Have you chosen one brand's power-tools platform?

[orbital]

+

With brushless motors, you can do alot more with the controller for its 'mapping'.
How much juice you send to the motor will obviously give you more power, at less runtime

Another thing you really don't hear about or won't see in specifications is how many poles the brushless motor used has.
Most are 4 pole and you can take that to say 8.

Poles are the 'firing' of the magnets, more poles will give more torque (and using more juice)
So you might have a fast 4 pole for a drill and an slower 8 pole for and impact wrench.
______There's alot that goes into the power of a brushless tool, Voltage/current sent/number of poles/high Amp batteries/ect

(when there are two dorks on YouTube driving large wood screws into wood and one brand does it .5 seconds faster, they lose their mind. Someone needs to tell them that it's more involved than that & it may be more than just variations in wood)

 

[iacchus]

+

With brushless motors, you can do alot more with the controller for its 'mapping'.
How much juice you send to the motor will obviously give you more power, at less runtime

Another thing you really don't hear about or won't see in specifications is how many poles the brushless motor used has.
Most are 4 pole and you can take that to say 8.

Poles are the 'firing' of the magnets, more poles will give more torque (and using more juice)
So you might have a fast 4 pole for a drill and an slower 8 pole for and impact wrench.
______There's alot that goes into the power of a brushless tool, Voltage/current sent/number of poles/high Amp batteries/ect

(when there are two dorks on YouTube driving large wood screws into wood and one brand does it .5 seconds faster, they lose their mind. Someone needs to tell them that it's more involved than that & it may be more than just variations in wood)

The variable settings on my little impact driver are a huge quality of life upgrade. For example, one stops the motor when it feels any resistance, great for small finishing screws in cabinetry or screws into a plastic casing, another stops the motor when it feels no resistance, which is nice for removing screws so they don't fall. That last one is fantastic when working above your head or on a ladder.

There's more, but those are the that make the best examples. Couldn't do that sort of thing with a brushed motor.

 

[Monocrom]

+

With brushless motors, you can do alot more with the controller for its 'mapping'.
How much juice you send to the motor will obviously give you more power, at less runtime

Another thing you really don't hear about or won't see in specifications is how many poles the brushless motor used has.
Most are 4 pole and you can take that to say 8.

Poles are the 'firing' of the magnets, more poles will give more torque (and using more juice)
So you might have a fast 4 pole for a drill and an slower 8 pole for and impact wrench.
______There's alot that goes into the power of a brushless tool, Voltage/current sent/number of poles/high Amp batteries/ect

(when there are two dorks on YouTube driving large wood screws into wood and one brand does it .5 seconds faster, they lose their mind. Someone needs to tell them that it's more involved than that & it may be more than just variations in wood)

Hey, thanks for the detailed explanation. There's clearly more going on with brushless motors than I initially thought there was. Appreciate it.

 

[fuyume]

It used to be DeWalt 14.4V, for me, back in the day, but when I was homeless, between apartments and living out of my pickup truck, I had all my power tools stored in a friend's garage, and her son stole them all and fenced them for money to buy drugs, because it turns out, he's a junkie. I lost all my DeWalt cordless power tools, my Made in USA DeWalt 12" double-bevel compound miter saw, and my Porter-Cable corded reciprocating saw. The only thing I have left is my Metabo corded hammerdrill.

I did also have a Ryobi 9.6V drill that I used for light duty jobs around the house. I got it on clearance sale, and it never let me down. People get all worked up about having the highest voltage cordless tools, but I started out in college on Makita 7.2V tools, and they never let us down in a theatrical scenery production workshop under heavy use.

If I were going to buy again, I'd probably stick with DeWalt, but I probably won't bother. The other day, I hung new curtain rods, and a Stanley hand crank drill and regular screwdriver was plenty powerful enough. Besides, if I need serious power, I still have the Metabo.

 

[Monocrom]

Must admit, when it comes to basic power-tools, Ryobi does a good job.

Wal-Mart has been stepping up their game lately with their HART line of power-tools. The brushed models are decent. Easily good enough for home DIY use. And, quite inexpensive. It's a Wal-Mart exclusive brand. But HART's parent company is TTI. Same one as Ryobi, RIDGID, and Milwaukee. Forget about parts sharing from Big Red. But clearly quite a few of HART's power-tool models are Ryobi, with a different color scheme, and set up to accept HART batteries. Not something for someone in the Trades. But as a homeowner, if you just need one or two power-tools to complete a project or make a needed repair. Quick trip to Wal-Mart will get you what you need without making your wallet cry out in agony. HART batteries will only last you a couple of years. But they are cheap to replace.

 

[divine]

I am long term thinking of buying an oscillating tool. I have multiple platforms that I could get it in.

What brand do you guys think I should get?

I was eyeing Hercules because the tool is around $60 and they usually have promotions where you can get a battery and tool for $100.
Dewalt XR would run me $89 on Amazon.
Lowes has a Dewalt kit with case, 1.5aH battery and charger for $99.
Maybe Kobalt. Looks like Lowes has $99 for the tool, a blade kit and a case.

Back at the beginning of my power tool journey, I got a $99 Dewalt impact driver kit and it came with a 1.3 amp hour battery without a battery indicator. I kind of regret that to this day. What good is a battery without a charge indicator? Also, the DCD787 is one of the lowest rated impact drivers. I still use it for small stuff like hanging a TV.

Also, I've been thinking of getting an impact driver in 12 volt so I can have something that is as light as possible. Milwaukee has those M12 batteries that looks like they taped 3 x 18650's together.
Amazon has this "M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Drill Driver/Impact Driver Combo Kit (2-Tool) with Free M12 1.5Ah Battery (2-Pack)" for $119.

 

[raggie33]

binford tools

 

[Monocrom]

Hercules is currently promoting the crap out of their Impact wrench on several YouTube channels. But I'd advise staying away from the Harbor Freight power-tool brands. Seriously, with the exception of their current Impact wrench and their miter saw; nothing from Hercules is worth buying. And, Hercules is arguably HF's best in-store brand.

If you're looking to save some money, Kobalt in recent years seems to have stepped up their game when it comes to their power-tools, while still being well-priced.

 

[Monocrom]

binford tools

Sorry, Raggie.... You have to choose a non-fictional tool brand.

 

[divine]

It looks like Dewalt XR and Kobalt aren't much more expensive than Harbor Freight.

I got the Hercules Impact Driver, they had a brushed hercules drill on clearance for $35 that I couldn't pass up. I have the Hercules ultra torque impact wrench, it was on sale for $149. Hopefully I can find something to use that crazy thing on! It's pretty heavy, though.

 

[Monocrom]

It looks like Dewalt XR and Kobalt aren't much more expensive than Harbor Freight.

I got the Hercules Impact Driver, they had a brushed hercules drill on clearance for $35 that I couldn't pass up. I have the Hercules ultra torque impact wrench, it was on sale for $149. Hopefully I can find something to use that crazy thing on! It's pretty heavy, though.

Car lug-nuts.
Apparently it has plenty of nut-busting torque.

 

[divine]

Car lug-nuts.
Apparently it has plenty of nut-busting torque.

I have no problem removing lug nuts on a car or SUV with my much smaller, mid torque Metabo HPT impact wrench.

I actually over torqued the lug nuts on my parents SUV on Level 3 with the Metabo impact driver. (I got tired of working after changing *a gasket that I had too much trouble with.*) We kept getting a low tire pressure warning. I did some reading, VW has a sensor that counts the number of times the wheels revolve and if one doesn't match, it lights up the low tire pressure light. All of the tires were reading normal. I loosened all of the lug nuts on that tire and hand tightened them and the warning went away.

You ever watch that one video where the dude torqued down some lug nuts on farm equipment to 600 ft lbs and he had to use a torque wrench with what looked like a 4 foot long handle with all of his weight?

 

[divine]

lol on the nut busting. I think that's the appeal for most people. =P
That's probably why I bought the Ultra Torque. =)

Do the torque test channel dudes say 200 ft lbs is enough to remove most lug nuts? Most modern 1/4" impact drivers can remove lug nuts, but IMO that's the wrong tool for the job.

 

[Monocrom]

I might have to get that Ryobi Impact wrench. Their smaller ones have trouble with car lug-nuts at 140, forget 600.

 

[Monocrom]

lol on the nut busting. I think that's the appeal for most people. =P
That's probably why I bought the Ultra Torque. =)

Do the torque test channel dudes say 200 ft lbs is enough to remove most lug nuts? Most modern 1/4" impact drivers can remove lug nuts, but IMO that's the wrong tool for the job.

Wrong tool, but it does look impressive on video.

 

[divine]

TTC thinks 300 ft lbs will remove most well maintained lug nuts.

I guess I have the ultra torque for terribly maintained or accidentally over-torqued lug nuts.

 

[ghostguy6]

Also, I've been thinking of getting an impact driver in 12 volt so I can have something that is as light as possible. Milwaukee has those M12 batteries that looks like they taped 3 x 18650's together.
Amazon has this "M12 12-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Drill Driver/Impact Driver Combo Kit (2-Tool) with Free M12 1.5Ah Battery (2-Pack)" for $119.

If you buy from Amazon just be advised that Milwaukee will not warranty them. There are no officially authorized sellers on Amazon. While there are some sellers who will send you a genuine Milwaukee tool there are also plenty selling good looking fakes. Pretty much every battery only option from Amazon and Ebay are fakes.

What I like to do is look for a sale. Take a photo of the add or bring a flyer to the local home depot and they will beat the price by 10% as long as the model number is the same.

 

[Monocrom]

This short was eye-opening for me:

 

[Monocrom]

If you buy from Amazon just be advised that Milwaukee will not warranty them. There are no officially authorized sellers on Amazon. While there are some sellers who will send you a genuine Milwaukee tool there are also plenty selling good looking fakes. Pretty much every battery only option from Amazon and Ebay are fakes.

What I like to do is look for a sale. Take a photo of the add or bring a flyer to the local home depot and they will beat the price by 10% as long as the model number is the same.

Yes, if you want to be guaranteed you're buying the real thing, you're ONLY bet is to head on over to Home Depot for both Milwaukee tools and batteries. Real Milwaukee batts. have Samsung cells inside of them.

 

[divine]

This short was eye-opening for me:

That's a little surprising that they won't remove 140 ft lbs. That vehicle looks like a RV.

I feel like a 3/8" impact wrench shouldn't have to do 140 ft lbs, but it would be nice if it did.