Electric Tools
Electricity powers many of the tools used in the home, on construction sites, and in professional workshops of all kinds. There are many kinds of electric tools, including some you might not expect.
Electric power tools include the obvious candidates such as drills, saws, sanders, etc. Such basic electric hand tools are found almost every home and in every professional craftsman's tool collection. Within each general category of electric tool there are many variations.
Electric drills, for example, can be corded or cordless electric tools. Corded drills are more powerful and reliable than battery-powered cordless drills, but the cord does get in the way and limits the range of places in which the drill can be used. Cordless drills come in various power levels -- 12v, 18v, and 24v -- for light to heavy-duty work. Further dividing the drill category, cordless drills can be powered by nickel-cadmium or lithium ion batteries; both are rechargeable.
Another type electric power tools is the electric saw. There are electric circular saws, reciprocating saws, jig saws, band saws, table saws, scroll saws, rip saws, crosscut saws, and many more types of saws.
Electric sanders include belt sanders, which have an endless loop or belt of sandpaper that is drawn in one direction by two electric-powered rollers. A hand-held belt sander is designed to be pushed across the work surface. The bench version of this electric tool has a table set before the moving sandpaper belt; the work piece is pushed against the moving belt and moved around. Spindle sanders have a rotating vertical cylinder of sandpaper moving up and down through a hole in a table top; work is moved against the spindle to sand smoothly and randomly without leaving streaks of sanding marks.
Screwdrivers are common electric tools. Typically cordless, electric screwdrivers take much of the tedium and tendinitis out of screwing. A battery-operated rechargeable screwdriver is inexpensive and lightweight. Sets of screwdriver bits that fit electric drill chucks are also used.
Unusual electric tools include electric paint stirrers: eggbeater-like contraptions that are suspended vertically in a can of paint and turned by their own electric motors or, sometimes, an electric drill.
Drills are very versatile electric tools. Their rotary torque is used for stirring, grinding, polishing, sanding, screwing, and every other conceivable use. If you have an electric drill, you can probably find an attachment for it that will do any job you require.