Milwaukee, Metabo, and other power tool brands have been striving for a cordless jobsite, where every tool – or nearly every tool – is cordless.
While I love the convenience that comes with cordless power tools, and some of today’s premium cordless tools – especially brushless ones – can match the power and performance of corded tools, are the bulk of US tradesmen ready for a completely cordless workflow?
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Most power tool brands have focused their research and development energies on cordless tools, and those same tools are now often better featured than corded equivalents.
I do agree that more cordless tools are in use than ever before, and that a lot of tradesmen will continue to upgrade some of their tools moving forward.
For certain tools, it makes little sense not to go cordless. For example, I don’t think any drywaller would pick up a corded screwgun vs. a cordless one, such as Dewalt’s recent 20V Max brushless screwgun, after trying both.
But corded tools will remain for quite some time, and for good reason.
A few months ago, we asked: When is the Last Time You Bought a Corded Power Tool? Cordless?, and received a lot of great responses. It’s perhaps too soon to touch upon the subject again, but all this marketing talk about cordless jobsites has me a little concerned.
I don’t want brands to abandon their corded power tool developments.
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First, there are certain tools that either don’t exist in cordless form, or don’t work as well. Where are the cordless worm drive saws? Show me a welder that uses a cordless angle grinder for the bulk of their work.
Second, going cordless limits your options. It ties you into a battery platform, and not only that, you won’t get much choice when it comes to features and capabilities.
Let’s say you bought into Dewalt’s 20V Max platform and wanted a barrel grip jig saw. They don’t offer one, and while they had (have?) offered a corded barrel grip jig saw, it doesn’t seem to be available in the USA.
Not many brands offer cordless barrel grip jig saws (Makita does, but I don’t think it’s available here), but even if they do, that might mean buying into a completely different cordless power tool lineup.
If you only need to use a jig saw occasionally, you might not want to futz around with multiple battery brands and form factors, especially if that’s the only tool you buy from a brand.
Personally, I still buy and use corded tools. My personal Bosch jig saw is still going strong, although I don’t use it as often these days. I bought that saw 9 years ago, and would have went through multiple sets of replacement batteries if I instead went cordless.
Even buying a cordless jig saw today, will the battery packs hold up to 5 years of use and disuse? 10 years? Charge and discharge cycles, time, and idleness can wear out battery packs.
Some professional users are slow to upgrade their tools. You might see a beat up worm drive saw, or something like an ancient palm router – another tool that isn’t very available in cordless form – in a tool bag with the latest and greatest cordless brushless drill/driver.
Some pros upgrade and sell old tools as frequently as they do their smartphones, which might be when something newer and better is out, but I am under the impression most have much longer replacement cycles.
Then there are the heavy use and continuous duty tools that are not great candidates to go cordless, such as air compressors, routers, dust extractors, belt sanders, hand sanders, and things like that.
While there will be even more cordless innovations this year and beyond, I don’t want to see brands give up on corded tools entirely. That hasn’t quite happened yet, but brands have already turned their main focus towards cordless tool developments.
Would you go completely cordless if given the chance? Have you already done so?
If you ask me, I think that hybrid tools is one way things could go, where every tool is designed to be cordless, and that brands might release AC power adapters such as the one Los Gatos came out with (and recently improved upon).
That might be the only hope for users who still use and buy corded tools, whether for their longevity, performance, or cost benefit.
Josh
No probably not. Still have a corded drill, sawzall, and grinder. That will probably never change with the amount of steel work I do
Graham Howe
I have gone cordless (DeWalt platform) for most tools that have the option, this includes jigsaw, circular saw and reciprocating saw, and I very seldom use my corded equivalents. I should note that I do have a corded track saw so for long and accurate sheet goods cutting I am using that rather than the circular saw. Drills and drivers are now all cordless for me except a large SDS drill which I use so infrequently I can’t justify the addition of a cordless one. I only have a cordless grinder, it meets my needs for small amounts of metal work, but it does burn through batteries so if I did more work of that kind I would probably get a corded version, the same is true of the impact wrench.
What that leaves are sanders and routers, all corded because those are the only realistic options, but also likely to stay that way because of balance I think even if the battery power and life could be achieved. I also see no reason to look at cordless table saw or mitre saw as for me these are stationary equipment.
Mike aka Fazzman
No and no,for a contractor type even it only makes sense for certain things to be cordless just from a conveniece standpoint.
Average garage Joe probably isnt gonna buy good enough cordless tools for it to matter.
Mike aka Fazzman
Forgot to say,as Josh mentioned above us metal worker types will need the corded power and less likely to use cordless options for most of anything.
Except for perhaps hand drills and maybe a port a band for something quick. Grinders and such cordless options are a waste of money for us because because they are battery hogs,its just not worth the time.
Noah
No. Batteries are expensive and corded tools still offer more power for less money.
Jon
That’s right – even a 5 amp hour battery on a 18v / 20v platform only has 90 watt hours of energy.
If I use a 1200 to 1500 watt tool for an hour I would need somewhere between 13 and 17 freshly charged batteries.
Even if you could leap forward in battery technology and imagine we had 10 amp hour batteries, that’s still only 180 watt hours in a battery which means I would still need at least 6 batteries to work for an hour.
Andrew
I’ve gone almost completely cordless. I’ve invested in both the Dewalt 20V line (Hammer drill, impact driver, heavy duty impact wrench, jig saw, framing nailer, collated screw gun), and the Milwaukee M18 (Hammer drill, circular saw, sawzall, & multi tool) & M12 line (Impact driver & drill). That being said, I don’t think I’d ever see myself buying a cordless table saw, or miter saw, & I still use my corded hypoid saw for tough jobs. There was a point in time where I thought about buying a bigger compressor, but these days I really only use my compressor for blowing things off & inflating pool toys.
Brian V
No. I still use corded tools and probably always will. The tool companies still need to develop corded tools. They offer more bang for the buck and quite often the best or most highly regarded tools across all brands is corded. They offer higher amperage, higher torque, and longer run time.
Andrew
Angle grinders are definitely a cordless tool that I wouldn’t buy. I bought a dewalt 20v angle grinder to grind down some concrete & ended up only getting about 10 min on a 4.0 battery charge. Returned it to Home Depot & got a corded one.
abnormalist
A large percentage of my common use tools are cordless/battery powered, but I still run a cord for volume sanding, for the router, the drill press, belt sander, and the larger saws. Would I go cordless if these things had reasonable options? Maybe over time, but we’d need to look at a dramatic shift in battery technology to achieve that.
I do use a cordless orbital sander, as I often work where power is an issue, but the corded sanders get easily as much play when it comes to actually getting work done rather than “knocking the edges off this piece here”.
I do expect to see more corded tools relegated to the back burner though, I dont know the last time I ran a cord for my circular saw or corded recip saw. Hey, I dont even OWN a corded drill after the smoke came outta the old one.
James P.
I have mostly corded tools but can see thw advantage of cordless tools for smaller jobs. Done many small repairs for customers and wish I had a cordless Sawzall or circular saw and didn’t have to pull out a cord. It would save time and leave a cleaner looking site.
That said, when I am doing large projects, corded is the only way to go. With the exception of my drill and impact, I use cords to ensure I am not worring about having a battery go out or not having put one on charge. Like I said, both have there advantages and I will be adding some cordless to compliment my corded collection but not replace them.
Ron
A lot of people probably scoffed at the first cordless drills (and horseless buggys). Now look at what type of drill most people use.
I use a Milwaukee cordless impact wrench and circular saws and could not be happier with them. They blow away any air impact or corded impact wrench any day. Now we have highly capable Li-ion lawn mowers and string trimmers.
No frayed cords, tripping hazzards and extension cords to distant outlets. Quieter, too, in some cases.
Its only a matter of time before most tools sold will be cordless.
Ningwut
Wanting to keep going cordless- and hoseless. what’s the latest with Dewalt 20V nailers? The finishing nailers seem to be low availability… are they changing the line?
Paul
I can see cordless but dustless is another issue. If I could find a way to not have a shop vac hose hooked up to everything, that would be great. Those little bags on sanders and such do not make it possible. I think I would wear a light cordless vac over having to pull a shop vac around. The hose never reaches anyway.
Dacan
I have almost every latest greatest Milwaukee M12/M18 tool I may need. Have a few corded tools left that collect dust and my compressor hardly gets used with tools. For even serious DIY use I dont foresee need for corded tools except table & mitre saw or bench grinder, but how long till awesome cordless versions of them exist.
Ron
Not long. IMO , cordless miter saws are the next to become commonplace.
See Milwaukee.
Brandon
Cordless drill/driver and impact, that’s it. I do most of my work in the garage where I have clamps and tables and long/awkward marking & measuring tools available at hand. It’s nice to not have to move a cord around in the middle of a cut, but not worth locking myself into anything for the convenience. Eight months after I got my impact driver the chuck started to develop a slight wobble, and it’s been getting worse. If I had 6 cordless tools and 8 batteries matching my impact, should I buy the same impact and hope it doesn’t happen again? Buy another brand and have its own charger/battery setup? Using cordless for drill/impact only means that I can replace any of my power tools with whatever I like and whenever I’d like to with very little friction.
JoeM
I still use corded Dremel tools, but all my DeWALT tools are Cordless, or Hand Tools. Though, I do have a Cordless Rotary Tool, the 8200. And, to answer Stuart’s issue with a Barrel-Grip Jigsaw, there’s the now-defunct MS400 Multi-Saw attachment for the Dremel tools. It only works with the 4000 and 8200/8220 due to a special set of notches in the Attachment collar. The MS400 turns these Rotary tools into Barrel-Grip Jigsaws, and take standard T-Shank blades. They resemble mini-reciprocating saws when attached. I own one. It shakes a lot, but I do like it for certain small applications.
There’s still a big place for Corded tools in the world. There are still Corded tools being made by DeWALT that have a different, often specialized, head or adapter for specific heavy-use applications. I’ve seen at least one Corded Reciprocating Saw that has a foot on it that doesn’t resemble anything even close to any of their Cordless models. There’s a lot of power that Corded tools still have over Cordless. I would imagine Demolition will probably care more about this than any other industry. This will change over time, with bigger batteries, brushless motors, and some kind of easy-access battery storage/charging for the jobsite.
Let’s face it. We’re always going to need something with a cord, somewhere. It may become more scarce, but we’re always going to need it for that one thing you can’t do with a battery.
Blythe M
To really get to a almost cordless jobsite I think batteries would have to be cheaper and universal. Having enough battery power everything is too expensive, and it would help if I could borrow a battery to finish the day from anyone
Blythe M
Thinking about it more, if they want to make “stationary” tools (miter saw, table saw, etc) then that’s fine, but I won’t be interested unless they have a dual battery/120v capability- I’ll pay the extra to not get stranded with such a high power draw tool
Adam spiller
Most of my tools are corded, I have Panasonic cordless drill and impact, which are very good,and I have a new Dewalt cordless finish gun, which is quite good, but I like corded tools , they have more power, you get more for your money, and they last longer, I would never buy a cordless chop saw, not enugh power thir junck , I have a makita hypoid, worm drive, a cordless skill saw just hasn’t got the power, thir junck to, and with cordless , you realy have to buy in to, one or two brands, and than you are for ever charging battery’s, the future probably is cordless for most tools, but we are not thir yet , give it another 5 to 10 years .
Matt
I won’t go completely cordless anytime soon for two reasons:
1) With a corded tool you have an “endless” amount of runtime. With batteries you are dependent on how long each battery lasts and how many batteries you have. I have a limited amount of shop time, and I hate having to stop to recharge batteries, so I’ve tried to strike a balance between the number of spare batteries and their high cost.
2) I think the currently available cordless tools have a shorter usable lifespan than corded tools. Once batteries wear out and can’t be replaced then that tool is done. In the future companies might move to standardized batteries, or offer plug-in adaptors, which would change this.
In my shop I have cordless drills and impact drivers since the convenience of having these be cordless is huge. My reciprocating saw is also cordless, but only because I sometimes use it to prune trees in the yard or to cut firewood when camping. Everything else is corded.
As a comparison, I have a 10+ year old DeWalt 18v cordless drill that is completely obsolete at this point and whose NiCd battery no longer holds a charge. A new battery (if available) would cost about 1/2 of what a brand new drill would cost. In comparison, I have several 20+ year old corded tools that run perfectly fine and have a lot of usable life left.
Derek
Exactly why I’m not going cordless. I have a cordless drill. I’d like to get an impact driver and maybe a circular saw, but I can survive without it.
As a DIY/Homeowner there’s no reason for everything to be cordless. I do everything inside my house or on my property and an extension cord reaches it just fine. I’d rather buy a tool that will last past the batteries expiration date. I don’t want to buy a new battery every 5 or 10 years whenever it wears out when my corded tool runs just fine.
The only other cordless tool I want is a 18 gauge nail gun, but if they made an corded electric one I’d buy that. I just hate pulling out the compressor, nail gun and hose for 1 piece of molding I’m putting back up.
longlife
Never. A corded is more durable, made to withstand hard use long time. But it is ok to own a “lighter”more plastic battery version of it ,if needed.
Nathan
uhm I don’t know that’s as true these days.
most cordless options have more power (in terms of torque or speed) than their corded counterparts and they are often every bit as rugged.
Or in my uses they have been. But I will say I’ll always have both. Some devices are such duration use I don’t see moving to a battery product. Table saw, Sanders, polisher, angle grinder etc.
but I’ve also used an angle grinder that was cordless and just as strong as the corded model – didn’t bog down either. (dewalt).
I see no reason for a corded drill these days. Modern Impact wrenches – the cordless is stronger and more capable than the Corded (electrical). Some of the new cordless recip saws are just as strong as their corded counterparts. But even then I see a need for some corded tools.
If I had an angle grinder that did all the ability of it’s corded counterpart I would consider a cordless one -but I’d also know going in that I’m going to be trading out the battery on some jobs.
BikerDad
Nope, I don’t see it happening in the years I’ve got left on this mortal coil. Cordless tools really only have one advantage: Convenience. The greater feature set that cordless tools seem to have, especially with drills, is purely a matter of where the R&D dollars have gone. There’s no reason that anti-kickback and clutches can’t be added to corded drills across the board.
Corded tools have two, sometimes three, advantages: run time and power are the obvious advantages, ergonomics is another one, although it doesn’t always apply. Already noted, corded tools tend to have MUCH lower lifetime costs.
To be clear, convenience shouldn’t be underrated. At the extreme end, it means not having to drag a generator out to a remote worksite for an hour’s work. I’m seriously considering getting the Bosch 12v barrel grip jigsaw purely as a matter of convenience, so I don’t have to mess with the cord every time I need to do a quick cut with the jigsaw. I’m really sensitive to the hassle of cords because, other than my cordless drills/impacts/drivers and my stationary drill press, Rigid Oscillating Belt/Spindle Sander, and 14″ bandsaw, every power tool in my shop has to be plugged in for every use. For the big ones (TS, J/P, big bandsaw) this means going into the laundry room, throwing the breaker, unplugging the dryer, plugging in a honkin’ extension cord (HEC), throwing the breaker, and then running the HEC out to the tool. In my time working construction, I dealt with the hassles of extension cords there as well, so I get it. (Needless to say, air hoses are even worse than cords usually)
cb
I would and am.
A couple of the recent cordless additions have been a 20v multitool, jigsaw, circular saw and sawzall. They worked out so well I sold my corded jigsaw and multitool and have not used the corded circular or sawzall at all in over a year.
The jigsaw was shocking at how nice it is not to have a cord in the way all the time when making curved cuts at any angle.
For the same reasons, I hope someday they will have a cordless router that does the job.
Another recent purchase that has been amazing is my cordless small blower. It has replaced using my air compressor to blow out the shop or garage. I use it all the time to clean up the work area when making sawdust and chips.
I am a home shop user and not a contractor.
Scott K
As someone who only uses tools around the house, it’s convenient to not have to drag extension cords behind my drill/driver. However, I also have an older corded drill. My circular saw and sander don’t get used often enough to justify going cordless- I want them ready to use when I have a project and since all of the work I do is around the house there is usually an outlet nearby. I also tend to use the sander for extended periods of time and don’t have a stable full of batteries waiting. A miter saw is next on my list and I’m not considering cordless.
Jerry
I’m working my way to more cordless all the time, where practical, but will always have some things corded. I just cant see a cordless welder, air compressor, or large shop vac anytime soon.
Bill K
Never would even consider this as a option, as long as present poor battery compatibility issues and high costs are major considerations.
Andrew
I’ve been moving more and more toward a “completely cordless” shop in the last few months. Mainly out of necessity; my “shop” is actually my patio right in the middle of Downtown Milwaukee. It’s spacious and I don’t have to worry about annoying my neighbors with noise. But the only drawback (along with weather, of course) is the fact that I have only two outlets out on the deck, and those are on the same circuit as my hallway, bedroom and bathroom lights. So, if I’m running, say, my table saw and shop vac and my co-habitant decides to turn on the TV, ceiling fan and every light in the damn house (which she is prone to do) … boom, there goes the power. Because I don’t do any heavy-duty production, cordless seems to work for me. I switched over to the M12 Fuel circular saw (upgrading to M18 soon); have the M18 jig saw ordered and picked up some Ridgid sanders on clearance at HD a few weeks back. I’m probably going to jump on the M18 Miter Saw, if only to rid my home of yet another Craftsman item.
Brian
I am a masonry contractor and so I don’t use a ton of cordless or corded tools. Hammer drills, an impact, and a grinder is what I use the most. The grinder is a battery hog, but if I need serious power I use my chop saw. All this being said, a miter saw, table saw, etc. wouldn’t need to be cordless in my opinion. Basically if its a tool that doesn’t need to be moved a lot, cordless would be fine.
glenn
Already have. Sold off all my corded tools bar a file sander, an old 4″ grinder and a tig welder.
James
I have both a cordless Makita and corded Fein oscillating multi tool. The Fein cuts things with speed and efficiency that the Makita just can’t.
Jay
No to all cordless. Currently using cordless drill, impact driver, 3-3/8″ circ saw and work light. Of course my halogin leak detector, combustible gas leak detector, multi-meters, manometer, flashlights, etc. are battery powered but I don’t count those. Everything else requires a cord or air hose. My nail guns will run all day and never need worry about a charge and they have lots of driving power. Cordless nail guns feel heavy and slow compared to my compressor driven air tools. Setting up cords, compressors and air hoses doesn’t really take more than a few minutes. Only way I’d be tempted to go all cordless is if I was running tickets/service calls for a housing/apartment maintenance contractor on a large development. Even then you’d still need a corded sewer machine, spray paint rigs, pressure washers, and recovery units along with gas powered debris pumps, mud hogs, etc.. Don’t really see anyway to go all cordless at this time.
Mr. X
I went completely cordless a few years back when I was more of a full time electrical contractor. I invested in the Milwaukee V28 line to the tune of over $3500. I had just about everything and doubles of a few important tools. Then I started teaching high school electrical shop. and electrical code classes. The tools sat for longer periods of time and eventually the batteries failed. All ten of them. And they cost a fortune to replace. I realized that I am better off with corded tools. (except for an M18 Fuel driver drill and a few select M12 tools) My corded Sawzall, right angle drill, and SDS Max drill will last forever the way I use them now and be ready to go when I need them.
Chris
Toon
I had almost the complete Dewalt 18V (20V Max in USA) set up until about a year ago, when most of the work I did was remodeling/refurbishing barns and such which lacked AC power. When those jobs started to become rarer in my area, after a while I sold most of it to a friend who is in the process of starting up his own business, and went back to corded.
While modern 18v tools can often be almost as capable as their corded counterparts, you’ll be switching out batteries multiple times an hour when using tools like an angle grinder or circular saw, and it’s still not quite as powerful as even a relatively cheap corded machine. Just the bare 18v angle grinder, without batteries, cost me as much as 125mm and 200mm corded grinders and a 190mm corded circ saw including guiderail all together, and in terms of raw power the difference isn’t even funny.
Nowadays, I put more stock in transportability and functioning like a mobile workshop. Sure, I’m gonna need half an hour to set everything up: sawhorses, vise (Triton Superjaws), extension cords… But when it’s all up and running, the more powerful tools and dedicated workspace far outstrip my earlier more flexible collection in productivity. I used to be quite a vocal pro-cordless guy, but I’ve turned around a little; they can definitely do most every job their corded counterparts can, and without all the hassle that setting up AC power can be, but if you really want throughput you’re gonna be better of with some cords.
Brook Tyler
I’m a professional hvac installer and I am already cordless. Brushless angle grinder for cutting duct and hanger material, cordless rotary hammer for all my holes. Recip saw for all other cutting jobs.
Not using cords saves me tremendous amount of time and labor.
Rob
i am a maintenance engineer and would do 90% of my work on site with cordless tools, (Ryobi one+ actually), and they do most jobs great. Only heavy masonry drilling, 9″ angle grinder, drop saw and welding are corded on the job. In the workshop most tools are corded as cordless would not have the staying power for constant grinding and other equipment like lathes, welders and drill press etc is never going to be cordless.
Greg
I’d say for me it’s 50/50. I’m by no means a professional contractor or tradesman. In my day to day job I use 12v Milwaukee gear simply alone for the convenience. A lot of the time I can be up in the air 40ft or 10ft but in a really awkward area installing wireless gear and other telecom type stuff. Weight and convenience plus performance matter there. The rest of the time it really depends on what it is.
At home in a non professional setting I’d say I still have way more corded tools than cordless. To me the very high power drain tools are never going to be the same cordless. To me this category includes table saw, angle grinder, air compressor, etc. We are getting closer on the gap for these tools but for me it doesn’t make any sense. The only place that I would use those high power tools is at home in the garage where I have plenty of power available anyways. However if I was a contractor and a cordless table saw mean’t more convenience up on a roof / staging, more safety, and less running around you can bet I would have it. Same idea as a mechanic that chooses tool trucks over say Craftsman tools. If I made my money using it and it positively impacted that I would have it.
I also have a bunch of smaller corded tools I wouldn’t give up such as a drill, drywall screw gun, 7 1/4″ circular saw, 1/2hp router, Milwaukee super sawzall, Makita rotary hammer, and a few others. Again it’s really here that the only times I use these is when I have 110v outlets readily available.
My two go to companies right now are Milwaukee and Makita. I don’t see that changing anytime soon. Between the two of them nearly any tool I need is available in (this is important to me) two voltage lines that both companies are very dedicated to. What this means for me is that in a couple years I won’t have to go through the battery platform change cycle.
I used to own a bunch of different brands / platforms including Dewalt, Snap On (for automotive stuff), Ingersoll Rand, Porter Cable, and Bosch. I sold all of that and with the money (mostly from the Snap On being sold) purchased everything I have now between Makita and Milwaukee. Of all the companies they seem to be the only two that don’t have ADHD with battery platforms. To me that’s huge. I could careless about the new 60 / 120v stuff from Dewalt. Who’s to say that in a couple years if it doesn’t catch on enough that they don’t move on from it to 120v / 220v (well maybe not but you get what I mean). I don’t want to have to reinvest in new platforms every few years. That is not convenient and convenience is all that cordless tools are to me.
DIY Man
There is no doubt that cordless tool technology has come a long way and certain professional grade cordless tools rival or exceed there corded counterparts in power. However, from a financial standpoint, the cordless tool craze has become the cash cow for many of the tool manufacturers. When you walk into the home improvement store and see the prices for the latest cordless tools and the batteries, it can sometimes be a little shocking. For example, the M18 Fuel brushless sawzall has received stellar reviews for performance and durability. However, when you look at the cost of the kit with included batteries at $400 plus, it starts to get out of hand. The corded Milwaukee 12 amp and 15 amp super sawzall are also excellent performers and the 12 amp cost 4x less and the 15 amp costs 2x less. At that point, is the battery powered version truly worth the exorbitant cost Another example would be the Bosch RH328VC 36v battery powered rotary hammer. It was designed to be the cordless equivalent to the RH328VC corded version. The battery powered version generally is in the price range of $600 to $700. The corded version is $248. If for some reason one of the two 36v batteries becomes defective, a replacement costs about $200, which is almost the cost of the corded tool! The question to be asked by each DIYer and professional, is the convenience of no extension cord truly worth the cost for all tools across the board. I believe the answer is no. There is still a place for corded tools and the significant cost savings associated with them. I also believe the corded tools tend to be more durable over the long haul than their battery counterparts. I think the battery tools themselves are becoming more durable, but I don’t believe that the tool manufacturers are designing the battery packs to be the same way. Some of my corded tools will most likely be handed down to my son, but my cordless tools, especially the batteries, I can’t say the same for.
Barry
Speaking for my company (large electrical contractor), we have gone almost completely cordless. We have gone all in on Milwaukee’s 18V Fuel line and we have no regrets. The labor savings are huge and they offer a cordless version of almost every tool we could need. That being said, for heavy use in stationary settings we still utilize corded tools like drill motors, band saws and cutoff saws, but for field production work, cordless is the way to go.
My personal tool collection is a bit different. I do a fair amount of woodworking at home and I have a mix of cordless and corded tools. My miter, table and circular saws are all corded, but I do occasionally use a cordless circular saw. My routers and sanders are also corded and while I still have a corded drill for heavier work, I mostly use my cordless drill and impact drivers.
I gave my brother-in-law my pneumatic finish nailer and compressor a few years ago because he was installing new trim throughout his house and I wasn’t using it much. I have been looking into getting a cordless finish nailer, or getting a new, better, pneumatic setup, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Sorry, couldn’t resist the pun.
Bottom line: At work, where labor is expensive and rolling out cords, repositioning them throughout the day and then rolling them up and putting them away would take a fair amount of time, cordless tools are worth their weight in gold. At home, even for fair sized remodeling jobs, cordless vs corded is a toss up; both have their strengths and weaknesses…
Jake
I would never go fully cordless. As much as the convenience feels nice, I just can’t bring myself to give up the convenience of picking up my tool and just going, not worrying about eating through all my batteries and then sitting around waiting on charge.
Mike
If you have the batteries that’s really a non issue.
Mike
I think this question is perfect for cordless vs air. I’m a woodworker and I’ve basically replaces every air tool I bought my compressor for with a battery version. All my nail guns are battery even the pin nailer. Even airing a tire I can get a battery inflator. Right now I only have it for the palm nailer I uses once in 3 years. I’m looking the get the Milwaukee version of that. I’m to the point now that I’m asking myself “why keep something I haven’t used in 6 months”.