I picked up a 5 tool set from Ridgid last year and have been very happy with it. The drill, reciprocating saw and light get the most use, but the circular saw and hammer drill also work quite well. Not too pricey either.
I’m doing just the opposite. When replacing tools, I’m making sure a cordless is really necessary. I did this because of two tools where I used the corded versions after owning the cordless versions. Jigsaw and Random Orbital Sander. I’ll never go back to cordless on those guys for two reasons. 1) The power of corded tools, 2) They’re two tools I pretty much only use in my shop (Garage); so I don’t NEED the flexibility of going cordless. Contrast that with my drill. Since I’ll use that thing all over the house; cordless is a must in that case.
I like the way you think, GreedySmurf! Like I said, the multi tool greatly interests me. It happens that the angle grinder does, too (I have a fairly big corded one, but of course there’s that added obstacle of stringing extension cords). So here’s a question for you. If I had those two, how much does the palm sander add? I ask because the multi tool takes triangular sanding heads for small-spot sanding jobs, and the grinder takes sanding disks which can do fairly rapid removal in more open spots.
I have two 20v DeWalt cordless drills, which have never failed me. Had a whole set of Skil cordless tools that I ended up throwing in the trash; cheap crap. I have a cordless DeWalt jigsaw that is a killer. I just bought a Black & Decker 40v hedge/shrub trimmer that seems to get the job done very well. Most all of my powered tools are also DeWalt.
I’ve worked for guys who had cordless drills … seemed we spent more time fucking with battery packs than just running out a damned extension cord …
Power is an issue … 110 VAC is four times as powerful as 25 VDC for the same amps … so in the day-in-and-day-out-five-days-a-week-50-weeks-a-year context, corded equipment is better … assuming you have the cords …
I haven’t had this problem with my DeWalt 18V stuff. I still use the same battery packs that came with my drill which is over 10 years old.
All Ryobi - Drills, Impact driver, chainsaw, Air Compressor, Small Compound Miter, circular saw, hedge trimmer, leaf blower, 18 gauge nailer, 16 gauge nailer, flashlight - All Ryobi 18V One
I usually put one or two on my gift lists and my kids/wife will get them for me. I’ve heard that the Dewalt is better built but for the work I do the Ryobis work just fine.
The flashlight is the only thing that sucks out of all of them.
My favorite is the Air compressor. It is about the size of a small lunchbox and is perfect for keeping tires inflated as well as blowing up air mattresses etc.
Basically every power tool a regular dude would have, I have in cordless.
I especially like to replace gas powered ones, as I find them to be a huge pain in the ass to start.
The only time I was disappointed was a pressure washer, the PSI wasn’t enough to do the job.
I’d like to do an electric lawnmower, especially a robotic one, but I am skeptical.
Who knew the Sawzall had a cordless version? Not me. Sawzall has to be one of the funest power tool out there
My neighbor has a pool
My neighbor has a pool with about 1000 sq ft of grass surrounding it. I see his robotic lawnmower do its thing just about every day. I think it makes perfect sense for his setup since you don’t want a bunch of grass clippings flying around and landing in the pool. So he has this robot leave it’s charging station and randomly go over the grass until the battery gets low and it returns. The next day (or whenever it’s charged) it’ll head out and do the same thing. It can’t cut much length off of the grass hence it has to run this often. I think it’s an awesome idea.
If you ever need to nail a 2x4 to concrete, they have powder actuated tools. Load a special nail with a sabot into the front. Load a special .22 cal blank cartridge into it. Place it against what you want to nail and either pull the trigger or hit the other end with a hammer.
To be honest I kind of feel into it through the order of tool acquisition and therefore what I was ‘used’ to using each tool for. I didn’t get the multi tool until well after I had the palm sander, and it was already well entrenched as my ‘go to’ sander for smaller detail jobs, or if I was too lazy to break out my (corded) belt or RO sanders.
Having said that though, I think the palm sander was a nice bridge size, if you get what I mean. The one I had at any rate had a good sized sanding pad, probably twice the size of the little multitool one, and I found that was an important factor in getting a smooth finish on plastered joints (for me anyway) The model I had also had this little flip out, arrowhead shaped piece with its own separate sanding pad, perfect for getting into finicky little spots. With that there was therefore no need to stop and break out the multitool, and change the head (we all know you’ll have the wrong attachment on it) 
As to the angle grinder, I didn’t actually use a sanding disk on my angle grinder very much for a few reasons, I had a belt sander and random orbit sander already, the angle grinder was a cheapy brand where the hooks on the sanding head where cheap and nasty so the sanding pad would never stay on for long, and I did a fair of grinding and cutting with it, so again would need to go looking for the sanding head, change it, etc, etc, so if I’m in the tool shed for that, may as well just pick up one of the dedicated sanders instead. (I think I’m seeing a pattern here 
)
Can most batteries just be left in their chargers until needed?
Yes.
Just got home with the angle grinder and the multi tool, as well as an assortment of attachments and a double charger. Plus, a kind person at the Home Depot showed me a single charger and battery set that, if bought with the grinder, brings a 129 discount, making the grinder cost -10!
I did not buy any other tools. Today. I like to think this is a piece of restraint that we might all lean back and admire for a moment.
As someone who uses cordless tools every day, I couldn’t DISAGREE more. I used Ryobi for years and switched to Milwaukee and have never looked back. While I agree that Ryobi might have more selection, there’s nothing they make that I need that Milwaukee doesn’t also make.
Both tools out of the box do their job well and are comparable (though the lights on the Milwaukee drills are a huge plus). But it’s longevity that’s at issue. I can’t tell you how many 18 volt Ryobi batteries I’ve gone through. Buying those kind of offsets the cheaper initial cost. Also the tools themselves are finicky and prone to long term failure. I’ve got a Ryobi cordless circular saw that only ever worked with one battery. That’s a huge pain in the ass.
But maybe for the homeowner it will do.
I like Ryobi stuff enough but in the long run it’s not a good value. I’m curious why Nate felt the need to switch from Ryobi if it was serving him well.
We have the 18v Makita line. Highly recommended. We build houses, and use this stuff a lot. The batteries do, of course, eventually need to be replaced. With near daily-use, I’d say they last about 2 years. I’ve just been buying the knockoff replacements on Amazon that run about $30 each. We’ve never had a problem with one; they’re just as powerful and long-lasting as the originals.
Since this seems to be the thread for it:
I’m contemplating picking up one of the Ego 54v 14" or 16" chainsaws for limb maintenance on our beech and for a longer term honeysuckle eradication project.
Anybody got one? How do you like it? I already have a 2Ah battery… is that going to give me enough juice for maybe a half hour of runtime?
I already have a wee Ryobi 18v 10". It doesn’t have enough grunt to handle any limbs bigger than 2".
I think Nates point of saying Ryobi is fine for a ‘homeowner’, is that the tool only receives intermittent usage. In that regard I personally found Ryobi to be great value. Admittedly I was in Australia at the time so maybe the price points are different, but DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc were often twice as expensive as the Ryobi equivalent. In 5 years of regular weekend usage I never had a Ryobi fail. I would consider my usage as on the heavy side of homeowner, and I happily recommend them, and consider them good value. Obviously though, if you’re using your tools daily, I too would plump for the premium brand tools.