Power tools

[cowboydoc]

Mike,
I built my whole barn with dewalt cordless tools and my cordless paslode nailer. I wouldn't be without them. I love them. I did used to use the generator method and I hated having the generator blaring all day. In my opinion those 18 and 24 dewalts are the way to go. I had the extra pack so I got the big circular saw, reciprocating saw or sawzall, drill, drill, and the jigsaw. Before that about 5 years ago I'd bought the trim saw and drill 18v package. The littler saw if fine for small stuff but didn't cut big stuff very well. That full-size circular saw though will cut anything that a regular saw will.

 

[MikePA]

I agree about the generator. I have one and having it run all the time is a pain. When our barn was built, the crew used a generator and a compressor on the back of a flat bed truck. The crew must have gone home every night with headaches listening to the generator drone all day. They were very glad when the electricity was hooked up.

You have the 18v tools, right?

Would you opt for the 24v today?

 

[Christopher]

Thanks guys for the help. It is amazing what JM III comes up with on the web, lots of info. As some of you said the cordless drill is the most used tool in the shop, that is the case here anyway, so it only makes sense to get the very best, the Makita I have been using is great but it is way underpowered for the fencing jobs, I have 80 acres to fence this spring which means lots of 1 inch holes through rr ties, last fall I did some of this and ended up using a hand auger and chainsaw out in the field when the generator quit, it is rediculous to start up the chainsaw to cut 2 2x4 s and that hand drilling gets real old after the fourth or fifth hole! It looks like the DeWalt drill is the better drill so far, I will check them out when I go to town next. Thomas, I do use an inverter plugged into the tractor but it is only 300 watts, it is real handy though it doesn't power that much and it is a hassle to plug into the battery all the time. Thanks again, Chris

 

[beenthere]

Drilling holes in rr ties is a demanding job, and having the right drill bit that is kept sharp will be important. It will be a challenge to keep any type of drill bit sharp as rr ties have a lot of dirt and sand in the cracks. Used ties will be a bigger problem than new ones.
Good luck on your job.

 

[fishman]

Christopher,

I have a 19.2 volt Porter Cable saw and drill combo, and have been extremely pleased with it for the two years I've owned it. They are, without a doubt, the most useful electric powered devices I own.

If you have the money, I'd sure advise that you get a saw too. I rarely get the corded saw out any more, even when cutting right next to an outlet.

I'm sure an 18 volt DeWalt combo would do just great. You might also check out the 18 volt combo at Sears ($169). A buddy of mine has a set and he loves it. If I had it to do over again, I'd probably save the $200 and go with the Craftsman set.

 

[butzkeg]

I've had the 18v drill and saw for several years, and it has been great! I've completed all kinds of projects using the tools.

If you needed even more juice than the 18v, go with the 24v. Plus, the 24v also allows you to plug them directly into ac or dc power to run even longer.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

If you don't use them for anything major the craftsman are fine but if you want them to actually do some serious work do not even stop at sears but keep driving till you finde a DeWalt dealer. If I remember right I think the Craftsmans are made by Ryobi and their chucks are not the strongest. All depends on how much you will use them.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

How do you like the Paslode nailer? I have a question, how lond does the gas charge last in them. We are looking at a Paslode finish nailer and it uses the battery and gas charges and the charges worried us. Can it drive over 1000 nails on a charge or 100 nails? Do you know of any other cordless finish nailers, I know Porter-Cable makes one and Bostich has a cordless roofing nailer.

 

[MikePA]

Where's a good place to buy online? I've used Coastal Tool but was wondering if there's a less expensive place.

 

[beenthere]

Have you looked at ToolCrib? They are now a part of Amazon.com, under tools and hardware, I believe. I have used ToolCrib often, and get what I think are good prices, and good service. Often the shipping is free (now I think anything over $99 is free shipping). At first I was disappointed when they tied in with Amazon.com, but have not found that to be a problem. They send out good catalogs too.
I looked into Coastal Tool and see they have identical prices on the 18v and 24 v kits.

 

[Rch]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ontool.com/>http://www.ontool.com/</A>
MikePa, try above. They ship from CA but some bigger items may come directly from a manufacture.

 

[beenthere]

What I could make out after going to OnLine link (not too many DeWalt items) was a 12v, 3/8 drill using a 14.4 v battery, with case, screwdriver bit, charger and extra battery (DW926K-2) for $348. In ToolCrib, the item closest to this was a 14v drill/driver/hammerdrill with 2 14.4 v batteries, case, charger, screwdriver bit (DW985K-2) for $229. Too little research to make a judgement, but OnTool seems a bit high at first glance.

 

[MikePA]

Thanks! Makes you wonder if DeWalt sets the price. Probably the only differences would be shipping or if one place throws in add'l goodies.

When I was looking at Paslode cordless nail guns, I checked prices at 3 different places. All of them were within $50.

 

[TonyC]

Just to get my 2 cents in..... I have used anumber of cordelss tools and I highly recommend the Bosch 24 volt System. Everyone's needs differ, but if you want power and longevity this is the drill. It has been tested as having more torque than a number of corded drills (Consumer Reports). In fact it was their report that led me to buy it. You can drill pressure treated 4X4 posts all day long on one charge and believe me it will chew up the wood. I also have the circular saw. I would not want to be without them. Yes, it's a bit pricey but you won't be sorry. The set in the photo is about $350.

 

[JTD]

Robert,
I've had the Paslode finish nailer for a couple of years. Used it primarily to finish trim my former house in oak. It drove several hundred nails per cartridge through 3/4 to 1 1/2 in boards for the baseboard, door, window and crown trim. Nail depth has to be adjusted for diffferent woods as with most nailers. Only problem I encountered was when I was building a fireplace mantle, surround & wall panelling using Gonsalo Alves (very hard SA hardwood) where nails occasionally bent. Although more expensive than the Porter Cable units, I didn't like the size of the PC units nor the fact you have to compress them to fire. I'm building a new house/shop & barn and am thinking about buying Paslodes framing hammer. Any experience with it?

 

[Robert_in_NY]

All of our tools our Bostich and we just run a compressor since we usually have two guns going at once. I will look more into the Paslode since it is ideal because there is no hose to mark woodwork or walls in finished houses. Thanks for letting me know about them as I like to talk with other people who have used certain products before so I know if it will fit my needs and the way you talk it sounds like it will. Thanks again.

 

[JJT]

I've put hundreds of hours on my Dewalt 18v drill and would buy another in an instant. As for cutting - a sharp handsaw will outcut a battery powered saw any day.

 

[ewoss3]

try the new dewalt xrt the ratcheting chuck really works well <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.whatever.com/>http://www.dewalt.com/us/products/tool_detail.asp?productID=3189</A>

 

[cowboydoc]

Robert,
I love mine. It saved so much work on my pole barn. It was a real lifesaver as I was by myself alot and you know how that can be trying to nail. I put up a 86x120 pole barn with my office, stalls, etc. I only went through 3 gas cartridges on a box and a half of nails. I'm not sure how many nails are in the box but I think it's 4000. So that would be about 2000 nails per cartridge. The gas cartridges are not expensive. I think, $8 a piece if you buy them in bulk. I thought I would need more than I did. The only thing I would suggest is buy the extra battery. If I had a full charge I never had a problem with it going dead but if you forget to take it out then it will go dead. It takes about two hours to charge a new one. It was just handy always having one plugged in. I would buy another one in a heartbeat. I looked at the other ones that you mentioned but everything I saw said paslode was the best.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Thanks, I am going to get the Paslode finish nailer. I do not mind the hoses when we are outside and we run two guns at a time while roofing and framing so a cordless wouldn't be practical out there but we also do a lot of replacement windows and replace doors on rehab jobs so there is a ton of trim to be nailed and set so this will cut expenses and hopefully pay for itself in a year. Your barn looks nice, I noticed your trusses were spaced around 6'. Do you have any amount of snow where you are or is that not a problem. Where I am most of the trusses have to be spaced 4' unless we get an extremly heavy truss but it is quite a bit more and isn't feasible.