Talking to a co-worker yesterday, the conversation turned to home renovation and tools. He's of the mindset that the only good tools are the type with plugs. His exposure to good cordless tools must have been very limited, as I've got and worked with corded and cordless tools for renovation work and am of the opinion that decent cordless tools are worth their weight in gold. I started looking for cordless tools when I was renovating a condo a few years ago. My buddy and I were constantly turning off electrical circuits for the work we were doing and Murphy's Law dictated that any circuit we had tools plugged into would go dead. It became a hastle as the cords would have to reach from one side of the condo to the other (plus they kept getting tangled up) so on one of the daily trips to Home Depot I picked up a couple of Ryobi 18V tools - what they call their "Renovator Combo Kit".
I was impressed with how well they worked and how long the batteries lasted, so over time I went back and picked up the hammer drill, right angle drill, impact driver, planer, and caulk gun (yes, a battery powered caulk gun - it's a LOT more useful than you'd think). Now, I've got about a dozen different tools which all use the same battery packs and have found no issues with quality. Sure, they're not DeWalt or Milwaukee tools, but they're substantially less expensive meaning I can get MORE of 'em for the money. Checking out their website, I found they've also just released a leaf blower and pole pruner which I could use as well. I'll also pick up the air compressor, fan, stapler, and angle grinder before too long. While I wouldn't rely on a battery powered tool to fully take the place of all plug-in or gas powered tool, their convenience is sure hard to beat.
3 comments:
Dear Mr. Muskego Jeff,
Thank you for the glowing report on our cordless power tools. As you know, cordless power tools are 13.87% of our manufacturing business and your blog has a proven readership of your brother. We hope that this check for six figures conveys your most sincere appreciation for championing our product. Should you ever need any additional battery packs or nose hair trimmer attachments, please notify us immediately. We'll be only too happy to rush shipment of them to your newly replaced front door.
Sincerely,
RYobi, Inc.
I agree - Ryobi cordless are great for the DIY person. I basically the same set you do, and I love it. My DW bought me an extra charger and a couple of batteries (now I have 4).
TTF
www.10kitchenremodel.blogspot.com
If only they DID come out with a nose hair trimmer attachment...
I'm hoping they release the weed-wacker they had previously sold under the HomeLite name. A buddy of mine has one and loves it, but they haven't sold it for years now. Same with the miter saw which they seem to release and then discontinue every year or so. It's small and very mobile compared to my full-size compound miter saw.
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