The 5 Most Useful Power Tools To Own
The most useful tools I have are the ones that come out of the toolbox often. It makes them essential and cost effective to own. I use them for everything and they, in turn, get used up and need to be replaced.
Every tool on my list above with the exception of the air compressor has been replaced at least once. The reason they get used up is that they can be used for multiple purposes. Most things that need to get done can be done using these power tools.
The Reciprocating Saw
The reciprocating saw can be used for so many things that a homeowner needs to do. First, the saw used as a saw has one flaw. If you want a nice neat precise cut this is not the tool to use. This saw is a rough cut type of saw. The motion of the blade and the narrowness of the saw’s fence will produce a rough cut. The saw’s uses are only limited by the imagination of the user.
This saw can cut wood and all kinds of metals. It is excellent when used for demolition. It can cut a 2×4 in seconds. Also if you need to cut out a 2×4 and leave the surrounding wood is good shape, when used with a metal cutting blade it can cut out the nails and leave the surrounding materials in tack.
Reciprocating Saw With Pruning Blade
Uses in the Garden
When used with a pruning blade you can prune your trees and bushes. But the pruning doesn’t stop at the limbs. If you want to remove a tree and bush this saw can be used to cut the roots. Use the longest pruning blade to cut the roots in the ground. After pruning the bush back and with the saw under full power I plunge the blade into the ground and move it in a circle around the bush or tree that is being removed cutting all the roots to the depth of the blade.
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Yes, I know this will shorten the life of the blade by it’s being in the ground, but the point is to remove the bush or tree not preserve the blade. It certainly has saved me a lot of digging and hacking on the roots to remove bushes and trees. There are tons of uses don’t let your imagination limit you.
The 4″ angle grinder
Flap disk
The 4″ grinder is also a very versatile tool. My grinder happens to be a 4″ but there are other small size grinders that will do the same job as mine.The attachments make it versatile. There are metal cutting wheels, grinding wheels, wood carving wheels, masonry cutting wheels, diamond blades, polycarbide abrasive wheel for removing paint, rust, flaking material, flap wheels for cleaning/sanding metal, wire brushes in cups and wheel versions.
The Corded Drill
Cordless Drill
I had a cordless drill and I loved it. It was easy to go out and drill a hole or whatever I needed to do when it was new. But there is one thing that is bad about a cordless drill. If you don’t use it every day the battery will discharge and over time the capacity of the battery will diminish. Therein lies the problem.
I don’t use it every day. So when I would go out to use it, the battery would need charging. Then the charge would not last very long. So when you calculate the time to but the battery in the charger and the wait time for charging cycle to complete I could drag out an extension cord and plug in my corded drill and be done before the battery was half full. No more cordless for me.
Why Corded?
A corded drill will work every time. It will last as long as you pay your electric bill. I did find that there are some options for a corded drill that I find useful and some downright mandatory. I like to be able to reverse the drill from time to time. Sometimes the bit will stick and being able to reverse the drill makes removing the stuck bit very easy.
The drill needs to be capable of variable speed control. I like the kind where you can set the speed by hand by limiting the movement of the trigger, not the kind where you squeeze the trigger to get to the speed you want. I find the latter to not be easy to control. Speed control is needed when you are using larger drill bits the bigger the bit the slower you want the drill to go.
A lock on the trigger so that the drill will stay on is great for projects like buffing or wire brushing where you are doing something for a long period of time.
Chuck Size
The size of the chuck needs to 3/8″ or bigger.
Ok, so now you know why and what features are important to have. Now if you need to drill a hole in something from the ordinary like wood and metal you have the perfect tool to do it. You can countersink your drilled holes. You can drill holes in mirrors or glass(you need the right bit and lubrication, but that’s another article). Don’t let your imagination limit you.
The Air Compressor
An air compressor will do more than inflate your car tires. Yes it can inflate those pool toys, but it also can nail together any of your wood projects, remove stucco from a window you want to replace, cut holes in metal, loosen bolts, spray paint small to large projects, sand, pop rivet, remove tiles from floors, dust down the garage, and lube your car. All you need is the right accessory and enough air hose.
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Air blow gun with hose and painting gun
But what do you need to know in order to get the right air compressor for your needs? There are a lot of numbers that can confuse you, there are horsepower, maximum working pressure, sound levels, voltages. There is only one thing you need to know when shopping for an air compressor and that is the volume of air that it can produce at a certain pressure. Fortunately, there is a sticker attached to each air compressor that states what the volume of air will be at 40 and 90PSI.
This is an example of the numbers
5.8 CFM @ 40 PSI, 4.7 CFM @ 90 PSI
The first number is the volume stated as CFM.
The second number is the pressure or pounds per square inch stated as PSI
The second set of numbers is at the other pressure of 90PSI. All air tools are sold using these two sets of PSI numbers. They will tell you how much air that particular tool will use. If your air compressor produces 4.7 CFM @ 90 PSI and the tool you are looking at uses 6.0CFM @ 90 PSI, this means that your air compressor will not be able to keep up with the air demand of the tool.
The air compressor will run almost constantly and you will be waiting for it to build up the pressure so you can go back to work only to have it quickly run out of air again. So before you buy that new air compressor look at the accessories first. Not all air tools in the same category use the same volume of air so make sure you look at several models. Determine the volume usages you will need and with that information, you can buy the best air compressor for you.
The Circular Saw
The circular saw was one of the first tools that went into my toolbox. It can give you the cuts that most of the other tools can not. A rip fence can extend it’s capabilities so that you can produce shelving very easily. Different type blades are available to extend its capabilities beyond wood. Brick, concrete asphalt blades will have you wondering how did I ever do without this tool.
The must-have features of the circular saw are not many as most of the saws have them. There are times when you need to be able to keep the saw running when executing a long rip cut. You want to keep the saw on track and not worry about whether the blade is turning. This is called a trigger lock.
As most cuts are best executed with the blade extending past the material by 1/8 to 1/4″ the ability to adjust the “height” quickly without tools is a must. The blade size matters. Having the saw with the blade size with the most availability of blades is a good thing. You don’t want a saw that has hard to find blades or if you find them only to have 1 or 2 blades from which to choose.
There you have it the 5 most useful power tools you should have in your toolbox. With these tools properly outfitted there’s nothing to stop you from getting those projects completed.
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