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Powertools: I have no idea what to buy

P

Pastore

Diamond Member
I need to buy a few tools to build a few little things for around the house. The only things I need are a drill and a circular saw at the moment. I am looking at the black and decker 12 volt rechargables but am wondering what kind of performance I'll get out of those. What other brands are there out there? I'd prefer cordless because of A) The coolness factor and B) I'd end up sawing right through a damn cord. Keep in mind I want to stay around $100 for a circular saw and a drill because I'll probably only use these things maybe a couple times a year in the future.

Any help on where to look online to find what I'm looking for?
 
You may want a corded circular saw if you're going to do much cutting..for small stuff (trim/etc), cordless should be fine. Dewalt makes nice stuff, but a drill alone is way out of your price range.

You should be able to get a B&D 18v cordless for about 60 bucks, and a corded Skilsaw for about $40. 🙂
 
Yeah, cordless circular saws are definitely not the way to go for the average person. Don't waste your money on one. Like CadetLee mentioned a good Skilsaw should set you back less than $50.
 
i second the corded for saw as well - circular saws when battery powered are referred to as 'trim' saws since that's all they're good for.
try some of the ryobi combos as well, you can often get a drill and saw for about 100
 
I've been happy with my 18V circular saw. I've built a number of things and it has no problems to a depth of 3" or so, assuming the battery is full. I use a table saw and miter saw for most big cuts, though.
 
If I had enough money to buy that shlt, I'd be hiring people to do this crap for me!

This will have to do for now...


I would not get a cordless circular saw.

I thought the same thing. Got a Milwaukee set which included a cordless saw. When I found out the damn thing was "left handed" I squawked to Milwaukee to replace it with a full size corded unit. They gave me full price credit for the cordless toward trade for the corded one. Since then I've found 101 damn good uses for that cordless saw! Being small is a big advantage. Being left handed makes it useful for certain tasks. Being cordless is VERY nice for small quick jobs. Just having two saws available is also great. Wish I'd kept it now... :disgust:
 
I'll revise that - if I had to have only one circular saw, it would not be cordless.

A drill on the other hand, I'd rather have cordless than corded (I have one of each)
 
DO NOT GET A BLACK AND DECKER POWER TOOL <repeat 3x

If you want a cheap brand, get Ryobi. Black and Decker are underpowered and they break very easily. They're barely useable. They're the tool for soccer moms.

Power tool brands in order of equality (my opinion).

Porter Cable
Milawakee
Makita
Dewalt
Ridgid
Bosch
Skil
Hitachi
Craftsman
Ryobi
-
Black and Decker
Companion

Anything Ryobi and above will work like advertised. I'd specifically look at Craftsman and Ridgid since they seem to have the most bang for the buck (and best warranties). Ridgid, during promotional periods, extends their lifetime warranty to power tools - including the batteries!

So there.. stick to Ryobi and above. Black and Decker makes horrible power tools.
 
I have been building houses since I was 14.

I have always had good luck with DeWalt and Porter Cable.
Some Milwaukee tools are good, some are so-so.
Makita tends to be cheap and 'plasticky'.
Skil make a very good worm drive saw, stay away from most.
Bosch Makes good routers and table saws.
Black and Decker - NO
Ryobi - NO
Hitachi - so-so

A skilsaw and a drill are the most necessary tools. I use a corded DeWalt drill for drilling, and a cordless 12v for driving screws. I think a 12v is the best size, and I have two batteries so I can always have one charging and never run out of juice.

 
Stick to🙁in no articualr order)

good stuff:

porter cable
dewalt
milwakkee


pretty good:
ryobi
craftsman (not the best but their warranty is fantastic and htey are cheap)
(their hand tools kick ass though)

decent:

rigid (seems to be pretty dent actually.


don't get hitachi or black and decker.....junk
 
Milwaukee used to have lifetime warrantees on all their tools until a couple years ago. Bought all mine just before they stopped that. Now they only have a 5 year warranty. Their Sawzalls (including the new Hatchet) are the shlt!
 
Originally posted by: Ornery
Milwaukee used to have lifetime warrantees on all their tools until a couple years ago. Bought all mine just before they stopped that. Now they only have a 5 year warranty. Their Sawzalls (including the new Hatchet) are the shlt!
Click to expand...

Home depot was running a few promotion on them the other day....
 
I'm happy with my Ridgid brand drill I bought. It came with a lifetime warranty even on the batteries. I only got the 12v model and it's working out very well. I like the electronic brake, never had a drill with that feature but it's really nice and makes for quick and easy bit changes, that so far haven't slipped. .

I had a makita drill before that, the old L style one, with 7.2v NiCd batteries, no electronic brake. I still have it but the batteries don't hold much of a charge any more and replacements are like $30-50 each. The new Ridgid drill cost $129 w/ a cordless impact ratchet wrench and two batteries, so basically got the new balanced drill for $30 and the ratchet for free. I'm happy.

Costco has some Kawasaki brand stuff that looks good, no idea how well it works but $179 for a 4piece set (Circ. saw, sawzall, drill and light) or $79 for the 19.2v drill. here
I actually need that sawzall and could use a circular saw too, I may go ahead and try it out, especially with the costco protection.



 
Black and Decker Firestorm. I use my 24v hammerdrill everyday, about 5 hours a day. I've used it to go through 3in thick wood, concrete, masonry, you name it. I've had it for a long time, never had a problem with it.

Alot of Dewalt is garbage. Ryobi is only useful for smashing with a sledge. Craftsman good for placing under a Ryobi. Milwaukee is great, Hilti is nice.
 
I'm still not sold on cordless.

Look in the papers and try to find an estate sale, you need a table saw & a router/router table to do the good stuff🙂
 
Originally posted by: Pliablemoose
I'm still not sold on cordless.

Look in the papers and try to find an estate sale, you need a table saw & a router/router table to do the good stuff🙂
Click to expand...

Cordless is good for contractors, that go to 10-20 houses a day.
 
Originally posted by: Farbio
i second the corded for saw as well - circular saws when battery powered are referred to as 'trim' saws since that's all they're good for.
try some of the ryobi combos as well, you can often get a drill and saw for about 100
Click to expand...
Count my vote for the corded saw also.
I also vote for Ryobi / Craftsman Cordless tools. Good value for the money.
I would do my shopping at Sears for these tools. I have a Skil circular saw that is going on 18 years old with nothing more than a cord replacement. I just added a Ryobi circular to take over when it dies, but I haven't put it into full time service yet

 
Originally posted by: AlienCraft
Originally posted by: Farbio
i second the corded for saw as well - circular saws when battery powered are referred to as 'trim' saws since that's all they're good for.
try some of the ryobi combos as well, you can often get a drill and saw for about 100
Click to expand...
Count my vote for the corded saw also.
I also vote for Ryobi / Craftsman Cordless tools. Good value for the money.
I would do my shopping at Sears for these tools. I have a Skil circular saw that is going on 18 years old with nothing more than a cord replacement. I just added a Ryobi circular to take over when it dies, but I haven't put it into full time service yet
Click to expand...

i have a corded craftsman circular saw and a corded craftsman drill. both over 20 yrs old. the circular saw still gets good use, the corded drill has been replaced by my 14 volt makita. it's good enough for what i do.

but that 28 volt makita set looks pretty sweet.

oh ya, i did buy a ryobi miter circular saw about 4 yrs ago. it's good enough for small trim stuff around the house.
 
Originally posted by: Goosemaster
Stick to🙁in no articualr order)

good stuff:

porter cable
dewalt
milwakkee


pretty good:
ryobi
craftsman (not the best but their warranty is fantastic and htey are cheap)
(their hand tools kick ass though)

decent:

rigid (seems to be pretty dent actually.


don't get hitachi or black and decker.....junk
Click to expand...

Hitachi junk? I have a dual compound miter saw and 3/4hp router from them. I'd rate them above dewalt for build quality.

I say dewalt has dropped off in quality over the years.

 
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