New tools that I love

[rugerla1]

I have been living under a rock apparently. I grew up using tools with a cord and up until about 5 years ago hadn't owned anything else. I bought a 20v DeWalt drill and have nothing but happy with the purchase. A few months ago I started researching impact drivers and impact wrenches as well as comparing different brands through forums and video reviews. I'd never have guessed impact wrenches had come as far as they have, and honestly was skeptical. I narrowed my choices down to DeWalt and Milwaukee as they seemed to be head to head as far as quality and torque. So I picked up a DeWalt 20vMax XR brushless 1/2" impact wrench and a DeWalt 20vMax 1/4" impact driver. They each came with battery/charger as well as carrying cases. Wow, I'm really behind the times, they are both outstanding! I got them both at Lowe's and was able to add 2 years of warranty through Lowe's to extend the 3 year warranty that DeWalt offers. Milwaukee has a 5 year warranty but I couldn't find both in stock anywhere and wanted to buy local in case I had any issues. I'd honestly have been happy with either brand but now all 3 of my tools can interchange batteries. I'm probably the last man on earth that has waited this long but if you haven't tried them, give them a shot.

[FUJIMO]

I too was in a cord coma for a long time all while the closest thing I have to a brother kept telling me to go get a 1/2" milwaukee fuel impact and it will change your life. Boy was he ever right. I own about $2k worth of their fuel line tools and Im anxiously awaiting their chainsaw and pole saw. I haven't found anything their impacts won't tackle. I will say their string trimmer takes 2nd place when comparing it to dewalts. But even then the fuel trimmer is far ahead of the rest out there. 

[rugerla1]

9 minutes ago, FUJIMO said:

I too was in a cord coma for a long time all while the closest thing I have to a brother kept telling me to go get a 1/2" milwaukee fuel impact and it will change your life. Boy was he ever right. I own about $2k worth of their fuel line tools and Im anxiously awaiting their chainsaw and pole saw. I haven't found anything their impacts won't tackle. I will say their string trimmer takes 2nd place when comparing it to dewalts. But even then the fuel trimmer is far ahead of the rest out there. 

Yeah the Fuel line had a ton of great reviews so I definitely would have been happy with them if they’d been in stock. I am in need of a pole saw as well and have been researching them. Mainly be used for hunting purposes, clearing shooting lanes, hanging stands, etc. I doubt I’ll ever go to a battery weadeater though. I have two Shindaiwas that are tanks. They have never had even one tank of ethanol gas run through them. Matter of fact I just came in the house from finishing with the T230. 

[Murgatroy]

I am cheap. I have a Porter Cable 'Tiger Saw' sawsall that is about 2/3 the size of a regular sawsall. It shares batteries with my light and drill and fits where I need it. I use this professionally as a service plumber. It is one of the best $50 I ever spent.

[tnhawk]

I have been using DeWalt cordless tools over 5 years for my job as well as at home.  Haven't had a battery of charger go bad yet.  The brands I used previously would fail after 2-3 years. 

[RED333]

To each their own, DeWalt, Porter Cable, Milwaukee, Ridged are all good tools. I have owned all at one time or another. Ridged had battery issues, DeWalt had  battery as well as charger issues. Porter Cable had trigger and charger issues. I am on the Milwaukee kick now, trigger issues for a bit but covered by warr at a local repair shop. What gets me is how far battery tech has come in the past few years. Still have to and for the life of your battery you need to fully charge and fully discharge the battery to have them work for years. So far I have not needed to replace a Milwaukee battery in 5 years.

[hipower]

Well, I've had a few DeWalt and Bosch battery drills and give the Bosch a bit of an edge. No trouble with either until my garage was flooded in '13. Chargers and batteries for both were badly damaged and not repairable according to service techs from DeWalt center locally.

I did get a smaller Bosch and it meets my few needs these days.

I have been hearing and seeing so much about the Battery-powered trimmers, and have been interested. 

While walking thru Home Destroyer with the wife earlier this week, I found myself looking at the Ryobi products. Found one of the 40 volt trimmers at 119. Being the impulusive guy that I am...it came home with us. 

I haven't tried it yet. Not allowed to at this time. Still on restrictions from hernia surgery.

I'll comment on it when I do get to try it out.

I do agree with rugerla1 on the Shindaiwia . Total brutes. But for one reason or another, I gave mine to a family member and never replaced them. Until this spring, I'd been using a gas Echo. Liteweight, but did most everything I needed.

[MacGyver]

The Dewalt 60v FlexVolt yard tools have made my life measurably better.  Both the blower and weed eater are great.  I wish we had skipped NiCads and would’ve had lithium ion batteries years ago.  

[MacGyver]

I will also add that while I’ve got a bunch of 20V stuff, Dewalt’s little 12v impact driver may be the single most used tool around our place.  I’ve got two bigger ones, but for the size and power, I almost always reach for the little one. 

[DWARREN123]

Many times a battery powered tool will do the job and make the job easier but there are times when the cord prevails!

I love quality tools, hand or powered! 

[mikegideon]

10 hours ago, MacGyver said:

The Dewalt 60v FlexVolt yard tools have made my life measurably better.  Both the blower and weed eater are great.  I wish we had skipped NiCads and would’ve had lithium ion batteries years ago.  

The 40v Ryobi tools here. It's enough power to get the job done with no cords and no gas. I have the blower, string trimmer and edger. Never have to break out the second battery.

[mikegideon]

7 hours ago, DWARREN123 said:

Many times a battery powered tool will do the job and make the job easier but there are times when the cord prevails!

I love quality tools, hand or powered! 

Me too. I have way to many, until I get ready to do something. Then, I have several way to get it done. 

[rugerla1]

7 hours ago, DWARREN123 said:

Many times a battery powered tool will do the job and make the job easier but there are times when the cord prevails!

I love quality tools, hand or powered! 

Exactly. I have a Makita with a cord that I use on extreme projects. It is definitely my go to when I’m drilling in very thick steel or long term use. 

[mikegideon]

5 minutes ago, rugerla1 said:

Exactly. I have a Makita with a cord that I use on extreme projects. It is definitely my go to when I’m drilling in very thick steel or long term use. 

One of my most used tools is my Dewalt cordless drill. But, sometimes a battery tool doesn't have enough snort. Between my drill press and my smaller Bosch hammer drill, I have everything covered without having to keep a plain old corded drill.

Edited July 2, 2018 by mikegideon

[rugerla1]

On 6/30/2018 at 9:10 PM, Murgatroy said:

I am cheap. I have a Porter Cable 'Tiger Saw' sawsall that is about 2/3 the size of a regular sawsall. It shares batteries with my light and drill and fits where I need it. I use this professionally as a service plumber. It is one of the best $50 I ever spent.

A guy that worked at Lowe’s was telling me that Porter Cable has came a long way over the last couple years. He said they were good tools already but had apparently made some changes to keep up with competition. 

[rugerla1]

2 minutes ago, mikegideon said:

One of my most used tools is my Dewalt cordless drill. But, sometimes a battery tool doesn't have enough snort. Between my drill press and my smaller Bosch hammer drill, I have everything covered without having to keep a plain old corded drill.

I’ve never had any hammer drills. I borrowed one when I mounted my safe but haven’t “needed” one since. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to have one down the road just in case though. 

[mikegideon]

2 minutes ago, rugerla1 said:

I’ve never had any hammer drills. I borrowed one when I mounted my safe but haven’t “needed” one since. Wouldn’t be a bad idea to have one down the road just in case though. 

When it comes to hammer drills, buy Bosch. I have two. I bought a Milwaukee for work years ago to sink readheads, and wound up borrowing a Bosch from our electricians. That's when the Milwaukee got retired with low mileage.

[rugerla1]

9 minutes ago, mikegideon said:

When it comes to hammer drills, buy Bosch. I have two. I bought a Milwaukee for work years ago to sink readheads, and wound up borrowing a Bosch from our electricians. That's when the Milwaukee got retired with low mileage.

Thanks for the information on that. I don’t need one just yet but when we move I’ll have to remount my safe. It’ll come in handy so I don’t have to borrow one again. And I’m sure on other projects. 

[Erik88]

11 hours ago, MacGyver said:

I will also add that while I’ve got a bunch of 20V stuff, Dewalt’s little 12v impact driver may be the single most used tool around our place.  I’ve got two bigger ones, but for the size and power, I almost always reach for the little one. 

I had no idea how an impact driver was different than my cordless drill. Apparently I'm not the only one to ask this question.

Now I want one!

 

[KahrMan]

I agree with Mac.  I use my two impact drivers more than anything else around the house.

[mikegideon]

1 hour ago, Erik88 said:

I had no idea how an impact driver was different than my cordless drill. Apparently I'm not the only one to ask this question.

Now I want one!

 

Note taken. 

[Erik88]

Anyone using cordless battery powered trimmer yet? I'm pretty happy with this new WORX 40V I picked up. You'll still need gas if you want to cut the really thick stuff but for most jobs this will work. 

 

https://www.worx.com/40v-gt-trimmer-edger-wg180.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2cK0qfeA3AIVTiSBCh036wOEEAQYAiABEgKvOPD_BwE

[rugerla1]

2 hours ago, Erik88 said:

I had no idea how an impact driver was different than my cordless drill. Apparently I'm not the only one to ask this question.

Now I want one!

 

I didn’t realize the difference either. I’m glad I did get interested in them and started researching. 

[MacGyver]

If you've ever stripped a phillips head screw when driving it with a normal drill - an impact driver would have likely changed that outcome.

For those who don't know, there's a difference between a hammer drill and an impact driver.  With a hammer drill, the force is applied inline with the bit.  Think of drilling concrete if you had a way to tap the back of the bit with a hammer to help it bite.  With an impact driver - the force is in the direction of rotation.  So, think of turning a tough screw - and being able to tap that screw around the axis.

For stuff that might be sitting out in the weather - or might be a bit corroded - or might be going into wet wood - an impact driver will change your life.

[mikegideon]

3 minutes ago, MacGyver said:

If you've ever stripped a phillips head screw when driving it with a normal drill - an impact driver would have likely changed that outcome.

For those who don't know, there's a difference between a hammer drill and an impact driver.  With a hammer drill, the force is applied inline with the bit.  Think of drilling concrete if you had a way to tap the back of the bit with a hammer to help it bite.  With an impact driver - the force is in the direction of rotation.  So, think of turning a tough screw - and being able to tap that screw around the axis.

For stuff that might be sitting out in the weather - or might be a bit corroded - or might be going into wet wood - an impact driver will change your life.

A regular driver can be used as an impact tool by backing off the clutch. Not exactly the same. But, I have used it on stripped screws. I wasn't aware that battery impact tools were that good these days. I may get one for the rare times that I need to break something loose.