Читать книгу Knitbook: The Basics & Beyond - Chris Schapdick - Страница 17

Tools broadly fall into one of two categories: hand tools and power tools. Power tools, in general, are a bit more expensive than hand tools, but unless you have some personal reason to use only hand tools, power tools will make your life a whole lot more comfortable, and I recommend spending the money on them.

When I was growing up, there were power tools that plugged into the wall, but there were really no such things as battery-operated tools. For that reason, I gravitated to standard 110V connected power tools. There is nothing inherently wrong with that approach today. What has happened over the last 20 years or so, though, is a shift to battery-powered tools. These have come down a lot in cost, and you are not sacrificing anything in regard to performance anymore. Batteries are more efficient and less expensive, and all this has led to a major shift in the power tool industry. I’m a fairly recent adoptee of this technology, but I can see that the benefits are vast. There are many advantages of using battery-powered tools:

• They eliminate the need to have a power supply close to where you are working. You can take your tools and a bunch of batteries and do work in the middle of the woods. Your ability to work is only limited to your battery capacity.

• You don’t have to worry about cords getting in the way, either. It is such a simple thing, but it can make all the difference for some people in terms of ease of use and comfort.

Sounds great, right? The benefits tend to outweigh the downsides. But of course, there are a few downsides.

• Battery-powered tools tend to be more expensive.

• Once you decide on a brand of battery-powered tools, you are effectively locked into that brand, since the batteries are not compatible with other manufacturers’ tools.

• If your batteries run out of power and you can’t recharge them, you can’t work anymore.

• There will always be some tools that you won’t be able to get a battery-operated version of, such as a table saw, miter saw, and air compressor.

Make the tool choices that make sense to you, your budget, and your style of work.

A wired screwdriver and a battery-operated screwdriver. Each has its pros and cons.

The battery is removed from the base to be recharged; if you have more than one battery, you can swap the dead one out for a fresh one while it recharges.