Lets talk Power Tools

JOhnH said:
I hope it wasn't in the bed of somebody's truck.

I was using my EGO chain saw in the back of my property. When the chain saw battery died I swapped it and put the dead one on the side rail of the pickup "temporarily". When I finished my job I threw the rest of the tools in the truck and pulled out on the road to turn the corner to my driveway to my garage. When I unloaded, I realized the battery wasn't there. I retraced my very short route several times and it was nowhere to be found. Apparently in the few minutes it took me to move the truck it fell off and someone "found" it.
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I saw it while riding bicycle and gave it a couple of days.
 
This is why I am a fan of Ryobi. Home Depot over buys for high sales season, then dumps excess inventory at the end. I wandered in today and stumbled across a 2 battery and charger combo on clearance for $79.

I haven't had a battery go bad in several years, but at these prices I don't much care. I literally have more batteries than I can use.

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If I were starting from nothing, I'd probably buy Dewalt cordless tools. A buddy of mine is all-Dealt, and I've used his stuff enough to really like it. That said, I started out with Ryobi because, like a lot of guys, I got a combo package of drill & impact driver for Father's Day or something years ago. Since I have One+ batteries on hand and don't want to replace it all, that's what I stick with. There's absolutely nothing wrong with he Ryobi stuff. It's tough, powerful, works well, and not a single Ryobi tool I own (2 drills, driver, tire inflator, 18 ga brad nailer) has ever broken. I've had to replace a couple of batteries, but that's a constant no matter what you buy.

So why would I go Dewalt if I were starting over? I just like the compact size of their stuff better is all. They work exactly the same as what I have, to be honest. And if it comes with a power cord, it's probably going to be Dewalt. My chop saw is Dewalt, as is my 1/2" drill. The table saw I'm going to buy will be. If I buy a planer it will be Dewalt too.
 
In my experience all the cordless electric tools crap out within a year or two of regular use, if you plan on using tools regularly I highly recommend switching to phnematic, buy a couple extra hoses and a good compressor.
 
Flatiowa said:
In my experience all the cordless electric tools crap out within a year or two of regular use, if you plan on using tools regularly I highly recommend switching to phnematic, buy a couple extra hoses and a good compressor.
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:popcorn:
Most of my Ryobi tools are over 4 years old and are holding up fine. I have had to replace a couple of batteries though.
My EGO tools vary in age but all are over a year and get used very frequently.

I wonder how many Ryobi tools I could buy for the cost of a good compressor and a couple of "pneumatic" tools and hoses.
 
JOhnH said:
I wonder how many Ryobi tools I could buy for the cost of a good compressor and a couple of "pneumatic" tools and hoses.
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There is a place and time for everything. In the "Big Arse Hot Rod Shop" I frequented for 20 years, we had pneumatic tools almost exclusively when we started, but graduated to a lot of cordless Bosch tools for ease of use, and found their utility quite good (aging hot rod dudes tripping over air lines no bueno). When the Bosch tools did not cut the mustard, we pulled out the pneumatic stuff, powered, of course, by a big arse air compressor.

At the shop that I am exclusively cordless Ryobi, I don't ever see being able to justify a big arse compressor, so I make do, which often means mechanical improvisation and / or an investment of time (turns on a bolt 1/8 of a flat at a time, eff me!).
 
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Apples v oranges. You want to torque off some rusty bolts or grind steel, air tools all the way. But driving drywall screws or drilling holes to hang cabinets, cordless is better.
 
How did you get your A&P to sign off on drywall and cabinets in your airplane? lol
 
I’m a trim carpenter that uses “almost” exclusively cordless dewalt except I use a corded dewalt miter saw and a air compressor when I need my 21 gauge nailer.Im a huge fan,I’ve put 1,000’s of nails through the cordless nailers (16 and 18ga) and even use them for oak stair treads.

We’ve been exclusively dewalt for about 7 years,used to use makita.The dewalt tools preform very well but don’t hold up as good as some imo.Milwaukee seems to be a great tool,maybe a bit more powerful but tend to be heavier.We won’t switch anything because to switch now would be a major expense because we are fairly well outfitted.Tool brand arguments are kind like Piper/cessna,low wing/highwing,etc:D
 
I can't imagine what an air powered portable band saw would sound like, but I'm pretty sure I don't want one. But...for brad nailers and staplers, air is the only way to go.
 
JOhnH said:
That's not what this thread is about.
Are cordless tools perfect for everything? NO.
Are they worthless crap? NO.
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“It was a joke son, jump next time, it went over your head” … foghorn leghorn.
 
Ed Haywood said:
Apples v oranges. You want to torque off some rusty bolts or grind steel, air tools all the way. But driving drywall screws or drilling holes to hang cabinets, cordless is better.
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Not anymore. I have a 18v makita impact that has replaced my 1" pneumatic impact for changing tires on the semis and tractors. My 4" angle grinders....18v makita. I bought one not expecting it to replace my expensive corded Milwaukee, and it was so great and i used it so much, i bought a second. Haven't touched the Milwaukee in years. About the only thing electric can't replace is really small stuff like the rivet gun, 1/4 drill, die grinder.

Flatiowa said:
In my experience all the cordless electric tools crap out within a year or two of regular use, if you plan on using tools regularly I highly recommend switching to phnematic, buy a couple extra hoses and a good compressor.
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You either bought cheap tools, haven't used anything modern, or could break a bag of hammers. I've got tools I've used multiple days a week for 20 years. The old brushed stuff was not quite as robust (although i just used my 20 year old brushed makita drill tonight), but the lithium brushless tools are incredible. I even have 15 year old 18v makita batteries in rotation. Never would've guessed that. The old NiCds did only last a couple years.
 
Jim K said:
You either bought cheap tools, haven't used anything modern, or could break a bag of hammers. I've got tools I've used multiple days a week for 20 years
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My consideration of “regular use” is probably skewed, to me it is 12 hour shifts 7 days a week 365 days a year. Even the best brand and best cared for electric ones fail around the six month mark and are not warrantied because it’s considered commercial application.
 
Flatiowa said:
My consideration of “regular use” is probably skewed, to me it is 12 hour shifts 7 days a week 365 days a year.
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It's like buying a Diesel VW Golf and expecting it to work as a replacement for a 2000HP prime mover in a locomotive. And when it fails complaining that it is a piece of junk.
Regular use is not the same thing as revenue generating heavy duty use.
 
My advice if you buy battery tools, stick to one brand so you can use the same batteries for multiple tools and you don't have a room full of different chargers.
 
The appliance guy who fixed my dishwasher had a pretty sweet looking 12v Milwaukee drill driver. Now I have tool envy. If I get it, maybe my reno contractor will stop making fun of my Ryobi stuff.
 
We went ryobi. My son has Milwaukee. No doubt Milwaukee are higher end, but we aren’t contractors just pretty serious DIYers. We can have double the tools for the same dollar, was our thinking.

The ryobi have held up well, and have been abused and put through the paces, and as others have mentioned they have a tool for everything.

Very happy. We often buy scratch n dents off eBay. Our entire fleet is ryobi and it’s so nice that all batteries work with all.
 
The Torque Test Channel on YouTube has a LOT of cordless tool comparisons. Project Farm is great too. Dewalt and Milwaukee are often neck-and-neck at the top of the results, but I find that Dewalt is a little less expensive, so all mine are Dewalt.
 
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