[chel]

I've lived in apartments for over a decade. I try to limit how many things I buy, and only buy something after I've found myself saying "I could really use ___" several times.

I think I "need" a power tool. Electric drill?
I'm trying to hang mini-blinds, (dd was such a good toddler, but some reason thought it would be a good idea to cut the thread on the current mini-blinds

: )

I can't use the current hardware and need to put up new ones.

I just started looking and saw the Dremel thing. Is that what I need or is there something else you handy people like?

 

[mightymoo]

I think a good all purpose cordless electric drill and a set of screwdriver bits is what you want. I have one and love it - we use it all the time. I think a dremel is overkill, but maybe dremel makes a typical cordless drill now or something. I have a dewalt.

 

[transformed]

Let me go see what mine is. Dh picked it out cause its light and easier for me to use....its an electric drill/screwdriver.....

black and decker firestorm. i love it

ps-dremmel is pretty useless for actual projects. good 4 crafts

 

[momto l&a]

A cordless drill is

Amazing how much we use it.

The biggest use was when we sheet rocked.

Two batteries is a good idea.

Speaking of which I need to order a new charger for it.

 

[FarmerCathy]

Makita is my favorite. I love mine! Well, ok dh bought, but I still think its mine since I use it more than he does.

 

[TinyFrog]

Yep, a cordless drill. ~12 volt. The 16 volt ones are pretty heavy and likely an overkill. They generally come with a spare battery and wall charger. I picked up a good one (Makita, I think) at Sears a few years ago for my dad. They may have some sales coming up so it could be a good time to buy.

 

[anonymamadaddy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mightymoo I think a good all purpose cordless electric drill and a set of screwdriver bits is what you want. I have one and love it - we use it all the time. I think a dremel is overkill, but maybe dremel makes a typical cordless drill now or something. I have a dewalt.

:

 

[jlutgendorf]

We have a Ryobi 18 volt. The only thing i don't like is that the battery was made for GIANT MAN hands so I have trouble taking it out. (good thing my partner has the aformentioned GMs!).

They do make a 12 volt and a 9 volt that were supposedly designed more for women.

We use it all the time. I second the 2 battery advice.

~Julia

 

[beanma]

you could always do curtains/sheers instead of mini-blinds to reduce the chances of the same thing happening again and also to reduce choking/strangulation hazards...

we've got a black and decker here...

 

[nd_deadhead]

I totally agree with getting a drill, but I'm not convinced it has to be cordless. But then, we have enough extension cords in our garage to go around the house 2 or 3 times!

I do a lot of projects, ranging from installing window coverings to building and hanging shelves to hanging cabinets, and I don't find the cord on my drill to be a detriment to any project I'm doing. And I'd be really annoyed if I needed my drill, and the battery was dead!

A spare battery is simply one more thing I'll eventually have to throw away. My Mom still uses her Dad's electric drill, which is probably 40 or more years old - I'm not convinced that a cordless drill would last as long.

 

[transformed]

A drill with a cord IS more enviornmentally friendly because the batterys take a crap OFTEN. (But now there are some new technologys that are helping with that.)

But I like to be mobile. So I prefer a cordless.

 

[normajean]

I like corded drills because I'm always waiting for cordless batteries to charge. I think a drill is a good choice for a first power tool.

 

[momto l&a]

Cordless is good as one often need the drill just a few inches past where the end of the cord is.

:

Our batteries haven't caused us any problems just the charger.

 

[touka]

Yep, a drill is what you want.

Variable speed

Keyless chuck

Rechargable

You can go corded, especially if you have heavy duty projects you plan on doing (corded provides long lasting, consistent power), but a cordless makes life really simple.

We have this Makita

DeWalt makes a really nice one too.

Lowes and HD usually have good sales on the simple power tools so make sure to stop in and see what they're offering (I saw the DeWalt offered for $70 or so at HD recently).

Also, each manufacturer has different erogonimics and weight distribution on their drills (you can see how different DW is from MK in the Amazon pics) so I would definitely do a hands-on comparisons to see which one you're most comfortable using.

 

[PeacefulSeams]

We have a Hitachi. It was more expensive than the others listed, but it works better IMO since we have owned all of the other ones. It is easier to use and is very lightweight. It is actually a screwdriver but you can change the bits out to make it a drill. I think we paid like $80 for it at Lowe's.

Hitachi

 

[cloudswinger]

Another thing about corded is that they tend to be lighter because you don't have the weight of the battery to contend with. And longer lasting batteries are heavier! We have both, but really tend to use the corded ones more, because the cordless ones never are charged when we need them. And it is a waste of electricity to leave it on the charger all the time.

 

[chel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beanma you could always do curtains/sheers instead of mini-blinds to reduce the chances of the same thing happening again and also to reduce choking/strangulation hazards... we've got a black and decker here...

good advice, but we live in an apartment and would have to buy them when we left anyways, which hopefully will be in less than a year.

Thanks for all the great advice.
Dh one-uped me on frugalness, and said he would try to borrow one from a friend. Just our luck, he had a friend that bought an extra one awhile back

and was willing to give it to us. It's a cheap one from Wal-Mart, so it'll be a good way for us to learn what we want further down the road.