Let’s be honest, for anyone who’s not afraid of, or who genuinely enjoys, getting their hands dirty, today’s DIY (do it yourself) trends are nothing short of nourishment for an endless appetite of creativity.
And let’s face it too: not everyone has the time or the inclination to reach out to a tradie to do a job they could just as easily do themselves… if they have the proper kit to do it with. Well, if you’re one of those people with home improvement running through their veins, then you’ll want to keep reading.
Drop the cord. Now.
For anyone who’s used to working with electric power tools, there’s no hiding the fact that they work well, but they’re far from perfect – especially the older ones. If you haven’t already considered retiring that old collection of electric tools and replacing them with their new, cordless equivalents, then there’s no better time than the present to do so.
And if you really need convincing, then you needn’t look any further than these five tools that’ll help you with any job that you can imagine.
· Cordless drill
Drills are the workhorses of power tools, and the ultimate cordless tool is a brushless drill with hammer and impact driver features, keyless chuck, and delivering 135Nm of torque that’s every bit as powerful as its electric forebear. All this, yet, with only half the weight. With the correct bits, a cordless drill is good for use on everything, from carpentry to masonry, without the noise, sparks, or vibration of an electric motor.
· Cordless screwdriver
When it comes to turning screws, cordless screwdrivers allow you to work even with the toughest screws without causing painful hand fatigue or destroying the screw’s driver pattern. Ranging from powerful, compact units, to even higher-powered ones that are ideal for installing drywall, cordless screwdrivers are convenient enough to fit into the tightest corners yet still capable of putting in work anywhere.
· Cordless Angle grinder
Angle grinders aren’t just for construction sites and wrecking yards and having one around the home, especially if you’re doing home improvement, is an absolute must. It’s the all-purpose cordless tool for cutting tile and masonry, pipes, metal and more. Even if home renovating isn’t your thing, small angle grinders are perfect for hobbyists for everything, from sharpening blades, to polishing and carving stone.
· Cordless reciprocating saw
Here’s another tool straight from the wrecking yard; and if you’re a homeowner, you may not understand why you’d even need one… that is, until you get one. For everything from errant tree limbs to steel rebar, reciprocating saws are the fast, clean-cutting saws that can get into the narrowest spaces at any angle, and produce perfectly clean cuts. They’re the kind of tool that you’re most likely to create reasons just to use it. Guaranteed.
· Cordless circular saw
Spinning at up to 6,000 rpm, and adaptable to just about any cutting task when equipped with the proper blade, circular saws are designed to make quick, straight cuts in everything, from sheets of plywood and sheetrock, to brick and sheet metal. They’re not just for carpenters: they’re for anyone who needs to carve through a lot of beefy material, quickly.
No cord? No problem.
For most people, it doesn’t take more than a few hours of wrestling with a bulky electric tool while they’re balancing atop a ladder to want to find a better way to work. Like it or not, here’s the reality of corded tools:
· Power cords don’t always reach where you need them
· Power cords can create dangerous entanglements
· Electric motors are heavy
· Electric tools are awkward
· There are some places power cords can’t go at all
Cutting the cord is the obvious solution; but how do you avoid asking yourself if cordless tools for sale can possibly deliver the same power as the electric ones? Well, you may have been perfectly justified asking the question a decade ago, but not anymore.
Times and technology have changed; and long-life, high amperage lithium-ion batteries have become the standard power source for tools that are cordless. Aided too by the superior performance attributes of brushless motors over the brushed one still commonly used with their cord-bound cousins, the cordless counterparts are actually delivering power that’s now on-par with their electric predecessors.
For most brands, battery interchangeability is now also a cornerstone of their cordless tool lines. It’s now possible purchase a full suite of tools with the ability to pair each one with a smaller or larger battery depending on the task. As for charging options, not only are the intervals between charge times now significantly less than they’ve ever been but are also longer lasting.
With the ability to keep multiple batteries in a constant state of charge at all times, it’s not an exaggeration to state that cordless now has the ability to outperform corded in almost every way imaginable.
A final word
At the end of the day, there’s really no contest. Boasting longer operating times, shorter charging times, less weight, more power and perfect portability, the cordless tools have evolved from a strictly innovative endeavour to a massively intuitive enabler.
If you can visualize it, you can build it; and that’s why for just about any task imaginable there’s a cordless variant available that’s priced right and ready for the job. All you need to do is get the right combination of tools, grab your creativity by the hand, and get to work.