the 3/4 B&D is a portable corded drill, it goes slow enough to run big hole saws in steel, which is where it gets most of its exercise, and before anybody tells me that a torch is better, it's not, time you cut a hole melt a bunch of stuff, clean up said hole, I will have hole sawed and put tools away etc.
I don't think I've ever used a hole saw on steel. We torch rail all the time at work though. That's a trip when it's really hot. Cut out 6 inches of rail, and watch it close right back up again due to thermal expansion. Once the expansion stops the torched ends must be cut out with an abrasive rail saw. That one's hydraulic.
Interesting we got to cutting rail, Some how I ended up with a power hacksaw designed for rail cutting, it must have been for end trims, because of the afore mentioned expansion, It is a nice piece of machinery, it had a 5 HP gas engine on it. there was a gas powered drill for the joint bolts also, but that never came into my collection, it had flat bits, rather than around twist style.
The drills used now are hydraulic, and the high speed ones are attached to a pump jug with coolant in it so you don't have to squirt coolant on the bit by hand. The old low speed drills are still used on small size rail, you have to take a bottle of water or other coolant and apply it to the bit while drilling. The newer ones are really slick but damn those things are heavy...
I have a Dewalt cordless grinder on my wishlist but did not purchase yet because ...
i have of those as well. While not as gutsy as my old Skill saw, I like not having to worry about cutting through the cord. I will often wrap the cord around my arm and string it behind my head around my other arm and then behind me to keep the cord out of the road.
The circular saw is a great tool. The Sawzall is even better. Other than the drills, that's the one that gets the most use on our farm both indoors and outdoors. We hack a lot of stuff up, even clear brush with it...
Not long ago my brother and I pulled up at 5he remodel place to find a neighbor bent out of shape because a tree came down threatening the service entrance to a house. My brother ran the chainsaw and I used the sawsall and made sort order of taking down the tree. Both Dewalt 20v cordless. The neighbor was happy.
I've got a Binford 8200 Sawzall (actually a Milwaukee). This sucker is powerful, and about the size of a school bus. I was doing some plumbing in our unfinished basement and had to reach overhead to cut a 2" PVC drain pipe (it was hopelessly clogged - easier to cut the section out and replace it than other repair methods). That sawzall went through it like it wasn't even there! I thought I was going to swing the thing down into my leg. I was not expecting a lot of resistance to the cut, but what I got was NO resistance. Nada. I learned to really respect that sawzall after that. Previous to this learning experience I had thought of sawzalls as relatively gentle and benign things, as far as power tools go (just keep your fingers away from the blade). Nope. This one is a powerful beast! I treat it more like a chainsaw now.
They really are awesome things, aren't they? I've recycled a lot of scrap lumber out of derilict outbuildings simply by hacking it out with a Sawzall and cutting it to length later.
