Copyright SlashGear
We may receive a commission on purchases made from links. Among the most important brands for all kinds of tool users, DeWalt stands as a solution that just about anyone can get behind. There's a lot to like about the equipment that DeWalt makes. Admittedly, price is frequently a barrier for buyers considering DeWalt among a range of options. DeWalt is rarely the least expensive tool in any corner of the market. This makes it a brand that some DIYers and casual fixers will overlook simply because the price tag doesn't feel like it matches up with their needs. Indeed, when tackling small repair jobs, the cheapest tool available is often the best solution to handle limited project scope. Even so, digging a little deeper into the DeWalt catalog reveals a few important realities to those who hadn't previously considered the brand. For starters, many pieces of DeWalt gear can actually be found for reasonable prices. DeWalt tools tend to offer numerous upgraded features when compared to other brands. Personally, I've been a longtime Milwaukee power tool user, but gravitate toward DeWalt's accessories and hand tools. I also invested in a discounted drill kit from DeWalt (some time around two years ago) that opened up the brand's battery system to my collection, and my experience with the tool has been nothing short of superlative. I'm not planning on giving up my Milwaukee equipment, but the next power tool I buy might very well be a DeWalt, and naturally, I have my eyes on a few. Undoubtedly, one of the most interesting offerings from DeWalt, in my mind at any rate, comes in the form of a drill. For my money, a three-speed drill is such a change of pace that it has to be explored. DeWalt's 20V Max XR 1/2-Inch 3-Speed Hammer Drill Kit is the only one of its kind that I've come across. It's available at outlets like Lowe's and Amazon. The typical combi-drill offers numerous clutch positions and a two-speed operation, and it often adds hammer action into the mix. Generally, if you have to choose between only a hammer drill or a standard model, you should opt for the hammer drill. Adding a third speed setting expands on what the drill can accomplish, though, making it a far more versatile tool than the implement already present in most tool users' collections. The drill is also fairly short, with a length of 7.6 inches, allowing it to more readily fit into tight areas, too. The variable speed trigger completes a premium drill with lots of impressive features. While it's true that many power tool brands make a variety of nailers, the DeWalt 20V Max XR 16 Gauge Angled Finish Nailer is an excellent selection within this crowded field of finishing tools. The solution weighs just over 5 pounds and can drive up to 800 nails per charge when used with one of DeWalt's smallest 2.0Ah batteries, uncommonly matching a weight-saving package with high work volume typically reserved for larger equipment. The finish nailer is an ideal solution for tackling numerous installation tasks involving baseboards, trim, and crown molding. You'll find it online and in store at outlets like The Home Depot and Amazon. The tool doesn't require the addition of gas cartridges or a hosed connection to an air compressor. This makes it mobile and highly capable in any work setting you might find. The tool is rounded out by selectable actuation modes, including bump fire and a sequential action, that helps improve precision. This and the depth adjustment are both quickly adaptable without additional tools. A metal cutting circular saw isn't something you see every day. The 20V Max XR 7-1/4-Inch Metal Cutting Circular Saw is built with essentially the same overall body dimensions as a standard circular saw, but delivers huge power output, rated at 1,400 mwo, to help slice through corrugated metal, 20 gauge steel, and other hardened material. The circular saw features an integrated chip collector that limits flying debris. This might not be drastically important on a standard circular saw, but when you're flinging metal shards up into the air, an onboard debris collection solution is a game changer. The saw also features an electronic brake that stops the blade in less than a second, and the tool's lightweight design makes it easy to maneuver and control even when tackling heavy duty cutting jobs. Alternative metal cutting solutions tend to take on the framework of shears that perform a scissor-action instead. However, if you'll be slicing through dozens or hundreds of feet of metal sheeting during your build, that kind of cutting tool just isn't suited to the task. DeWalt's unique option makes for a tremendous improvement in this regard. It can be found at The Home Depot, Amazon, and Ace Hardware. The Side Strike Chisel is a DeWalt tool that I own and use on a surprisingly regular basis. It's available in a wide range of home improvement stores, from The Home Depot to Acme Tools and Amazon. Mine has been a staple of the toolbox for a few years, and so it has taken a significant beating through numerous demanding asks of its blades. Even in its current state, the tool still gets plenty of use in my repair and renovation schedule. A new side strike chisel fresh out of the box contains numerous excellent features. On the back, there's a hardened strike cap that makes this a chisel you can use with a hammer. The ergonomic and cushioned grip is easy to hold and features a guard lip at the top to prevent hand slippage. The blade features a few key segments. On one side there's a flat edge and its opposite features a chisel face and a serrated blade. This allows you to hit the chisel from the side in order to wedge it under something you're trying to lift or to support pressure in a rocking motion to make cuts in material. The traditional chisel edge is deadly sharp right out of the packaging and performs exactly how you'd expect. DeWalt features a catalog that goes above and beyond the limits of many of its contemporaries. One great example can be found in the brand's 10-Inch Heavy Duty Wet Tile Saw. This tool is an instrumental asset in performing tile renovations. Professional installers will likely already have various tile cutting implements, with this option likely included in many collections. Those looking to save on installation costs by doing their own tiling aren't likely to already have the necessary equipment, though. This tool weighs 69 pounds, making it one of the lightest saw in its class. DeWalt notes that while this weight figure isn't exactly 'light,' it does allow for a single user to carry it around a job site. That's not a feature that alternatives can always claim. This solution is fairly expensive, so finding the best price you can is essential. At present, the winner seems to be Stone Tooling ($869), but it's also found at Acme Tools, Amazon, and The Home Depot. The tool features a cut line indicator and stainless steel rollers to help make accurate and precise cuts the first time. It has a cutting capacity to rip cut 25 inches and deliver diagonal cuts on tiles up to 18 by 18 inches. It supports a bevel angle up to 45 degrees and delivers a no load blade speed of 4,200 rpm. Transfer pumps are an important solution that many tool users frequently rely on during cleanup tasks and beyond. A transfer pump is an important addition to an emergency kit, and it's equally at home in the tool collections of users who work on pools, landscaping water features, and HVAC systems. The DeWalt 20V Max Transfer Pump Kit can achieve a lift height of 25 feet when moving tap water, and it also retains the ability to transfer a 60% water to 40% propylene glycol mixture, to support HVAC needs and refrigeration tasks. The pump can transfer 10 gallons per minute when moving tap water and averages a 4.5-gallon per minute transfer speed at 45 feet of head height. There are far more tasks than you might realize in the typical cycle of maintenance and repair that rely on a consistent ability to shift high volumes of liquid. A transfer pump is therefore an integral component of many renovators' and professional installers' toolkit. It can be found at The Home Depot, Amazon, Grainger, and elsewhere. Everyone who works with hand and power tools has a tape measure. This should be part of every home toolkit, and taking distance measurements is always going to be integral when tackling projects both large and small. Tape measure technology has come a long way in recent years. Tape measures themselves have improved tremendously, and with the help of added technological leaps, this tool has taken on alternative formats that make measuring distances far easier to accomplish. The DeWalt 200-Foot Alkaline Laser Distance Measurer is one great example of this jump forward, and can be found at Acme Tools and Toolup. This tool eliminates the need to walk the distances you're measuring. Instead, you line the laser tape up at your starting point and simply press the button to take a measurement. The tool has a 200-foot range, with precision rated at 1/16 of an inch at 32 feet. It's possible to calculate area, volume, and more directly onboard, without having to write down your figures and do the calculations by hand, as well. This kind of improvement to your workflow can drastically speed up renovation projects by helping you measure dimensions in a room ahead of buying supplies like carpeting or paint. Numerous sanders likely take up residence in your garage or tool shed. Sanding equipment comes in a variety of formats, and every powered sander will bring its own specific benefits. The DeWalt 20V Max XR 3-by-21-Inch Belt Sander is not the right tool for delicate or detail sanding work. For those, you'll want to reach for one of your standard sanders or a specialized detail sanding unit. Many DIYers and other tool users already have these kinds of equipment in their arsenal. Instead, this belt sander offers serious power and ample coverage for tackling large sanding requirements at high speed. It's widely available from outlets like The Home Depot, MaxTool, and Amazon. DeWalt claims that the tool features an efficient dust collection functionality that helps reduce the amount of debris you kick up into the air and ultimately either breathe in or have to clean up later, but only when using the DeWalt AirLock, which is sold separately. The tool features a nearly 17% increase in sanding surface area when compared to a similar Milwaukee model and offers 25 speed selections in its integrated dial. This is an ideal tool for sanding floorboards, decking, tabletops, or window sill elements. A hand plane is an essential piece of equipment in the world of woodworking, but the planer exists as a functional and versatile power tool that extends well beyond just that realm. One important task that the DeWalt 20V Max XR Planer can help accomplish is one that many home renovators and professional installers alike have tackled numerous times. Installing a new door in your home requires an important degree of precision and a patient removal of material that numerous other cutting solutions can't provide. The planer takes off a thin shaving of wood from your workpiece. When fitting a door, the rough cutting work can be done with a circular saw, but the final fit frequently demands the help of a hand plane. In my renovations involving door replacements, I've used a traditional hand plane. Mine's an old Stanley model, but I've seen professionals fly through the work of perfecting the edges of a door to be installed with the help of a power planer. This DeWalt model features a brushless motor and the ability to adjust depth in 1/256-inch increments. The tool isn't light, weighing 6.8 pounds, but the speed and precision it brings to the table with its 15,000 rpm no load speed is a revelation for those looking to quickly and effortlessly flatten board faces. It can be found at Lowe's, The Home Depot, MaxTool, Amazon, and elsewhere. A powered ratchet is a great addition to any mechanic's shop. Of course, the tool goes well beyond this specific use case. Installers and repairers of all shapes and sizes can get significant value when wrapping their hand around the Xtreme 12V Max 3/8-Inch Extended Reach Ratchet. It can be found at stores like Lowe's, Walmart, Acme Tools, and Amazon. This tool features an extended neck and a low-profile head for improved reach in hard to access areas. It's a 3/8-inch drive tool that produces maximum torque rated at 60 ft.-lbs. This offers up more than enough power to handle fastening or tricky nut removal under both standard and more extreme circumstances. It's rounded out with an integrated LED worklight to illuminate the exact spot you're looking to approach with the tool, making the task of actually performing a part installation or removal in a tricky, recessed area much easier. It also operates on DeWalt's 12V battery platform, making the tool smaller on the whole than the company's 20V range. Indeed, the ratchet weighs 2.6 pounds, making it only about a pound heavier than typical hand tools of the same ilk. Circular saws are seemingly a dime a dozen, with plenty of excellent power tool brands offering this cutting implement. Many power tool users will rely on one of two primary layouts for their circular saw, opting either for a traditional blade fixture or for a worm drive model that shifts the blade to improve visibility. But there are actually a few other ways that circular saws can be modeled, and the DeWalt Atomic 20V Max 4-1/2-Inch Circular Saw is a particularly useful example of a novel take on a classic cutting tool. It can be found at The Home Depot, Amazon, and elsewhere. The circular saw is built on DeWalt's scaled down Atomic range, delivering a lightweight tool that doesn't lack in power output. The saw weighs 5.5 pounds and is notably easier to maneuver over a long day of cutting than one of the brand's standard models (weighing in at figures between 7.6 and 10.8 pounds, for comparison). The saw includes an auxiliary handle that can be utilized for improved control or removed to streamline the tool. It also features a hang hook, easily adjustable bevel, and a barrel-style body that make the tool significantly more usable. Plenty of professional tool users reach for powered adhesive guns when performing the finishing touches in their work. But DIY renovators rarely think beyond the basic (and cheap) skeleton model to support their caulking or adhesive application needs. No matter where you live or the types of projects you work on, the need to apply adhesive, silicone, or caulk to a project or component of your home is a routine demand. It's also one that quickly becomes a serious burden for many skeleton gun users. Even those with impressive grip strength will find that just a few yards of consistent application is more than enough to get the forearms burning. The DeWalt 20V Max 10oz Adhesive Gun solves this and can revolutionize your precision. It features a variable speed trigger with a speed dial for exacting flow rate needs, and is rounded out with an anti-drip feature that retracts the plunge rod when you release the trigger. Fighting with messy caulk is a thing of the past with a tool like this in your collection. It's available at The Home Depot, Amazon, and MaxTool. The scroll saw is a tool that is not used nearly as often in the modern workplace as it once was. However, the tool remains a staple piece in many hobbyists' crafting kits. The niche use case has led to a decline in manufacturers who produce the tool. But those who do use the tool swear by it, and considering its ability to offer something of a table-based jigsaw, it's easy to understand their affinity for the solution. DeWalt still makes a 20-Inch Variable Speed Scroll Saw that doesn't just do its job for those who need it, but it goes above and beyond. It's built with a double-parallel link arm that reduces vibration and noise to help you focus better and perform precision cutting tasks. The tool-free blade clamp makes changes simple, and integrated features like a dust blower and variable speed control amplify the value of this unique multi-directional cutting implement. The DeWalt scroll saw can be found at Lowe's, The Home Depot, Acme Tools, Amazon, and beyond. My personal experience with DeWalt tools isn't vast, but it is useful for exploring options that users unfamiliar with the brand will love. I've long been a big fan of DeWalt hand tools, but my entry into the powered ecosystem came as a discounted purchase offer. I anticipate at least strongly considering DeWalt options when looking for new tools to tackle jobs in the future. Each of these tools represents an important part of a well-stocked toolbox. They all incorporate some of DeWalt's most striking, premium features. Whether it's a small footprint that makes the tool easier to maneuver or a unique build that adds a new dimension to the implement that others can't match, these tools all stand out as great choices for any kind of user, from novice to professional.
