Which Powertools for Homeowner / Hobbyist?

[oldschoolcraft]

I'm not a pro wrench but I do like messing around!

I'm looking to expand my power tools. Currently here's what I have:

18V Cordless Drill
Bosch Rotary Hammer
Corded Sawzall
Foredom rotary tool (like a dremel)
Small 2.5 gallon shop vac

Here's what I'm thinking to add and need advice on which size/brand/model

Larger Shop Vac/blower - unsure which brand or size/power. Something for when the 2.5gal is too small or unpowerful

Angle Grinder - not sure what I'd use these for day to day but seems useful to grind off rusty bolts in the garage door or misc stuff around the house. Seems like one of those tools where if you need one, you need one.

Cut off Tool - another tool that looks cool and I want, but not sure what I need it for. And maybe if I get some cut off bits for my foredom rotary tool, it will be close enough for smaller things. Also maybe if I get an angle grinder, this is duplicative for some tasks?

Circular Saw / Powered Miter Box Saw - don't really think I need to own these. My cousin is a woodworker and lets me use his shop when I need to. And I rarely need to cut wood. So probably not worth me owning.

Cordless Recipro Saw - I barely use my corded recipro saw, but am still considering a cordless one. Seems good for emergency type rescue work. I used to be part of a volunteer response team and may rejoin one eventually. Seems useful if it matches the same battery pack as my cordless drill

Better Cordless Drill - The one I have now is an 18V makita residential quality one. It's not great, but passable for small projects. Maybe I upgrade and get something to match a cordless recipro saw. Not sure which brands are good these days. Brands that used to be good get worse over time!

Fixed Power Tools - I'd like a metal band saw eventually but no space in current home. Also want a drill press, same problem. So the bigger fixed power tools have to wait until I get a bigger space.

 

[RKA]

Well, instead of talking about buying tools for the sake of buying tools (you did come to the right place for that), how about starting with what projects you want to tackle or accomplish? None of the tools you mentioned seem necessary or add additional capacity over what you already have. But that's an opinion formed through my eyes and what I generally do around the house. Trading a circular saw or miter saw for an angle grinder is blasphemy to me! I use my angle grinder once in a blue moon and the saws get used nearly every other week. Even if my neighbor let me use his saw, that would be too much trouble to both, I would just get my own. But I would be perfectly happy to borrow his angle grinder once a year. So...what is it you want to do?

 

[driz]

Well if you’re going for Cordless power tools they’re cheaper by the package deal. Any of the the top 3 brands are good . I just find it’s a lot better and easier to have commonality across the brand with chargers batteries ect. That helps with space too.
I use my drill driver as a 3/8 and 1/4” in place of the air wrench for car and machine maintenance.

Drill press. Although it is a tad limiting you could go with A bench type for the time being. FOr something like that you can shop craigslist can you grab something when Somebody is having a moving sale.



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[Farmall450]

I agree with the above to look for a kit of modern lithium ion cordless tools. Personally, I would pursue DeWalt 20v MAX stuff; I have a lot of them and have had excellent luck, in addition to the largest share of US made cordless tools in existence. Milwaukee also has an excellent M12/M18 line (pick one, for now).

For a homeowner, however, I wouldn't pick either: I'd go with either Porter Cable 20v MAX, Craftsman V20 (both lower-cost tools from the makers of DeWalt, SB&D, which are plenty ample for most use) or Ridgid/Ryobi (both lower cost tools from the maker of Milwaukee, TTI). Porter Cable especially has good deals on large kits however their store presence is shrinking for individual tools with the launch of the new Craftsman V20 lineup.

Good luck.

 

[Phantomd]

Ryobi cordless for low cost home owner tools. I use them at work and have been impressed. They have a very wide range of tools. I use Dewalt 20v at home, I also have their string trimmer and hedge trimmer, I think the Ryobi versions would be just fine.

 

[redragoon]

Ryobi tools will meet most of your needs. Plus you have the added benefit of using the same 18V battery in almost all of their tools. I have used my grandfather's set several times and would compare them to some of the first generation Dewalt 18V that I used to own.

I have had luck with ShopVac brand, but Rigid also seems good. I do prefer the metal can on my shop vacuums.

If you have to have an angle grinder, then buy a 4.5" Makita or Hitachi/Metabo when they go on sale for $40-60. The Makita design is very robust, but for rare use, the others will work. Corded is better for these to both save money and since you want as much power as possible.

Circular saw can be useful for simple cuts at home. Buy a corded Makita model with the solid aluminum base. They do everything you need for about $100.

For other benchtop tools, check for used deals on well-known brands or buy some of the WEN brand imports. I have found most of their models have solid cast iron bases and work better than the current Craftsman/Ryobi ones at the box stores.

 

[jd_1138]

Yeah I'd probably stick to Ryobi 18V One+ for all your cordless power tool needs. In the Ryobi lineup, I'd pick up 1/4 impact driver -- super handy for driving even large fasteners. Use the regular Makita drill for pre-drilling and drive fasteners with the 1/4 impact.

Also, an oscillating multi-tool is handy to have -- corded or cordless.

About brands, you have an 18V Makita lithium drill already? May wanna stick Makita for your cordless stuff, but being in 2 brands isn't bad either. Gives you more options. I have Makita 18V for my drills, saws, and I have Ryobi for lights, jobsite radio, oscillating multi-tool, backup 1/4 impact driver (handy if you have 2 people working on one project if you each have a 1/4 impact driver).

Some of my stuff is corded -- Makita corded reciprocating and circular saws.

 

[nikerret]

I like the DeWalt 20v Max line, for cordless. Buy once cry once. Milwaukee is just as good, but usually costs more.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Before I retired, I only bought a tool because I had a specific job to do and I really coul not rent one.

I am retired so tools are almost a luxury as they really don't get used much. Here is waht I would add to your collection.

Cordless impact driver
Cordless osculating multi-tool
Cordless angle die grinder (keep it small) It can double as a cutoff

Wait until you really are going to need carpentry tools before buying them. Even a cordless little "panel" circular saws, with a good carbide blade, will cut a 2by on a single charge. I'm not sure why but my son always borrows my corded reciprocating saw even though he has a cordless one.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

.

Before I retired, I only bought a tool because I had a specific job to do and I really coul not rent one.

I am retired so tools are almost a luxury as they really don't get used much. Here is waht I would add to your collection.

Cordless impact driver
Cordless osculating multi-tool
Cordless angle die grinder (keep it small) It can double as a cutoff

Cordless impact driver seems duplicative with cordless drill. At least, it seems so. What’s the benefit of both? It seems like the main benefit would be speed because the impact driver looks lighter and handier so easier to use for putting screws in fast compared to using a bulky drill. But honestly I’ve never found myself needing to out more than a handful of screws up so doing it by hand seems fine. It’s not like I’m a contractor putting up a 1000 screws per hour.

I might be hanging up a new bath towel rod or something.

But maybe as I get older it’s better for the sake of avoiding arthritis even if it’s just a few screws.

 

[Honest Bob]

.

Cordless impact driver seems duplicative with cordless drill. At least, it seems so. What’s the benefit of both? It seems like the main benefit would be speed because the impact driver looks lighter and handier so easier to use for putting screws in fast compared to using a bulky drill. But honestly I’ve never found myself needing to out more than a handful of screws up so doing it by hand seems fine. It’s not like I’m a contractor putting up a 1000 screws per hour.

I might be hanging up a new bath towel rod or something.

But maybe as I get older it’s better for the sake of avoiding arthritis even if it’s just a few screws.

Ever strip out the head of the screw with your drill? The impact driver will drive screws in with a lot less of a chance of stripping the screw heads out. Works really nice on longer 1" + deck screws. Once you have one you'll wonder how you lived without it.

 

[Legion Prime]

Not only that but if you do any assembly work with pilot holes, having the drill bit in the drill and the driver in the impact will cut your worktime down to a fraction of what it would be otherwise. I only recently got an impact driver myself and it really does make a difference.

 

[Nineeightyone]

Personally, I'd avoid a cordless angle grinder.

~$30 at Harbor Freight will get you the corded blue Chicago Electric model with the paddle switch, mine has been going for several years without any issues and it's been fantastic for my intermittent use.

I'm invested in the Dewalt 20v stuff at this point, but I hear the cordless angle grinders lack the "oomph" of the corded ones (generally speaking), and since I knew it wasn't going to be a constant use item (I don't do welding at the moment, for example) it only made sense to not spend a ton of money.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

The 4 1/2" angle grinders are enough for almost everything. I have three industrial 4 1/2" and 5 "ones as well as the on-sale $29 Chinese made Hitachi . A big 7" Bosch gets rarely used, as well. The little Hitachi gets the most use. It's small and light. You can get Walter Zip-Cuts for cutting , flap wheels for pretty grinding, and sanding disc for sanding as well as the grinding discs, 1/4" and 1/8"

A tool I'm always amazed at, and use frequently is the cordless 1/4" impact driver, but I'm a Canuck and we use Robertson screws. Americans are severely handicapped with Philips headed screws, so it may not be as much use to you. I hardly ever use a nail or spike anymore.

All homeowners should have a Skilsaw, the Makita 5007 has great balance . Many a carpenter has built kitchen cabinets with a Skillsaw . So with a good Freud 40 tooth blade you can do some fine work.

 

[Aaron_W]

Talk about a loaded question!


In my opinion there are not many "the only brand to consider" tools, but the Makita cordless drills and Milwaukee recip saws (Sawz-all) are two of them.
If you think the Makita is too wimpy you might need to look at corded drills (do they even sell those anymore?). Most brands of 18v cordless drills are pretty good, but they are also all about the same in power.

While I say the Makita is the only one to consider, that bias is based on the days when the 9.6v ruled the cordless world. These days all of the name brand drills are pretty good, and basically down to Coke or Pepsi, Ford or Chevy.


If you don't use the corded recip saw, you probably won't use the cordless either. Of course they are pretty common in those tool pack deals where you get 4 or 5 cordless tools in a bundle. If you really want one maybe look at one of the smaller and handier for small projects Milwaukee M12 ones.

Angle grinder / cut off tool? I do a lot of DIY work around the house and I never found a need for either of these until I bought a welder. Very messy to use, and a fire hazard. Also readily available and fairly inexpensive if you do find the need.

Speaking of which, a welder is one of those tools I never know how useful they were until I had one. All that stuff I used to cobble together from wood, now I can make it with metal. A MIG welder is like a really heavy duty hot glue gun.

A bigger shop vac? Shop vacs are handy, but really bulky. Home Depot's Husky branded ones are a pretty good deal. I have a 5 or 6 gallon one, it does its job, but I sure spend a lot of time tripping over it when I'm not using it.


Of the tools you list as owning, a circular saw is the only one that stands out as missing.
A decent 7-1/4" circular saw is pretty handy to have, and corded ones are fairly inexpensive, lots of options in the $100 range. It is really handy to be able to cut 1x?s for shelving, 2x4s, plywood etc for smaller projects. Still very portable and doesn't take up a lot of space.
A miter saw is really handy to have, but they take up some room and for occasional small jobs a circular saw is a good substitute for a miter or table saw.


Lacking specific kinds of projects, I'd say look at a circular saw and everything else is kind of a get it when you actually have a use for it kind of thing. Maybe look at your selection of hand tools, hammers, wrenches, screw drivers, tape measure etc. For stuff around the house, other than the cordless drill my hand tools get the bulk of the work.


As far as brands Milwaukee, Dewalt, and Makita all make quality cordless tools. I'd look more at what they offer, than the brand. Milwaukee has a really comprehensive line of tools, but for the basic tools you are looking at I think they all cover those.

Ryobi is a really good value and worth looking at for occasional use. They also have some garden tools that use the same 18v batteries, something I don't think the others do. If you have a yard to maintain that is a nice benefit. A cordless hedge trimmer is the reason I own any Ryobi tools, once I had some batteries it was real easy to add more tools.

 

[woody 73]

I love cordless tools but (always a but), I find buying batteries just kills my budget. So in the end I still buy some corded tools at garage sales, hey still going strong after 40 plus years and no need for buying batteries, but again just me.

 

[Tduby]

For cordless tools go with Ryobi everything else but as the project requires or a killer deal you can’t pass up

 

[coleman10]

OP, it sounds like you don't use your tools very often so I will echo an earlier post that it's cheaper to get the tools as a kit and also that you don't need to spend extra bucks on the higher end brands like Milwaukee. You would be fine with Ryobi (if you're okay with the color), Craftsman, or Porter Cable.

I have two tools that get the "Where have you been all my life?" award: the impact driver and my Skill Southpaw circular saw. For too long had I done the drill bit/screw tip mambo, switching bits back and both over and over again. What a waste of time and energy. Plus, I've stripped a number of screw heads and have even broken some screws with using my drill. With a separate impact driver, that's in the past. Screws, even long ones, go in effortlessly like a hot knife through butter. A couple years ago a built a deck platform in the back of the house. I'd probably still be out there working on it with only a single tool.

As for the circular saw, earlier in the year I replaced my very old, very heavy circular saw with a Skil Southpaw. Lightweight magnesium, nice square shoe, nicely balanced, blade on the left so I can actually see what's happening. Love it. Just a joy to use.

I would look at a Wen drill press when you finally decide to get one. They seem to be the best bang for your buck and get very good reviews.

A Shopvac's size is the volume of the container, normally without the filter, so if it states 2.5 gallons, it won't actually be able to pick up that much. Think about you'll be using it for and go from there, adjusting the same up a little bit from what's stated. Too small and you could be emptying it more often. Too big and it's a pain to lug around.

Recip saws. I used to never use one, but I used mine a couple years ago to demo my kitchen and now use it regularly to cut pallets apart. Just get the one for whichever system you buy into. If you don't use it often, it will serve its purpose when the time comes and can sit on the shelf until you need it again. You don't need top of the line. Same thing with the angle grinder. If you don't use it often, get whichever one is in the system you buy into and it should suffice.