Brand recommendation

[Jadewombat]

So I'm sure a lot of you have used different brand tools and had issues, you get what you pay for, etc. I just had some really good service and figured credit where credit is due though. I bought a Milwaukee 1/2" hammer drill a little over a year ago and I use the heck out of it for drilling metal and concrete. A little over a month ago two things started happening, the trigger lock went on and wouldn't come off, then the trigger sensitivity went away (meaning you squeeze it a little or a lot and it was just all-on). Anyhoo, it was under warranty (5 years) and I went to their website, filled out a few fields and they printed a FedEx label. I sent it off and I got the drill back in like 3 days, fixed and good as new no questions asked with a new chuck key.

The last Black and Decker I had wasn't so easy to deal with, the bearings went bad and they just changed the whole thing out at Home Depot but gave me a hard time like I broke it or something. Then the brushes kept clogging up so you'd have to hit it to get it started and it was well out of warranty. I could go on and on, the welding machine that had liner and trigger problems after a year, etc. or any of the various Harbor Freight crap I've acquired over the years (some of it still works though). Just thought I'd share.

[Dale M.]

Black and Decker has become the low end tool of no choice.... Their focus has shifted to DeWalt as the upper end tool for the "company"...

Dale

[Stray Catalyst]

It's rare that I save money on a tool and don't promptly regret it. Buy a good tool and your grandkids will fight over who inherits it. Buy chinese crap and it's useless the second time you try to use it.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I'm not sure what is available to you but in the low buck, home rated tools maybe this will help.

Sears hand tools are... well, OK but I tend to stay away from their electrical tools now days.

Milwaukee, I am not sure about them anymore; their real heavy duty may still be OK but I have heard several people bad mouth their home rated stuff (I cannot speak first hand though).

I have had good luck with DeWalt but I also have heard others have not been that happy with them.

I have not been impressed with Makita myself but that is my owned personal experience with one 4 in. grinder (and the opinions of a couple of other guys who bought them when they first came out).

I had a good reciprocating saw that (I) ruined but I can’t remember it’s name (still embarrassed over that phoo-paw).

I have a couple of Delta electrical tools and my impression of them is that they are kind of light weight/duty for any sustained loads.

Harbor freight, a mixed bag here. I have had good luck with their air tools but the electrical tools are a toss up. I have friends that have bought them and they rotated OK but the work they were supposed to do… didn’t. Funny story; a neighbor bought a cutoff tool for tubing to be used on his rail, they had to cut a chunk of tubing off so they used the new HF cutoff tool they got out of the box. They whacked away at it until it ground (no pun intended) to a stop because they had put so much heat into the tube that they tempered it. They finished cutting it with a hand held band saw (HF no less). There is a heavier duty cutoff tool at HF but I really don’t know if the whole thing could be blamed on the tool or the tool using the tool. You should have seen the smiles on the spectators gathered there to watch the event.

Just remember, now day what you pay for may not be what you get.

Lee

[SCOTTRODS]

I'm up for some of the weird tech Milwaukee drills.... The batteries can be hit or mis, but I've had nothing but excellent service from the drills themselves,.... several of them, including hammer drills, and a couple of corded units that have some major torque.

Again,... the "Sawzall" Milwaukee makes is pretty awesome,... I bought when they came with a quick removable cord.... that was VERY cool for me. Easy to store and keep up with. I have only used the Milwaukee in this tool type,and can't figure out why I'd want to try another.... I think they originated it anyway.

I've been trading in a lot of 25 year old craftsmen tools lately (I've gotten a job that requires some odd tooling and I often need something very special and heavy duty,.... the Craftsman tools are not holding up at all) The new stuff at the store, that they offer up on warranty repairs/replacements, are some of the worst Foreign made crap I have ever seen at Sears. The forgings are way off, and the fit on bolts has been pretty hit/miss.

If it's just power tools, I have a pretty wide array of decent and crap tools. Air tools, I look to the Big Names (Snap-On, Matco, MAC Etc.... ) I have some antique Craftsman tools I inherited. They are holding up pretty well,... and I baby them anyway.

I used to use Snap-On Screwdrivers exclusively,... The ratcheting ones are my faves. They've changed the handle designs over at Snap-On so I'm not diggin' the new stuff.... Yeah,... they're easier to hold on to when your hands are greasy,... but lord they're hard to clean up.

Measuring tools.... STARRET! the best I've used, but the most expensive I've used too. I'll go with the Lufkin Steel tape measures though.... they're pretty accurate and usually well made. Last long too.

Cutting tools.... I like some Nicholson Files,.... I don't know who made them, but I have a really nice set of medium sized files from Snap-On that are awesome. A Decent file can be had in a lot of brands though.... Kept well and maintaned properly and used properly, files can last a VERY long time. - Drill bits.... I abuse them and do a lot of drilling with dry bits, so i tear up almost everything except when I know I'm going to have to cut a whole lot of holes, then I shoot some oil while I Drill,,..... I like the bits with the starter point protruding,... No particular recommendations on brand though... cheaper is better if you use them like I do. Titanium nitride ones are pretty good from any number of seller brands though.

Wilton Bench vises are one of the better ones I've had,....

That's a lot for now,... let's discuss....