Does any body else own a Dewalt DW317K Jig saw? - Model Railroader Magazine

I had a friend who brought some Ryobi 18v tools on a trim crew I worked with. He was always running them down a little, making sure everyone knew he got them as a gift, didn't want us thinking he chose them. Thing is, they always seemed to work fine whenever I saw him using them.

I have a Ryobi table saw at home, in a very tight workshop and it works just fine. Cost me $80, new on sale, and I'd have paid $40 easy, just for the sheet steel table that came with it. I built matching "cabinets" for my main home tools, miter box, table saw and utility top (router table, dovetail jig, sander, grinder, etc.). I wanted them all the same heigth so each could act as a table extension for the others. I put a 26" by 26" inch piece of scrap 3/4 poplar ply on the Ryobi table and now have an extra bullet proof work table that I can sit on to eat lunch, clamp to, jigsaw on, hammer on, you name it. The table saw was a bonus.

A trim carpenter I have a lot of respect for used that same Ryobi table saw as his backup, set up full time with dado heads, and if you've ever cut a bunch of dadoes, you know it puts way more stress on a saw than simple ripping or crosscutting. His saw was still running perfect after two years of that abuse.

All that said...however...when it comes to tools, if you use common sense, you get what you pay for. My Ryobi table saw is perfect for what I need it for, rough ripping. It is NOT an edge joiner. The mechanism supporting the motor and blade tends to hop some when you stress it, and you can't feed wood into a table saw without stressing it. That makes the cut wobble some, not enough make giant S curves, but at least one boss commented on the daylight it left showing through a joint which called for being tight. If I need to nub off the corner of some block for clearance, and the table saw is set up, hooked up to the dust co, and  and ready to go, I might nub it with the table saw. If I need degree accuracy, the Delta miter saw is right next to the table saw, so I'd probably use that. If I need to mess around with eighth degrees of bevel and sisteenth degrees of miter, then the Dewalt 12" slider comes out of the truck, even if it does add an hour to the job just to set it up and tear it down.

My rule on tools is first, figure out what you'll be doing with it, and how to say that in as few words as possible.

Then start asking people who make a living doing that kind of thing. Ask ten people, and go with whatever five or more recommend.

Back to brad nailers, a pin gun is probably one of the best purchases you'll ever make. Pick the right one, and you can drive up to 2 inch long "brads". You can almost frame a house with that. You can also put a teensy weensy little quarter inch pin into an itty bitty splitty piece of wood, done, fastened, on to the next job. If that's not enough, the compressor that runs it, with a $10 water trap, will run your airbrush forever too.

But...when it comes to bench work, while air nailers are a good thing, nothing beats a good cordless drill, with a square bit and a jar full of three inch and 1 inch wood screws, the ones with square holes in the head. An empty kitchen, except for marks on the wall, a bunch of cabinets already unpacked, the screw gun and an hour and you're rolling up the cords.

Ooops, the boss's math was wrong, and the last cabinet is an inch wider than the hole it's supposed to fit into? Half an hour will have the same cabinets lined up for him to shrinkify, and another 30 minutes has them back on the wall. High speed, the most powerful hold of any fastener short of a machine bolt, and 100% reversibility if you screw up.

Dunno about you, but that list has my layout benchwork written all over  it. Pin gun for little blocks, like under cookie cutter elevations, and to nail down wood subgrade, but screws for all else here, nailguns need not apply.

:-)