Well here we go again... (life intruded on what I should have plowed through earlier this week...)
Back to the saws... Essentially, the last two types are jig saws, and reciprocating saws (saw-z-all)... Simple tools, with their straight blades, that can be delicate, or brutal based on your needs...
I'm not going to go into particular brands today, because honestly, I can't see anyone picking their tool brand based on these tools... They simply aren't the primary reason to go cordless... In fact, I really don't see much point to the cordless jigsaw, but one came with my kit, so I use it now and again... Only after all the corded jig saws are in use first though...
What is important though, are the same qualities that you would look for in their corded brothers... You absolutly want a toolless blade change feature on the reciprocating saw... Doesn't seem like a big deal, but its huge... For the jigsaw, its nice too, (and honestly, I'm not sure anyone makes one without the tool free system at this point... You also want to stay away from "gimmicky" designs... There are units out there that bend and twist (in the reciprocating range) in all manor of directions... Supposedly, this is so you can get into tighter places with the tool... What this really means is you have more joints that can, and will fail... Reciprocating saws are perhaps the most abusive tool I know of when you are useing it... The last thing you want is to try to control one of these beasts when the blade is not in a straight line with your grip... If your are trying to cut around corners with one of these units, then you are doing something wrong, or you've picked the wrong tool...
Another thought... Those little things from makers like Black and Decker, that hold a jigsaw blade like a reciprocating saw, are generally useless... You will not prune your trees with one... You will not do fine detail cutting with one... You will most likely, twist your wrist useing it, or end up getting mad, throwing it, and breaking something you'd rather not have broken... They're trash...
As for the jig saws, as I said, I'm not crazy about them... I can't think of a situation where I need the portability of the cordless option as well as the detail/control of a jigsaw... Remember, cordless tools are often heavy due to the battery... Personally, I don't look for a heavy jigsaw, since usually its about a detail project... If you want one, then look for one with a good balance, and the features you like on a regular jigsaw... I will say, my Dewalt is ok... I'm not crazy about the blade grip system, but its nice in that it can hold two different style blades... The other adjustments are quite simple, though I'm not sure they'd hold up to industrial use for a long period of time...
Now, one last section... Other tools...
On top of the normal selection of cordless gear there are lots of other less common cordless tools...
Milwalkee makes a cordless router... Supposedly it works nicely, but I can't beleave it runs for long... Routers suck down electricity like crazy... Next question is why would you need one?... Routers are pretty much a shop tool, not used for field work...
Nibbler/shear... I've got a Dewalt nibbler... (for cutting sheet metal) It was a gift from my folks, and honestly, I hadn't used it untill this summer... Now that I have, these things are great!... if you do sheet metal work, definatly take a look at one... They cut plastic just as well as sheet metal, and I've used mine on laminate as well...
Stapler... Arrow, and Makita make a cordless staple gun... I had an Arrow for a while, and it served me well... The Makita actually looks like it would be a little better made, though I've never actually used one... You would really need to be doing stapleing frequently to want one of these things... Also, people that have carple-tunnel issues might consider one rather than a regular staple gun...
Radios... Yes, they make radios that charge, and run off cordless tool batteries... I've got a Dewalt version... Nice system, though the tuner isn't quite as good as I'd like... Perhaps if they had a bigger antenna... These things are built like tanks though, so they'll take the beating they're going to get on a job site...
Tile Saws... I don't see the point here, but here, they're out there...
Dry Saw... Thing of a small circular saw, that cuts metal... I'c consider this perhaps if I did steel stud framing for a living...
Lasers... Dewalt makes a variety of job site laser levels that run on their batteries... I suspect they'd run all day on one battery, but haven't played with them...
Vacum... There are different options here... some makers make dust-buster like vacums... I just saw a shop vac style unit from Dewalt... I can't really see the point, but hey, knock yourself out if ya want...
That's about all I can think of that I see on a frequent basis... There are more naturally... I just don't see them around, or even in stores... They're all special order tools...
Posted by Backstage at November 22, 2003 06:27 PM