Power Tool Brands - Accessibility

[wingssail]

As usual I am an outlier. I don't have a ton of power tools onboard and I'd rather spend my money on sails than tools.

What I do have is a three ancient Skill 12v tools which I've had since about 1980. Can't get the batteries any more so I've turned them into corded running off the ship's 12v system. For more portable work I have a pair of Black and Decker 20v tools which share batteries.

Oh, I forgot Judy's corded Hitachi Palm sander and my corded Milwaukee right angle grinder. (with a random orbit attachment which I love).

None of these tools are less than 20 years old, the Milwaukee is 30+ years, and Skill ones are about 40 years old. They've all lived on boats their whole lives, starting in the bilges of some powerboats I had long ago, and since then on this race boat in some of the worst conditions you can imagine for a tool. Wet, humid, stormy, tropical salt water environments. and not one of them ever gave me a lick of trouble except a bad battery on one of the Black and Deckers, and like I mentioned, the old Skills batteries don't seem to be available since about 1995.

So, I am not a tool-town fan boy, I have tools I use them, I don't spend much money on them, and I'm bored by the "which is the best" conversation. Get a tool, fix your boat, and go sailing.

[glenn.225]

I'm a Milwaukee user as well. Previous posters have expanded on most of the good points, I especially like that 5 year warranty.

I used a lot of tools over the years and there's really only two brands that I will specific choose if I can and they are Snap-on and Milwaukee. You can't beat the feel and the effectiveness of a Snap-on wrench and while Milwaukee is not in that league they are pretty good, especially the variety of tools in both the 12 and 18 volt systems.

For the last 8 years I've been using the 18V range as a carpenter and they're decently rugged and if they do break you'll get it fixed/replaced quickly.

For personal/boat use I have the 12V line and they're really decent little tools. My carry bag consists of drill, driver, 90 degree drill, hackzall, and oscillating tool plus 3 or 4 batteries and charger. That tends to suit most small jobs.


cheers

[MicHughV]

I'm not a big fan of battery operated tools....have you priced spare batteries for some tools ? It requires you rob a bank first.
The bats eventually go dead unless you keep a charge on them...and how would you do that on a sailboat if you don't have a genset.
And if you have a genset, you might as well get 115v tools.

All but one of my tools are 115v and I would never consider swapping them out for a bat operated one.

As to which brand...most any tool these days is a good quality when you get past the marketing hype. Amazon has virtually every tool known to mankind on their website. The tools invariably have some reviews and comments by purchasers of the tool.

Common sense will lead you to get the right tool at the right price for YOUR needs.

[Chotu]

Random thread drift about tools

One of the most important tools I have a board is an angle grinder.

It had been used previously to cut fiberglass when a quick rough cut was needed. However, I found a good use for it.

In South Beach I pulled up a twisted ball of a mess with my anchor. My chain was knotted and wrapped around another chain and another anchor that was stuck at the bottom.

I hopped into the dinghy with the angle grinder and made light work of the situation.

Could be very handy for cutting off a fallen rig as well. Much faster and easier than a giant pair of bolt cutters.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I'm not a big fan of battery operated tools....have you priced spare batteries for some tools ? It requires you rob a bank first.
The bats eventually go dead unless you keep a charge on them...and how would you do that on a sailboat if you don't have a genset.
And if you have a genset, you might as well get 115v tools.

All but one of my tools are 115v and I would never consider swapping them out for a bat operated one.

As to which brand...most any tool these days is a good quality when you get past the marketing hype. Amazon has virtually every tool known to mankind on their website. The tools invariably have some reviews and comments by purchasers of the tool.

Common sense will lead you to get the right tool at the right price for YOUR needs.

Could not agree more with this. Since I already have a battery bank on the boat, and a very good one, I cannot possibly see how I would want to worry about dealing with little batteries to charge everywhere. The personal electronics are enough.

Just plug the tool in and do your work. All day long if you need to. Without worrying about batteries running out. Never could quite understand the use of these battery powered tools.

They do seem to be the most popular thing however

[MicHughV]

I walked into a Home Depot store recently and to my amazement most every hand held electric tool they had in there was battery powered.
Then I looked at the battery prices.....lordy..lordy.....

I think it's fad.....most people only use a drill maybe once in a blue moon, by which time, the bat is dead, and you have to trundle back to HD to get annuder bat.

Not for me, thanks. A power cord hanging out of the back of a tool doesn't bother me for one micro-second.

[MicHughV]

Just for giggles I looked up some battery prices for bat powered electric tools.

Stunned to see bat prices cost more than the tool.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

......
I think it's fad.....most people only use a drill maybe once in a blue moon, by which time, the bat is dead, and you have to trundle back to HD to get annuder bat.....

Clearly you don't have lithium 20v cordless tools. Charge lasts forever, and power is 3x the older NiCad batteries.

The use-case for corded tools is reducing rapidly. I just spent the last 4 days building a storage shed. With exception of chop saw and pneumatic nail gun, all else is cordless. Jigsaw, skilsaw, drill, driver, blower, and angle grinder. I charged batteries once.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by NSboatman

There’s a lot of stored energy in a few drill batteries - and I do remember the poster declining to identify the brand in question, saying only that it was a well known and respected brand.

Anyone have any experience or research to relate on this aspect of small-boat borne tools?

I have searched and come up with nothing. I remember the story and remember asking the poster in a PM to share more details, which they declined to do.


I do not believe these events are frequent. The prudent mariner would nonetheless take precautions, particularly stowing power tool batteries where they don't bang around in a seaway, and avoiding lithium batteries and devices containing them that are of doubtful provenance.

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

I think it's fad.....most people only use a drill maybe once in a blue moon, by which time, the bat is dead, and you have to trundle back to HD to get annuder bat.

We have a few Milwaukee M12 and M18 systems on the boat, a few Ryobi 18V systems at home...

Haven't seen the batteries self-discharging at all over time...

Just an observation.

Corded tools in tight places aren't so easy to work with. Just another observation.

-Chris

[Jammer]

WIth frequent use, high-quality tool batteries last 2-3 years, much like phone batteries and laptop batteries, that use similar technology. They do deteriorate in storage particularly when, as is common, they are stored fully charged. You might expect to get five years out of them, or perhaps more, with occasional use.


For the Milwaukee tools, it is common for batteries to be bundled with them as part of a promotion. Of the dozen or so battery packs I have, I don't think I actually purchased more than three or four. There are also third-party sources that sell battery packs cheaply although it is unclear how high their safety and quality standards may be. There are also services that rebuild packs. Overall I think battery costs over the life of the tools is manageable.


One of the things that gets lost in these discussions is that corded power tools have their own expenses that battery tools do not have. Typically a corded tool outlasts the cord; cord replacements are expensive. Extension cords are also expensive and require periodic replacement, and take time to set up and put away. There are reasons the construction trades have moved away from corded tools.


Power tools do not last forever. Over the long run, service parts availability becomes limiting. I have tools from my misspent youth (tm) that I have had to discard because after 30 years I can't get basic service parts for them.

[FlyingScot]

Ridgid warranty's the tools and the batteries basically for your lifetime. They often have big sales. Buy when on sale, register and then enjoy them for many many years.

Having a 18v hybrid fan (18v or 120vac) is so handy. Take it to the engine room to use or wherever you need more cooling. Many brands make these. We use Ridgid.

USB adaptor that fits on top of the battery. Very handy to move to where you want on the boat or drag along as needed.

We bought a six battery charger that has a handle like a six pack. It is easy storage spot for our batteries and keeps them charged. Super easy for us.

[The Yacht Rigger]

This is much like the anchor debate!!
At our shop we use a combination of Rigid and Milwaukee 18v tools.
Milwaukee is the preferered brand, both a combination of raw power and diversity of tool options. Rigid is great for warranty.
We are switching to all Milwaukee as time goes on though. Recently started using aftermarket batteries from Amazon. So far so good, and 1/4 the price.

[MicHughV]

This is much like the anchor debate!!

Too true...each to his own. I still have corded tools from 40 plus years ago when I was first building my boat....paint splattered, dinged and bashed, but still working......
Gave the bat operated tools a go, but simply didn't like 'em.

I recently bought a new truck. The thing is loaded with every possible electronic gimmick, app, screen, sensor, etc, the IT guys could dream up. None of it really helps the performance of the vehicle per se, but is THE selling feature on most new vehicles.
Screen size is the new "bragging" feature. Back in the day you'd be able to say my car has "xxx" more horsepower than yours, but these days it's my vehicle has a 12" screen and yours only 9".....

As above, I feel the rash of bat operated tools is just a sign of the times as they are blinged out to the max. so that one manufacturer can outbrag his competitor.

just my 2c off course....

[The Yacht Rigger]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

This is much like the anchor debate!!

Too true...each to his own. I still have corded tools from 40 plus years ago when I was first building my boat....paint splattered, dinged and bashed, but still working......
Gave the bat operated tools a go, but simply didn't like 'em.

I recently bought a new truck. The thing is loaded with every possible electronic gimmick, app, screen, sensor, etc, the IT guys could dream up. None of it really helps the performance of the vehicle per se, but is THE selling feature on most new vehicles.
Screen size is the new "bragging" feature. Back in the day you'd be able to say my car has "xxx" more horsepower than yours, but these days it's my vehicle has a 12" screen and yours only 9".....

As above, I feel the rash of bat operated tools is just a sign of the times as they are blinged out to the max. so that one manufacturer can outbrag his competitor.

just my 2c off course....

For us working on boats in all kinds of positions, locations, etc, the speed and convenience of lithium battery tools is unbeatable. Mostly, it comes down to the range of tools available - and in that department, Milwaukee seems to be pretty hard to beat. Their lug crimper is phenomenal, and they have some really neat specialized rotary cutting tools.