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seasonal tool bargains--what to buy?
After helping my father build a shed and admiring how quickly it went using his power tools, I decided I should probably get power tools of my own instead of borrowing his all the time and not doing some projects at all because I don't have tools and would have to borrow his.
Anybody have good or bad things to say about different brands? The hardware stores all seem to be having sales on them right now. Sears has a cordless Craftsman set at 19.2V with a reciprocating saw, jigsaw, trim saw (5 1/2 inch circular), drill/screwdriver, and florescent project light for about $200. Home Depot has a cordless Ryobi set at 18V, with reciprocating saw, jigsaw, trim saw, torque-measuring drill/screwdriver, spot-lamp project light, corner sander, and wet/dry hand-vacuum for $150. There are similar DeWalt sets running around for about $350, but my level of use probably doesn't warrant construction-job-site quality--in the total life of my tools they'll probably see what a construction site tool does in two months. Any thoughts about what tools are good to have and what will just sit in the box? Any thoughts about what brands are good or bad? |
LOT of people will blow off sears. They made some real crap up till the last few years. I just bought four of the 19.2 impacts and drills. I like them and they are as good as the Bosch and Hitachi they replacing. You can find some nice new hitachi stuff on the bay.
Lot of people like the yellow but I don't buy it. The stuff is everywhere and places are full of reconditioned stuff. Nothing wrong with reconditioned but to much goes bad right from the start. RYobi is kind of a step child. there stuff is pretty good for the money. Same company that makes Milwaukee. We decide to try the Sears cause were always around one. |
Are there any significant differences between 18V and 19.2V?
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Not really. I think it was Porter Cable that came up with the 19.2 I think they are the ones supplying the 19.2 for Sears. Ryobi's 18 volt batteries are pretty inexpensive. But you can find a LOT of Sears 19.2 on the Bay
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unless you use the battery operated tools on a regular basis the battery's IN my experence they seem to go bad in a short time, a few years, and will not hold a charge.
I like my battery operated tools, but if there were going to be seldom used I think I would suggest corded tools, and the cost is a fraction, of the battery tools, and a medium quality cored tool many times is as good as better battery one, (for quality of construction) and the power is usually much better on a cored tool, I have a good number of dewalt battery tools, 1/2 drill, saws-all, grinder, circular saw, metal cutting circular saw, IN 18 volt, there good tools but there not the power or the quality of the corded tools the DRILL is the best of the tools for the power it has, and battery life, the grinder is anemic, and eats battery's, the saws are ok for light work, but if cutting 2X stuff they are light and under powered, for the portability there great, and power is reasonable but the corded tools are the heavy duty tools my corded tools will work circles around the battery tools, but there not as portable, but the cost is much more affordable, both have there place, |
Get A decent air compressor. And A nailer, they are great. I get alot of my stuff from Habor freight and tools. I have spent over $1,000.00 there this year. They have only been open 6 months here.I have only had one iten fail. That was the potatoe cutter. Good tools don't cost in the long run. they save you money..
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I bought a set at home depot, which has a 90 day return policy if unopened. Dunno yet if I'm going to return it and get something else, just didn't want the sale price to evaporate before I figured out what to do.
Normal price $229. Sale price $149. 18V cordless Ryobi. Includes 5.5 inch circular saw/trim saw reciprocating saw jigsaw torque driver/drill corner sander spotlight wet-dry mini-vac/'dustbuster' type vac. 2 batteries 1-hour charger tool bag I'm trying to figure out if this will prove to be a good buy, or if I should get higher quality tools if I'm going to buy a set like that. Originally I was just looking for a drill/driver... |
I thkn you got a fairly good deal, I paid $100 for my 18 volt drill cause it has a 1/2 inch chuck / jaw.... but i also got 2 batteries and a charger with it, and for a black and decker it has held up really well. I kinda wish i had bought a couple of them so i could have one for the house and one for the shop and anywhere else i might be workin....
The little cutoff saw is gonna probably be a pain to use, but once inawhile you will find it to be a marvel and wonder how you got along without it. the reciprocating saw more than likely will work fine but will not have the power you need for certain types of cutting and may break more blades than you care to cause it gets stuck mid cut..... ive broke more blades than i care to admit with recip saws of all types, but it was the job at the time.... The corner sander may or maynot find a use with you, depends on what al you are figgering on doing, i bought a profile sander a few years ago and paid for it on one job, including all the various types of sanding pads i bought with it.... they are handy units and the corner tool gets quite a bit of use over the moulding profiles. the spotlight is another iffy thing it all depends on what you already have around to use, and using it will certainly delay your using the other tools for long if you dont have a well charged battery laying in wait when the one that has been used as a light runs down [or you wait an hour to use the tool] so if i had one it would be the piece that gathered the most dust from non-use, it may however get used on some jobs over another light cause it was in the box and handy.... but i would rather not have it and have something else in MY set of tools..... Ryobi has always had quality tools in my opinion, my first experience with ryobi was a 12 inch single surface planer, the people that had me cut lumber used one to plane around 300,000 board feet of 8 inch and 10 inch dead white pine lumber they put into a private school and the owners home. and it never gave out and each board got a couple passes so that particular unit was built tough. and enough to impress me, as some of the other tools since ive seen with the ryobi name William |
Do you need cordless tools, or do you need power tools?
I Love my old Craftsman 14v drill & flashlight set. But, batteries do not last forever. And they tend to be discharged when you need them. And for a bigger job, a saw or drill run out. Would you be better off with a set of 120v power tools? Just trying to figure out your needs. A 1/2 inch drill, a recipricating saw, a -um- Skil saw type saw, a radial arm or miter saw, and a person can do a lot of building. A small air compressor & a nail gun added and you can get a lot done. Us 4 goofballs used the above to restore a barn last summer, heavy construction. All 120v tools. I had my cordless drill along, but rarely used it in the heavy work. I use the cordless all the time around the farm for odds & ends - sure handy. I'm not sure cordless is the best way to go? --->Paul |
Dont know if its still the same or not but craftsman cordless toold were made by ryobi for years. Sears no longer gives the life time warrenty on power tools .
Its a toss up my guess is the 19,2 is just an over juiced 18 volt set . wont matter which set you get you'll need more batteries . always do |
Suburbanite... I bought those Ryobi cheap tools a good 5 years age, and if i go more than two days without using them, I must be on vacation. They have been droped from the hay loft, the drill has been run over by tractors more than once,etc. Still have the same ones. The "sawsall" isn't the best design for friendly use, but I would HIGHLY recomend the brand. For the price of a "quality" brand, you could replace these 3 times. I've had Craftsman, DeWalt, and have used several others...I'll stick with the Ryobi's! By the way, I still use the origonial batteries. Mike
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The kind of stuff I'm thinking about is cutting access windows in drywall to run electrical cable and put in new outlets, or making a small open shed for garden gizmos, or putting up a motion sensing light over the garage door, putting up pre-fab shelves, with an outside chance of putting in some 'built in' type bookshelves (cabinetry) in my family room.
Also a small possibility of re-doing some entry tile, but I'd probably rent a water-cooled tile saw if I do that myself. Unlike most of you I just have a suburban house to take care of, so I don't have barn roofs to fix or extensive fencing projects to build or animal shelters and coops to work on. So I don't know if that means cordless is okay, or if (with issues of battery charging etc) that means cordless is a worse choice. Most of the time I expect that I'll know ahead of time that I'm going to be fixing something, so I suspect that waiting an hour to charge the battery before starting won't be too much of a problem. I have unpowered hand tools for things like tightening a random isolated screw. My dad did mention that he thinks cordless circular saws lack power. Anyway, I'd like to hear more opinions. I don't need to use the tools right away, so I can wait awhile to learn more before deciding whether to return the stuff--Home Depot gives you 90 days with receipt. I guess I'll look at corded tools a little more carefully tomorrow to see whether the cost/benefit is more favorable. One thing about the cordless is if I'm doing any electrical work it will be easier not to have to worry about where to plug the extension cord while having the circuits in the working room switched off. But that is just one project I have in mind. |
Craftsman are decent for the price you are paying the key is (and this is where most people who complain about poor batteries run into the problem) to run those batteries completely down before recharging them. We have a sears 18V cordless that came with two batteries and it's lasted for years, we run the battery down, have the other charging and swap them out. It has worked well for us. But ours gets a lot of use also.
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Here's my two cents, I have a cordless set (Skill). I use this around the farm for the odd job that isn't close enough for an extension cord. Circular saw works fine but batteries don't last. The skilsaw is worthless. Drill does a nice job, it's the best tool in the set. But it's going on two years old and the batteries are getting weak.
New batterya are 45 bucks each. But at the Home Depot they'll sell me a new drill with two batteries and a charger for $79. Go figure. Santa, are you listening? However, if it's a big job, that going to take several days or a lot of cutting. I haul out my Dewalt corded tools, attach a 2000 watt power inverter to my truck battery and Bob's your uncle. Now I can power all my stuff on a couple of dollars worth of gas. And I still have my Skill tools for anyone who might show up to help. |
I've got the 19.2v Craftsman, father-in-law has the 18v Ryobi. I've got more power, and you can't have too much power! It's distinctly an appreciable difference. The extra battery weight helps control the torque of the drill quite a bit.
Batteries. Get two. That way you can swap one battery onto the charger while working with the other in the tool. Be prepared to buy new batteries in a few years, as they don't hold the charge as well when they age. Drill/screw gun I use it all the time. My corded drills hardly ever get used these days. This is the tool that the extra weight of the battery is helpful. Circular saw It's my first choice. It's a much more capable saw than you'd expect. Perfect for building gates and window frames and such. I find it much more controlable than the bigger saws. Reciprocating saw I don't use it very often, but I probably should. I tend to forget it's there and break out my big corded one instead. I just don't use this type of tool very often. Jig saw Don't have one, would like to though. It should work just fine. Flashlight Seems silly to me. I've got plenty of flashlights. Sander Never used one, a little skeptical of it as sanding is a long job. Vacuum If it actually worked, I'd love it. I've never met a cordless vac that worked worth a darn. But since I wouldn't have it in the kitchen or such, not sure how usefull it would really be. |
I bought the ryobi combo a few years back .
It had the dust buster mini vac (worthless) the flashlight (used often) the drill (used often ) the sawz all I have used for trimming trees and butchering once in awhile for cutting out a window . It tendeds to eat up batteries quick but does a decent job. the circliar saw gets used and doesnt do too bad on plywood , wont quite get clear through a 2x it too eats batteries quick and you need to keep a sharp blade . If you do buy any cordless kit buys at least one extra set of batteries. I bought the combo and the drill light set to have four batteries and two chargers then still had to pick up two more batteries but they get used a lot more than the average homeowners. |
Farminghandyman and ZYG are right about the batteries - use 'em or lose 'em. If you stay with the set you have, use the flashlight to discharge the batts completely once a week then recharge them fully - they'll last much longer for you. If you can get a set with lithium ion batts instead of NiCad, you'll probably get twice the run time on them and they are not as susceptible to temperature extremes, don't need frequent charging, and will give you twice to three times the service life. Check to see if your charger has an automatic shutoff so it shuts down when the battery is fully charged - NiCad batts hate to be overcharged, and it's real easy to put one on the charger and forget it.
I just got a set from the Depot that is a Rigid 18v circ and ½" hammer drill - charger and 2 batts. The drill is a beast, the saw is weak (but cordless circs typically are) but darned handy for short, smaller jobs. If I were buying a set of cordless tools and $$$ were no issue, I'd get the Milwaukee 28v (lithium ion) set. I used a couple of the tools at a pro-day demo at the Depot and they are awesome! My priorities from what you told us your projects will be... Circular saw - corded Drill - cordless Miter/chop saw - corded Table saw - corded Orbital sander - corded Reciprocating saw - either depending on how much use - sounds like cordless would be handy for you A nailer would come in handy, but you may not use it enough to justify the expense. Side note - If you send in the registration cert. that comes with the Rigid tools, they have a lifetime warranty (including the batts). |
My husband likes Dewalt for most of the handheld power tools: cordless drill, circular saw, reciprocating saw, etc.. He has a couple of Hitachi things and hasn't had any complaints. He also like Porter Cable. The big equipment: table saw, compound miter, radial arm, drill press, dust collecter, planer, are mostly Delta or Grizzly. He has some OLD Craftsman things, but doesn't buy them anymore. I assume from what the other fellas have said that the quality might have slipped a bit. There are a couple of brands, like Black and Decker, that he will not buy at all. A good cordless drill is probably the best place to begin. Best of luck. Enjoy shopping!
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Could you elaborate on the limitations of the circular saw? What have you found when trying to cut 2 x 4's? I see this as potentially being the largest (wood size) of my tasks--to make light framing for small garden purposes--unless I decide to do the bookshelf cabinet project, which would be more cutting total but probably inch-thick solids and plys. Since they call the saw a 'trim saw', I'm guessing they intend it for cutting crown moulding and such rather than structural members? Would a little circular of this type be adequate for cutting engineered-wood or bamboo flooring (another project I've contemplated)? My initial quest before being tempted by the combo packages was to get a cordless drill/driver. There seems to be agreement that this is something worth having. So the other tools are more the question marks. The flashlight/vacuum things I regard as 'freebies' and aren't really part of the purchase decision, but what about the saws and sander? To cut into drywall, which tool is more suited, jigsaw or reciprocating (assuming you want to keep the removed piece for later patching)? I have a door that is the last thing to paint in a room--sitting there unfinished for a year--because the first coat didn't stick and I need to sand it and start again. An electric sander might make this a less tedious task. Would a battery operated one as in the ryobi kit be up to the job? Another possible factor in terms of the battery power--bigger means heavier. While I'm tall and built like a valkyrie, being female, at some point tool weight may become an issue for me. So I'm not sure a Milwaukee 28V would be a good choice even if I could afford it. |
Oh, also, as a separate item, there's a little 3V pistol shaped electric screwdriver that sits in a charger-stand with no separate battery, and costs about $12. Does anyone have experience with these? Are they worth having for little stuff?
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the powered screwdriver was handy tool for light duty items, but mine had built in batteries and after about 1 and half years it was worthless,
the cordless saw, (dewalt is the only brand I have used), in some situations there the ideal saw, even when cutting 2x stock, get up on a ladder and need to cut off rafter tails there the best, but if your going to frame a building, you will want a good saw, again some is what your use to, and your hand size, my daughter loves the light weight battery tools and is not afraid to use them, my skill worm drive she won't touch, when she and I built onto a house, she did not mind using the 12 chop saw for cutting the framing, (I had built a table so she just had to place the material on the table and cut it), so much of tools is it works for me and it is what I like, In my area, Dewalt is about the only good type of tool one can buy, that is why I have them, and the other reason is the interchangeable of the 18 volt platform in the batteries, I usually buy the reconditioned tools save some bucks and you get a tool that has been throughly checked out, I have also bought the bare tool in a few situations, but I now have 4 or 5 batteries, and a few chargers, two or so of the batteries are about in need of replacement, there are a number of good tool manufactures out there, but one thing is if there is not a place to buy assories or to expand your collection that is something to consider, I started off with a sears battery drill, the charger would cook the batteries, and then they changed the type of batteries used and the price of replacement shot up, (it was a nice drill, but was costly to use), the dewalt was three times the drill, but it was almost twice the voltage, as well, when sears dropped the mail order catalog and reorganized, in my opinion there quality dropped off fast, and it really was not the greatest in the first place, (I bought a sears router one time, mostly for the assories that were avable for it, I had a old BD router, a dewalt router, and even a porter-cable router, and the sears (was the sears best) was junk on a side by side comparison, I gave it to my son in law after using it a few times, (yes I like my son in law), but for the number of times he would use it, it would do him fine, but you have seen in this thread so far about ever kind of tool suggested, from harbor freight to commercial grade tools, and ever body seem to have a favorite and few are the same, a lot is what you have and if you have had good luck with it, or waht some one has had problems with, |
[QUOTE=suburbanite]I decided I should probably get power tools of my own instead of borrowing his all the time and not doing some projects at all because I don't have tools and would have to borrow his.
QUOTE] You are a good son. Perhaps you father will buy you a new toolbox to hold all your new tools. |
[QUOTE=blufford]
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I use the little $12-15 pistol drivers all the time when wiring. VERY handy, but throw away items in my experience. They're handier them my Milwaukee cordless drills when changing cabinet hdwe & light jobs like that as well. Well worth the minimal price to me.
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As for power, it's a matter of the saw, and reflected quite linearly with the voltage of the battery pack. In the 18+ voltage range, they generally are not a trim saw, but are indeed a small circular saw. The DeWalt was designed to be able to make multiple rip passes on an 8' sheet of 3/4" plywood on a single battery charge for example. The Craftsman 19.2 unit isn't far behind that. But coming with the power and the better ability to do heavy work is a reduction in nimbleness. The little jewel like 4" Bosch trim saw is incredible at trimming a window casing board or molding piece. You can handle it like a scalpel. That's something that can't be said about the DeWalt. And while the little Bosch can rip a 2x4x8 (two passes, one on each side), you'll question your sanity for trying it. |
Foxtrapper, what about the Ryobi? As an industry insider, do you have any thoughts about the strengths or weaknesses of their products? They are only 18V.
Also please confirm that a 5.25 (or is it 5.5?) inch circular saw can do 2x4's? I only ask because the Ryobi package deal had such a variety of tools, for $150 ($80 below package list price, and who knows what below individual purchases.). http://209.235.218.13/combo/p860 |
I have and use my Ryobi cordless tools as well as Makita and DeWalt. The Ryobi tools are much less expensive in general however I have had one battery go bad after about 2 years of use. I store them in my shed and they loose charge -- seems like they hold their charge if stored inside the house at more reasonable temperatures. My Makita tools are all 14.4 volts and their batteries hold a charge for a very long time. I have been using the drill off and on for months and just this weekend it finally needed to be charged again -- off course each use was just for one or two holes or such. At work I have my own 14.4 DeWalt and the company bought the 18 volt models. These are powerful tools but the 18 volt batteries seem to run down much faster than my 14.4 and the DeWalt batteries in general seem to run down faster than the Makita.
I use the Ryobi sawzall the most and one finally broke due to my negligence -- I let it get dirty and wet and then the blade clamping mechanism failed to lock -- but I was able to replace it for less than $50 -- my DS is currently using it with his friends to build a music studio at a friends house -- hope I see it again soon !!! Ken in Glassboro, NJ :) |
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That is their design spec. They will just barely cut a bit over 1.5" deep, which is what a store-bought 2x4 actually measures. If you angle the blade any for an angle cut, they won't make it through. My experience is very limited but the little I have with the battery saws, I would want a $50 corded saw for 'real' work. The battery units eat up the charge real fast if you push them through 2x6 or 3/4 inch plywood sheets. Just not the type of work they are built for. As others mention, they are way cool at times. I'd just have no use for one as my main saw to cut construction items of more than 3-4 pieces at a time. --->Paul |
I was at sears today, the fellow there said the lithium is supposed to power the tool 4x longer per charge. Just an FYI.
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Sorry to have been a bit negative . the ryobi circular (cordless) will cut standard
2x material the problem I had was on roughcut 2xs which are a little more the a full 2" . No standard circular saw likes RC oak 2x's. corded or cordless. If your making repairs or working on small projects (realitive) cordless is fine if your decking a roof floor ,or framing a house with a lot of cutting go corded. I do quite a bit of building and remodeling so normally use a makita hypoid cirular saw , I've yet to see a standard corded 7&1/4 saw that comes close, when you get used to an excess of power and torque its hard to be happy with a saw you have to "baby" . |
Ex-industry insider. It's been some years now since I worked for them.
As another pointed out, cutting 2x is the default industry standard. The Ryobi will do it. There's nothing wrong with the Ryobi packages you're looking at. And it's not a case of "only 18 volts". 18 volts is quite powerfull, and the tools quite capable. They are perfectly capable of making you happy for years to come as an active homesteader type. If you go into the commercial building field, then go ahead and think about switching up to the Milwaukee line. Think about the tools you want and what you'll use them for, and build the combo pack you want. You'll have fun with it and do a lot. There's a lot of good info in this thread. Read through it, several times. |
MY brother just got the rigid 24 volt lithium kit they are very powerfull
but when compared to my 120v milwakee and dewalt they still fall short so i feel like if your going to have access to 120 then use it the tools last for decades with the minimal use you will actualy be giving them and there are no battery problems don't get me wrong i still realy like my 12v dewalt drill but i have to have a corded 1/2 inch hammer drill to for the big holes and constant work i like the milwaukee 7 1/4 inch circular saw milwaukee sawzall i like the milwakee drill but for the price i had to go with the dewalt porter cable sander and router milwaukee grinder porter cable air nailer and compressor the 5or 6 horse model with the vbelt som much quieter than the direct drive one my father has and mine takes oil so i figure it should out last his oil free price caused me to go with the rigid 12inch compound miter saw before we had cordless tools we just put the gernerator in the back of the truck i almost never worked more than a 100 feet from the truck next on list is sthil chainsaw 20 inch farm boss |
Santa brought me the Ryobi 18v combo set about 5 years ago.
The drill has been used and abused and has held up very well. The circ saw and the reciprocating saw have seen very little use. They just don't have the uummph to do much beyond a few cuts. I do use them occasionally if I just have to make a couple light cuts and for that they are great. For anything beyond that I find I am better off to get out the AC stuff. If I were buying tools from scratch I would buy a cordless drill but my saws would be AC. I just last month replaced the two original batteries with new ones. 45 bucks for two at the HD. I probably shortened the lives of the originals by leaving them out in the shop through some of the winter last year. I also have a Makita cordless drill that I have had for ten years and is still going strong. |
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But I still prefer corded tools with a genny if needed.And I agree if rarely used corded has the advantage again. I like batteries,but only if they are constantly worked,otherwise just a pain IMO. Also,Mrs picked up one one those little circular saws,its corded.Also worthless,barely cuts a 2x4 and has zero power to speak of. BooBoo |
Okay. I'm off to go look at the tool corral offerings again, armed with this new input. Will report back if I see anything interesting. :)
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Back. I can get the same setup in Craftsman 19.2V for about $30 more.
Is this a step up or not, and if so is it worth $30? |
I think it's worth the $30.
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Foxtrapper, I just got the rankings from Consumer Reports in December 2004. They picked the 18V Ryobi's as a 'best buy' over the Craftsman 19.2 (which was a new voltage level at the time). Do you think anything has changed since then to improve the Craftsman tools?
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