Other To cord or not to cord, that is the jigsaw.*Einhell anyone?*

Tbh, i always buy corded tools where possible. Buying a battery powered one introduces a shelf-life and possibility of more complications.

 

I have numerous cordless and corded tools, all have their place imo.

I have a Makita Drill, Driver, circular saw, angle grinder, sander and strimmer all of which are cordless with a variety of 4,5 and 6ah batteries.
My Triton routers are both corded although I'm looking at getting one of the cordless Makitas for those times when I don't need the bigger ones. Belt sanders and planers both Triton again are corded as is my Mafell track saw. Really my corded tools are the ones that very rarely leave the garage and are all within easy reach of plug sockets and the dust extractor. I would love to get myself a cordless track saw, at the time I bought mine there were no cordless models and I can't justify the outlay to replace something that is perfectly fine.

I like the fact that I can just grab the cordless tools without having to worry about plug sockets and cables, but tbh get the biggest batteries you can and a charger that can charge more than one battery at a time. There's nothing worse than having to wait for the battery to charge in the middle of a project.

 

I'm 18V Makita LXT-d up to the gunnels. All of it brushless, all of it brilliant in my view. I bought an LXT angle grinder, and it goes for ages on a 5Ah battery. I'm so keen, I got a mower, strimmer, and hedge trimmer which all take two batteries.

In summary, I'd go cordless, it's more versatile.

Paging @Mister_Tad ?

 

Conversely, I go cordless whenever possible/practical for any handheld tool. Apart from the obvious limitation of use between charges (and tbh with DIY work it's never going to be an issue), I've noted zero degradation of my batteries (makita 18v LXT) over several years, and I'm not sure what "possibility of more complications" means...

For a jigsaw - cordless, no contest. The last thing you want is a cord hanging up when you're trying to do something that involves any element of precision/consistency.

I have a Makita DJV182 and use it most often with a 1.5ah battery. I have larger batteries at my disposal, however the 1.5 is smaller and lighter than the rest, and lasts plenty long for DIY jobs. A brushed model may not last quite last quite as long though, and demand more capacity for use between charges.

I have a corded angle grinder. It was uber cheap so I thought why not, but now regret not getting a cordless to start with, because now I feel like I shouldn't replace it because it works fine, but it's a pain being tethered.

 

Corded.
All of my tools are kept out in the garage, all are ready to go now, right now, no thinking, no charging, no worrying if the batteries have lost charge due to being cold.
If I have a job to do it's very rarely planned so I prefer to not have any worries and be able to go at the drop of a hat.
Also not having to keep masses of batteries is also a factor for us, as me, the wife and daughter can all be out using one bit of kit or another of a weekend

 

Cordless, I went with Ryobi ones, not quite up there performance wise but they have been using the same battery shape for years and have confirmed they have no plans to change it they will just keep bringing out new kit thus far I have the below from their cordless range

Drill
Impact driver
Detail sander
Larger sander thats not a detail sander
Jigsaw
Lawnmower
Strimmer
Leaf Blower
Fan
Circular saw


I have four batterys mainly came with the units. They stay in doors an I have a fast charger mounted inside a door on a cabinet. The largest capacity one I have is a 4Ah Lithum which has a little check button on it. then I have two older style 1.2Ah ones and a newer 1Ah Lithium.
Not really had issues with flat batteries as I can charge the smaller one up quickly an use that till the larger ones ready.

With the 4Ah I can mow my law, strim the edges an still have enough left for a little leaf blower action if I fancy it. Plus the mower is very very quiet in use.

 

Cordless (Makita) for most, but I have a corded rotary hammer because "hammer drills" are hot garbage in every way, shape and form for drilling brick/concrete. It goes through concrete as if it were cheese.

 

I have a DHR242 and that blitzes concrete/brick just as well as any corded I've used, and there's always the DHR264 for added grr, or DHR400 if you're clinically insane. Worth a look if you ever want to cut the cord.

All of my tools are out in the garage, all are ready to go now, right now, no thinking, no charging, no worrying if the batteries have lost charge due to being cold. Your experience of battery powered tools sounds like it comes from the NiMH days based on this. These are not issues with Li-Ion tools.

 

I have the DHR242, and I've used it extensively; it's a remarkable piece of kit! I briefly flirted with a 36V SDS, but then saw sense. The only time the 242 ran out of puff was through a big old granite farmhouse wall, with an almost 1m drill bit in it. I had to borrow a real monster for that, and it's the only time I wish I'd bought the DHR400

 

Good point, well made, although cold does affect Li_ion & Li-Po, but maybe not to the same extent as NiMH.
But aside from a couple of cordless drills which I do have, it's very unlikely that I'll go cordless as I expect my corded tools to last me a very long time yet

 

And you're clinically insane, case in point

I've picked up tools after they've sat unused for months in a cold garage with no lack of chooch.

But you're quite right, swapping out a tool is a different case to getting one to start with. Much like the corded angle grinder that I wish I had in cordless but can't bring myself to replace just to cut the cord.

 

Mafell here. Legendary performance. Corded.

It's a thing of beauty. Cordless would be nice. But still need extraction to work well, so always tethered.

I wouldn't be without my cordless 10.8v set of driver/impact.

 

And there rests the case for the defence, m'lud.

 

I know a professional Makita user. The only corded tool they reach for on a regular basis is the SDS drill.

For my light DIY, household/garden and hobbyist use I have a few Ryobi cordless tools (18V One+ system) and and I'm really happy with them.

 

Another recommendation for Makita 18v cordless. I got the an SDS, Hammer Drill / Impact set, 36v circular, jigsaw and LED lamp

Great bits of kit and customer service has been amazing

 

I use mostly cordless, only corded tools I have are my hammer drill, my jigsaw (which will be replaced asap) and my compound sliding mitre saw (prefer mains for that as its not something I'd be moving around alot).

Even my hot glue gun is cordless, well gas powered anyways .

I buy the Lidl stuff which has done me well so far, occasional DIY and making guinea pig hutches and runs and they cope very well, a charge last ages on the stuff I have

If I could afford it I would buy the likes of Dewalt and Makita as they are the best but a little overkill for occasional usage.

 

Have einhell jigsaw and brushless drill:
Jigsaw - for occasional or in the middle of nowhere use its brilliant, for professional or semi-professional use its passable - the batteries drain quite fast (with bundles 2Ah battery it managed to cut ~4m of 3cm thick pinewood, now have a 4Ah battery, haven't had time to torture test it), also 2Ah battery got quite hot, so cant really go straight to charging if you drain it in one go.
Drill - its a drill, it does its job, haven't abused it, so cant estimate how long it will last, on the other hand I previously used (and still have) cheap 14.4V skill "upgraded" to use 4S RC lipos - been abusing it for 10 years and it still works
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