Cordless tool discussion.

I'm a home owner and use my tools just to fix or renovate things around the house. That being said, Ryobi cordless tools have put up with quite a bit of abuse and still kicking. I've got 2 drills, a circular saw, sawzall, nailer, string trimmer and who knows how many batteries, a mix of both regular and lithium.

The drills have functioned very well so far. I've dropped them off a roof, had them covered in chemicals and don't exactly treat them nice. They've been kicked around, dropped, etc and are still running great. They're about 5 years old now and I'm honestly impressed with how well they've held up for being relatively inexpensive tools.

The circular saw is nice to have just because it's small, takes the same batteries as the drills and fits in the same carrying case. I really only use it out of convenience. For what it is, it does ok. It will not rip boards easily at all and does not have a large enough blade to cut anything thicker than about 1.5".

The cordless sawzall is great! It's very handy in tight spots (think attics and crawl spaces). It runs out of juice quickly if you have a large job but will eventually get through just about everything a corded one will. The corded ones will walk through tough cuts much quicker but I still use the cordless frequently.

The nailer I bought because it was cheaper to buy that to get a lithium battery than it was to just buy that battery. It's pretty much useless. It will shoot small, finish nails and that's about it (even those it will struggle to sink them into hard woods).

The string trimmer is actually pretty nice. I wouldn't recommend it for a large yard but something small and suburban, it does very well. It lasts for about 40 minutes of continuous use with a lithium battery. I like it because I HATE dragging around cords in the yard and is one less engine I have to keep running.

 

I like the jigsaw, no complaints so far, it gets less use than the rest of the tools. I'm going to try the angle grinder soon

 

You know, I saw the angle grinder the first time watching storage wars. They were opening lockers with it.

All I could think about was the body chop with it!

 

I like DeWalt, Those are the only cordless ones I use. 3 18v hammer drills, 1 12v drill, flashlight. I just wish someone made cordless tools in the USA.

Milwaukee and Makita are good too I guess, those two make up my most of my corded tools. Got those from my grandpa, he bought em when they were still made in the good old USA. They will outlast chinese made ones any day of the week.

 

Doesn't IR make in USA/?

 

I think Dewalt makes their money on selling replacement batteries.

 

I posted the method to refurbish the battery's a page or so back. Dewalt's tools are easily disassembled with a security Torx bit.

The individual "Cells" or battery's that are inside can be bought online cheap.