I was all set to look for a cordless rotary sander / polisher for board work - due to tennis elbow giving me the sh!ts and using a sander so much in the workshop.... then realised they're bloody heavier. I wanted to reduce weight and have the convenience, but around 200-300g heavier and that weight closer to the handle than the sanding pad has put me off. Then run time of only 30min didn't exactly blow my skirt up. Just saved myself $900 ish. Yay. So firstly what an exorbitant cost for Li-Ion that has been in use in RC with $30 batt packs for a couple of decades now and they want $300 for a Milwaukee / Makita / DeWalt battery pack. Ouch.

Anyway, to the point - it made me realise I really need to replace my crap 12V cordless drill. It has no torque and lasts 5mins. I would have got a drill skin for free with the sander, but not now.

So maybe I'll buy one....

Don't need hammer. Won't drill steel etc, I have a real drill for such jobs. What is the cheapest worth having? (Its something used once a week and if I have to do concrete or steel the real drill comes out so that's why I say cheapest worth having. So replies like "Makita only" are not helpful).

Do I buy 18V - when so many are going 20 and 24V ....... don't want to be obsolete and can't get batteries in 2-5yrs time. I also wonder if 20 and 24V is a load of crap if tradies use 18V just fine...?

Thoughts?

Kobalt cordless drill driver are good for the price.a 5 cell 18 volt is all you want.dont forget going 6 cell only increases weight & price.

^^ I saw Kobalt pictured next to the big 3or 4 in a test on yoochoob (that I have not watched) so it must be up there...

If you want cheap battery tools buy a ryobi kit. Ideal for infrequent use. I use all Milwaukee, but just sent them a roasting on their fuel drill/ driver/hammer. Might have more power, but the rest of the new model modifications are ****. I didn't hold back on my review which has been forwarded to the US department. And I would advice against buying one. Battery tools really come into the element on the job site, no leads running across the roof and handy for quick little jobs in the back of the Ute. But when I'm at home, I have no issues running out a 240v lead for the grinder as the battery grinder make quick work of any battery. This goes for any tool, like a sander, that runs continuously.

^^ Yeah agreed. I just wanted to cut down on weight and it doesn't.... it bloody weighs more and in the wrong place for good CoG. So my Ozito crap with 2yr warranty and $120 fares pretty well against all the flash sh!t at $500 just for skin.
But drills..... no idea......

Ryobi jigsaw was the worst ever, a sh!t 'chuck' system makes it wander all over the place so I'm a bit off them, but TBH their full sized drill and angle grinder lasted me so will consider....

Hi Mary_australia, I hope you can find a good replacement for your 12 volt drill. That's so cute you have one of those.
In all seriousness, if you're working in a workshop and not on site use power tools. Set your cords up so they're overhead and everything is good.

Cheers, Hoops

The thing that should happen is for a single battery standard to be legislated.

It is even worse than mobile phones and EV vehicle chargers.

They all suck you in to being locked to their brand by having different battery shapes that only fit the single brand. Most of the brands even change them very few years so you have to start from scratch each time.

They tell you how great they are by having one battery many skins, but imagine if every power tool manufacturer had a different shaped plug on the end of the cord. Every time you move house you have to change all your white good because your new house only has Smeg shaped sockets and not Ryobi ones.

Pretty sure if somebody brought out cheap skins for somebody else's expensive batteries they would be on a good thing.

the only thing 12v is suitable for is a dildo, 18v works to fast and hard

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Tonz said..
the only thing 12v is suitable for is a dildo, 18v works to fast and hard

I disagree, I have both in the milwaukee range and in my daily tool bag I carry (Carry being the main word) the 12v drill and driver.

If I need something bigger I go to the car and get it, I have however stopped having any 240v tools in the car, if I know in advance I will bring them to work.

I can't even give away perfectly fine 240v gear.

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Mark _australia said..
200-300g

Thoughts?

I'm thinking it's surprising that nobody has giving you a razzing for complaining about 300g seriously though, I sympathize. Have you used one to see if weight's really an issue?

I've got a mixture of cordless and plug-in stuff. Dragging the electric cord around and not standing on it etc is a big PITA, but they're more grunty than the cordless. The corded Ryobi drill I have is over 20 years old :D

My old cordless crap has NiMH batteries. They've long since gone bad and wouldn't hold a proper charge -- apparently, they grow crystals inside or something and you can "refresh" them by zapping them with something like a car battery charger. Worked for a while... Then one died completely, so I went looking on Amazon. B&D wanted $80 for a new battery, but there was "unbranded" ones for $30. I got two, so one is on the charge while I'm using the other one.

So I've put off buying new cordless stuff too

The RC batteries I've got are LiPO, not Li-Ion. Such a huge jump in performance over the NiMH or NiCad batteries of yesteryear... much longer run time and power, makes nitro not worth the effort too. Well, maybe except for aircraft...

^^ Its for a sander and all that extra weight is at the handle end. If you have more weight, having it over the pad is where u want it. I don't need to try it to know..
I had tennis elbow - both of them at same time - this summer and then was in pain making boards, so I considered something lighter. When I realised a cordless is not lighter and even worse the balance is much worse, I said nup.
Its an all-day thing so it matters.

However, someone might be aware of another option.(No, not air for me)

Hoops is right, corded seems to be the go in a fixed workshop and I have a number of tools all plugged in at the same time in the shaping room.
Just trying to reduce weight. Looks like I can't.....?


BUT 240V drill makes no sense for the minor amount of drilling needed in making boards, so I'm still considering a cordless drill.
So far - 18v vs newer 20 or 24?? no idea.
And why do they give a poxy 1.5aH pack with a 'drill / driver' but a 5aH with a hammer? Seems like in Makita there is a $200 option and a $700 option with nothing in between, its crap.

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Carantoc said..


They all suck you in to being locked to their brand by having different battery shapes that only fit the single brand. Most of the brands even change them very few years so you have to start from scratch each time.

That is what turned me off years ago. I didn't want to be locked into a brand
And everyone had 12V then 14.4 and now 18.
Suddenly I'm seeing 20 and 24V ....... So yeah that's why I'm also asking if i spend big $$$ (for me) on a quality brand in 18V will I be buggered in a year or two...? So yeah Tonz real funny but in 3yrs time all those jokes will be made about 18....

Saw cheap clone batteries on amazon, maybe buy a Makita and get the $30 packs online and get a few....

I am a tightarse a d agree wiith ypu. Unless u run a business the cost is too high. Except for just a drill. I hsve a 18v blue makita available at bunnings Two batteries, fast charger. (I lie i bpught the brushless gromder but overrated and dont use that much) but use the drill everywhere. Good size. Hardy. 18v does just about everything. Old man has lots of 18v ryobi stuff. Theyre ok. The drill not as good and the charger a bit ordinary. I like the bunnings factor also with no question replacement. But yeah 18v drill is pretty essential not just for drillimg but driving.

I am a tightarse a d agree wiith ypu. Unless u run a business the cost is too high. Except for just a drill. I hsve a 18v blue makita available at bunnings Two batteries, fast charger. (I lie i bpught the brushless gromder but overrated and dont use that much) but use the drill everywhere. Good size. Hardy. 18v does just about everything. Old man has lots of 18v ryobi stuff. Theyre ok. The drill not as good and the charger a bit ordinary. I like the bunnings factor also with no question replacement. But yeah 18v drill is pretty essential not just for drillimg but driving.

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Tonz said..
the only thing 12v is suitable for is a dildo, 18v works to fast and hard

And you know this how??

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Subsonic said..

Tonz said..
the only thing 12v is suitable for is a dildo, 18v works to fast and hard

And you know this how??

so Ive been told

I think so called 20v tools are the same as what other companies call 18v tools. They are probably still 5 cell LioN , just one is stating nominal charge and the othet is stating maximum charge.

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Mark _australia said..
^^ Its for a sander and all that extra weight is at the handle end. If you have more weight, having it over the pad is where u want it. I don't need to try it to know..
I had tennis elbow - both of them at same time - this summer and then was in pain making boards, so I considered something lighter. When I realised a cordless is not lighter and even worse the balance is much worse, I said nup.
Its an all-day thing so it matters.

However, someone might be aware of another option.(No, not air for me)

Hoops is right, corded seems to be the go in a fixed workshop and I have a number of tools all plugged in at the same time in the shaping room.
Just trying to reduce weight. Looks like I can't.....?


BUT 240V drill makes no sense for the minor amount of drilling needed in making boards, so I'm still considering a cordless drill.
So far - 18v vs newer 20 or 24?? no idea.
And why do they give a poxy 1.5aH pack with a 'drill / driver' but a 5aH with a hammer? Seems like in Makita there is a $200 option and a $700 option with nothing in between, its crap.

I have the Ryobi cordless sander, the battery sits over the top of the sander. It works ok, but it is not a paticularly ergonomic handle. I wouldn't use it for working all the time, but it does the job for my use, occasional furniture work or ding repair.

I use the eleccy lawnmower so having a few other skins to use the same battery works for me.

I didnt know they still made tools with cords on them anymore, rare to see them on job sites these days.
I bet he still has a cord on his telephone machine as well

Sorry chem man, by sander I mean the rotary sander/polisher that's like a variable speed angle grinder. So the battery is at the handle end on all of them. Orbitals are no good, wayyyy too slow
I've given up on this idea of a sander as its 30min run time, poor balance, heavier and literally 5x the price of the corded ones that last me 2 or 3 years of daily use....

I reckon I will go makita drill, so if my trim router dies I can just grab a skin (kinda need makita for compatibility with surf insert install kits) as I'll already have the batteries etc.

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Mark _australia said..
^^ Its for a sander and all that extra weight is at the handle end. If you have more weight, having it over the pad is where u want it. I don't need to try it to know..
I had tennis elbow - both of them at same time - this summer and then was in pain making boards, so I considered something lighter. When I realised a cordless is not lighter and even worse the balance is much worse, I said nup.
Its an all-day thing so it matters.

However, someone might be aware of another option.(No, not air for me)

Hoops is right, corded seems to be the go in a fixed workshop and I have a number of tools all plugged in at the same time in the shaping room.
Just trying to reduce weight. Looks like I can't.....?


BUT 240V drill makes no sense for the minor amount of drilling needed in making boards, so I'm still considering a cordless drill.
So far - 18v vs newer 20 or 24?? no idea.
And why do they give a poxy 1.5aH pack with a 'drill / driver' but a 5aH with a hammer? Seems like in Makita there is a $200 option and a $700 option with nothing in between, its crap.

I'll take your word for it. I'd still want to try it, I've been surprised about things I thought would obviously be no good...

When I looked at cordless, more volts was better. Here you are lazy bones: toolsowner.com/higher-voltage-better-for-cordless-tools

So get the smallest lightest drill you can. Could you get by with a glorified cordless screwdriver? I used one making something for the kids, low rpm but did the job. Had the open chuck though so the bit kept falling out...

Cough up and buy a decent variable speed sander/polisher with a cord on it. It will cost you about half what a battery one will.
People have been sanding surfboards like this for the last 60 years or so, I can't imagine you'll have a problem with it.

I have.
I have two.

The point was bad tennis elbows from sailing made me want lighter tools. Was surprised they're heavier.

Ryobi? For me that is top shelf stuff Let alone Makita.

I have been using the Bunnings Ozito 18v stuff for ages now, and its much better than expected. I had some Hitachi/Hikoki drills and impact drivers, but they were expensive, and the Ozitos are much cheaper and just (almost?) as good.

I have a couple of small circular saw skins for the Ozito stuff and they work fine, but I used a Makita saw at the local hardware store, and it was streets ahead. Not enough for me to pay for it though. If I used it day in day out, I would, but not for infrequent use.

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Mark _australia said..
And why do they give a poxy 1.5aH pack with a 'drill / driver' but a 5aH with a hammer? Seems like in Makita there is a $200 option and a $700 option with nothing in between, its crap.

That one's easy. They sucker you into the tool with a low spec battery and know you will have to buy the higher spec ones.

Use the low spec bateries for the torch skins or similar.

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Mark _australia said..
I have.
I have two.

The point was bad tennis elbows from sailing made me want lighter tools. Was surprised they're heavier.

At 25 I had to buy an automatic because my knees were no longer fit to operate a clutch. One of the boys convinced me not to let the knife doctor in; great call. I took a year off and all improved but it was only when I improved my diet that healing became magically quick.
Now at 43 I can outperform every dad at the school, and every kid.

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lotofwind said..
I didnt know they still made tools with cords on them anymore, rare to see them on job sites these days.
I bet he still has a cord on his telephone machine as well

You completely missed the point. We're not talking about job sites at all.

Hoops just click on ignore like most others here have done. Its refreshing to have the site just edit out a Lotocrap for you. Pathetic little stalker he is. How appropriate he showed up in a thread about tools.

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Mr Hooper said..

lotofwind said..
I didnt know they still made tools with cords on them anymore, rare to see them on job sites these days.
I bet he still has a cord on his telephone machine as well

You completely missed the point. We're not talking about job sites at all.

I think you missed the point lol
The topic heading was "sell me on cordless tools"
If all the actual tradies changed over years ago, well,,,,,,,,, sold.
But 200 to 300grams heavier is too much weight. The weight of a cord dangling and dragging would be that. lol

Wants the cheapest he can.......... is not after tradie style tools but home handyman/hobby stuff so why not stick to the Kmart/Bunnings Ozito, Ryobi cheapies that he already uses, dosent need tradie quality/reliability.
Spend a bit and get quality gear though and he wouldnt buy the cheap crap ever again.

^^^You sound like an office boy.

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Mr Hooper said..
You completely missed the point. We're not talking about job sites at all.

Wouldn't be Seabreeze without loto completely missing the point, then doubling down on it and insisting you're wrong, he's not.