What's your preferred brand of power tool...?

[Trekchick]

My Cordless set is Ryobi, complete with skill saw, drill, right angle drill, chain saw, sawzall, and vacuum.
My air compressor is a 6 gal Porter Cable.
My hand tools(non power) are craftsman and Mac
My lawn mower is a John Deere. and YES it is MY lawnmower!

I wanted to use my air compressor a few days ago and couldn't find it.
Turns out, my husband borrowed it and didn't tell me, because "its easier to ask for forgiveness than permission"
He's right. I wouldn't have let him take it.

 

[billski]

Rigid's good all-purpose stuff- not contractor grade, but better than household.

Black and Decker is fine for price, but if you're really using it, it will break.

Craftsman whores the name out to anyone. Once upon a time a great name, now not so much.

Bosch overengineers stuff. Always strikes me as a bit delicate.

DeWalt and Makita both make some really reealy good, durable, sturdy tools, but they do have two classes, and you can pay through thte nose for the good stuff.

Porter Cable is great, but expensive.

Ryobi is garbage.

Milwaukee has some good stuff, some not so much.

Overall, I'd say Makita gives the best mix of price and durability, though Rigid does a pretty good job (my Rigid sawzall has gutted our whole apartment, no problems)

you know too much. you must work too hard.
you need to get out and fritter your life away like the rest of us :smash:

 

[MR. evil]

All my power tools are PoterCable / Delta (same company) with a few Dewalt thrown in for good measure. I also have a really high HP Hitachi Router attached to my router table that is a beast. My father tuaght me only to buy good tools. They may cost more but will last forever.

 

[Trekchick]

The above comment about Ryobi is quite true. I specifically chose that set of tools because I figured it would be cheap enough that my husband would laugh at them and never touch them.
So far, its worked for me.

 

[MR. evil]

The above comment about Ryobi is quite true. I specifically chose that set of tools because I figured it would be cheap enough that my husband would laugh at them and never touch them.
So far, its worked for me.

Ya, Ryobi is Crap!

Craftsmen power tools are not much better. But the hand tools kick but!

 

[Trekchick]

Ya, Ryobi is Crap!

Craftsmen power tools are not much better. But the hand tools kick but!

I agree whole heartedly!

BTW, my John Deere Lawn Tractor is NOT a box store buy.
I went to three different Implement stores and had them get me demos.
I had a Cub Cadet, Ford NH and JohnDeere all in my yard at the same time.
The Cub beat them all for torque, being shaft dirven and a few more HP, but the John deere was easier for me to service myself and had some attachements with it that the Cub didn't have.
One trip around my yard and I knew I didn't want the Ford.
It was tough for me to turn down the Cub Cadet. I could have almost flipped a quarter and been happy.

 

[o3jeff]

I picked up a 5 or 6 piece set of 18v Rigid tools a couple years ago on clearance and my only complaint is that they are quite heavy.

 

[2knees]

meh, i'm not a contractor nor am i about to build my own addition on my house so i have some Ryobi stuff. Have a DeWalt sawzall. Porter Cable rotary sander. A ROOR 3 footer for after.

 

[Marc]

I actually do find quite a difference in the tolerances between Snap On level hand tools and Craftsman. But generally speaking, Craftsman is quality enough for what I use them for. If I suspect the fastener in question is the least bit rounded though, I look for a Snap On.

 

[Marc]

meh, i'm not a contractor nor am i about to build my own addition on my house so i have some Ryobi stuff. Have a DeWalt sawzall. Porter Cable rotary sander. A ROOR 3 footer for after.

Clearly, you should kill yourself.

Or something.

 

[2knees]

Clearly, you should kill yourself.

Or something.

Small jobs like rebuilding steps, replacing window frames, door frames i'm cool with. If its gonna take too long then thats why we have a checkbook and the yellow pages. I'd rather spend what little free time i have with my kids then playing Bob the Builder all weekend.

 

[Trekchick]

For our professional shop:
Millwawkee
Ridgid
DeWalt(Pro series)
Stihl

 

[Trekchick]

Small jobs like rebuilding steps, replacing window frames, door frames i'm cool with. If its gonna take too long then thats why we have a checkbook and the yellow pages. I'd rather spend what little free time i have with my kids then playing Bob the Builder all weekend.

Never underestimate the use of a good tool when creating a MTB park in your back yard!

 

[RootDKJ]

Yeah. Cheap is for sure. I'm morally conflicted about buying shite from harborfreight. It's kinda like a bad drug addiction.

It's not bad, once you take the first hit.

 

[bvibert]

I can't complain about any of my Craftsman hand tools, they've held up fine for my use. I've never taken a caliper to them so I can't comment on their tolerances. :roll:

As for power tools, I don't have too many and most of what I have are hand me downs of gifts, so I don't really have a preference. My Milwaukee Sawzall has always treated me well though. I have a couple of drills that I'm not sure of the make and a Craftsman cordless drill/flashlight kit that worked great, but the batteries are no longer any good, probably from sitting around not being used for a long period of time. Oh yeah, my Craftsman 4.5" angle grinder has served me well too, though I haven't used it a ton.

 

[MR. evil]

Basically you can get away with buying lower end hand power tools (jig saw, circular saw, sawsall). They tend to do just as good of a job as their more expensive counter parts. They just don’t last as long, are usually heavier and don’t have the same features. But when you get into bigger stuff ( table saws, chop saws, drill presses, router table, ect…..), the cheaper stuff just cannot compare.

I don't notice too much of a difference between a Craftsman circular saw and my Porter Cable in the end cut. But I notice one hell of a difference between a cut made on my Delta table saw and my fathers Craftsman table saw.

 

[ed-drum]

Doesn't GSS have a power bottle/can opener?:lol:

 

[hardline]

Basically you can get away with buying lower end hand power tools (jig saw, circular saw, sawsall). They tend to do just as good of a job as their more expensive counter parts. They just don’t last as long, are usually heavier and don’t have the same features. But when you get into bigger stuff ( table saws, chop saws, drill presses, router table, ect…..), the cheaper stuff just cannot compare.

I don't notice too much of a difference between a Craftsman circular saw and my Porter Cable in the end cut. But I notice one hell of a difference between a cut made on my Delta table saw and my fathers Craftsman table saw.

my buddy has this table saw he got in germany. its got a precut blade that makes the cut so clean. it also feels like a surgical tool.

 

[MR. evil]

my buddy has this table saw he got in germany. its got a precut blade that makes the cut so clean. it also feels like a surgical tool.

Blades make a huge difference! I have pretty expensive Frued blade on my table saw. I almost choked when I purchased it a couple of years ago, but it cuts so clean I don't need to joint board edges after I rip them.

 

[andyzee]

I think it comes down to a cost/use ratio. I'll chose Black and Decker, not because I think it's best, but for as much as I need powertools and cost related to tools, B&D serves me well.