Power Tools

Picasso3

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I would go ahead and get a 5 piece lithium ion kit, you'll eventually need it to rebuild your country after the immigrants roll through anyway. I have a ryobi and had no issues and they are the cheapest out there with an actual brand name.
 

Sludig

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Harbor freight had some items not worth the materials they are made of. However with a critical eye and some sense some products are great for your average gone owner. I got one of the corded (wouldn't trust their batteries) handheld circular saws and been cutting wood, pvc, joists, etc with no issues. Pretty good for like 45 for saw plus a blade.
 

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
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What's a good circular saw in the $150 range? Preferably one with an adjustable base to line up the blade.
 

Mures

Blackwing Lair Raider
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Battery completely died on the old trimmer so I went out and bought a kobalt 40v lithium one today. My old trimmer was only 16v so the difference in power is huge. Confident this thing would fit anyone's needs so long as you aren't on a farm or using it for commercial application.
 

Borzak

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I tried an electric, it was OK but really lacked power. The gas one nows are fantastic. Lot of places but a metal blade on it and do pre commercial thinning of trees now when they are 3-4" in diameter or less.

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Falstaff

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I would go ahead and get a 5 piece lithium ion kit, you'll eventually need it to rebuild your country after the immigrants roll through anyway. I have a ryobi and had no issues and they are the cheapest out there with an actual brand name.
I bought a five piece after I started this thread and was regretting that I used the flashlight more than anything else after 2 and a half years... Until I redid my basement and I used the shit out of everything more in that 2 week period than in the previous two and a half years.
 

Picasso3

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Yeah I think they all have it. I've had a worx saw for a while and used it to saw concrete a lot even and it's held together pretty well. Id guess for the average guy any major brand will be fine. There are track saws I thought you may have been talking about. If you're going to be cutting trim and A lot of angles a miter saw is the way to go...but it can be rough if you have limited room.
 

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
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Yeah, I was checking out miter saws, as this is mostly for trim and flooring cuts, but I'm in a townhouse with limited storage(no garage) and an already growing-out-of-control collection of tools and car stuff.
 

Picasso3

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They have small ones with like 7.25 inch blades that may be feasible and they're not very expensive. You may have to rip some of the flooring so you probably can't just get away with a miter but personally I'd ruin enough trim with the circ saw to pay for a miter pretty quick.
 

mkopec

<Gold Donor>
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What's a good circular saw in the $150 range? Preferably one with an adjustable base to line up the blade.
I like my porter Cable I got in the 90s. Still works like a champ. Not sure about their quality now, but back then they were highly regarded for power tools, routers and nail guns. also, a miter saw is like a must have for any homeowner. I cant see how anyone goes without one that does any type of do it yourself projects.
 

Intrinsic

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I posted in the Home Improvement thread about attempting to build a pantry / cabinet, trying to figure out the best way to approach the materials. We don't have a table saw or anything larger enough to cut up large sheets of wood, so I was thinking about getting Home Depot to make those large cuts for me, but then picking up something for the house to do the smaller stuff like the shelves or little things.

Would the saw Brutul posted a bit up work or would I be better off finding something like a table or bench saw. I really don't even know the difference in all this shit, I just want a project.
 

Picasso3

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Cabinet making is no joke and unless you're doing rustic deal or want to get into it as a hobby i'd just work on drawing up exactly what you want and handing it off to a local shop.
 

Intrinsic

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Don't misunderstand my goal though. I'm basically just looking to put together a bunch of plain rectangles in some form resembling a box with some shelves. Screw up a bunch along the way, make too many trips to the store, and spend money on tools I'll use once and then just keep buying from Ikea. But I enjoy that whole process and giving it a try. And since I'm not working I have nothing but time to kill and fingers to lose.

I would really like to get in to it though. It's the only activity that had ever appealed to me and I'm constantly running in to things around the house that we need for little spots that it's be amazing to just do it. I'd like to get back to being creative.
 

Picasso3

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You can certainly give it a go with a circ saw and it's good to have regardless but in fine carpentry miter and table saw are must haves, although a skilled circ saw user may be just as good as a $150 table saw.
 

Borzak

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Clamp a straight edge to the plywood and use the circular saw against it. Don't just follow the pencil line, you'll get a much better cut.
 

Soygen

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So I think I've settled on a miter and circular saw. What are the advantages of a sliding miter over a compound? There's a well reviewed Hitachi 10" but it doesn't slide.
 

Picasso3

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Length and depth of cut. Unless you have something specific in mind that you're going to cut a lot of (like 4x4) you'll be fine with a 10 inch. A sliding 7.25 (or nonsliding) may be good too (cheap blades). They are heavy and you'll likely be moving yours a lot to setup so you'll appreciate mobility. I have a $400 12 inch slider and a $200 10 inch slider and I've used the 10 inch way more because it's fucking brutal moving that 12 incher, if I ever end up short on a cut I just turn the board over and go from the other side.