Wally’s Workshop

Overall my favorite tools, and the most used of my tools, would have to be my set of Ryobi 18V Cordless tools. I’ve picked these up over time from either Home Depot (my second home) or in one fairly large purchase from Cummins tools.

I started out a few years ago, as I’m sure everyone does, by purchasing an underpowered 12V cordless drill (I think it was a Black and Decker). It worked OK for awhile, but eventually ceased to do the trick. The power was lacking, the batteries ran out too quickly, and it was useless while I was recharging the (lone!) battery.

After some study and a fair amount of indecision, I decided to go with the 18V drill from Ryobi. The decision was based on the trust I had in Home Depot products, the good reviews Ryobi tools have in general, and the convenience of having the store and supplier close by.

So, I bought my first 18V cordless drill with two batteries. I figured to always have one battery in the drill and one battery in the charger. I’d never run out of power!

However, after a few months I detected a bit of power drop in one of the batteries - it was time to get a replacement. But a single new battery - man, it was expensive. For about twice the price of one battery, I could get two batteries, plus a drill, plus a charger …. say, that’s an idea - I could always use a second drill. One for drilling and one for driving. Then I wouldn’t have to constantly switch between drillbit and screwbit. Wow, what an idea. (I’ve since gone to the quick-change bits instead - I got a ton of those now).

So, now I had two drills, four batteries (well, 3-1/2), and two chargers. I was cooking with gas! (Or drilling with batteries - whatever the case may be).

To make a long story short, it never stopped. After the drills, I found a use for those wonderful flashlight/spotlights (I have 2 now), a cordless reciprocal saw, a cordless circular saw, another drill (a hammer-drill), a cordless caulking gun, a brad nailer, a cordless chainsaw (!!!) and the coup-de-gras - a “cabinet” for holding all these tools that has a built in cordless miter saw table (good for moldings and such). That last item, which I purchased from Cummins Tools online at clearance, came with multiple tools, batteries, another charger, and lots of storage space.

Just call me the “Kordless King”!

In part 2 I will talk about some of my other favorites. Until then…. keep those batteries charged!