Your story sounds interesting. I'm assuming the photo shows the cutting head of the trimmer. What kind of batteries do you use? I've been fixing lawn equipment for about 20 years. After i retired, i sat around, bored, until i got into lawn equipment. do you make the head parts, or adapt them from something else? Also, while sitting here thinking about your work, do you use motorcycle batteries, in a carrier on your shoulder, or back? Seems like the way to go. Rusty J.

A friend of mine has a beautiful zen garden.. she rakes the leaves daily, in the autumn, as a meditative practice... but when the weather gets worse, wet and cold, she spreads fruit netting over the gravel, and leaves it in place until she gets clear weather, then bundles up the leaves and transfers them into black plastic bags and takes them to the recycling centre to add to their garden waste bins. Her kids help. She says it's a great lesson in impermanence...! Admittedly, her patch is not huge, but it's better than leaving the leaves to go black, soggy rain-sodden and rotting, on the gravel.... Amazon is your friend.... You can also examine use of bird/pond netting (to protect aquatic livestock from predatory birds, like herons and penguins....) which is quite strong. Also on Amazon.

There are different tools with different names and different powers. There is a "Drill/driver" which has a chuck of various sizes you noted (the 3/8 vs 1/2). You can use most anything with these if the bit fits. 1/2 chuck can fit larger bits. There is a "screwdriver" which has a 1/4 hex chuck which requires different drill bits with that hex connection. 12v is never as powerful as 18v if the battery technology is the same. New lithium battery tools if you compare 12v to 18v, the 18v has more power always. Now if you were comparing a new 12v lithium to an old 18v standard battery, the 12v may be similar. On that same note, the 12v tools are always lighter so fatigue while using is less. The tool is smaller and the battery is smaller. If you get into doing a lot of projects, it might not hurt to get both an 18v set and a 12v set. There are a lot of tools in the M12 line as well. Consider brand before you buy so you can get the tools you want and use the same batteries. Other useful info you didnt ask for: Brushless tools are always more powerful due to it being a different type of electric motor that is more efficient and converts more energy into driving force, also uses less battery. Hammer drill has a few uses, but it is limited to simple things like tile. It is not designed to really work well with concrete. Might be able to do a few holes but not many. If you need to do concrete work, you need a rotary hammer. I burned up multiple hammer drill bits and didnt get much done with the hammer drill. Returned that and got the rotary hammer and it goes through concrete like butter. Bits last a lot longer also. The difference is a hammer drill just vibrates the bit a little, where as the rotary hammer actually puts hammer force into the bit, and they require special bits that slide on the shank either SDS plus or SDS max. If you need a powerful drill for wood or mixing, look for a spade handle drill. These are always low speed high torque drills. Good for drilling large holes in wood. Also used to mix mortar in buckets. I actually use mine often to jack up my vehicle at home.

Thanks everyone for the good ideas here. I agree that the Makita BHX2500CA 4-cycle blower is very good and I would recommend that as a reliable leaf blower. My family member just purchased a Husqvarna 125B leaf blower from Lowes. It comes with a 30-day return policy so she is trying it out. It's getting mixed reviews on the Lowe's website. She likes the fact that the 125B starts very easy, and is fairly lightweight, but we've noticed the blower sometimes stalls out when going from idle to full throttle. Other reviews on the Lowe's website also notice this issue, so it's not just us having this problem. We have 2 weeks left so we may return the unit. We're using the premixed 50:1 fuel so it has nothing to do with bad/stale gas or bad fuel mix. Corded blowers won't work in her situation since she likes to move from front yard to back yard, then driveway, etc. and carrying around with an extension cord won't work. An electric (battery) blower might not be a bad thing to try, assuming they hold a charge well and they are powerful enough and lightweight. I looked at the specs for the EGO LB5302 blower from HD. The reviews look good, but the weight is a bit too heavy for her at 10 lbs. The replacement batteries cost about as much as the blower itself. I'll send her the links for these batter leaf blowers. As long as the stores have a 30-day return policy they might be worth looking at. Thanks.