We are finally moving to our new home soon and will require a few DIY. I have no idea with power tools but I am keen to try my hands on some DIY.
I have about $500 budget for tools and I am looking at getting an impact drill/driver and maybe a circular saw. Is it worth it to buy brushless tool to use for DIYs? And Ryobi doesn't seem to go on sale very often. Any other brand that are good enough fro DIY but won't break the bank?
Cheers!
I'm looking at buying a set of tools. I reckon I will be doing a fair few DIY works for couple of months.
I would go with Ozito (as comment from TheBean below) and build up to higher specced tools over time, as you need them.
There's usually not much price advantage to buying in a set, and they may be packed with accessories you don't need or tiny batteries. You're putting the cart before the horse. As others have mentioned below, many household jobs can be managed with hand tools and a power drill. If that's enough for you too, then you might not need that impact driver skin. Or have a DIY idea in mind before buying that circular saw.
When promotional sets are on clearance at bunnings they are great value for money. So the statement of sets don't have price advantage is only accurate for when buying RRP.
As for what to get, I have to agree with what others have said; start off with what you need and build your set from there. If you end up breaking the "bargain" tool then go and buy a better one. No point dropping $500 on a makita kit that only has Drill Drive, Impact Drive and 2x batteries. These tools are great and will last you a long time BUT that $500 is much better spend on variety IMO.
If you stick ozito you can start with a basic kit and then build your range. If you find there is a tool you use a lot then get the brushless range at a premium.
Keep in mind Ozito Power X Change range is really rebadge of Einhell Power X Change range, so it is very different to the old cheap and nasty ozito black kits.
All you'd need to start off with is a basic set of hand tools (screwdriver, pliers, side cutters, hammer), measuring tape and a hammer drill. No point buying other tools if you're not even sure you'll use them. If you find yourself using a certain hand tool a lot, get a power tool for it.
Agree that a hammer drill is one of the first things you should get. Have stuck with my old Bosch corded one for close to 20 years now. Get a good one coz you're more likely to use that house to house.
To be honest, if you're going to DIY small jobs and hardly use them, just get the Ozito range. I'm sure people have had their issues but for most, myself included, Ozito stuff is good enough. I have a mix of both, corded stuff I use every now and then is Ozito. Stuff that gets used a lot more are better brands like a Dremel tool. Rest of my tools are Ryobi coz i got stuck in the 18V range and just don't want to have different batteries all over the place, so that's the other thing to consider. (drills, saws, whipper snipper, blower, etc.)
If i could afford to get all brushless stuff I would, there is a difference.
I'd probably gumtree/marketplace a bunch of stuff to save $.
Have fun!
As above get the Ozito stuff from Bunnings.
What jobs do you think you will be doing? Do you really need an impact driver or can you get away with a drill driver in the beginning? Do you actually need a circular saw? I tend to use my mitre saw more than my circular saw. It's usually good to start a couple of projects and then you'll quickly realise what tools you need to make the job easier.
I am planning to build a decking on the backyard. Around 30m2 area.
For a deck that size Check if you needs approvals in place.. for example, to roof a deck that size the max in my council is 25m2. Then a few k to get the approvals if you go bigger.
IMO, stick to the same ecosystem (ie. Ozito Power X Change, ALDI Xfinity, Ryobi, Makita, Bosch etc) as batteries are usually interchangeable and lower ongoing cost if you want to keep adding power tools.
Personally, I would recommend the Ozito Power X Change Ecosystem. They are regularly on special (Bunnings likes to price-match ALDI Special Buys).
PS: ALDI has their Xfinity 5 Piece Tool Set on Sale soon, which means Bunnings will most likely match the price with a similar Ozito Power X Change Set.
And Ryobi doesn't seem to go on sale very often
That cause Bunnings is basically the only distributors of Ryobi Power Tools in Australia (so no competition/sales).
Start off with a drill/driver and a decent set of hand tools (hammer/pliers/screwdrivers etc) and buy more power tools as you need them.
IMO there's no point going out and spending hundreds of dollars on a power tool collection without a use for them.
Once you start a few DIY projects you'll have a better idea of what tools you need and it ensures you'll be buying tools that you'll actually use.
Ozito
Because unlike Aldi the tools are always available and whenever Aldi has a sale they are price matched so you can get them super cheap. Plus Bunnings has never had a problem grabbing a new one of the shelf and swapping it out for a faulty one under warranty on the spot which allows you to keep working on whatever job you're doing that day. Aldi doesn't always have their tools in stock so this isn't always possible.
I have had one aldi power tool purchase (a pressure washer actually) and the after sale support was nonexistent. I had to trash it because I could not get a spare hose. No ALDI tools for me ever again. Bunnings will look after your forever.
Septembers not too far away…Fathers day often has specials for tools
My situation is pretty similar haha
I decided to go with Toolpro from Supercheap auto. they are pretty decent for the price
Buy in a kit.
Buying a $300 kit and using the $200 to buy skins separately will get you a lot less than spending $500 on a kit.
Choose the platform (brand and voltage) you think will have all the tools you need. Nothing worse than having to switch platforms because the one you are using just doesn't have the goods you need.
(I switched from Ryobi (brushed) to Milwaukee M18 after half my tools have burnt motor/clutch/jammed chuck. Not a tradie but very much DIYer. Recently got some M12 and actually really like it.)
Your best bang for buck would be Bosch Blue tools. They are trade quality and still trying to crack the market so they are priced well.
There were a lot of cheap combo kits at the end of the financial year and were great value. I saw one today at Bunnings in Narrie Warren VIC for $399 (three tool combo).
Yeah I like them
Remember to check the torque/power ratings, there can be massive differences.
Ryobi - Unfortunatly they are a Bunnings Exclusive, hence why don't always have gear on sale, though I have picked up a few. I have nearly 20 18/36V items, with only 1 product failure. I suspect it had more to do with using a basic blade to cut through laminex. As the equivalent item 165cm was no longer available, I was upgraded to the 184CM at no extra charge. The 5V batteries, provide more grunt than the lower capacity ones.
I've used Ozito a few times, and they just don't seem to be as good as the Ryobi. Usually, this is when a friend asks me to do something, and all they have is an Ozito product.
Impact Driver from Ryobi is a must, especially with Sutton Drill bits.
Agree. I also have a bunch of ryobi gear. Using it back to back with Ozito, Aldi and Makita I can say that the extra for Ryobi would be worth it. I’ve given it a pretty hard time for a significant renovation and not had any problems with the tools. I have 2 batteries over 8yo that are no longer holding charge.
Unless Ozito have lifted their game in the last couple of years the Ryobi has more torque which made it more usable.
Makita has more power again, but might not be worth the extra coin for DIY projects.
if you're not using them much, buy corded tools, as the batteries will be dead in 5 years. Battery tools are much more convenient but just aren't worth it if you don't use them much.
I agree with what many others have said, don't try to guess what you need, buy what you need when you need it.
In terms of what I find useful at my house
I wouldn't buy a set, they always seem to come with an impact driver, a drill, and a torch. You don't really need an impact driver + a drill, and the torch is pretty useless
I would buy the drill and multitool first, then buy anything else only when you need it.
While I agree in principle with corded being better if you don’t use it much, there are so many cordless skins available now that you can keep the batteries in use easily. Eg get a cordless drill, but add a line trimmer or blower so you use it in the garden regularly.
Lithium batteries are pretty good and can cope with sitting around a bit and top-up charging isn’t as bad as for the old nicad batteries.
Cords get in the way. battery tools are almost as good as corded, but more convenient. I haven’t used my corded drill or grinder in a couple of years and bought a second cordless grinder so I can have one for cutting and one for grinding.
I've had my corded drill for 10 years, and i hope to get another 20 years out of it - I can't imagine any battery lasting that long without needing an expensive replacement. Sure, if you have a lot of products that uses the battery it may be worth it for you, but most people don't. You are buying battery tools for at best 10 years before the manufacturer decides to stop supporting those batteries and makes everyone upgrade to a new generation of tools.
Cords do get in the way :(
if you want to spend a little more for a quality kit this looks like a great deal. Makita
https://www.cltoolcentre.com.au/makita-dlx6035-18v-3-0ah-li-…
Im doing a reno and find all these tools useful. I have the green bosch version but these are bloody good value for makita :)
For DIY, brushless is not worth the extra dollars - except maybe if you are buying Ozito. In which case, you may be better to stump up for a better brand.
Wouldn't you just buy the tools that you need for the specific jobs you need to do?
Or are you looking at buying a set of tools?