What are power tools?
A: A power tool is a tool that is actuated by an additional power source and
mechanism other than the solely manual labor used with hand tools.
The most common types of power tools use what?
A: Electric motors.
Internal combustion engines and compressed air are
what?
A: Also commonly used.
Other power sources include what?
A: Steam engines, direct burning of fuels and propellants, such as in
powder-actuated tools, or even natural power sources such as wind or moving
water.
Tools directly driven by
animal power are what?
A: Not generally considered power tools.
Where are power tools used?
A: In industry, in construction, in the garden, and for housework tasks such
as what?
A: Cooking, cleaning, and around the house for purposes of driving
(fasteners), drilling, cutting, shaping, sanding, grinding, routing,
polishing, painting, heating and more.
Power tools are classified as either stationary or
portable, where portable means what?
A: Hand-held.
Portable power tools have obvious advantages in what?
A: Mobility.
Stationary power tools, however, often have advantages
in what?
A: Speed and precision.
A typical table saw, for instance, not only cuts faster
than a regular hand saw, but the cuts are what?
A: Smoother, straighter, and more square than what is normally achievable
with a hand-held power saw.
Some stationary power tools can produce objects that
cannot be what?
A: Made in any other way.
Lathes, for example, produce what?
A: Truly round objects.
Stationary power tools for metalworking are usually
called what?
A: Machine tools.
The term machine tool is not usually applied to
stationary power tools for what?
A: Woodworking.
In some cases, such as drill presses and bench
grinders, exactly the same tool is used for what?
A: Both woodworking and metalworking.
Early industrial revolution-era factories had batteries
of power tools driven by what?
A: Belts from overhead shafts.
The prime power source was a what?
A: A water wheel or (later) a steam engine.
The introduction of the electric motor (and electric
distribution networks) in the 1880s made what possible?
A: The self-powered stationary and portable tools we know today.
In 2016 the global market for power tools was how much?
A: $33 billion and estimated to reach $46 billion in 2025.
Currently as of 2021, an electric motor is the most
popular choice to power stationary tools, though in the past they were
powered by what?
A: Windmills, water wheels, and steam.
Portable electric tools may be either corded or what?
A: Battery-powered.
Compressed air is the customary power source for what?
A: Nailers and paint sprayers.
A few tools (called powder-actuated tools) are powered
by what?
A: Explosive cartridges.
Tools that run on gasoline or gasoline-oil mixes are
made for outdoor use; typical examples include what?
A: Most chainsaws and string trimmers.
Compressed air is universally used where there is a
possibility of what?
A: Fuel or vapor ignition - such as automotive workshops.
Professional level electric tools differ from DIY or
'consumer' tools by being what?
A: Double insulated and not earthed - in fact, they must not be earthed for
safety reasons.
Different battery powered power tools often use
batteries which are not what?
A: Compatible across brands and models.
As of 2021 lithium-ion batteries have become what?
A: The de facto standard for new power tools.
The voltage is one of the most important factors for
what?
A: Battery compatibility.