5 ms·

"best long-lasting & cheap" is spot on. Often, getting the very best is not worth it, no matter how long they might last. We had a lot of work done on our hous

"best long-lasting & cheap" is spot on. Often, getting the very best is not worth it, no matter how long they might last. We had a lot of work done on our house a few years back, and every one of tradesmen used Makita. I asked our carpenter if they were really good, and he said no, but they we pretty good, lasted quite well, but didn't cost the earth. I think the ubiquity of Makita also made it easy to swap batteries and chargers between kit, and between people.

encom 6y ago
Electrician here: Last place I worked was almost exclusively Makita (and they were big, thousands of employees), and being able to swap chargers and batteries was both a blessing and a curse. I took good care of my batteries (and everything else), and I had to be careful not to end up with some other guys battery that he'd used to drive nails with.
- meragrin_ 6y ago
  Please tell me that people were not using the batteries as hammers.
  - xnyan 6y ago
    Driving any fastener can put put of wear on batteries fast, the current requirements are high and peaky. Nails are particularity bad because unlike say, driving a screw or bolt you often don't even give they battery a second or two of break time to cool slightly while you line up your bit to the next fastener, just "BAM BAM BAM" down the line of wood as fast as you can until you drain the battery back to nil. This is one of the the best ways to kill li-ion cells fast.
    - ChoGGi 6y ago
      The usual method of driving a nail with a battery isn't by turning on a tool.
      - djrogers 6y ago
        By far the safest though, but still very hard on the batteries. https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/XNB02Z https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/XNB02Z
  - windowsworkstoo 6y ago
    lol, pretty standard on site mate, especially during demo - some screws are just a bit too captive, quick whack with your battery (in the impact driver) does the trick.
  - turbinerneiter 6y ago
    It is so common that tool manufacturers have it as a load case in their design.
  - zoomablemind 6y ago
    Think of a soldier to use the butt of his rifle in close quarters. This spares a bullet too. Not sure if savings are comparable in case of the battery, but you get the idea.
  - encom 6y ago
    Some times you need to do a bit of percussive problem solving, and battery powered tools are heavy, so you do what you gotta do.
  - capekwasright 6y ago
    The converse of Maslow's hammer is such a common scenario that Wera actually sells a ratchet designed to be used as a hammer (think mechanic working under a car): https://www-us.wera.de/en/great-tools/koloss/ https://www-us.wera.de/en/great-tools/koloss/
    - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
      They're kind of a dud because the extra bulk on the head gets in the way so often. I have one I never use. The vise grip crescent wrench on the other hand...
    - JshWright 6y ago
      You can also get an adjustable crescent wrench with a hammer on the opposite side of the head. It's known colloquially to viewers of the AvE YouTube channel as the "thumb detecting nut fucker"
  - rainbowzootsuit 6y ago
    Every tool has a hammer end.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
  This is remedied with Bluetooth batteries that only work when paired to the owner's phone.
jschwartzi 6y ago
Makita worm-drive saws were nice because they were about half a pound lighter than even the Skilsaw with the magnesium case(HD77). This makes a difference when leaning out over the second floor of a house cutting rafter tails.
- culturestate 6y ago
  Have you tried the cordless mag 77s? I'm curious to know if going cordless in those situations would make the weight less important, the same way AirPods sort of magically stay in my ear better without a cord tugging on them.

encom 6y ago

Electrician here: Last place I worked was almost exclusively Makita (and they were big, thousands of employees), and being able to swap chargers and batteries was both a blessing and a curse. I took good care of my batteries (and everything else), and I had to be careful not to end up with some other guys battery that he'd used to drive nails with.

meragrin_ 6y ago
Please tell me that people were not using the batteries as hammers.
- xnyan 6y ago
  Driving any fastener can put put of wear on batteries fast, the current requirements are high and peaky. Nails are particularity bad because unlike say, driving a screw or bolt you often don't even give they battery a second or two of break time to cool slightly while you line up your bit to the next fastener, just "BAM BAM BAM" down the line of wood as fast as you can until you drain the battery back to nil. This is one of the the best ways to kill li-ion cells fast.
  - ChoGGi 6y ago
    The usual method of driving a nail with a battery isn't by turning on a tool.
    - djrogers 6y ago
      By far the safest though, but still very hard on the batteries. https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/XNB02Z https://www.makitatools.com/products/details/XNB02Z
- windowsworkstoo 6y ago
  lol, pretty standard on site mate, especially during demo - some screws are just a bit too captive, quick whack with your battery (in the impact driver) does the trick.
- turbinerneiter 6y ago
  It is so common that tool manufacturers have it as a load case in their design.
- zoomablemind 6y ago
  Think of a soldier to use the butt of his rifle in close quarters. This spares a bullet too. Not sure if savings are comparable in case of the battery, but you get the idea.
- encom 6y ago
  Some times you need to do a bit of percussive problem solving, and battery powered tools are heavy, so you do what you gotta do.
- capekwasright 6y ago
  The converse of Maslow's hammer is such a common scenario that Wera actually sells a ratchet designed to be used as a hammer (think mechanic working under a car): https://www-us.wera.de/en/great-tools/koloss/ https://www-us.wera.de/en/great-tools/koloss/
  - throwaway0a5e 6y ago
    They're kind of a dud because the extra bulk on the head gets in the way so often. I have one I never use. The vise grip crescent wrench on the other hand...
  - JshWright 6y ago
    You can also get an adjustable crescent wrench with a hammer on the opposite side of the head. It's known colloquially to viewers of the AvE YouTube channel as the "thumb detecting nut fucker"
- rainbowzootsuit 6y ago
  Every tool has a hammer end.
kevin_thibedeau 6y ago
This is remedied with Bluetooth batteries that only work when paired to the owner's phone.

jschwartzi 6y ago

Makita worm-drive saws were nice because they were about half a pound lighter than even the Skilsaw with the magnesium case(HD77). This makes a difference when leaning out over the second floor of a house cutting rafter tails.

culturestate 6y ago
Have you tried the cordless mag 77s? I'm curious to know if going cordless in those situations would make the weight less important, the same way AirPods sort of magically stay in my ear better without a cord tugging on them.