Newbie DIYer tool recommendations

[BandofSaws]

Hi there,

As my workshop profile suggests im a relative newbie to home DIY - have some basic experience with wood but am looking to build on it. I've been looking at different tools and brands, i'm not looking to break the bank and see a Riobi set that fits my price, does anyone have any opinions or thoughts that would help shape my choice of brand & choice of tools.

Cheers

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @BandofSaws. It's fantastic to have you join us, and many thanks for your question on tool recommendations.

The best brand for you is the one you can afford, and that will do the job you need it to. When I was younger, I purchased the cheapest tools I could and made do with them. I accomplished many projects with them, which would have been extremely hard to do by hand. Those were generally of the XU1 brand, and to this day, I'm happy with the choices I made and the value for money I saw. In fact, I bought the XU1 350W Jigsaw only a couple of months ago as I lost a very specific part of my current jigsaw and wasn't going to pay another hundred plus dollars on a new unit. It did the job and several others since then well. My point here being, budget tools get you by and open up a whole world of D.I.Y. projects. 

Currently, I favour Ryobi cordless tools. I never really saw myself as a cordless tool-type person, nor someone that would invest in a specific brand. Over time, I've converted, though, especially since Ryobi adopted their 18volt range and were leaders in the one battery for all products department. In my opinion, their quality and expansive range with the ONE+ system is right on the money for your average D.I.Y.er. The over 100 tools that can run on a single battery and charger means there's something for all occasions. In the 18V ONE+ range, I have their Drill Driver, Brushless Hammer Drill Driver, 3 Speed Impact Driver, Random Orbital Sander, Reciprocating Saw, 165mm Circular Saw and Cordless Brad Nail Gun.

I never intended to stick with Ryobi specifically for my battery tools, so it's not like I bit the bullet, so now I have to recommend them. It was a natural gravitation, as once I had the battery and charger set and didn't have that extra cost with the following tool, there was nothing comparable in quality or price which could make me steer away from it. Perhaps I have been lucky, but I have never needed to use their exceptional six-year extended warranty, and I don't treat my tool nicely. Actually, I do tell a lie. I burnt the smaller 18V Cordless Reciprocating Saw out the day I got it, but I was being a bit silly, cutting metal whilst pinching the blade constantly. I just swapped it over and upgraded to the slightly better model and haven't had an issue since. Their swap over warranty is also something I wanted. I'm not keen on having to send my tools away for repair.

That's a long-winded way of saying I highly recommend Ryobi tools. Great bang for your buck in my book.

Here are some previous discussions about purchasing tools for woodworking that you should find of interest:

• Basic tools for an new/amateur woodworker by @MutsRenos 

• The great power tools debate - What is the best brand? by @JoshRaf 

• Should I buy Ryobi or Makita? by @Todd1

• Essential and nice to have hand and power tools when starting out as a woodworker by @BigFella1956. 

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[BandofSaws]

Thanks very much MitchellMc - i appreciate the advice regarding what brands and what tools you have, there's plenty of choice in the market so it becomes a lot when youre browsing the range. Ill have a read of those other threads also, thanks again