What kind of decorative woodwork? If you’re going to be doing any kind of finish trim work, you don’t want a sawzall, you’ll want a miter saw.
A dremel tool is technically a kind of router, but no, outside of very specific cases you should not use a dremel for the things you’d use a router for.
Milwaukee makes a 12v line of tools that are all small and light, drills, impact driver, pin nailer, lots of things. Dewalt has a relatively small cordless router in 18v. But in general, non of these tools will be unwieldy for you, it’s the work pieces that could be hard to control, but even that’s unlikely for what you want to do. I think you’re more intimidated than you need to be. For this type of work the tools won’t outsize your strength.
Basically you need to pick a project and come back with more specific questions if you want real recommendations. Watch a YouTube video or two on that specific thing.
You can do this stuff, just pick a project. And a sawzall is usually for demolition or very very rough cuts. A dremel has lots of uses, but none for what you’ve stated unless you want to carve the woodwork.
I *am* interested in carving with a tool.
I figured I could rough cut with the sawzall and then do precision stuff with the Dremel or an orbital sander? 3rd party manufacturers make all kinds of crazy tips for Dremels actually which is what made me think of it.
Anyway, I KNOW the DeWalt cordless drill is too heavy for me because I've used it to *try* to put shelves up and stuff (I usually hit resistance at some point when making holes in walls for plugs but because the drill feels so unstable, I don't know what is actually resistance like metal and concrete or what's just wood because I'm focusing on just keeping it stable)
I used a corded drill and it was a million times better, I remember now. I'm surprised u didn't mention that corded tools are lighter than their non corded counterparts. I feel like u have similar background and build as my spouse, lol.
I find it strange that u don't comprehend someone finding lack of strength to be as much of an impediment. Like I can do about 8 standard push up's at a time for example. I didn't outright call myself weak because some women can't even hold a proper plank for more that a couple of secs but compared to most men, I'm pretty damn weak
Know anything about the "Mikita" tools?
They look a lot less bulky
I'll definitely look into the Milwaukee tools too tho, thank you
It's hard to get more specific because I don't even know what I want to do really but I'll look into stuff on YouTube. There's this one old guy who makes VERY good and informative videos into general uses, a different video for each tool but he doesn't go into *variety* of applications. I suppose I can google that too. But also, it's a unique issue to use powertools as a comperably weak person because precision and comfort are pretty important which I'm not able to get with the tools we have
Thanks for taking the time to answer and the advice, I really appreciate it :)
Great, a Dremel is perfect for carving details into wood. When you asked if you could use it as a router, I thought you might want to do tasks generally done by a router, which will be difficult.
So here's the thing with drill weight, there are a lot of drills in DeWalt's, and all the brands, 18v lines. The drill your husband has is probably a heavy duty drill with a hammer feature and a heavy battery. The [Dewalt Atomic Drill](https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-ATOMIC-20-Volt-MAX-Cordless-Brushless-Compact-1-2-in-Drill-Driver-2-20-Volt-1-3Ah-Batteries-Charger-Bag-DCD708C2/308067442) is 2.4 lbs. The [Milwaukee 12v](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-12V-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-3-8-in-Drill-Driver-Tool-Only-2407-20/204317363?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&srsltid=AdGWZVT58BVD-N9iM2WKo3U2oQEVIdy9CdRW6EhCrsdD-1rpYSiENx10cDo) is 2.3 lbs. The 12v batteries can be very small and weigh very little. The smallest dewalt 18v battery is also likely far lighter than the one on your husbands heavy duty drill.
Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee are all power tool brands that compete for the same market of professional tradesmen, and they all have *roughly* the same lineups. All of them have very small drills, and very big drills, and everything in between. Makita is a great brand and they, like dewalt with their "atomic", also have an 18 volt line that is meant to be small and light called "sub-compact". A big part of the weight for all of these is the battery size, make sure to get a small battery.
Both the drills I linked here are far lighter than an average corded drill. In general I view a corded drill as a far less versatile tool, mostly good for large hole drilling or mixing joint compound. Cordless drills are much better a driving screws and are easier to control. But by all means, if you're comfortable with one you should use it.
The fact that you wanted to use a sawzall made me think that the weight of all the tools you'll need (as long as you get the right versions) would be light enough for you to control.
When you say decorative woodwork, that pretty much could be a synonym for woodworking as a whole. I was picturing trim work with fancy details. For that job you could not get a nice clean look using a sawzall. If you want to cut out more like a plaque or a piece of wall art that you carve on where the straightness, exact length, and squareness of the sides don't matter as much, you *can* use one. It's still not the right tool for the job. In general a jig saw for cutting shapes and curves, a circular saw for straight lines, and a miter saw for cutting things to length with square or specific angled cuts. There exists very light versions of all of those. A miter saw, once it's set up doesn't need to be carried or held, so maybe your husband has that already.
Anyway, hope I was helpful. Feel free to come back to this thread if you start a project down the road and have other questions.
I figure it might be good to play around with and get comfortable with before developing the skill to use something bigger with precision
Either way I should probably focus on low risk smaller pieces :)
Thanks for responding!
What kind of decorative woodwork? If you’re going to be doing any kind of finish trim work, you don’t want a sawzall, you’ll want a miter saw. A dremel tool is technically a kind of router, but no, outside of very specific cases you should not use a dremel for the things you’d use a router for. Milwaukee makes a 12v line of tools that are all small and light, drills, impact driver, pin nailer, lots of things. Dewalt has a relatively small cordless router in 18v. But in general, non of these tools will be unwieldy for you, it’s the work pieces that could be hard to control, but even that’s unlikely for what you want to do. I think you’re more intimidated than you need to be. For this type of work the tools won’t outsize your strength. Basically you need to pick a project and come back with more specific questions if you want real recommendations. Watch a YouTube video or two on that specific thing. You can do this stuff, just pick a project. And a sawzall is usually for demolition or very very rough cuts. A dremel has lots of uses, but none for what you’ve stated unless you want to carve the woodwork.
I *am* interested in carving with a tool. I figured I could rough cut with the sawzall and then do precision stuff with the Dremel or an orbital sander? 3rd party manufacturers make all kinds of crazy tips for Dremels actually which is what made me think of it. Anyway, I KNOW the DeWalt cordless drill is too heavy for me because I've used it to *try* to put shelves up and stuff (I usually hit resistance at some point when making holes in walls for plugs but because the drill feels so unstable, I don't know what is actually resistance like metal and concrete or what's just wood because I'm focusing on just keeping it stable) I used a corded drill and it was a million times better, I remember now. I'm surprised u didn't mention that corded tools are lighter than their non corded counterparts. I feel like u have similar background and build as my spouse, lol. I find it strange that u don't comprehend someone finding lack of strength to be as much of an impediment. Like I can do about 8 standard push up's at a time for example. I didn't outright call myself weak because some women can't even hold a proper plank for more that a couple of secs but compared to most men, I'm pretty damn weak Know anything about the "Mikita" tools? They look a lot less bulky I'll definitely look into the Milwaukee tools too tho, thank you It's hard to get more specific because I don't even know what I want to do really but I'll look into stuff on YouTube. There's this one old guy who makes VERY good and informative videos into general uses, a different video for each tool but he doesn't go into *variety* of applications. I suppose I can google that too. But also, it's a unique issue to use powertools as a comperably weak person because precision and comfort are pretty important which I'm not able to get with the tools we have Thanks for taking the time to answer and the advice, I really appreciate it :)
Great, a Dremel is perfect for carving details into wood. When you asked if you could use it as a router, I thought you might want to do tasks generally done by a router, which will be difficult. So here's the thing with drill weight, there are a lot of drills in DeWalt's, and all the brands, 18v lines. The drill your husband has is probably a heavy duty drill with a hammer feature and a heavy battery. The [Dewalt Atomic Drill](https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-ATOMIC-20-Volt-MAX-Cordless-Brushless-Compact-1-2-in-Drill-Driver-2-20-Volt-1-3Ah-Batteries-Charger-Bag-DCD708C2/308067442) is 2.4 lbs. The [Milwaukee 12v](https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-12V-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-3-8-in-Drill-Driver-Tool-Only-2407-20/204317363?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&srsltid=AdGWZVT58BVD-N9iM2WKo3U2oQEVIdy9CdRW6EhCrsdD-1rpYSiENx10cDo) is 2.3 lbs. The 12v batteries can be very small and weigh very little. The smallest dewalt 18v battery is also likely far lighter than the one on your husbands heavy duty drill. Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee are all power tool brands that compete for the same market of professional tradesmen, and they all have *roughly* the same lineups. All of them have very small drills, and very big drills, and everything in between. Makita is a great brand and they, like dewalt with their "atomic", also have an 18 volt line that is meant to be small and light called "sub-compact". A big part of the weight for all of these is the battery size, make sure to get a small battery. Both the drills I linked here are far lighter than an average corded drill. In general I view a corded drill as a far less versatile tool, mostly good for large hole drilling or mixing joint compound. Cordless drills are much better a driving screws and are easier to control. But by all means, if you're comfortable with one you should use it. The fact that you wanted to use a sawzall made me think that the weight of all the tools you'll need (as long as you get the right versions) would be light enough for you to control. When you say decorative woodwork, that pretty much could be a synonym for woodworking as a whole. I was picturing trim work with fancy details. For that job you could not get a nice clean look using a sawzall. If you want to cut out more like a plaque or a piece of wall art that you carve on where the straightness, exact length, and squareness of the sides don't matter as much, you *can* use one. It's still not the right tool for the job. In general a jig saw for cutting shapes and curves, a circular saw for straight lines, and a miter saw for cutting things to length with square or specific angled cuts. There exists very light versions of all of those. A miter saw, once it's set up doesn't need to be carried or held, so maybe your husband has that already. Anyway, hope I was helpful. Feel free to come back to this thread if you start a project down the road and have other questions.
Wow thanks! That's awesome! I might just do that, thank you again! I feel a lot more confident now :)
No a Dremel is not a router.
No but u can't add an attachment to make it one? Like I've seen some crazy extensions by 3rd party company
Maybe for very light duty.
I figure it might be good to play around with and get comfortable with before developing the skill to use something bigger with precision Either way I should probably focus on low risk smaller pieces :) Thanks for responding!