Before you Buy Power Tools, Read This
About to buy tools for the first time? Here’s a quick primer to keep you feeling good about parting with your money.
Only buy battery-operated handheld power tools. A while back drills, saws, and every other handheld power tool became affordable and as powerful as corded tools. The only contractor I’ve seen in the last 5 years whip out a corded tool was updating his MySpace profile from his Motorola Star-Tac phone. Don’t be that guy.
Once you have a battery, additional tools are cheap. Each manufacturer has a specific battery type that works in all of their tools. The first battery costs almost as much as the tools, so “cordless tools” sound expensive. But search “bare tool” and you’ll see that a battery-less tool is half the price because you already own the battery. Pick one brand and stick with that power system.
Pick Ryobi or DeWalt. My workshop looks like a DeWalt showroom but I’m not particular. If you want to save money, pick the Home Depot house brand (Ryobi) and you’ll be fine. If you want a more rugged, marginally better tool that you won’t need to upgrade, go with DeWalt. Do other brands work? Sure, just stick to one brand so your batteries can intermingle.
Used Tools Resell Well. Unlike electronics, that turn into a liability over time, there’s always an active buying market for used tools, and you can always get roughly half of what you paid for it, if not more. So don’t be shy about buying used tools because you can always unload them, which effectively makes them a rental.
Avoid the 5-Tool Kits. They usually include dumb shit you don’t need like a flashlight. Buy a battery with one tool and then go on Amazon and search for “Bare Tool” and buy the cheapest version of the additional tools you need.
