Have you ever bought a corded carpentry tool to save money over a battery-powered one and regretted it?

[Dennis S]

Specifically, a 7 1/4" circular saw, but also a drill and jig saw.

[Acer]

I stubbornly fought with a corded drill for years, but man do I love my cordless now. But that's a tool you use frequently for little jobs everywhere. Circular saws and jig saws are more for special situations, unless you have an ongoing hobby or long-term project.

[Dennis S]

Yeah, a cordless drill would be worth some extra money. I can't forsee using a circular saw except on the carport.

[John B.]

Drills, absolutely (although a corded drill comes in handy from time to time). And it amazes me how long my Milwaukee impact driver will run on a single battery. Circular saws not so much...the cordless Ryobi circular saw that came as part of an older kit is worthless for anything more than crosscutting a 2x4.

[davemchine]

I use my cordless drill 8/10 of the time but for that 2/10 I still need the more powerful corded version. Right tool for the right job.

[Michael]

John B. wrote:
Drills, absolutely (although a corded drill comes in handy from time to time). And it amazes me how long my Milwaukee impact driver will run on a single battery. Circular saws not so much...the cordless Ryobi circular saw that came as part of an older kit is worthless for anything more than crosscutting a 2x4.

I got a 4.5" (maybe...) Ryobi circular saw in a kit and it was absolutely great for cutting out rotting fascia-standing on a ladder and cutting over my head, holding shingles up a bit and cutting at a right angle. We have 6 outside corners on our roof and all of them had rotted fascia because of leaking gutters*. Used it that one time and it was absolutely worth the price of admission. I've never tried using it for anything else because the corded 7-1/4" works so well in other circumstances.

*After I fixed them and sealed the gutters again, I slipped 2" wide pieces of white aluminum flashing around each corner and under the gutter and ending about 1/8" lower than the fascia. The gutters have leaked since but none of the fascia has rotted over many years because of those little pieces of flashing!

[Buzz]

18v, and above, cordless drills are plenty torquey. Very handy.
Cordless cutting tools are a lot more iffy, especially as the material size increases.
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[anonymouse1]

If you have an outdoor outlet, you don't need a battery powered circular saw for home/hobby work. YMMV

[mattkime]

battery powered circular saws are useless unless they're the only way to get the job done.

The battery on my dewalt drill has never died. I don't know what you'd be doing with it to kill the battery.

[davester]

Saving money is never the issue. Many jobs require the power and long run time of a corded tool, whereas other jobs demand portability. Want to drill a 2’ long large diameter hole through a beam?...you need corded. Also, when working near a power outlet the simplicity of a corded tool and not having to charge and carry multiple batteries wins every time. Different jobs, different tools.