Power tools: every type, with names, pictures and uses

How many power tools do you actually need?

Far fewer than the shops would like. A drill driver, an impact driver, a circular saw, a multi tool and a sander will get you through the overwhelming majority of home jobs. Everything else on this page is a specialist that earns its place only when you meet the job it exists for.

The trap with power tools is not buying the wrong tool. It is buying a tool for a job you have not done yet. A tile saw is excellent at cutting tile and useless for the eleven months of the year you are not tiling a bathroom, and for one bathroom, hiring one costs a fraction of owning it.

Pick a battery system before you pick tools

This is the single biggest decision on the page, and most people make it by accident. Batteries do not swap between brands. Once you own three of one make, every future purchase is quietly steered towards that make, because a bare tool costs half what the same tool costs in a kit with a battery.

So choose the system first, then buy tools inside it. The things worth comparing are how wide the range is, whether bare tools are easy to buy on their own, and what a replacement battery costs in five years, because the batteries will wear out long before the tools do.

Count the range, not the tool

A brand with sixty tools on one battery is worth more to you than a slightly better drill on a battery that fits nothing else.

Check bare tool availability

If a maker only sells kits, every addition comes with a battery you did not need, and you pay for it every time.

Two batteries is the real minimum

One battery means you stop working when it dies. Two means you never do. This matters more than any spec on the tool.

Mixing brands is a false economy

Adaptors exist and they are a bad idea. They defeat the tool's own protection circuits, and they void the warranty on the expensive half of the pairing.

How to tell a good one from a bad one

Once you are inside a battery system, the differences that matter are mechanical and they are easy to check.

Brushless is worth the money

A brushless motor has no carbon brushes rubbing away, so it runs cooler, lasts longer and gets noticeably more work out of the same battery. On anything you will use weekly, it pays for itself.

Amps for corded, amp hours for cordless

On a corded tool, amps tell you roughly how hard it can work. On a cordless one, amp hours tell you how long, not how hard. A 5.0Ah battery is not more powerful than a 2.0Ah one, it just lasts longer.

Voltage numbers are partly marketing

18V and 20V max describe the same battery measured two different ways. Compare within a brand, and ignore the badge when comparing across them.

Weight and balance decide whether you use it

A tool that fights you overhead or in a tight space stays in the case. Hold it in the position you will actually work in, not on the shop counter.

Dust extraction is a feature, not an accessory

A sander or saw with a proper extraction port and a vacuum on the end keeps the mess out of your lungs. Cutting board, brick and stone releases silica, and that is a genuine long term health risk rather than an inconvenience.

Cheap corded beats cheap cordless

If the budget is tight, a corded tool spends all of it on the motor. A cheap cordless tool spends half of it on a battery that will be dead in two years.

Corded or cordless?

Cordless has won for anything you carry around, and that is most jobs. But it has not won everywhere, and the exceptions are predictable.

Cordless for anything you move

Drilling, driving, cutting timber, working up a ladder or outside. Not having a lead is worth more than the small loss in sustained power.

Corded for sustained heavy load

Table saws, bench grinders, thicknessers, anything that runs for minutes at full tilt. Batteries get hot and give up long before the mains does.

Corded for tools that live on a bench

If it never moves, a lead is not a problem, and you get more machine for the money.

Either way, use an RCD outdoors

Mains tools outside or anywhere damp need a residual current device. It is a plug in adaptor that costs very little and stops a fault becoming a fatality.

What to buy first, in order

Starting from nothing, buying in stages costs less and wastes far less than a big combo kit, most of which is chosen to pad the box.

Stage one: the five that do everything

A brushless drill driver and an impact driver, both on the same battery, with two batteries and a fast charger. A circular saw. An oscillating multi tool. A random orbit sander. Add a laser distance measure and a stud finder, which are cheap and stop you guessing.

Stage two: when the jobs get bigger

A mitre saw once you are cutting trim or framing to length repeatedly. A jigsaw for curves. A reciprocating saw for demolition. An angle grinder for metal and masonry. A shop vacuum, which doubles as dust extraction.

Stage three: only for the job in front of you

Router, table saw, planer, thicknesser, nailers, tile saw, lathe, biscuit joiner. Each is excellent at one thing. Buy the one whose job you are actually doing, and hire the one you will do once.

Mistakes that cost money

Buying the big combo kit

Five tools in a case looks like value. Usually two are the ones you wanted, two are last year's model, and one is a torch.

Spreading across battery brands

The most expensive mistake on this page. Three brands means three chargers, three sets of dead batteries, and paying for a battery every time you buy a tool.

Using a drill where an impact driver belongs

A drill will drive long screws, badly, and wear out its clutch doing it. An impact driver does it faster and does not fight your wrist.

Forcing a small tool through a big job

A trim router in place of a full size one, or a 12V drill through masonry. The tool overheats, the finish suffers, and you have replaced it inside a year.

Skipping the dust extraction

Not just mess. Silica from board, brick and concrete does permanent damage, and it is entirely avoidable with a port and a vacuum.

Storing batteries flat or full

Both shorten their life. Around half charge, somewhere dry and not freezing, is what keeps them healthy between jobs.

Keeping them alive

Power tools mostly die of neglect rather than use. The habits that prevent it take seconds.

Let batteries cool before charging

Charging a hot pack straight off a hard cut is what kills cells early. Ten minutes on the bench is enough.

Blow out the vents

A motor packed with sawdust runs hot and burns out. A blast of air through the cooling slots after a dusty job is the cheapest maintenance there is.

Replace blades and abrasives sooner than you think

A blunt blade makes the motor work harder, burns the cut and is more likely to kick back. Consumables are cheap and the tool is not.

Keep leads off the cut line

The classic corded accident is cutting through your own lead. Route it over your shoulder before you start, every time.

Check the guard actually returns

On a circular saw or grinder, a guard that sticks is the fault that hurts people. Flick it and watch it snap back before each session.

Store them dry

Damp is what turns a working tool into a seized one over a winter in an unheated garage. Cases exist for a reason.

Frequently asked questions

What power tools do I actually need to start?

A drill driver, an impact driver, a circular saw, an oscillating multi tool and a random orbit sander cover almost every home job. Buy them on one battery system with two batteries, and add specialists only when you meet the job that needs them.

Should I buy corded or cordless power tools?

Cordless for anything you carry, which is most work. Corded for anything that runs under heavy load for minutes at a time, like a table saw or a bench grinder, and for tools that live on a bench where a lead costs you nothing.

Is a brushless motor worth the extra money?

On any tool you will use weekly, yes. A brushless motor has no carbon brushes wearing down, so it runs cooler, lasts longer and gets meaningfully more work from the same battery. On a tool you use twice a year, it is hard to justify.

Does higher voltage mean a more powerful tool?

Not across brands. 18V and 20V max are the same battery measured two different ways, so the badge tells you nothing when comparing makes. Within one brand, higher voltage lines generally are more capable, but compare the tools rather than the numbers.

What do amp hours mean on a battery?

Runtime, not power. A 5.0Ah pack holds more energy than a 2.0Ah one, so it works longer between charges, but it does not make the tool stronger. Bigger packs are also heavier, which matters overhead.

Can I use one brand's batteries in another brand's tool?

Not properly. Adaptors are sold but they bypass the protection built into the pairing, they usually void both warranties, and they are a genuine fire risk with damaged cells. Pick one system and stay in it.

What is the difference between a drill and an impact driver?

A drill turns steadily and is for making holes, with a clutch to stop overtightening. An impact driver adds rapid hammering blows in the direction of rotation, which is what drives long screws without stalling or twisting your wrist. Most people want both.

Do I need a hammer drill?

Only for masonry. A hammer drill adds a forward tapping action for brick, block and mortar. For anything heavier, like concrete or repeated holes, a rotary hammer with SDS bits does the job far faster and with much less effort.

What is the difference between a circular saw and a mitre saw?

A circular saw is handheld and you take it to the material, so it rips sheets and long boards. A mitre saw is fixed and you take the material to it, so it makes repeated accurate crosscuts and angles. They are not substitutes.

Are cheap power tools ever worth buying?

For a tool you will use a handful of times, often yes, especially corded, where all the money goes into the motor. For anything you use weekly, cheap costs more over time in replacements and in worse results. Never buy cheap on anything with a guard or a blade.

How do I make my batteries last longer?

Let them cool before charging, store them at around half charge somewhere dry and above freezing, and do not leave them on the charger for weeks. Heat and being stored fully flat or fully full are what age cells fastest.

What safety gear do power tools need?

Eye protection always, because that is the injury you cannot undo. Hearing protection for anything loud, since damage is cumulative and permanent. A proper respirator for board, brick or concrete dust, and gloves for handling material but not near a spinning blade.