Okay so maybe the title is a major exaggeration, but there is nothing like using a power tool. First off it makes you feel oh so powerful, and it just gets the job done SO much faster than hand tools.
When I bought my house, so began my love of power tools. My parents came to visit when I first bought my house to help me get some projects done. My dad brought his drill for me to borrow. A year and a half later that drill is still at my house and my dad bought a new one (thanks dad!).
I may have gone a little power buying happy when i started out. Hopefully this post can help you find the most useful and affordable tools for a beginner.
Power Drill
If you buy nothing else buy a good drill. Drills are great for building things, hanging pictures, even putting together Ikea furniture wayyyy faster (that is if you can figure out the instructions). I would say spend a little more here. I got this one from my dad, and it works great! You can find a newer version of it here and don’t forget a battery and charger.
MITER SAW
A miter saw is a really easy to use power saw. It can make straight and angle cuts which makes it super handy. Other features a miter saw can have it the ability to tilt to make bevel cuts. Then there is a sliding miter saw that allows you to get deeper cuts. I have a saw that makes angled and bevel cuts but doesn’t have a slide. Knowing what I know now I probably would have purchased one that slides, but I don’t miss it enough to replace it.
CIRCULAR SAW
A circular saw is great for deeper cuts that a miter saw can’t make. There is no limit to the length it can cut and it is super portable.
ORBITAL SANDER
Last but not least is an orbital sander. You are really going to want one of these because who has time to manually sand large projects…not me! An orbital sander can get your project nice and evenly sanded in no time flat. This is a tool that I think you can definitely save and get the corded version. In my experience I’ve never wish I had the cord free version, on the occasion I’ve wanted it to be a little more portable I’ve just used an extension cord. I also would recommend right away getting a variety pack of sanding disk. It’s handy to have several grits on hand, you never know what you’ll need for a project. I really like this variety pack from Amazon.
HONORABLE MENTION
BRAD NAILER
You definitely do NOT need a brad nailer, but I love using mine. It can be handy in all sorts of situations from simple DIYs to tacking up trim.
And that’s it… I really think that even with just a power drill, circular saw, and an orbital sander a beginner could build almost anything. I would really suggest a miter saw too though because it can be a lot quicker and easier than a circular saw.
My collection is a bit larger currently including a jig saw (probably could have skipped that) and a scroll saw. The scroll saw was a want not a need. There are a lot of cool things you can make using a scroll saw. In my opinion though they are more for creating delicate things that would be used more as decor rather than for building.
Corded or Battery Operated….That is the question
First off you can buy corded power tools or battery operated. In most cases corded are less expensive. Batteries are sold separately, and can be as costly as a small power tool themselves. Plus if you want to use several tools at the same time you are going to need several batteries, or constantly be changing and charging batteries.
I ended up with some corded and some battery powered and it’s working out for me so far. A good way to decide is will it be convenient to connect the tool to wall plug or use an extension cord. For example, I don’t want to be using a drill to hang a picture with a long extension cord, but my sander is corded because usually I’m just using it so sand a piece on my work bench so a cord won’t be so cumbersome.
Best Places to Buy Power Tools
Now that you know what you can’t live without let’s talk about buying options. Starting out I definitely did not want to spend a lot of money on tools I was honestly a bit scared to use. Now that I have a small collection going it’s definitely my opinion that the home DIYer dosen’t need the best and newest.
There’s the obvious home improvement stores, but I have also found amazon, facebook market place, and a local habitat for humanity store great sources for buying affordable tools.
At home improvement stores you can buy power tool kits. I decided to not go this route as I couldn’t find a kit that had all the tools I wanted. It made more sense to me to just buy what I wanted.
Amazon I found had more off brands and affordable brands. My miter saw is from Amazon and it works great.
My last suggestion is facebook marketplace or a local resell store. Here you want to be careful. Make sure that you can at least turn on the tool to see if it works. You can find some really affordable tools here though. The aforementioned scroll saw that I probably didn’t need I found on facebook marketplace for $50, still in great shape and super affordable for a tool that let’s face it won’t be my most used.
There you have it! The wonderful world of power tools.
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
