What kind of power hand tools do you use, electric, or pneumatic?
 

I'm old school and have been using pneumatic tools since the 70s, I am not prone to change over all my tools from pneumatic to electric at just under 70 YO.

How about you, what's your preference?

Same here. Had pneumatic well before cordless became a thing. Difficult to throw out good working tools to spend a bunch of cash just to go cordless. I had corded tools for the the minor amount of carpentry work I did. Then I bought air nailers a fair bit before battery nailers became available. Same thing with those. I do have a small cordless kit with a drill, driver, and recip saw. Those are very handy.

Air for the BIG stuff and cordless for the small stuff. Kinda nice having the cordless stuff for interior work. Cordless drill / screwdriver and 3/8's impact.

I had air tools, but have moved everything to Milwaukee M12 and M18 Fuel. Very strong, efficient and last a long time. Their 1/2” M18 impact is a beast and better than any air powered one I have had. I do think there are significant differences between the brands and you should pick what suites you best.

I personally think Milwaukee is the best, but that’s probably because that’s what I see the professionals in my industry use. I like having all of the batteries interchangeable as well.

If it’s something you might use once, harbor freight is probably fine.

I’ve given away most of my air tools at this point.

I use pneumatic, corded and cordless electric tools. I even use regular hand tools for small jobs.

I have both and they all have their place.

But....I have several DeWalt 14 volt drills that work fine except the batteries are going obsolete. It's clear that someday soon, I have to throw them out and by new ones at 20 volt...until they get obsoleted by 30 volt until they get obsoleted by.......

Compressed air never goes obsolete.

Eric

Just started getting back into the sport 2.5 yrs ago. Still very much old school using hand tools. Only have a small compressor that's not really enough to power any pneumatic tools. I have started buying Milwaukee M18 series of power tools. Buy one, cry once.

Good point Eric, I've probably thrown out at least 3 cordless drills that the batteries went bad, but there was nothing at all wrong with the tool itself. No replacement batteries available, so out they go.

Corded electric for me.

I have both. My son and grandson have given me both corded and battery powered tools. They are so convenient I hardly ever use my air tools now.

I have all three; pneumatic, corded and cordless.

I have all 3, anything I need new will likely be cordless and if anything breaks its replacement will probably end up cordless as well.
I'm just not throwing out my old stuff only because a newer battery operated thingy is available.

Same for me. At my age I’m not switching over unless need be.

for grinding and cut off wheels im still using air. I have been using makita drills and impact (small) for years and have nothing but good results I bought a milwaukee 1/2 impact and i absolutely love it. Its nice not to be tied to an airline. it has impressive breakway strength. I also bout a milwaukee kit from home depot with a small battery powered ratchet, drills flash light, i use the little electric ratchet alot. it is not super powerful but it is so handy.

Alll depends on the job and the circumstances. I have a 1/.2" deWalt 18v cordless drill that is absolutely beat to death and still works like a champ. Its starting to smell like a toy train engine though, I may not be far from letting out the magic smoke.

Beastmode: I have a 1/2" Milwaukee corded drill... it had a 4" hole saw in it, and I was using it on a ladder. Two good solid mistakes. It caught, HARD, twisted my arm which made me pull on the trigger harder, then managed to throw me off the ladder and then have the ladder land on me. At some point the drill also succumbed to gravity yet seem to remain undamaged when I grabbed it off the floor. I revere that which has whooped my ass substantially.

I have some air tools, some corded tools, but mostly cordless tools.

I haven't had the issue of my battery tools becoming "obsolete" because of battery failure. All my batteries are interchangeable with all my cordless tools - even the one's I bought nearly 20 years ago.

Glad I didn't buy into a cordless system that becomes worthless when they make a design change.

FWIW - my cordless tools are all Ryobi.

The trio of power (air, cord, cordless) sounds good to me. As for mee; rather low tech!

Air: fill and top-off tires. Blow dust.
Cord: air compressor duh, drillpress, shop vac. Lighting.
Cordless: handrill (20v, handy doing yardwork!) DMM
Manual; all wrenches & sockets, hammers. Floorjack.

Since working in construction we had all corded tools,mostly Milwaukee, some Porter Cable, Hilti cheap BD. Then I bought some air tools for home. Then the battery tools,again mostly Milwaukee m12 and m18. The m18 impact is heavy and has worked well. I do get afraid of busting bolts with it though. I've checked into rebuilding batteries tried some,Worked.

I also think there is room for all of the above.

I mostly use cordless tools, but my paint and body stuff is air. My grinders are all electric.

Grinders seem to suck up batteries pretty quick. Same with buffers. I would love a cordless buffer but I haven’t found any that will fit my needs.

It does depend on the job- for example:

I used my 1/2” M18 to put the wheels on the car. My neighbor a life long tech made me go around and double check everything with a pry bar and socket. He said you can always tell how much air pressure you have, but you can’t tell how old/weak that battery is even if it reads 100%. Really good point.

A member here needed a fender and a section of trunk floor out of a 67 Catalina in a yard about an hour away. The m12 ratchet made quick work of the fender while the M18 sawzall allowed me to cut out the section of the floor he needed.

These cordless tools are a big plus at a junk yard. Throw them all in the truck, decide what you need when you see the car and use a duffel bag to carry them.

The m12 sawzall is nice working on overhangs up 30ft. Not heavy easy to manipulate.

Started with Dewalt 20v because they had more mechanic's tools at the time. Seems like Milwaukee has caught (or even surpassed) them now, but I'm all in with close to 20 batteries and 20 tools. The air tools just collect dust at this point.

Ditto!
 

I have all 3 types. I was given a couple of the older style "blue" Ryobi tools a sawsall and an impact driver. The batteries were on their last leg so I bought replacements and the tools work just fine. I also have two tools that are 40V Ryobi, a chainsaw and a leaf blower. They are on par with gas powered ones. I decided to go with the 600 foot pound 1/2" impact and it works great. I found the smaller batteries are useless on these type of tools and got a couple of 6 AH from Vanon and despite the bad reviews they work great and last a long time. My only gripe is with the keyless chuck drill, you just can't get it tight enough to keep the drill bits from coming loose.

I have had great service from all of my Ryobi battery operated tools. I used them to cut the roof on my Trans AM with no issues. Only one battery failure in 10 years.

All three.

At this point in my life prefer corded electric; the cordless versions seem to be significantly heavier than the corded.

I do use the air impact when changing blades on the mower.

I have a 5 KVA generator mounted in a 2 wheel trailer that I pull behind the Gator, so have electricity anywhere I need it.

Thought I just had to have cordless (my son likes them), so bought a set of the various DeWalt 18volt a few years ago, but generally will use the corded versions.

Jon

I have almost completely switched to all battery powered tools, mainly Ryobi tools. I bought a 1000 ft/lbs Ryobi impact and it will power through those rusty seat belts bolts no problem at the junkyard. I still have some of the original blue Ryobi tools like drill, sawzall and 1/4 impact and work great with new lithium batteries. I also use a 12volt ACDelco ratchet at the junkyard helps with those long bolts, it has 45 ft/lbs and it about the same size as a pneumatic ratchet. I am starting to think I should just sell my compressor and clear up some space in the garage. I do agree that the Ryobi grinder with a cutoff wheel on battery will drain a battery quick even the larger 4 ah batteries.

At home, I have air tools. For work (I service golf cars on location) I have cordless tools with an inverter in van to charge batteries. Oftentimes, though, the cordless tools sneak into the garage on some projects. Gotta admit, I like not dragging around an air hose sometimes.

I heard that the average cordless sawzall can remove six (6) catalytic converters before needing recharged.

I have some of all three types. There is no perfect tool for every job. Interesting thing I have learned though. As the batteries get better and better, the tools they work with are cheaper and cheaper. Especially the keyless chucks on cordless drills regardless of brand. Milwaukee, DeWalt, Snap-On doesn't matter. They are all crap and all slip. Brushless motor failure is also becoming common on the cordless stuff. The idea of buying a "lifetime tool" with any of the cordless stuff is a foreign concept. I looked into replacing the crap keyless chucks and they cost more than the entire drill. BTW, there are on-line sites that will rebuild the battery packs on most older cordless tools. I have had a few Snap-On 14.4V batteries rebuilt. They work fine now. MTO Batteries is one vendor I recommend. I have a very hard time throwing Snap-On tools in the trash.

All three. Have switched all of my stihl gas yard/tree trimming tools for Milwaukee M18 Fuel stuff and no more mixing gas/oil or yanking on starter ropes. The high torque M18 1/2" impact wrench will dismantle just about anything in a heartbeat.

Pneumatic, corded, or hand tools for the most part. That's all I use on the cars and lawn equipment. I still have a battery operated Makita from the 90's and a newer Ryobi for stuff on the house and yard that isn't worth dragging out multiple extension cords to operate (on 3.3 acres of land).

I have and use both but if I'm going for a new tool and it's available electric, that's the way I'm going to go. On the other hand, if I already have a pneumatic tool that works I'm not going to replace it with an electric tool.

Gas Powered:
Stihl chainsaws (3), backpack blower, commercial weed whacker.
Honda push mower, Billy Goat leaf vacuum, pressure washer, DR Trimmer (giant weed whacker).

Electric (cordless)
Too many M12 and M18 to list. Stand outs are the stubby M18 1/2 impact (can remove blades on the mower deck without lifting the tractor or removing the deck), M12 die grinder .. outstanding with roloc accessories for just about everything. Big M18 1/2 impact, M18 angle grinder. M18 leaf blower ... for blowing light snow off cars, porch etc. At least four M12 work lights, flashlights etc. M12 shop radio, M12 USB charger.
And of course all the ratchets, drills, multi-tools, sanders etc.

Ryobi weed whacker ... great for touching up around the house.

Pneumatic:
3/8 ratchet, pin scaler, air chisel, die grinder, 1/2" impact, tiny reciprocating saw (excellent for cutting body panels). Framing nail gun, trim nail gun, staple gun, palm nailer. And all the paint guns.

Corded electric:
Bosch sander, Bosch jig saw, Bosch planer, Metabo angle grinder, Dewalt hand drill, Craftsman (old USA) die grinder, Makita sander, Dewalt circular saw, Dewalt table saw, Dewalt chop box, Shop vac, portable compressor.

Sure I missed a bunch. Far as go-to tools ... usually the Milwaukee cordless stuff, use them every day. In general very happy with them. I hate cords and hoses ... but, sometimes you just need the power.

I’ve been using Milwaukee. M18 fuel series for years . The 1/2 impact I have is a rather large but it’ll brake pinion and axle nuts no problem . It’s way stronger than my ingersol . My batteries are 8 years old and charge fine . I just came in from a brake job on my Honda . No hoses , no noise , down side is the price .

Starting to pick up a bunch of Milwauke M12 fuel stuff myself, not sure how they will work out in the long run. I swore by my dewalt 18V drills, they were heavy but took a beating. Still use air for rolloc and body saws.

Yep the Milwaukee impacts are impressive ... same here, considerably more balls than my 25 year old Ingersol pneumatic that was about $300 25 years ago.

I think the strongest impact I ever owned was a big honking Craftsman corded model probably 40 years old, made in USA, only 1/2 but it had some nads.

I'm using mostly cordless now. Makita 18V. I sold most of my corded power tools.
My 1/4 hex impact driver gets used all the time. Anything from tiny screws to lug nuts to carpentry work.
My drill has no problem hammer-drilling for lag bolts or mixing concrete.
My 1/2 impact is a beast. You have to be careful on the highest setting because it can break some cheaper impact sockets. Pontiac and Honda harmonic damper bolts are no longer a problem.
My 5" angle grinder is a great tool with excellent battery life.

The advantage of cordless is I can take them anywhere. Recently rescued a neighbor with a flat tire and over-torqued lug nuts.

I still use my air die grinders and air ratchet because of their compact size and versatility. Nothing like the sound of an air ratchet to wake your neighbors up Saturday morning.

What I love about the cordless stuff is mobility ... if the tractor/backhoe breaks out in the field there are some pretty big fasteners I have to deal with, no fun in hot/cold weather with hand tools. I can load up the quad with enough cordless stuff to deal with most any problem. Same deal working with the irrigation pump, fencing etc.

Roof top work, so much nicer with cordless.

I'm on Dewalt batteries mostly, but still use my compressor for painting, my " board file" , and 6 inch mud hog.
Once makers got rid of the Nickle batteries, the battery tool industry took off.
It will change again as battery's are still evolving.

All 3. Mostly use Milwaukee now, but I have a few Harbor Freight cheapo 1/4" ratchets for fine interior work that so far have held up well. My shop has a big Quincy compressor and is plumbed throughout for air, but sadly the air is hardly used anymore. Milwaukee are best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1QHOKF8NO4

A couple of us were complaining about the drills falling out of the key less chucks. This guy tests them all to see if this feature of turning it until it clicks and then turning it to the left for one click. :)

Just saw that today, going to go down and test it tonight.

Fascinating....I need to try that. But he doesn't say if you have to do anything different when you're ready to remove the bit.

Eric

Tried it last night on my Milwaukee and it works. To remove the bit ... just keep turning past that first click to loosen.

Still using the electric drills I got 50 years ago. Black and Decker. Still work great. My power automotive tools are all pneumatic and are all IR or Snap-on and are all 40+ years old and still do the job for me. I used them commercially for decades and now in retirement still use them in the garage.

I use air grinders, cut off tools, etc, almost daily. 18/20 volt Dewalt drills daily as well. All my outdoor power equipment is 2 stroke gas and I hope to keep it that way. All of my leaf blowers and string trimmers are Echo, Chain Saws are mostly Husqvarna but have a few newer Echo saws as well.

I will say that IF you don't own a 1/2 20 volt Dewalt (Milwaukee are also excellent) impact get one. Best money I ever spent so bought 3 more of them and have one is each of my vehicles plus one in the shop. It reduces the time to change a flat tire to a a few seconds longer than it takes to get it jacked up and get the spare out. Dewalt for sure really stepped up the power and quality of their 1/2 brushless impact guns. I have ran into anyting yet it woln't knock loose, and the 20V lithium ion batteries last a LONG time. The 18volt version I have isn't nearly as strong and it kills the battery too quickly for my liking so I don't use that one much.

I agree on the 1/2" impacts. I leave one in my trailer. If you ever had a blow out on the drivers side of an interstate hwy, it really makes you appreciate it.

I have some hand tools,corded tools and air tools 20-40 years old and still work good. I also have had and still have makita,ridgid,hitachi,dewalt and milwaukee cordless tools. Convenient and great when power or air are not available, but the longest lasting ones I have had were only good for maybe 5-7 years. The more throw away stuff they sell you the sooner they can get back in your pocket. I still believe well made serviceable tools or anything that last 3-10 times longer than throw away everything would save resources as well as land fill space. But where are their huge profits in that?