do anything other than hanging drapes. 

I agree Ryobi=crap. Buy once. Buy dewalt

[Fosgate]

I typically like Milwakee/Dewalt and Mikita but at the time I was looking I could not find a combo set that had the larger Lithium battery packs. I noticed that was kind of a habit with some of them. They throw this killer price than if you buy them individually but look at the battery the combo comes with and while the same voltage and drill, they certainly will not run as long before recharge is needed. I wound up going with a set of Rockwell Drill and Impact driver that had the larger batteries available (had to be careful because some places again offered the same combo with smaller battery for less.). It's been a good set.

[Blazer]

Obviously Makita is always the way to go, but if price is a major consideration go Dewalt. My next door neighbor is a home builder and he swears by the Dewalts. Anytime I need anything done he brings his bag full of Dewalt tools, two battery backs and they have plenty of power to get the job done.

[joeypots]

17 hours ago, ElPuro said:

Ryobi is junk. Makita or Milwaukee if you plan to do anything other than hanging drapes. 

Most of my tools are corded. For the home owner it may not matter too much, but for work I agree with ElPuro. When my old 9 volt Makita cordless drill  (the one with the long battery in the handle) finally wore out, and it took twenty years, two carpenters I know told me to get a Panasonic. Damn nice cordless drill.

[FireDigger]

Right now I'm leaning toward the Makita 18V 4.0 Ah impact/hammer drill combo. It's about $250, but maybe it'll be around $200 in a few days? Will keep an eye on it.

[Phillys]

I have a few impacts and drills, I did not like the Dewalt, kept replacing batteries, poor build. Bosch is great, but for some reason I prefer their corded tools over their cordless.

I have two older Makita drills and just got the Milwaukee set. Out of all of them, I like the Milwaukees the best, great tools. Even for small house work, I would recommend at least the Makita, they will last a lifetime and the batteries last longer.

A buddy of mine got a Ryobi kit for the house about a year ago and he is already starting to have issues with it. Low power output and cheap construction. 

Good tools last a long time if properly taken care of.

   

[zeedubbya]

13 hours ago, FireDigger said:

Right now I'm leaning toward the Makita 18V 4.0 Ah impact/hammer drill combo. It's about $250, but maybe it'll be around $200 in a few days? Will keep an eye on it.

IMHO you're leaning in the right direction. I've had Makitas for quite some time now and I just keep adding tools to the set.  Overkill for what I do, but it just feels better than anything else I've owned.  Simple feature my Makita Impact has is the light stays lit for a second or so after using the tool.  Maybe they all have that, but it's a pretty handy feature.  Buy the Makita you'll never regret it.  

[PigFish]

Ultimately you have to ask yourself what you are going to do with the tools in order to answer the question.

 

A poster above made a comment about corded tools. He is right on the money. You are not going to mix a sack of thinset mortar with a cordless drill. Nor would I be drilling a lot of steel, or holes for Redheads, with a battery tool… That is just my opinion. Tools have overlapping envelopes, but once you have crossed the boundary, it becomes easy to break the tool or ruin your work.

 

Will you carry the tools, as in on a belt or bag? Will you use them daily or once a month? Will they accompany you into a crawlspace, or get left on a bench in the garage? These are all things to consider. Frankly, there is noting worse then picking up your cordless (anything) and not having it charged and ready for work. Leave tools sit, and they will discharge and fail you.

 

When buying tools, price is actually a consideration way down the list for me. A tool must perform its job, first and last, and not fail, or any money spent on it, the time it took to lug it somewhere, somewhere that there is no access to power, is wasted.

 

Why is “what you do with them,” important? Glad you asked. These tools are changing all the time and as a matter of need and of course marketing, they are getting more specialized. Their weight and size, battery power and torque will all make a difference in how they are used.

 

Big, weighty tools (cordless) should just be replaced with smaller corded tools; a sawsall for example. While I will use a sawsall for a lot of things, to me it is a demolition tool. Certain tools like sawsalls will kill a battery in short order if you are doing any protracted work with it. But, it can be handy to root prune and do some minor work around the yard if you lack a chainsaw and don't want to bury your expensive chainsaw blade in the dirt! I have several sawsalls, including cordless, but the cordless variety I typically use for cutting holes in walls, or just because I am lazy and not going to pursue using the “correct” saw for the work. I prefer a port-band for the cutting of hard materials.

 

What kind of tools will be offered for the batteries that you have and how expensive are those batteries to replace? Batteries go dead in time. Furthermore they are generally the first part to make contact with earth when you drop the tool. A tool that is used, is going to get dropped if it is used much. It is an axiom! Robust tools and batteries are a must. How quickly do they need to charge? That is another concern. If you have to wait on your need for a tool while it changes, and use a different tool, there is no need for the tool!

 

I am not going to tell you what to buy because that depends on what you are going to do. There are some great brands and generally each brand is known for some specific tool. Just as an example someone above mentioned, Porter Cable. PC has historically made the best door trimmer (powered planer), great routers and laminate trimmers, as well as belt sanders. They used to make great drills too… I would never buy one of their cordless tools, nor one of their nail guns. This is because someone else makes a better one. Dewalt, I won’t buy at all! Nor will I buy Ryobi (anything) unless I am buying tools for contract laborers to use, drop and eventually steal. Sometimes a ‘disposable’ tool is a part of the construction business.

 

 

Here are the cordless tools I use in the humidor shop. Notice they are small tools. It is far easier to do precision work with smaller tools. Smaller tools have limited power and usefulness on larger projects. But for the humidor shop, these are perfect. Furthermore their size makes them great for production. I can load up sever drills with different sizes and leave them in the drills themselves. The time it takes to change drills, or bits can make a huge impact on your ability to work quickly. For me, in this instance, it makes more sense to load up several smaller tools, pick the correct one properly fitted for the task than to scramble to change bits.

 

 

The most important cordless tool (to me) is an impact driver. I use an impact driver for almost everything! If you are up in an attic and want to run some flex through a double top plate there is nothing like one of these and a specialty helix hybrid spade bit. They don’t make pretty holes, but will chew through a nail embedded in wood like no tomorrow. Try this with your drill and you will break it, or mash your fingers when the bit encounters a nail… Just about anything you can do with a drill, except drill smaller holes accurately, you can do faster and safer with an impact. I use a standard sized Makita for that. Drill driving breaks screws. Impact driving them does less damage to the head and unless you hammer them to death, they are less likely to break in your work.

 

Does the tool offer battery size options? I like that as well. Some of these tools have larger and smaller batteries. Lug one around all day in an attic and you will appreciate the ability to either take more power with you, or lug around a smaller one making the tool more compact.

 

 

A battery circular saw is also a must for me. I own a few of them actually! One I keep with a ferrous cutting metal blade on it. Want to hack a piece of EMT or Unistrut; I just hack it with a circular saw… Ripping plywood sheets…. not so good. I use one even to carve up cardboard boxes for the recycler! Why struggle with a dull blade on a box cutter when you can use a power tool?

 

What tools are available for your batteries? Is expansion a must? It is for me. I have a bunch of “various” tools for my M12 Milwaukee line. This little porte-band is priceless. It cuts bolts, conduit, heavy wire and all kinds of smaller metal forms.

 

 

Don’t have an air compressor handy? These cordless blowers are the bomb. While I use compressed air for a lot of things this thing puts out a ton of air and you don’t need an air line to supply it… Lady Piggy uses it to dust off the patio and my water bill is cheaper because of it. She has no talent for starting two-stroke gas power tools! It is light, easy and instant on! Sometimes compressed air will embed water into woodwork. This type of blower does not create condensation and is great to dust off things for finishing. Compressors can also blow air into wood, causing bubbles in finishes. These won't do that either!

 

 

Some tools are just quirky little things. I have a small USB charger, and here is a smaller driver (great for working with plastics) but largely a waste of money unless you need specialty drivers that are of the non-impact type. I use these largely to drive nylon fasteners (in the humidor shop). If it were not for the specialty, I would never waste my money on these but I use them a lot in the shop.

 

 

Well, that does it for the mini-tour of some of my cordless tools and why I own them. They won’t replace corded tools, but they have a value all to themselves and I could not do without them!!!

 

Happy tool hunting! -Piggy

[FireDigger]

Awesome post Pigfish! Thanks!

[FireDigger]

$200 for the combo seems wishful thinking if I wanted the 4.0 Ah batteries and brushless motor. ?

[Fugu]

18 minutes ago, FireDigger said:

$200 for the combo seems wishful thinking if I wanted the 4.0 Ah batteries and brushless motor. ?

That's what I thought. Even 250 seems a good price. Which combo is it exactly (would you have an Item No.?).

Does it come with two battery packs and the ventilated quick charger?

[Fugu]

4 hours ago, PigFish said:

Ultimately you have to ask yourself what you are going to do with the tools in order to answer the question.

 

...
 

Here are the cordless tools I use in the humidor shop. Notice they are small tools. It is far easier to do precision work with smaller tools. Smaller tools have limited power and usefulness on larger projects. But for the humidor shop, these are perfect. Furthermore their size makes them great for production. I can load up sever drills with different sizes and leave them in the drills themselves. The time it takes to change drills, or bits can make a huge impact on your ability to work quickly. For me, in this instance, it makes more sense to load up several smaller tools, pick the correct one properly fitted for the task than to scramble to change bits.

 

Great post, Ray, with some very valuable tips from the practitioner!

I find the above mentioned a particular valid point. Goes to show how important it is to consider which jobs one is going to use them for mainly....

[FireDigger]

That's what I thought. Even 250 seems a good price. Which combo is it exactly (would you have an Item No.?).

Does ist come with two battery packs and the ventilated quick charger?

XT248M or XT248MB. I guess the latter has two batteries instead of one. I also see someone selling two sets of these minus the batteries for $150 each on Craigslist, although I'm not sure why one would do that instead of buying batteries?

[Fugu]

8 minutes ago, FireDigger said:

XT248M or XT248MB. I guess the latter has two batteries instead of one. I also see someone selling two sets of these minus the batteries for $150 each on Craigslist, although I'm not sure why one would do that instead of buying batteries?

Yes, in any event, make sure you get two battery-packs, so you can work away without any downtime. Combo seems neat to me.

[FireDigger]

XT248M or XT248MB. I guess the latter has two batteries instead of one. I also see someone selling two sets of these minus the batteries for $150 each on Craigslist, although I'm not sure why one would do that instead of buying batteries?

The batteries cost $190 for a pair! That answers my question.

[PigFish]

What I don't claim to do is keep up with the latest incarnation of cordless tools but if I were looking today I would likely end up with this...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-18-Volt-LXT-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Combo-Kit-3-Piece-Includes-Bonus-Brushless-Angle-Grinder-XT324/205963186

As far as shopping goes, I find the best tool bargains when I am not looking to buy tools! Christmas time is a great time at the box stores. This is when I buy batteries. Some of these batteries are $100 each. During Christmas, or right after, you can pick up 2 packs of the same batteries for the same price as 1! I have been known to buy the "tool kit" just for the batteries. I have found kits (like these M12) where you get 2 batteries (about $69.00) and a tool and charger for $89.00. If I need batteries, I buy the kit and toss the tool in the box with the rest of them. I bought a bunch of them when HD inked and exclusive agreement with Milwaukee. Many of the other stores put the tools up for 50% off. I either bought them there, or took the coupon to the guys that were cornering the market and had them discount the tools to me via their low price guarantee!

Good luck on the hunt... -Piggy

 

[Corylax18]

Everybody is just trying to help the guy out and Piggy has to write a thesis.   I kid, I kid. Analytical breakdown of any problem or situation is the best way to solve it. 

OP, notice two things from all of that though. 1. Quality tools (Milwakee, Makita) 2. The right tools for the right jobs. 

I agree that the drill/driver and impact are the most important two cordless items. Bigger batteries aren't always better, but multiple batteries are. I still have a corded circular saw, a couple heavy duty corded drills 

If you can be patient wait for a real sale. Everybody is looking to buy a cordless tool set to complete last winters Honeydew list. Its like buying a snowblower for "Sale" in October. Wait till February and it will be 50% less than the "sale" price.