# Unnecessary Ryobi overkill?



## Citizen C (Dec 3, 2013)

I've been slowly building an inventory of tools, primarily for woodworking, repairs, etc. I have Makita dreams...but a Ryobi budget.

I bought one of those Ryobi drill/circular saw starter kits and I am pleased with the performance of both so far, along with their compact impact driver I've also added. 

What I didn't care for was the gym bag supplied with the starter kit for toting the saw and drill around. Obviously a way to keep the cost competitive by not supplying a hard shell case with latching snaps, etc. I like things snugly fit and secure, not rattling around getting scuffed up and having small things fall into the electric motor compartments. And nobody seems to offer an aftermarket accessory to fill this niche.

So I constructed this kit box for the saw. It is 1x12" white pine with a birch plywood 1/2" lid secured with a hasp and some spare door hinges. I used butted joints secured with 2" deck screws and liberal amounts of wood glue.

You can see there the saw, secured with no play whatsoever. A small bottle of Breakfree CLP for oiling around the arbor bushing when changing blades, an additional blade (Avanti) to supplement the rougher cutting factory blade, storage for a carpenters square, an el cheapo HF speed square, and one battery.

Okay...so do I have way too much time on my hands?


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Simple answer is yes.
I've had my Ryobi tools bouncing around in the back of the truck in a milk crate for years, never once have ever even thought about oiling an arbor.
And never once looked back and regretted it. Tools still work fine and never hard trouble getting a blade off.
But if it makes you happy that all that matters.


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## Citizen C (Dec 3, 2013)

Placing a small amount of oil between the bushing and the blade upon installation of the blade is in the owner's manual. This being my first circular saw, I wanted to know everything that would keep it running for as long as possible.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

You'll find out real quick that saw has very little torque and will kill a battery after just making a few cuts. I got one in a kit I bought and used it once and never used it again and went back to a corded saw.
Make sure to buy some more battery's or it's going to be a long waiting for that one to charge.
May sound like I'm trying to cut down your ideas, nope, just being honest and truthfull.


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## McSteve (Dec 8, 2009)

That's... amazing. I'll never criticize anyone for taking good care of their tools, but I'll tell you that I don't even know where my Ryobi cordless circ saw is. Probably still sitting on my garage floor after trying and failing to use it to cut up a couple scrap sheets of plywood. Perhaps the lithium ion tools are a bit better.


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## joecaption (Nov 30, 2011)

Mines sitting in a pile of stuff for a yard sale.
I also bought there 8 bank battery charger. Seemed like a great idea, I could charge 8 battery's at a time. Not. While it holds 8 it only charges one at a time and takes longer then the single charger. 
The jig saw was useless, there's no guide to hold the lower part of the blade so it just bends.


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## Citizen C (Dec 3, 2013)

The purpose of the Ryobi was to give me some ability to operate where corded power is not available. I work for a home improvement company, but primarily in the office where my organizational skills as a former artillery officer are more useful than my as yet meager carpentry skills. I occasionally go out on minor service calls when our Jedi are too occupied with the money-making projects.

It is not too shabby for small stuff and projects (like this box) that I have been doing at home. I work around the battery/torque problem by having two lithium ion batteries and swapping them out in the charger. Yes, plywood does drain them quickly. I'm probably going to get their most powerful battery to supplement my two 2x batteries now.

I may make another, smaller case for the impact driver and/or drill, whichever one won't be riding in the holster on my tool belt. And that project will most definitely be Ryobi overkill.


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## kwikfishron (Mar 11, 2010)

Welcome to the forum Citizen C. That's a nice case you built. :thumbsup:


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## Citizen C (Dec 3, 2013)

For a bit I even toyed with the idea of trying out dovetail joints for that box! That would've been more of an exercise in improving my skills than anything else, but the perfect is the enemy of the good enough.


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## ddawg16 (Aug 15, 2011)

Every hard case I've gotten that a tool came in, ended up in the recycling bin.....

All my cordless tools are Ryobi....I built a garage and 2-story addition with them.

That cordless circular saw might seem a bit 'weak'....but you know what, when your 25' in the air hanging off the end of scaffolding trying to cut the end off a roof rafter.....you quickly appreciate how light and easy it is to use.


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## TheEplumber (Jul 20, 2010)

My ryobi bag lasted about a month- blew the zipper out. Ever since then the tools land wherever in my van- except for my hammer drill. It ends up on top of a tot tray that's filled with hole saws, self feeders and driver bits. It's one of the first tools that go into a job with me.
I like your box. If it was mine, I'd make it flatter and longer so I could stack stuff on top or turn it on its side. Space is a premium in a van sometimes- it would have to compete with my microwave....


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Nothing to do with Ryobi but I hate those bags tools come in. I have shelves in the back of my truck for tools and the need to stack on those shelves.
Make a deal with ya dawg you send me your hard cases and I will send you my bags.:laughing:


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## SeniorSitizen (Sep 10, 2012)

If that's what makes one happy then that's what needs to be done whether overkill or not. Good job and I bet that saw doesn't fall out because the lid fell off.:laughing:

A nice addition to any work shop is a portable saw cutting guide or two. The PM link suggests building one for ripping and one for cross cutting. I also like a short and long ( 4 ft.+ and 8 ft.+ ) for ripping sheet goods. They can be very accurate when used in conjunction with a couple of saw horses and Quick Clamps. Build them with quality material, hang on a wall for storage and they will last as long as you own the saw. The only disadvantage I see with them they are specific to that saw and possibly the blade they were built with depending on saw tooth set.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/reviews/4283497


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## Citizen C (Dec 3, 2013)

Thanks for the link. I'm going to "favorite" it and explore the idea later. I think my next project will actually be some homemade saw horses.


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## JKeefe (Jan 4, 2013)

ddawg16 said:


> That cordless circular saw might seem a bit 'weak'....but you know what, when your 25' in the air hanging off the end of scaffolding trying to cut the end off a roof rafter.....you quickly appreciate how light and easy it is to use.


Exactly - I have this saw (actually the older blue version) and it is great for portable work. I does eat batteries quickly and sure it is underpowered, but probably any 18V circular saw will be.

I am also much less afraid to plunge cut with this saw than a bigger corded circ saw because when the tool kicks I can control it. 

I dare say your case is nicer than the tool inside it. Dovetail joints would have been something. Maybe pocket holes would be a good compromise?


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## MinnesotaSteve (Apr 7, 2013)

My buddy has one of those Ryobi saws. It's ok for that one time you need a cordless saw, but for general use it's really a pain. The batteries they ship with their stock kit, it'll last through maybe a half dozen 2x4s and then just die. I was looking at the Milwaukee cordless kit, and they won't even let you use the saw without the extended capacity battery.

I have a Makita 5007NB corded circular saw I bought maybe 15 years ago.

My experience... the hard case is especially important with a circular saw. I used to just toss mine in any old box, and it seemed ok until I started having binding problems while cutting and it was a pain adjusting the height and it took me a while of fighting with the saw to realize the reason why was because the base plate had bent. Or rather the bracket which mounts to the base plate and allows for height adjustment had bent and shifted the base plate so it wasn't quite flat from front to rear.

A replacement base plate was about $20, and after replacing it I've taken better care of the saw and kept it in the case when not in use.

I still just toss my cordless drill in a tool bag, even though that also came with a case.


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