The great PF cordless tool debate

[Cory]

You should try one. We have sold a dozen Milwaukee 2830's to our contractor customers, and I have one myself. It will, no shit, keep up with a Skil Worm Drive without the hassle of cord on a ladder or roof. Yes, there are limitations in having a battery tool, but power and speed on this one is not one of those limitations. The pro-level DeWalt saw is reported be just as good.

Tools we now consider as good as corded or air versions in our shop are 4 1/2" grinders, sawzalls, 1/2" impacts, and grease guns.

We have and use a Dewalt 20V brushless XR circular saw at work. It is a smaller blade size though. It's okay for small stuff, but it binds pretty easy with the slightest angle. Cutting hardy board is pretty much a no go as well. Because we deal with a lot of soffit and facia work it just doesn't work well for us. It's fine for doing quick cuts for trim but kinda lacks power. Maybe the other brands are different or ours is just beat on too much. Not sure. I also dont care for the "left hand" design. Not really left hand just the blade is on the other side of the handle.

I love our dewalt cordless sawzall. We're using a corded bosch alot at the moment because our current work is ridiculous and eats batteries because we're using worn blades that are "multi material" to cut out nails and subboard that I think was used as concrete forms. Eh...

I'm fairly new as a tradesworker. So it's very much a learning process still.

[rob_s]

Batteries and how they are built maintained et cetera are going to be the life blood of cordless tools. I’d rather have a cord to deal with personally. Everybody’s gonna get a bad batch of batteries eventually

ok boomer

[Snapshot]

Cory's post reminds me: blades matter, and most should be considered consumable. This especially true of small blades moving quickly in "bad" materials to include drywall, cement board, steel, and combinations of these. I try to keep at least one new blade with each tool, for thing like multi-tools I keep a package. Before and during whatever I am doing I check and the and if it t looks chewed up, or the tool wanders or stalls, I switch blades. I can get by with a dull blade a bit longer on a corded tool if needed but even there a sharp blade makes a noticeable difference.

[rob_s]

I wouldn't pick Dewalt (or cordless im general) for a circular saw.

You should try one. We have sold a dozen Milwaukee 2830's to our contractor customers, and I have one myself. It will, no shit, keep up with a Skil Worm Drive without the hassle of cord on a ladder or roof. Yes, there are limitations in having a battery tool, but power and speed on this one is not one of those limitations. The pro-level DeWalt saw is reported be just as good.

We have and use a Dewalt 20V brushless XR circular saw at work. It is a smaller blade size though. It's okay for small stuff, but it binds pretty easy with the slightest angle. Cutting hardy board is pretty much a no go as well. Because we deal with a lot of soffit and facia work it just doesn't work well for us. It's fine for doing quick cuts for trim but kinda lacks power. Maybe the other brands are different or ours is just beat on too much. Not sure. I also dont care for the "left hand" design. Not really left hand just the blade is on the other side of the handle.

I've built two floating decks in the last 6 months and ripped down pressure treated 2x6s and 5/4x6s with my older Milwaukee "fullsize" cordless saw. Not even the current model. I'm using the older version of this https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produc...r-Saws/2732-20

if you're using a 6&1/2" you're going to get less performance. DeWalt used to make an even smaller one, no idea if they still do, but that's just going to get worse. I assume, though, that the DeWalt is going to be like the Milwaukee, in that they figure that you're going to buy the tool that best fits the need (wait, that sounds strangely familiar on a gun forum...) but I can certainly see some government purchasing saying "we're only cutting 1" thick hardiboard, save $18 and get them the small saw" without knowing which end of a circ saw the bullets come out of... wait...

the 2830 that Doug mentioned above is also supposed to be a beast! I don't do enough framing work, etc. to justify one, but it doesn't mean I don't have the wants! The blade is on the opposite side too (with Milwaukee at least, the rear-handle and the 6.5" have the blade on the left of operator, the 7.25" has it on the right) so maybe that's a justification for me, lol
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/Produc...r-Saws/2830-20

The mythology and misunderstanding surrounding cordless tools in 2021 is astounding to me.

People really need to make their decisions based around CURRENT PRODUCTION (<2 years old), properly selected (e.g. not undersized), brushless, lion battery (also sized correctly, don't put a 3.0 in your angle grinder and then complain), examples. If you're basing your decisions on anything other than that you're probably out of touch (which is maybe ok).

[LittleLebowski]

Batteries and how they are built maintained et cetera are going to be the life blood of cordless tools. I’d rather have a cord to deal with personally. Everybody’s gonna get a bad batch of batteries eventually

That's not my experience. My original battery from 2010-ish is weaker than my newer lot of four that I purchased for $100 + shipping, but it's still quite usable. When I burned out my cordless drill on my room cleaning my chimney, the batteries weren't the weak point. All of the pros I've seen in the past few years are using cordless.

[oregon45]

I'm not particularly attached to any brand of cordless tools--I've got DeWalt, Ryobi and Milwaukee--but I will say that the Milwaukee cordless Sawzall I bought to clean up damage from last month's ice storm is one of the best tool purchases I've made in awhile. With a 5.0ah battery and a 12" carbide 3tpi blade it cuts just as well as my Stihl MS170 chainsaw--and I can make cuts that would be too dangerous to make with a chainsaw.

[rob_s]

I'm not particularly attached to any brand of cordless tools--I've got DeWalt, Ryobi and Milwaukee--but I will say that the Milwaukee cordless Sawzall I bought to clean up damage from last month's ice storm is one of the best tool purchases I've made in awhile. With a 5.0ah battery and a 12" carbide 3tpi blade it cuts just as well as my Stihl MS170 chainsaw--and I can make cuts that would be too dangerous to make with a chainsaw.

My M18 Sawzall seems to do most of my firewood duties!

Some friends bought a little mini Ryobi one to keep in their campervan and use it to cut up store bought wood to fit in their solo stove.

[Welder]

I bought an M18 Fuel reconditioned chainsaw to try out eventually, whenever I get around to having some daylight non-working hours again. I want to see if it'll allow me to sell an MS192 that I've had sitting around for awhile new in the box for just in case.

To the comment earlier by @AKDoug , I'd agree with most of those choices with the exception of the 4.5" M18 grinder. Even with a 12.0Ah battery, it doesn't hold up to prolonged grinding and I can go through the 12.0 and the several 9.0's I have before one of them is Rapid-Charged up enough to keep the chain going. Howsoever, I most definitely use a cordless 4.5" whenever I can. I usually provide my own power on a site, so if I can keep from starting my welder just to run power tools, it's a real win on my bottom line.

One other issue with the Milwaukee M18 Fuel line is that their cordless grinders operate at a lower RPM than corresponding 4.5" corded grinders. As a matter of fact, my 4.5" cordless grinders turn slow enough that I can theoretically put a 6" disc on them and still be below it's max RPM. This RPM loss means lower productivity per unit of time compared to a corded grinder. For a hobbyist, who cares, but for a professional, it enters into the equation whose answer determines when it's time to get out an extension cord and start the welder.

I've been using cordless grease guns since the old Lincoln 12V one that you could get back in 2003. They're a lifesaver and were the first cordless tools I invested in, since I had to grease an Eagle 1200 rock crusher, a Cat 980G loader, a Case 1845C skid loader, and multiple associated conveyors at the end of every working day. Used mine enough that I got good at replacing the planetary gearsets in them. The old Lincolns were good guns if you had a couple of extra batteries to get you through the job.

To the various comments on battery sizing, I don't find anything under the 5.0Ah range to be useful enough to spend money on unless it's the battery's physical size that's the problem. The 5.0's aren't heavy and provide prolonged power for most uses. Whenever my last XC and 4.0 batteries die, I'll be replacing with 5.0 and 9.0's with the occasional 12.0 thrown in.

I've probably mentioned this before, but while the Milwaukee tool line has provided my cordless tools of choice for nearly a decade now, if you're looking for the very best, consider Metabo. They're the penultimate in my view. Most of my Metabos are corded because I use them for my heaviest work (9" and 4.5" grinders, conventional and flathead), but I do also have a 4.5" grinder and two 1/4" die grinders that are cordless. They're smoother and better-constructed than their Milwaukee counterparts, and unlike the Milwaukees, I haven't burnt any of them up. The *only* Metabo tool of any type I've burnt up was a 6" grinder whose thermal overload didn't work when it needed to. The others keep chugging along, and I'll replace that 6" with the heaviest 6" model that Metabo makes and try it again. Be forewarned though, that Metabo is a name that you pay for.

[Oldherkpilot]

Batteries and how they are built maintained et cetera are going to be the life blood of cordless tools. I’d rather have a cord to deal with personally. Everybody’s gonna get a bad batch of batteries eventually

I have eleven M12 tools, two 12v Bosch drills, two 12v B&D drills, a 12v Skil and an 18v Makita. In the 8 years since I tossed my last Ni Cad battery I've had one LI battery go down and that was likely my fault. If you can deal with the cords, you clearly have no need for cordless tools. I have enough for both of us.😁

[camel]

I have eleven M12 tools, two 12v Bosch drills, two 12v B&D drills, a 12v Skil and an 18v Makita. In the 8 years since I tossed my last Ni Cad battery I've had one LI battery go down and that was likely my fault. If you can deal with the cords, you clearly have no need for cordless tools. I have enough for both of us.😁

Cordless is great don’t get me wrong. But ffs if I need power on demand. Or longevity of the tool because In my experience batteries are still a finite item and the cost over the long term is another thing. Cords suck. Each tool has its place.