Cordless Tools for your Makerspace

One of the fun things about a makerspace is collecting tools. My family knows that I love tools and so they gave me two new one that I love. Here they are:

The first is a Ryobi cordless glue gun that my son gave to me. It takes full-size glue sticks and is so much bigger than the mini-glue guns I have always used that I thought
I might find it harder to use. It sits upright in a manner that makes it natural to pick up with your fingers on the trigger. The other nice thing is it doesn’t drip hot glue like a lot of the mini guns so I don’t have to worry about getting glue everywhere. The cordless feature adds a lot because I can pack it around to other sides of my project without worrying about getting messed up in the cord or having to find a new outlet to use to keep it hot.

The second tool my husband gave me. It is a Ryobi 6 1/2″ cordless circular saw. I have used my husband’s circular saw a couple of times but I have problems with it. My hands are small enough that I can’t press the safety switch and the power switch at the same time with one hand. The other big issue is that the thing is so heavy I can barely control it. Add to that the cord flopping around and trying to keep my focus on a straight cut and I end up getting frustrated. This thing is so easy to use! It cuts wood up to two inches thick and it is extremely lightweight. I can also reach the safety and power switches with one hand so I have a free hand to steady the wood.

Both of these tools operate on the same 18V rechargeable lithium ion battery. This means I only have to have one charging unit for both of them. They are both wonderful and fun tools to have in my makerspace.