Circular and jigsaw recommendations

[skyebear]

I've recently been taking on more DIY jobs myself and as such looking to add some sawing tools. Over the last few years I've mainly bought Ryobi as they seemed to be ideal for the casual DIYer from a cost vs performance POV.

Currently I've got drill, impact, sanders, light, plus a few batteries. Ryobi seem to be creeping up in price and some of their saws are in the ballpark of more trade-level brands like DeWalt. This, as well as recently becoming aware of battery adapters, has got me looking at other brands.

I'll likely be fitting new internal as well as wood flooring shortly so what power tools and makes should I be looking at?

Thank you.

[5 In a Row]

A compound mitre saw would probably be helpful for the flooring task.

[Sway]

All the big brands do 'great' tools, but some also do 'decent' tools with the badge inflating the price.

I'd certainly recommend anything from dewalt/makita/bosch/milwaukee that's brushless. They've all got extensive catalogues too.

Personally, I've a mix now. Started out with dewalt, and expanded through bare tools and the occasional deal on a kit to add more batteries/chargers.

Now, I'm starting to add milwaukee m12 tools, as they have some that are very impressive punch for size/weight/cost.

Pick your poison/favourite colour, you'll not go far wrong.

Tools wise, difficult to really say! I think the following should probably be 'on the list' - where will vary depending on what you're doing.

Drill/driver (I like having separate, and they're often a 'gateway kit' with batteries and charger so you get good deals.

Circular/plunge saw (something for cutting long straight lines in timber - corded is fine for this)

Jigsaw (tbh, I've got a cheap black and decker corded that did just fine for years and years)

Multitool

Sander (consider corded - you're always going to want to run this with dust extraction)

Palm router

Mitre saw.

[megaphone]

I'd stick with Ryobi. Best to commit to a battery/brand, then you can just buy 'bare' tools and use the same batteries. The battery adaptors are ok but not ideal.

Edited by megaphone on Friday 9th October 13:17

[skyebear]

Thanks for the suggestions, particularly the compound mitre. Will save a lot of faff compared with a handheld one.

I'm not too bothered about adding another manufacturer and battery as I've found Ryobi performance patchy in some areas. Their hedge trimmer for example. Not invested anymore in their garden range and have bought Stihl instead.

[shtu]

For rarely-used DIY grade tools, you can do worse than the LIDL and ALDI stuff.

Usually stupidly cheap with a 3-year warranty. OK, spares support is very limited, but for the sort of use the average DIYer puts them to, not to be ignored. I have a circular saw from one of them, and the only thing I would consider poor about it is the mains cable is a stiff plastic type, and it didn't come with a hard case. I could put up with that at 1/3rd the price of a more major brand.

Of course, if you want one -today- you're stuffed thanks to the intermittent stocking in stores.

[Russet Grange]

One comment I would make is that whatever you buy of a cordless variety, if there is a brushless version for around 15-20% more, choose that one.

[ARH]

I find you don't really need the convenience of battery for sawing jobs as they tend to be done on benches or similar rather than in place like drilling holes.

Although battery tools have come on so much over the years, being able to plug something in every 3 years to cut a bit of wood is far better than hoping the battery will still be OK after 3 years of no use. That being said if they use the battery that you use often it may not be quite so much of an issue.

Oh, and mains does not tend to run out half way through a cut, depending on what you cut

[OutInTheShed]

I fitted an oak plank floor a few years back.
I found it best to use a manual mitre saw.
Clean, precise cuts.
Being an amateur, the time spent actually sawing was a pretty small fraction of the job.

Priority for the tool spend might be on measuring tools, bench and clamps maybe?
I did buy a nice long level and a big framing square.

[craigthecoupe]

I used to have Makita kit which was very nice, and I was very happy with. After moving abroad, and my budget being almost zero, I had to stat again, I initially bought a Lidl drill as they're a tool most used by diy'ers. then a mouse sander popped up, then a impact driver and so on. all my kit is Lidl now, and though I aspire for better, It really has been excellent for what it has done at the price point. The absolute bang for buck is the track saw. Great out of the box, but with a new higher end blade, its perfect. I would personally go for corded kit if its for home use, and if you go for a mitre saw, accuracy trumps everything. A slightly off casting will forever return disappointing cuts

[LooneyTunes]

skyebear said:

Thanks for the suggestions, particularly the compound mitre. Will save a lot of faff compared with a handheld one.

A proper stand is well worth the investment for them too: they have supports that hold the length of timber at the correct height, increasing accuracy.

[Lotobear]

I've recently found Erbauer hard to beat on price to quality

[5 In a Row]

Lotobear said:

I've recently found Erbauer hard to beat on price to quality

All my kit is Erbauer and so far has been perfectly good.

I've got a couple of fold out workbenches, they're much more convenient than workmates I find.
Similar to this.
https://www.diy.com/departments/magnusson-black-or...

Slide clamps would be a good tool as well.


And a garden shed to keep all the newly acquired kit

[Lotobear]

I bought my Dewalt compound sliding saw 18 years ago and without question it's the best £300 I ever spent - it's actually an Elu, who Dewalt took over and continued the model for a while under the Dewalt brand.

But buying the stand a few years was a game changer - makes cutting long planks and skirtings an absolute breeze.

The saw is still as accurate as the day it was bought.

[J6542]

You will need a multi tool if you’re not planning on removing the architrave around your doors when laying the floor. And then a mitre saw, decent hand saw and coping saw for cutting the flooring and new skirting if there is any. For power tools that are not going to be used regularly then save some money and go corded. A decent quality mitre saw like the one shown above, will last a lifetime of occasional use.