I just cut through a 6x6 pressure treated beam with my Ryobi brushless circular saw. Didn’t even bother to upgrade to a diablo blade. And it worked great!

I made six more similar cuts. No problem.

If I was doing this every day, would I upgrade to Milwaukee? Probably. (More than likely buy a corded saw.) But for weekend home improvement projects, don’t doubt the power!

  • Admiral Patrick@dubvee.org
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    1 year ago

    Same for Harbor Freight. Great tools for light duty use, but if you’re doing big jobs frequently, spring for something better.

    I’ve had a HF drill since 2005 and it only recently died. It can probably be fixed since it seems the trigger just wore out, but I got 18 years of use from it for like $15.

    • towerful@programming.dev
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      1 year ago

      There are 2 schools of thought, and both are situationally relevant.

      Buy the 2nd last tool you will ever need.
      IE, buy light duty. If it breaks and you’ve been using it a lot, you will likely know what features you want, how much to spend etc on the replacement. At which point you buy a more suitable tool.

      Buy once, cry once.
      If you are spending $200 on a tool, and the $300 is better, maybe just buy the $300 one.
      Certainly more applicable to when you already use similar tools, and you need another.

      • Overexert1126@lemmy.fmhy.mlOP
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        1 year ago

        That’s another reason I like the Ryobi lineup. I started out with one of their basic drill combos.

        But as I pickup bigger and bigger projects, I can upgrade to their Brushless and HP models, still using the same battery.

      • phario
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        1 year ago

        I bought early into the Dewalt system based on people saying Buy Once Cry Once. But the problem is that it locks you into the ecosystem and batteries. Then even if I want a relatively light-duty cordless tool, I’m sort of forced to always go to Dewalt.

        If you’re relatively new to DIY work and similar, I do recommend the first philosophy.

    • el_cordoba@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I am in the same boat. I’ve bought a few of their tools and they are great for my purposes. I have a miter saw and a table saw of theirs. Both are probably junk compared to more expensive tools, but I use them 2-4 times a year. It doesn’t make sense for me to get the more expensive stuff.

      That said, if I start doing more I’ll probably ditch them in a heart beat. 😆