Tools Question: rent or buy?

[nords]

If you are shopping for used cordless tools at a swap meet, keep a charged battery in your pocket. You never know when you are going to spot an 'untested' tool and you will know if it is functional or not. Of course, once you test it, they will want more so negotiate the price before testing. I went with DeWalt. The older 18V tools can be used with the Li-Ion batteries with a $12 adapter. Yes, the newer brushless are lighter and more efficient, but a $40 circular saw with an adapter is way better than no saw.

Waitley aftermarket li-ion batteries are pretty good at like 1/3 the price of DeWalt. Someone on youtube did a pretty in-depth comparison and some of the aftermarkets were pretty bad. I have 4 Waitleys and they are working out well.

As people have said, a $10 angle grinder is way better than no angle grinder. Don't be afraid of some lower end occasional-use tools.

 

[Junk Man]

I buy a lot of tools at auctions, which are pretty common in my area. Estate auctions usually have tools, some have just basic cheap tools, but once in a while there will be a good one with a lot of good stuff. Prices in my area have been going up lately, but there are still some good deals to be had.

I've also got some great deals on Craigslist. Just bought a nice Delta 14" bandsaw that needed a little work for $100. After parts and a little time I have a saw worth $500-$700 for just under $150.

I agree with the Harbor Freight grinders, I too have several with different wheels on them. They crap out once in a while, but I can buy several for the cost of a name brand grinder.

 

[fo4imtippin]

I went with Yes welder, great customer service and pretty good reviews all around. I've been saturating myself with YouTube videos

Which one did you go with? I just bought the 250 pro. I was going to go with the 205 @$308, but my brother talked me into the 250amp for $440. It seemed like a bit more capability for a bit extra. I have no experience though, and i plan to weld steel with flux core exclusivly until i find a co2/argon tank on facebook marketplace for cheap. I hope it lasts longer than my bus build so that i can maybe get into more hobby welding. I plan to have my brother weld the few things of aluminum that i need for the bus build like aluminum bungs for my grey tank.

 

[HamSkoolie]

I agree with the Harbor Freight grinders, I too have several with different wheels on them. They crap out once in a while, but I can buy several for the cost of a name brand grinder.

Yep. They just had them on sale for $9.99 too. At that price they're a consumable like flap disks and wire wheels.

 

[buslivesmatter]

Personally, I like to buy my tools. I mostly have Ryobi battery powered and they’re ok for most jobs so far during the demo phase. The batteries suck though so if you have a power source I’d recommend corded for some items like miter saws and angle grinders.

So far during the demo I’ve used a circular saw, reciprocating saw, basic wrenches (changing the battery), impact driver, crow bars, and an angle grinder the most.

Start investing in them piece by piece. If you don’t need cordless you can find them for less especially on Facebook marketplace.

I’d recommend an impact driver, reciprocating saw, angle grinder, and basic screwdrivers and wrenches as the bare minimum tools to own for a skoolie.