Battery powered tools

[Gattopardo]

Never knew.

Of the pro tools I have used festool and hilti were the nicest.

Just found out Milwaukee tools are ryobi aeg and many other brands such as dirt devil hoover and vax.

Hitachi is metabo and jikoko

[Asterix, the former Gaul.]

Sigh. I was sort of ready to go for Makita. But I also want a new hedge trimmer.

Now, I shouldn't need a new hedge trimmer as we have a gardener, but he doesn't trim it often enough. I've just spent the last week hacking away at the top of it cos it was getting too tall. Even Pingu struggled with our current hedge trimmer (I don't feel so bad now). But it seems like Bosch do the most feeble-friendly hedge trimmer, about 1kg lighter than the smallest Makita. (I have no idea what the current one weighs, I should prolly check that)
So maybe I should get all Bosch tools instead...

I never thought my Makita trimmer was heavy. I could easily use it one-handed if the safety features allowed.

[Mrs Pingu]

Hmm maybe not. From a review of the Bosch:

These are brilliant, I rave about them because they are very effective tools, but sadly there is one major design flaw: the trigger switch is extremely stiff. After using it my hands ache from holding that switch.

This is the problem we have with the current HT. Ok, it's not very light but you have to hang on to two switches like grim death to get the thing to switch on and stay on. I know it's there for a reason but surely it should be possible to have some sort of switch you don't have to clench so hard on...

[pcolbeck]

Now, I shouldn't need a new hedge trimmer as we have a gardener, but he doesn't trim it often enough. I've just spent the last week hacking away at the top of it cos it was getting too tall. Even Pingu struggled with our current hedge trimmer (I don't feel so bad now).

If you are struggling with a hedge trimmer maybe you need a hedge cutter instead. Until a couple of years ago I didn't know they were different things but they definitely are. A hedge trimmer is meant for light trimming of basically this years growth of of privet and the like. If you need to cut thicker stuff you need a hedge cutter.
We have a mixed hedge of blackthorn, hawthorn, beech etc and cutting it was a right PITA. Bough a Bosch (corded) hedge cutter and its easy now.

A hedge cutter has a much bigger gap between the teeth and a more powerful motor, some like ours also have a sawing function. We have a Bosch AHS 70-34 its fantastic.

[Valiant]

Just weighing in to say that I love my Makita 18v Brushless kit. They have a 3 year warranty if you register on their site and their service is brilliant, I sent my 10 year old track saw to them, they paid for pick up and delivery and completed the repairs for free and was back within a week. My next purchase will be the baby 18v SDS. It's just so damned cute and capable. Also tempted by the 18v hoover for tidy up reasons. I did make the mistake of getting the 5ah batteries though. Yes they last forever but are a bit on the heavy side, so I may opt for some 2ah batteries.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I bought a ryohbi about 12 years ago. It was very heavily used and superb. Batteries are now carped but nothing else wrong with it. Would drill 10mm holes in thickish steel quite happily. Hammer drill in brick.

Reportedly quality has gone down since then (doesn't it always). DeWalt seem nowhere near as good as they used to be.

For brief use stuff, cheap is ok.

If you are going to be doing a lot of work, spend some money. Your hands will thank you. White Finger is no joke.

[Kim]

If you are going to be doing a lot of work, spend some money. Your hands will thank you. White Finger is no joke.

This Unit hereby endorses this product, service or sentiment.

[Mrs Pingu]

I took delivery of a Makita jigsaw last week, seems to do the job, impressed with how quickly the battery charges up and the fact that they supplied 6 blades in the box.

[Valiant]

Registered on https://www.makitauk.com/service-web-start for an extended warranty

[Ham]

One feature nobody has touched on is torque, all drills are not the same. In particular, brushless appear to be substantially lower than brushed. That may be immaterial for your use, but it is worth noting and led me to chose the Makita DHP458 (91Nm) when I had to replace my 15 year old Makita recently. By comparison, the DHP485 brushless is rated to 50Nm.

[grams]

What’s your application? Brushed and brushless motors have very different shaped toque curves and the max torque rating doesn’t really tell you a lot.

[Kim]

Isn't torque in a hand drill mostly about wrist injuries?

[mrcharly-YHT]

Isn't torque in a hand drill mostly about wrist injuries?

beat me to it. Torque becomes kind of immaterial once it exceeds the strength of the operator.

There is a reason why my kango has big sticky-out handles.

[Ham]

Torque is significant for me in:

- Screwdriving without pre-drilling, esp stuff like 100mm x 6mm screw
- hole cutting with a tank cutter

As I noted, it may or may not be important to you. I know that the torque of my (old, and now new) Makita is quite manageable and nowhere near as high as my mains powered drill. The stark contrast in spec was enough to push me to brushed version. Brushless may have a much better power weight ratio for the motor, which makes for a lighter, more compact drill, but I decided that wasn't a significant factor for me, I preferred the workhorse. Not having used a brushless for an extended period, I don't know how they compare in reality, but paying more for less (at least, less torque and weight) wasn't the way I went. From the limited use I have had of a brushless, it seemed that under load it drained the battery faster.

[quixoticgeek]

Just weighing in to say that I love my Makita 18v Brushless kit. They have a 3 year warranty if you register on their site and their service is brilliant, I sent my 10 year old track saw to them, they paid for pick up and delivery and completed the repairs for free and was back within a week. My next purchase will be the baby 18v SDS. It's just so damned cute and capable. Also tempted by the 18v hoover for tidy up reasons. I did make the mistake of getting the 5ah batteries though. Yes they last forever but are a bit on the heavy side, so I may opt for some 2ah batteries.

The hoover has been great, makes life so much easier, as I don't have to faff about digging the big hoover out, and finding a power socket for a simple spill. Just make sure to empty the container often, I was trying to work out why it didn't suck, only to realise it was full...

I have a 5A and a 3A battery. They do have the inconvenient habit of lasting long enough for me to forget where I put the charger between charges...

J

[Polar Bear]

Torque is significant for me in:

- Screwdriving without pre-drilling, esp stuff like 100mm x 6mm screw
...

When I was taught woodwork in the seventies we were taught to pre drill to reduce the chances of splitting the wood regardless of what wood it is.

I still do.

[robgul]

Torque is significant for me in:

- Screwdriving without pre-drilling, esp stuff like 100mm x 6mm screw
...

When I was taught woodwork in the seventies we were taught to pre drill to reduce the chances of splitting the wood regardless of what wood it is.

I still do.

Agree and I still do too - and I started school woodwork in the late 50s - BUT a lot of modern screws are designed to self-drill, and even self-countersink - and are much thinner than the old No8, 10, 12 slotted screws.

Screws are now designed for Pozidrive, Philips or becoming more common Robertson format.  [I've just used about 200 of the latter for a project and they are brilliant with much less risk of cam-out on the driver - in my case battery machine]

[Ham]

Torque is significant for me in:

- Screwdriving without pre-drilling, esp stuff like 100mm x 6mm screw
...

When I was taught woodwork in the seventies we were taught to pre drill to reduce the chances of splitting the wood regardless of what wood it is.

I still do.

<yawn> Yeah, and,  if I'm doing anything needing precision, so do I. But, as Robgul noted, all(most all)  my screws are these, where the likelihood of splitting wood is close to zero in most instances. So, for stuff like this, driving screws without pre-drilling works fine, as it does for boarding and many other stuff.

[quixoticgeek]

Agree and I still do too - and I started school woodwork in the late 50s - BUT a lot of modern screws are designed to self-drill, and even self-countersink - and are much thinner than the old No8, 10, 12 slotted screws.

Screws are now designed for Pozidrive, Philips or becoming more common Robertson format.  [I've just used about 200 of the latter for a project and they are brilliant with much less risk of cam-out on the driver - in my case battery machine]

I've mostly switched to Torx for my wood screws. The lack of cam out is a great improvement.

J