I just cut through a 6x6 pressure treated beam with my Ryobi brushless circular saw. Didn’t even bother to upgrade to a diablo blade. And it worked great!

I made six more similar cuts. No problem.

If I was doing this every day, would I upgrade to Milwaukee? Probably. (More than likely buy a corded saw.) But for weekend home improvement projects, don’t doubt the power!

  • NoRamyunForYou@lemmy.nzEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Again, I am probably wrong as I haven’t really looked at Dewalt with a lot of intent, but there seems to be a lot of different buzz words? Flex, XR, Atomic, Powerstack? Also there seems to be a few different voltages, or are they moving all of their 18v tools to 20v now.

    I know Makita has a few lines as well, but here (in New Zealand), its basically 18V or 40V systems. But then obviously you’ve got some complexity with Makita as well, where you double up on batteries to make them 36V and 80V etc.

    Oh is there quite a lot of talk around decrease in Dewalt quality? I’ve always considered them to be pretty top notch stuff.

    • Spaceman Spiff@lemmy.fmhy.mlEnglish
      2·
      1 year ago

      I think most of that is the exception. From what I can see, Powerstack is a marketing name for their newer and “better” battery, and is completely compatible and replaceable with their standard 20V line. XR is a similar story. Since their “20V Max” is really 18v with a new coat of marketing (No, really), their lineup was already compatible. They just had to put a different connector on it. Atomic is a line of tools (smaller), and are also primarily the same 20v

      As for the 12v, 60v, Flex, and whatever else - unless you need a very wide variety in your tool collection, you’ll probably just be using the standard 20v line. Everything is labeled as 20v Max, which works quite well for ensuring compatibility.

      As for quality, I’m not an expert on the subject. There are certainly still plenty of fans out there, and it seems to be one of the better brands regardless of any complaints. It’s what I standardized on recently as a DIYer. But it may not be quite as professional-grade as it used to be.

      Makita is also a good brand, and I wouldn’t object to that either.