We don’t always need or even want the biggest most powerful tool we can get our hands on. If you’re doing projects with soft wood, plastic, and even softer metals like aluminum, a lower torque and lighter weight tool can save you from heartache. Ryobi’s USB Lithium tools are perfect for a lot of different jobs where your normal power tools might be overkill. They are always pretty attractive when it comes to price, but Home Depot has several of the tools and batteries on sale right now.
Ryobi USB Lithium 3/8 in. Ratchet Kit with 2.0 Ah Battery ($50)
Ryobi sent over this ⅜” ratchet a few months ago and I wrote my initial impressions. If you don’t want to read that, I will sum up by saying that it was a bit of a revelation after testing this, with several full-sized ratchets. It reminded me of several times in my career of testing cars, that I enjoyed the lower-power model more than the fastest version when I was able to drive them back to back in the right situation. A base 911 really is more enjoyable than a Turbo on a mountain road. If I am working on something with small hardware, or anything with plastic threads, this is the ratchet I want. Right now, it’s $50 at Home depot – it’s normally $69. It includes a 2ah battery and a USB charging cable. While I’m talking about the battery, buying them in multi-packs brings 2ah batteries down to about $12 a piece.
The USB Lithium line has several unique cordless tools as well. Everything from a Carver, which is basically a power chisel, to a hot glue gun, a rotary tool, and a soldering pen, there’s even a hotwire foam cutter, which if you’ve never used, is a mess-free revelation compared to other methods. I’ll link to those below.
