2020 Gift Guide: The Best Power Tools
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Check out the other great posts in this series: Krafty Planner 2020 Gift Guide Index
BLACK+DECKER Cordless Drill
Recently, DIY and home improvement have become more and more popular, especially since COVID hit and we’ve all been home a lot more than we used to be. But many of us, myself included, don’t have the tools for it.
Some handymen with experience have plenty of tools, but if you know someone who’s just starting to get interested in home improvement or DIY projects, then a good quality drill is a great starting point for them.
This Black and Decker 20V drill is a high-quality drill with a good kit of accessories and is simple enough for anyone to pick up and figure out easily.
I bought this for Christmas last year for my son-in-law and he loves it! It’s wireless and battery-powered, which allows for much greater portability and handiness.
With a comfortable grip and a compact design, this drill won’t take up too much space but it’s still easy and comfortable to use. The drill has an RPM range of 0 to 750, which is plenty to tackle most home projects.
This drill comes with a 30 piece accessory kit, which includes everything that someone would need to get started with home improvement. It comes with bits for all of the standard screwdriver sizes, so any screws will be easy enough.
It also comes with socket bits, so nuts and bolts can be taken off as well, something that you’d typically need a socket wrench for. It also comes with full-length drill bits, which can be used for drilling actual holes out for mounting bolts or screws in place.
The included 20V battery isn’t just long-lasting, it’s actually very multifunctional. An entire line of battery-powered Black and Decker tools can all be powered with these same batteries so that you don’t have to buy a new one for every single tool, but rather you can simply swap them out with each other.
Get this drill here: Black and Decker 20V drill
TACKLIFE 5-Inch Random Orbit Sander
One of the biggest parts of DIY projects is not only making brand new things, but also restoring old things you have, but don’t want to completely replace. Whether it be old furniture or an appliance that’s been passed down from previous generations, you’re going to need to likely strip down the worn paint to restore it.
Even if it’s a brand new project, it needs to be sanded so that the primer can adhere properly. That’s where an orbital sander comes in handy. There are a few advantages that orbit sanders have over traditional sandpaper.
Obviously, the first advantage is that it’s far easier. Using sandpaper by hand is a long and tedious process, especially on things that have a bit of rust built up or have a lot of surface area.
Another great advantage is that orbit sanders provide a more randomized sanding pattern so that you don’t get horizontal or vertical streaks in the sanding.
The TACKLIFE 5 inch orbit sander is a great option for a simple, yet effective orbit sander.
It has a comfortable grip so that long projects won’t hurt your hands, and you’ll be able to keep things precise and steady. It’s important that you don’t have a sander that might run away from you because then you might start sanding parts that you really didn’t want to.
This sander has an adjustable speed setting so that you can get it just right. At max speed, this tool runs at 13,000 OPM, or orbits per minute. That is plenty fast, so you can tackle rougher jobs like rusted tools and components with ease.
One of the common issues people face when they’re doing a lot of sanding is the dust it creates. It’s not quite as bad with things like wood dust, but paint dust and rust particles are very bad for you.
This sander is equipped with a high-performance dust collector, which helps keep all of that particulate trapped in a little collection box while you work, giving you a safer and cleaner work environment.
It comes with 12 sanding discs right out of the box, in both strong and medium grit strengths, so you have options depending on how delicate the item you’re working on is.
The stronger grit works better on fixing up rust or getting the rough shape down, while the finer grit lets you do precise work and doesn’t remove as much material.
Get this sander here: TACKLIFE 5 inch orbit sander
Dremel Rotary Tool Kit
If you know someone who’s looking to take their DIY skills and home improvement game up to the next level, a Dremel set can be incredibly helpful in allowing them to tackle all sorts of projects that they wouldn’t have been able to before, or even doing things they could already do, but much easier.
A Dremel is a brand of rotary tool, which has tons of available accessories to attach to it for many different purposes. The Dremel 4300 is one of the best ones you can get for the price, providing sturdy construction and many options for just about any home improvement related projects that you can think of.
No matter which attachment you have on, the Dremel’s motors can run it at speeds ranging from 5,000 RPM to 35,000 RPM. These are some insanely high speeds, which helps when you’re trying to do more heavy-duty things like cutting metals or grinding down wood.
The motors have been designed so that you can replace the brushes in them, which typically wear out first, prolonging the lifespan. The big drawing point of the Dremel 4300 is the appealing accessories and attachments bundle it comes with.
Dremel has so many different kinds of attachments, that it makes the one tool capable of doing just about anything. For example, if you wanted to carve or engrave some wood or metal, typically you’d need a specialized tool.
However, with the Dremel, you can simply attach the right bit for the material you’re working on and get to work. It has plenty of different wheel attachments for putting those finishing touches on your work.
Wire brush wheels are great for polishing up metals and can get into all the little nooks and crannies without damaging the metal itself. It also has wheels for cleaning rust off of metals and for grinding down material like wood.
A more complex task you might be faced with is trying to cut through metal. It’s pretty difficult to saw through, and even if you can do it, it takes a long time. However, just by attaching the cutting bit and setting the RPM up, you can cut through metal pretty effortlessly.
All of those tasks can be accomplished easily with a Dremel, and the best part is, it’s all in one simple tool. You only have to keep the included plastic case to store the tool itself and all of the accessories, so it doesn’t take up much space at all.
Get this Dremel here: The Dremel 4300
PORTER-CABLE Air Compressor
Anyone who has a shop or works on cars knows that no matter what you’re working on, it can get all dirty and dusty fast. Cutting wood gets sawdust everywhere, and car engine bays are usually pretty dirty on their own.
Having an air compressor on hand makes cleaning up your equipment and workspace fast and easy, and the Porter-Cable air compressor gives you everything you’ll need with a quality accessory kit.
Air compressors work by using a motor to pressurize the air inside of a container, and then the hose and attachments are used to spray the air out at high speeds, blowing away any dust or particulate that’s on the surface.
This can be so helpful for a number of different reasons. First, there’s typical everyday cleaning. Grinding metal and sanding down wood produces a lot of dust, leaving your shop with a layer everywhere you look.
Not only is this unsightly, but it can actually be bad for you breathing it in. By blowing it away and getting it ventilated out of your shop via a fan, it can make the air quality much better, which is important when you’re spending hours at a time in a shop.
When it comes to cars, these air compressors have a few different uses. Under the hood, these can be used to clean gunk and dust off of your engine, which helps a lot with overheating and ensuring clean connections between all of the parts.
It can also be used to quickly inflate tires if they’ve lost some air, but you should be careful not to over-inflate. On the car’s interior, this can help considerably. It can blow dirt out of all the hard to reach places, like the far back of the footwells and the creases all around the interior paneling.
We used ours to inflate a pool for my grandson to use this summer…so much easier than blowing it up or bringing it down to the gas station to use the air machine
It can also help refresh carpets by fluffing them up and getting unwanted dust out of them. The included accessory kit has plenty of bits that you might need for various work.
It has daily use bits for just blowing air around, and specialized tips for things like inflating tires and even inflating sports balls. It’s lightweight and compact, so it’s easy to store and use on the move. You can carry it around with the built-in handle, so it can be used all over the house, the garage, the shop, and more.
Get this air compressor here: Porter-Cable air compressor
DEWALT Sliding Compound Miter Saw
Some home improvement projects are really simple. Things like mounting new handles onto cabinets, or moving shelving around, only require a drill and a level. However, there are some big projects out there, such as making a new shed for your backyard, redoing your patio from scratch, and so on.
These projects require a lot more in terms of machinery, but a great start for anyone would be a quality miter saw, like this one from DeWalt. Miter saws are incredibly useful for cutting big pieces of wood, especially when you need them to be cut at certain angles.
The DeWalt miter saw is durable and powerful, allowing you to make tons of cuts without having to worry about quality concerns while getting the cleanest cuts possible. If someone wanted to build a small shed, that’s a lot of woodcutting, particularly for the support beams and the planks that make up the walls.
It could be done by hand, sure, but the cuts wouldn’t be perfectly even and it would take hours. This miter saw can cut through wood extremely quickly, thanks to the powerful 3800 RPM motor.
When you lay down a wooden beam on the guide, there are some adjustments you can make depending on what you want to do. You can angle the saw left to right, making an angled cut on the wood ranging from 90 degrees to 45 degrees.
You can also then angle the saw up and down, changing the angle you’re cutting into it at. Once you have your wood all lined up how you want it, you can use the clamps to keep it steady.
This helps prevent accidents from the wood sliding around and being unstable during the cutting process. One of the nice quality of life features on this saw is that it has a dust collection system attached to it.
Sawdust can get everywhere - all over your shop, your clothes, and even in the air you breathe. With the dust collection system, you have minimal cleanup to do after you’re done working.
DeWalt is known for their quality tools, and their carbide blades are no exception. These blades are long-lasting and durable, and cheap to replace when they do start to wear down. If something unexpectedly does go wrong with your machinery, you can rely on their 3-year warranty that allows you to replace the device.
The DeWalt miter saw The DeWalt miter saw
MORE GREAT POWER TOOL GIFT IDEAS
BEFORE YOU GO:
Check out the other great posts in this series: Krafty Planner 2020 Gift Guide Index
Here are a few more posts you might like:
THE ULTIMATE LIST OF PRODUCTS, APPS, TOOLS, AND RESOURCES I USE ON A DAILY BASIS
See my Link Party Directory for a current list of blog parties I attend each week.
FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY – Please Read Freebies Terms of Use.
(This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.)
like this post? share it with a friend!
affiliates
