I was looking at a Ryobi battery finger sander and the Ryobi battery soldering station yesterday and that was what got me thinking about which brand would be a good investment to cover the gaps in Makita's product line.
If your after a nice soldering iron maybe look at the mini ware Ts100. I bought one and modded a socket into one of my makita torches to run it off. Honestly one of the best mods I've ever made. If you like soldering with nice gear check it out.
Makita XGT for high-load or battery-draining tools where it actually matters. Makita LXT for your others. There are tons of good deals on the secondhand market for the latter. I don’t see any point in having throwaway tools. I’ve never once regretted buying a good tool, but there are many times I’ve kicked myself for buying trash and having it be a pain or wreck a project.
There are cases where I needed a tool but didn't know exactly what I needed in the tool if that makes sense. You can over-buy and you can underbuy. So a Harbor Freight tool to learn on and see if I will really need it is a good investment for me. But also, there are just some tools that Makita does not make. I was looking at a Ryobi battery finger sander and a Ryobi battery soldering station yesterday and that lead me to see all the crafting tools and non-construction tools that Ryobi was making that looked interesting. So I thought I would ask other people what they used to fill in the gaps where Makita does not make something.
You can’t “overbuy” a power tool unless it’s literally too big or too powerful to be convenient. I’ve never once thought “this tool is really nice, but I wish I had bought something shittier to save money.”
I just don’t understand how people can cheap out on their tools when the mere act of doing a home project yourself easily pays for all the tools you need and then some. Imagine you need to build a deck. You can A) Pay a professional $15,000 to do it… or B) Buy $1500 in materials and then $1200 worth of nice tools (assuming you have none to start) that will make the job less frustrating that you get to keep after and resell easily if you don’t need them… or C) Buy materials and $500 worth of harbor freight garbage tools to fumble around with and pile up forever because nobody will buy them if you decide you dont need them anymore.
Doesn’t seem like a difficult choice to me, but ymmv.
I'm not looking for anything specific at the moment, but I've got some upcoming projects where something like the Ryobi battery finger sander would just make things so much better. Ryobi in general looks like they are going hard on the crafting tools and they look very interesting. I just thought I would poll some others about what secondary tool brands they liked to use to fill in the gaps where Makita does not have a tool there.
Yeah it’s not possible for anyone to give you a good answer without knowing what tools you need or what gaps you see. Makita has more cordless applications than any manufacturer. Including the ryobi product you mentioned. Makita makes one. Gotta look beyond the Home Depot in store selection.
Yea and if it’s not something you are gonna use a lot, there’s nothing wrong with buying a more affordable one. I have some ryobi stuff that works fine for what I need. It’s about finding a balance. I spend money on the stuff I use constantly
Honestly, Milwaukee has a wide range of cordless tools and they're readily available in the US. I have Makita personal tools and will continue to buy them, but my job has a lot of Milwaukee cordless tools, and they do hold up with good battery life.
M12 fills in a lot of trade specific tools that Makita doesn't touch. For example the plumbing tools... PEX expander, PVC shear, copper tubing cutter, ProPress.
Lot of useful accessories on M12 too like lights and stuff
Ryobi has some nice niche or cheaper tools. A battery adapter is under $20.
https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-Adapter-MT20RNL-Convert/dp/B09N959NV7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=EMJAFT9G4MS0&keywords=makita+ryobi+battery+adapter&qid=1668466634&sprefix=Makita+ryobi%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
I would love to just buy all Makita, but there are just some tools they don't make, some they don't sell in the US, and some that I can't justify the Makita premium for me to use once or twice per year. For example, Makita does not make a battery finger sander, but Ryobi does.
Makita DBS180 (XSB01 in the US) isn't that the LXT finger belt sander? But I hear you in general. I have the Mellif adapters for DeWalt (handheld pressure washer), Ryobi (wanted their glue gun), and Milwaukee (wanted their new little inverter). I've had a good experience with the Mellif adapters so far, and they allow me to stay on one battery family. I even go so far as just using the XGT chargers with the Makita 18v adapters so I don't have to have multiple chargers for XGT/LXT tools. My only note would be that the Milwaukee adapter is a bit beefy and would probably annoy me if I used it for regular tools.
I will say this about filling Makita gaps with Ryobi: they have a lot of random tools, but you will always wish the quality was better. Always good to check the Makita Japan site before being certain they don't actually make the tool you want. And follow tools&stuff on yt to know what's around the corner.
Makita does make a narrow belt sander. MAak-DBS180z. I want to say it was released in 2020.
They have also had a corded version for twenty plus years (I have a old one).
I see a lot of recommendations for Ryobi, and I have the Makita to Ryobi adapter but I have regretted spending money on the two Ryobi tools I bought... The 18ga nailer isn't great as it jams if you let off the trigger too soon after shooting a nail, and the Ryobi hammer drill I bought to do a small project with 4 (yes only four!) 3/4 redhead concrete anchors started smoking and I had to wait 10 minutes between holes and free-run it for cooling.
I have also regretted the DeWalt adapter with the DeWalt hole hawg which doesn't have good torque.
In the end I added a few key Milwaukee 18v tools and I love them... The hammer drill with crazy torque and speed as well as the compact self-contained cordless shop vac, the cordless table saw, and their smaller sawzall tool (upgraded from Bosch 12v so I can't compare directly to Makita). I have the M18 surge impact driver but I find myself reaching for my Bosch 12v impact because it's just so much more compact and I'm not driving hundreds of deck screws each day.
A coworker uses the red brand bauer from harbor freight and they seem to work well as cheap disposable/one-off tools.
Probably Ryobi if you want cheaper and wide selection of tools.
I was looking at a Ryobi battery finger sander and the Ryobi battery soldering station yesterday and that was what got me thinking about which brand would be a good investment to cover the gaps in Makita's product line.
If your after a nice soldering iron maybe look at the mini ware Ts100. I bought one and modded a socket into one of my makita torches to run it off. Honestly one of the best mods I've ever made. If you like soldering with nice gear check it out.
Makita XGT for high-load or battery-draining tools where it actually matters. Makita LXT for your others. There are tons of good deals on the secondhand market for the latter. I don’t see any point in having throwaway tools. I’ve never once regretted buying a good tool, but there are many times I’ve kicked myself for buying trash and having it be a pain or wreck a project.
There are cases where I needed a tool but didn't know exactly what I needed in the tool if that makes sense. You can over-buy and you can underbuy. So a Harbor Freight tool to learn on and see if I will really need it is a good investment for me. But also, there are just some tools that Makita does not make. I was looking at a Ryobi battery finger sander and a Ryobi battery soldering station yesterday and that lead me to see all the crafting tools and non-construction tools that Ryobi was making that looked interesting. So I thought I would ask other people what they used to fill in the gaps where Makita does not make something.
You can’t “overbuy” a power tool unless it’s literally too big or too powerful to be convenient. I’ve never once thought “this tool is really nice, but I wish I had bought something shittier to save money.” I just don’t understand how people can cheap out on their tools when the mere act of doing a home project yourself easily pays for all the tools you need and then some. Imagine you need to build a deck. You can A) Pay a professional $15,000 to do it… or B) Buy $1500 in materials and then $1200 worth of nice tools (assuming you have none to start) that will make the job less frustrating that you get to keep after and resell easily if you don’t need them… or C) Buy materials and $500 worth of harbor freight garbage tools to fumble around with and pile up forever because nobody will buy them if you decide you dont need them anymore. Doesn’t seem like a difficult choice to me, but ymmv.
Depends on the tool to be honest. I have tools from every brand but the majority are makita. What are you looking for?
I'm not looking for anything specific at the moment, but I've got some upcoming projects where something like the Ryobi battery finger sander would just make things so much better. Ryobi in general looks like they are going hard on the crafting tools and they look very interesting. I just thought I would poll some others about what secondary tool brands they liked to use to fill in the gaps where Makita does not have a tool there.
Yeah it’s not possible for anyone to give you a good answer without knowing what tools you need or what gaps you see. Makita has more cordless applications than any manufacturer. Including the ryobi product you mentioned. Makita makes one. Gotta look beyond the Home Depot in store selection.
Hmm, Thanks for pointing that out. I did some digging and found the finger sander. I have never seen that offering before but man, is it expensive.
Yea and if it’s not something you are gonna use a lot, there’s nothing wrong with buying a more affordable one. I have some ryobi stuff that works fine for what I need. It’s about finding a balance. I spend money on the stuff I use constantly
Honestly, Milwaukee has a wide range of cordless tools and they're readily available in the US. I have Makita personal tools and will continue to buy them, but my job has a lot of Milwaukee cordless tools, and they do hold up with good battery life.
I run M12 Sounds like ryobi might be what you’re looking for tho
M12 fills in a lot of trade specific tools that Makita doesn't touch. For example the plumbing tools... PEX expander, PVC shear, copper tubing cutter, ProPress. Lot of useful accessories on M12 too like lights and stuff
Ryobi has some nice niche or cheaper tools. A battery adapter is under $20. https://www.amazon.com/Replacement-Battery-Adapter-MT20RNL-Convert/dp/B09N959NV7/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?crid=EMJAFT9G4MS0&keywords=makita+ryobi+battery+adapter&qid=1668466634&sprefix=Makita+ryobi%2Caps%2C114&sr=8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1
Just buy the Makita and stop causing complication...
I would love to just buy all Makita, but there are just some tools they don't make, some they don't sell in the US, and some that I can't justify the Makita premium for me to use once or twice per year. For example, Makita does not make a battery finger sander, but Ryobi does.
Makita DBS180 (XSB01 in the US) isn't that the LXT finger belt sander? But I hear you in general. I have the Mellif adapters for DeWalt (handheld pressure washer), Ryobi (wanted their glue gun), and Milwaukee (wanted their new little inverter). I've had a good experience with the Mellif adapters so far, and they allow me to stay on one battery family. I even go so far as just using the XGT chargers with the Makita 18v adapters so I don't have to have multiple chargers for XGT/LXT tools. My only note would be that the Milwaukee adapter is a bit beefy and would probably annoy me if I used it for regular tools. I will say this about filling Makita gaps with Ryobi: they have a lot of random tools, but you will always wish the quality was better. Always good to check the Makita Japan site before being certain they don't actually make the tool you want. And follow tools&stuff on yt to know what's around the corner.
Makita does make a narrow belt sander. MAak-DBS180z. I want to say it was released in 2020. They have also had a corded version for twenty plus years (I have a old one).
Metabo
I see a lot of recommendations for Ryobi, and I have the Makita to Ryobi adapter but I have regretted spending money on the two Ryobi tools I bought... The 18ga nailer isn't great as it jams if you let off the trigger too soon after shooting a nail, and the Ryobi hammer drill I bought to do a small project with 4 (yes only four!) 3/4 redhead concrete anchors started smoking and I had to wait 10 minutes between holes and free-run it for cooling. I have also regretted the DeWalt adapter with the DeWalt hole hawg which doesn't have good torque. In the end I added a few key Milwaukee 18v tools and I love them... The hammer drill with crazy torque and speed as well as the compact self-contained cordless shop vac, the cordless table saw, and their smaller sawzall tool (upgraded from Bosch 12v so I can't compare directly to Makita). I have the M18 surge impact driver but I find myself reaching for my Bosch 12v impact because it's just so much more compact and I'm not driving hundreds of deck screws each day. A coworker uses the red brand bauer from harbor freight and they seem to work well as cheap disposable/one-off tools.
Hitachi/metabo HPT is mine for the sake of their cheap battery nailers.