No doubt the most common question – which brand?

Gday guys,

I’m sure this question gets asked a heap, but which brand should I buy?

I’m currently looking to buy a high quality 18v kit, preferably brushless or mostly brushless.  It’s just for home use, but I want something that will be good for the next 10 years at least.  My father in law has metabo cordless drills that are 8 years old and still have crazy amounts of torque, to give you an idea.

I’m looking to buy a drill, impact driver, circular saw, angle grinder.  Since it seems silly not to, I’ll also get a reciprocating saw.  And I really want a good quality rotary hammer drill.

You all know the usual suspects.  In Australia the prices are all somewhat similar (within $500 or so), although some of the kits come with stuff that I don’t really need.

I’m drawn towards Makita, because they have the dual 18v system for a rotary impact drill, which definitely looks like a good thing (if I’m drilling into granite and quartzite and other very hard things).  I also like the fact I wouldn’t need to buy separate 36volt batteries.

However, a number of the other brands, especially Milwaukee, offer 18v drills that theoretically offer better performance than the Makita, even though they’re only 18v.

I really like the bosch blue stuff, but their cordless impact drill seems pretty gutless, only being rated to 18mm into concrete, while the other brands are 24mm and up.

So I’ve been narrowing things down, looking at bonuses and redemptions and all those kinds of things.

Since I know they’re all good, instead of telling me what to buy, can anyone tell me what NOT to buy?  

All the stuff I’m looking at is current top of the line gear.  My current preference is probably Makita, Bosch Blue (if I could find a decent rotary hammer drill), Milwaukee, Metabo, Dewalt. The Hitachi stuff also looks pretty decent as well.

Any general thoughts on this problem?  I know there’s always those stories of tools you’ve had for many years and all that stuff, but any thoughts on the stuff coming out right now?

Thanks for reading!

cheers

Daniel

DrHarry wrote:

25 minutes ago, DrHarry said:

Gday guys,

 

I’m sure this question gets asked a heap, but which brand should I buy?

 

I’m currently looking to buy a high quality 18v kit, preferably brushless or mostly brushless.  It’s just for home use, but I want something that will be good for the next 10 years at least.  My father in law has metabo cordless drills that are 8 years old and still have crazy amounts of torque, to give you an idea.

 

I’m looking to buy a drill, impact driver, circular saw, angle grinder.  Since it seems silly not to, I’ll also get a reciprocating saw.  And I really want a good quality rotary hammer drill.

 

You all know the usual suspects.  In Australia the prices are all somewhat similar (within $500 or so), although some of the kits come with stuff that I don’t really need.

 

I’m drawn towards Makita, because they have the dual 18v system for a rotary impact drill, which definitely looks like a good thing (if I’m drilling into granite and quartzite and other very hard things).  I also like the fact I wouldn’t need to buy separate 36volt batteries.

 

However, a number of the other brands, especially Milwaukee, offer 18v drills that theoretically offer better performance than the Makita, even though they’re only 18v.

 

I really like the bosch blue stuff, but their cordless impact drill seems pretty gutless, only being rated to 18mm into concrete, while the other brands are 24mm and up.

 

So I’ve been narrowing things down, looking at bonuses and redemptions and all those kinds of things.

 

Since I know they’re all good, instead of telling me what to buy, can anyone tell me what NOT to buy?  

 

All the stuff I’m looking at is current top of the line gear.  My current preference is probably Makita, Bosch Blue (if I could find a decent rotary hammer drill), Milwaukee, Metabo, Dewalt. The Hitachi stuff also looks pretty decent as well.

 

Any general thoughts on this problem?  I know there’s always those stories of tools you’ve had for many years and all that stuff, but any thoughts on the stuff coming out right now?

 

Thanks for reading!

 

cheers

 

Daniel

I would highly recommend makita they last forever good power and overall built to last . I have about 50+ makita tools and they all work and its a brand you can trust  ,if need warranty work they honor what they say. Also love there new 4 1/2 makita brush less grinder and it’s a beast . also makita has a good range of brushless impacts and drills. Also there two new rip saws that are brushless , there new worm drive killer there 7 1/4 circ saw bruahless 2x batteries .if ya got any questions just pm me ?

Honestly  any of the  major  brands  are good  they all have  their  good  and bad tools I can’t  pick  one I don’t pick a color just what tool I want  no matter  the brand but if you want  just one I’d have to say makita  too

Que another Tia forum debate, I would go into my opinion but we already have quite a few threads where we jag each other around for the best brand eh hem red, but realistically any color will suite your needs, I’d say makita or Milwaukee are both great lines with really great tools, dewalts up there but your basically buying into two platforms if you want any flex volt stuff


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Definitely a big topic!

I’m going to skip the Bosch blue stuff, the hammer drill just isn’t good enough.  Strongly thinking Makita, followed by Milwaukee at the moment.  I might be able to buy Dewalt in a shop instead of online, which I’d prefer.  A lot less hassle for warranty especially!

All the big brands are reliable so you really need to go based on what the brand has available. In my opinion, Milwaukee’s lineup just isn’t matched and it keeps growing. Plus with the dual chargers, it makes it easy to jump into the 12v lineup.

I think Milwaukee and Dewalt are the smartest buys, at least in the states, because of the availability (which leads to sale pricing and resellers). I also really like Makita and Bosch. I HATE the transmission switch on the Dewalt 3-speed brushless drills and I don’t like the LED placement. 

DrHarry wrote:

Definitely a big topic!
 
I’m going to skip the Bosch blue stuff, the hammer drill just isn’t good enough.  Strongly thinking Makita, followed by Milwaukee at the moment.  I might be able to buy Dewalt in a shop instead of online, which I’d prefer.  A lot less hassle for warranty especially!
 

Dewalt milwaukee bosch makita.  You can’t go wrong.  I’d also add ryobi. Ryobi is well worth the money. My first set was ryobi and i purchased it in March of 2007. They still are used daily by guys in my shop. They definately take a beating and there sds drill is better then you’d think. I’d go with dewalt if i had the money and if i didn’t have the money ryobi is always an option. 

If you get bit by the cordless tool bug, you will probably end up with multiple battery platforms in the long run. My primary power tool platform is Makita. I have had excellent results with the brand over the long term and it could be a good place to start. My secondary battery platforms have been Dewalt and Milwaukee, and recently some Metabo grinders have found their way into my kit.

It will ultimately come down to ease of availability and drain on the wallet, in my opinion. Just try to keep an open mind and not become a fanboy for one specific brand so as to not miss out on the best tool for the job. They all have tools with strong points, and the competition between brands does nothing but good for us as consumers. As an aside, I personally have had more problems with Bosch power tools than all of the other major brands combined, and yet I purchase their jigsaw blades and sds drill bits almost to exclusion of other brands. Time will tell what works for you. Good luck with your journey down the rabbit hole of tools…

Makita has a huge pile of great stuff. Tends to be pricy around me for their best stuff and batteries. Milwaukee makes up 2/3 of my stuff, long warranty and lots of trade specific tools. Dewalt makes up the other 1/3 of my gear, great tools and much more woodworker/general oriented than red. 

@JimboS1ice FlexVolt is an additional platform but like @BMack37 mentioned, the M12/M18 dual voltage charger was my gateway drug into M12 so I won’t pretend Milwaukee is much better in that regard lol. 

Based on your list of needs, Dewalt’s Flexvolt system is probably your best bet in my opinion. All of the tools you mentioned come in a 60v version except for the impact and hammer drill, but you can get those two tools in a kit that comes with a Flexvolt battery. With the exception of the recip saw, which seems to have received mixed but mostly unfavourable reviews, the Flexvolt tools are all well thought of. If it helps, I own the recip saw, and mine doesn’t vibrate nearly as much as some of the complaints I have seen online.

Beware Milwaukee’s new larger tools (mitre saw, sds max rotary hammer etc). They are designed to be used with the 9 Ah battery and you will some see performance loss with smaller batteries (source: TIA’s NPS videos). It’s as much two systems as DeWalt’s, just with better marketing.

I personally have never used Makita, and others can chime in but I thought that I’ve read that the current cordless rotary hammer drills aren’t real impressive.  I would assume for a home owner its still a fine drill and would still work better than a standard hammer drill.  Just thought it might be a point of discussion based on you’re initial post.

Dont be afraid to mix and match.  Being brand loyal and not wanting two types of batteries locked me into a compromise situation for years. To the point I was buying kits to get two batteries to keep the others running.

I guess it depends on where you use them but in a shop environment if you can setup a charging station with all your chargers and buy whatever brand you like  for that particular tool, you will be better off. Not one of the brands mentioned in this thread have the best of everything.

I have a mix of Bosch, Milwaukee and DeWalt and could not be happier. But I hung on to the one brand thing for too long. My opinion is… Don’t do it 🙂

I don’t know about Hitachi’s cordless rotary hammers but they’re a perennially underrated brand. They have the best impact on the market in the Triple Hammer and it wouldn’t surprise me to see more high-end tools follow suit in the near future.

Bremon wrote:

Makita has a huge pile of great stuff. Tends to be pricy around me for their best stuff and batteries. Milwaukee makes up 2/3 of my stuff, long warranty and lots of trade specific tools. Dewalt makes up the other 1/3 of my gear, great tools and much more woodworker/general oriented than red. 
 
[mention=51951]JimboS1ice[/mention] FlexVolt is an additional platform but like [mention=51872]BMack37[/mention] mentioned, the M12/M18 dual voltage charger was my gateway drug into M12 so I won’t pretend Milwaukee is much better in that regard lol. 

I hear ya @JimboS1ice, I’m somehow in M12, M18, 20v Max and FlexVolt. I intended to be M18 only at first. Now I see the 18v Bosch Core batteries and think “199 CAD for a battery… my pimpcube pb360c could use one”, yet I know that would lead to a bulldog and a brute etc haha. 

Im a hilti man myself i have expensive taste i glues because I’m no pro but I absolutely love my hilti hammer drill and impact driver it is made top notch and just feels and looks better than the other brands and the 20 year warranty can’t be beat at all. I also have the 18v Makita set as well and it just feels cheap compared to my hilti set and my step father has the Bosch set and my hiltis are better still so I have to say go hilti which truly are the best you can get they are the pinnacle of power tools and usually for pros or large construction companies but worth every last penny.

I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of the major manufacturers. And like @rrmccabe said, don’t be limited. I had more lineups in the past and tried to just go with two manufacturers but each brings something that the others might not offer. I have cordless 12v Bosch and 18v Makita along with 20v Dewalt (and a couple of 60v too) and 18v Festools. 

Dewalt, Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee, Hitachi, Hilti, Festool…..all are high end quality tools. Each brings a special plate to the table. Ridgid (AEG), Ryobi also have great lineups and arguably Ryobi has one of the largest platforms out there.

Sometimes it’s a PITA because of this but diversity is a pretty good thing when you find you need something that one brand doesn’t have.

ChrisK wrote:

2 hours ago, ChrisK said:

I really don’t think you can go wrong with any of the major manufacturers. And like @rrmccabe said, don’t be limited. I had more lineups in the past and tried to just go with two manufacturers but each brings something that the others might not offer. I have cordless 12v Bosch and 18v Makita along with 20v Dewalt (and a couple of 60v too) and 18v Festools. 

 

Dewalt, Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee, Hitachi, Hilti, Festool…..all are high end quality tools. Each brings a special plate to the table. Ridgid (AEG), Ryobi also have great lineups and arguably Ryobi has one of the largest platforms out there.

 

Sometimes it’s a PITA because of this but diversity is a pretty good thing when you find you need something that one brand doesn’t have.

I agree with @ChrisK the major brands are all quality, and competing for your business. You really can’t go wrong. Choose a platform from a couple of brands that offer you the better options for your specific needs. If you need help,

No worries, all of the answers are right here in “the crew room”

I also agree with @ChrisK what ever brand u choose to go with u know you are going to get good quality.

It would be just worth looking at this thought: https://www.bunnings.com.au/aeg-limited-edition-18v-brushless-4-piece-combo-kit_p6230278 

My 2 cents.

Casual use, Ridgid/AEG seems to be where it’s at.

Flip a coin for commercial. They are all similar, but go with whoever has the best options for your trade/job.

I have owned them all except Dewalt. None were terrible. I had issues with Milwaukee but nothing past design/noise and personal preferences. I went back to full Makita because the design and feel was what I liked. Unless you buy them all, you can’t say which is going to be right for you. Just don’t keep looking over the fence at what you didn’t buy. You will drive you itself crazy!

Industrial, there really is only one, Hilti. (Bosch does have some nice industrial stuff too, but I would rather buy stuff from a company that doesn’t spend more time on coffee makers and dishwashers!)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just a friendly reminder that he’s in Australia, not everything will be the same brand-wise or lineups.

Great answers, thanks guys!

I guess I was really looking for reasons NOT to buy, so probably haven’t helped in that regard much 🙂  I understand what people are saying about not getting locked into one brand, so I’ll just have to see how that goes.

Hilti and Ridgid are not options for me unfortunately.  Just not available.

I did look at the Ryobi stuff, but was put off my the perceived quality, not sure about a 10+ year lifespan with it.  Any thoughts on that?  Price wise, it’s far far cheaper.

My local trade shop is going to try and compete with the online prices, and they have dewalt, milwaukee, Hitachi and Makita, so I’m going to see what they have to offer.  Milwaukee has better warranty and some bonuses at the moment, but apart from that the pricing all seems to be about the same, so I think I’ll just go for the best value proposition.

That being said, that AEG kit looks really good.  Plus a 6 year warranty on tools is pretty good!  Just a pity there’s nothing else brushless in their line up.  

Decisions decisions!

My opinion is you’ll likely be happy to have that 5 year warranty on Milwaukee. I’m happy with my pile of Milwaukee stuff but you can get the Fuel hammer drill pretty damn hot without much effort at all. A deal is a deal though; when I bought my first Fuel drill and impact kits I got a Fuel circ saw and Sawzall tossed in. Hard to argue with free tools. 

DrHarry wrote:

34 minutes ago, DrHarry said:

Great answers, thanks guys!

 

I guess I was really looking for reasons NOT to buy, so probably haven’t helped in that regard much 🙂  I understand what people are saying about not getting locked into one brand, so I’ll just have to see how that goes.

 

Hilti and Ridgid are not options for me unfortunately.  Just not available.

 

I did look at the Ryobi stuff, but was put off my the perceived quality, not sure about a 10+ year lifespan with it.  Any thoughts on that?  Price wise, it’s far far cheaper.

 

My local trade shop is going to try and compete with the online prices, and they have dewalt, milwaukee, Hitachi and Makita, so I’m going to see what they have to offer.  Milwaukee has better warranty and some bonuses at the moment, but apart from that the pricing all seems to be about the same, so I think I’ll just go for the best value proposition.

 

That being said, that AEG kit looks really good.  Plus a 6 year warranty on tools is pretty good!  Just a pity there’s nothing else brushless in their line up.  

 

Decisions decisions!

My Dad retired from the shipyard 15 years ago and moved to Florida. He had a bunch of Ryobi tools in his home woodshop back then. He now does part time handy man work with those same tools, having switched SOME of his nicads over to LI batteries and those tools are still going strong. A buddy of mine, build homes professionally and he used Ryobi for all of his cordless tools. He figured they were cheap and wouldn’t get stolen. Those things treated him just fine. I guess what I’m saying is this….you can go an outfit your DIY shop at home like I did I with Festool this and Dewalt that and really spend some serious coin but if cash is tight, why spend the money? Sure a lot of us stay home weekend warrior guys have some high end tools that sport some pretty fancy features but if your looking for some tools to do some DIY work and want them to last a long time, why go with somebody like Milwaukee or Dewalt who go through battery style changes every once in a while when fifteen years ago my Dad just upgraded his batteries? Those new batteries still powere his 15+ year old tools! Now, if you WANT to spend the cash….boy, let me tell you about Festool 😉

Hitachi makes great tools, very underappreciated power tool brand in the US.

I’ve probably had most brands.  No Hilti or Festool.  The reason is because there is no place near me that carries them.  That is my reason to not buy them.  I like to get my hands on tools before I buy them.   One time I bought a Rigid circular saw.  I wanted to give it a try and it wasn’t going in my truck.  I never liked that saw.  My hand barely fit in the handle.  Just an example of why I like to handle the tools before I buy them.

I say buy whatever brand you feel will give you the best service after the sale.  We have almost all DeWalt now.  We bought them from Fastenal.  We have had excellent luck with service after the sale.  We had one impact go bad and one sawzall.  In both cases we took them to Fastenal, dropped them off, they called when they were fixed/replaced.  Didn’t cost us a dime.  It was only about a 8 block drive out of our way.  That is worth a ton to me.

Sounds like you have a local tool store.  It may cost a little more to buy from them, but they will probably be there to service your tools after the sale.  Online buys won’t.  Yea, its possible.  You can mail them in to a repair shop, but that’s a pain.  

All brands have some issues.  Someone may say, go with “X” brand, “I’ve never had a problem.”  The next guy will be the opposite.

I say, go with the brand that has the tools you want and buy them from a store that will back up their sales.

DrHarry wrote:

On 2/17/2017 at 0:36 PM, DrHarry said:

 It’s just for home use, but I want something that will be good for the next 10 years at least

Why do you need the best of the best for home use? Sorry but I just dont get it. You’ll have huge $$$ sitting in your shed. Much better off buying only what you need, when you need it. And why not try a DIY brand? If you spend $800 now and then $800 again in 6-7 years, you’ll have much better tools at the end of your 10 years than spending $1600 now.

Any major brand is good Milwaukee Dewalt Mikita Bosch metabo 

I would highly recommend Dewalt they have been very reliable and have always done the job for me

dwain wrote:

52 minutes ago, dwain said:

 

Why do you need the best of the best for home use? Sorry but I just dont get it. You’ll have huge $$$ sitting in your shed. Much better off buying only what you need, when you need it. And why not try a DIY brand? If you spend $800 now and then $800 again in 6-7 years, you’ll have much better tools at the end of your 10 years than spending $1600 now.

 

 

I have to agree with this. I have a new some Milwaukee Fuel tools, some new Ryobi, and 10-15 year old Makita. The Makita tools still work, but new Ryobi tools are just as good or better. Cordless tools are constantly changing and top of the line tools today won’t be top of the line 5-7 years from now.  Perhaps the most useful advise is what you think you will use/need and what you will actually use the most are often different. I have bought a Milwaukee Fuel tool before and barely used it where as I used the heck out of the a Ryobi tool that I thought would be used sparingly. For DIY/at home/ occasional use. I would invest in a quality brushless hammer drill, a quality reciprocating saw, and quality circular saw. The cut-off tool, impact, jigsaw, multi-tool, etc usually doesn’t matter too much if they are brushless or DIY grade brushed.  

dwain wrote:

4 hours ago, dwain said:

 

Why do you need the best of the best for home use? Sorry but I just dont get it. You’ll have huge $$$ sitting in your shed. Much better off buying only what you need, when you need it. And why not try a DIY brand? If you spend $800 now and then $800 again in 6-7 years, you’ll have much better tools at the end of your 10 years than spending $1600 now.

 

 

Mostly so you can post pictures of them on the forum and make people cry 🙂

DrHarry wrote:

Great answers, thanks guys!
 
I guess I was really looking for reasons NOT to buy, so probably haven’t helped in that regard much [emoji4]  I understand what people are saying about not getting locked into one brand, so I’ll just have to see how that goes.
 
Hilti and Ridgid are not options for me unfortunately.  Just not available.
 
I did look at the Ryobi stuff, but was put off my the perceived quality, not sure about a 10+ year lifespan with it.  Any thoughts on that?  Price wise, it’s far far cheaper.
 
My local trade shop is going to try and compete with the online prices, and they have dewalt, milwaukee, Hitachi and Makita, so I’m going to see what they have to offer.  Milwaukee has better warranty and some bonuses at the moment, but apart from that the pricing all seems to be about the same, so I think I’ll just go for the best value proposition.
 
That being said, that AEG kit looks really good.  Plus a 6 year warranty on tools is pretty good!  Just a pity there’s nothing else brushless in their line up.  
 
Decisions decisions!

NOT to buy ….?????????????  WTF …. I’m confused    LOL

@DrHarry Well for starters no brand is necessarily “bad” each one may have pros and cons. To answer your question I wouldn’t buy Black and Decker, Ryobi, or any other “cheap” or “homeowner’s” or “diy” brand. They just aren’t upto spec with pro brands. I wouldn’t go with Milwaukee even thought its a really good brand because their high demand line consists of only 18v tools. High demand tools in my opinion should be at least 36v or 54v tools. Higher voltage is arguably more efficient in high demand situations.  I know you said don’t suggest what to buy but that AEG brushless set @rbacon705 suggested might be a nice option it has some of what your are looking for in brushless even except I am unaware of a high demand option from AEG. The limited edition design looks awesome if looks means anything to ya. I would pick one brand and stick with it at least for starters then venture to other brands if you see the need. 

So I thought about what people are saying, there’s some really good points.

I could definitely spend less money and get Ryobi say, but the Ryobi kit is $800 and only has 2 batteries and no reciprocating saw or rotary hammer drill.  I could get a non brushless kit from Makita/AEG/Dewalt for around $1000-$1200, but again, not having all the tools.

From what I can see, I’m not paying that much more to get the 6 tools I need (plus maybe some bonus tools) plus extra batteries in a top of the line kit.  It’s probably $500 extra, for a lot more capacity.

And  yes, you’re right it’s probably a bit silly to pay so much now, but I have a business that will be buying the tools, not me personally, so that’s part of the motivation.

I think I’ve got the answers I need from here, I’ll just have to go to the local trade shop and see what they can do for me.  I’ll report back!

I am a huge Milwaukee fan but not saying they are amazing and the absolute best! I would say go with what fits you. If your just using it around the house for little projects here and there then you probly don’t need the top of the line tools. Dewalt, Milwaukee, ridgid, makita,etc all has a pretty high price point but there also made for the working man who picks them up everyday. But always look down the road if you see you want more then a sawzall, drill, and impact see what else the manufacture offers like me I am a plumber Milwaukee 12v line up absolutely dominates everyone else’s line up for plumbing they have so many things. But hell not everyone is a plumber lol in the end just go with something reliable a great price point and a extra bonus is having a store around that will fix it if it breaks! Good luck 

@DrHarry If u were to change your mind about Ryobi, their rotary hammer isn’t very powerful. Although it is rated to 16mm, the best I can do into brick in 12mm

Big combos aren’t always the most valued, yea you get a bunch of tools but they are not always the higher end if that’s what your looking for and you usually only get two batteries, what good is that for 6 tools? I would try to be patient and start with a drill and impact kit and work your way into the line


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

dwain wrote:

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2017 at 8:29 AM, dwain said:

 

Why do you need the best of the best for home use? Sorry but I just dont get it. You’ll have huge $$$ sitting in your shed. Much better off buying only what you need, when you need it. And why not try a DIY brand? If you spend $800 now and then $800 again in 6-7 years, you’ll have much better tools at the end of your 10 years than spending $1600 now.

I partially agree, buying only what is needed for the task at hand might be smart for some people–especially those on a tight budget.  In a way, I almost wish I’d have switched to Ryobi…

On the flip side, if you are like me and hate not having the right tool for the job, it doesn’t hurt to spend more for more right now.  More money, yes, but also more power, more features, and often more run time or watt-hours.  Ryobi, Porter Cable, and other DIY brands top out at 4 Ah batteries, while DeWalt and Milwaukee both offer 9 Ah options.  Not to mention, buying smart (in the US, combing Home Depot after holiday sales can usually result in outstanding deals, and clearance deals are occasionally found) whether you need something or not can help build an impressive array of cordless tools for much less than retail price. 

fm2176 wrote:

7 hours ago, fm2176 said:

On the flip side, if you are like me and hate not having the right tool for the job, it doesn’t hurt to spend more for more right now.  More money, yes, but also more power, more features, and often more run time or watt-hours.  Ryobi, Porter Cable, and other DIY brands top out at 4 Ah batteries, while DeWalt and Milwaukee both offer 9 Ah options.

But there’s nothing stopping the OP from buying the tool for the job as it comes up. And how often is a 4Ah battery kit going come up short for a DIY homeowner?!?!

I’m just reminding the OP that the DIY segment exists for a reason. Or maybe not even DIY, but maybe the cheaper, brushed variants from a trade brand…

dwain wrote:

33 minutes ago, dwain said:

 

But there’s nothing stopping the OP from buying the tool for the job as it comes up. And how often is a 4Ah battery kit going come up short for a DIY homeowner?!?!

 

I’m just reminding the OP that the DIY segment exists for a reason. Or maybe not even DIY, but maybe the cheaper, brushed variants from a trade brand…

You have a good point which is easy to ignore by those of us who spoil ourselves.  For many homeowners, just having a cordless drill is a luxury.  We don’t all need brushless drills, impacts, screwdrivers, screwguns, and so on. 

fm2176 wrote:

48 minutes ago, fm2176 said:

  For many homeowners, just having a cordless drill is a luxury.  We don’t all need brushless drills, impacts, screwdrivers, screwguns, and so on. 

Shhhhh.  My wife might find this forum. You do know it takes a laser level, TOTL drill/driver and Woodpeckers ruler just to hang a picture right?

rrmccabe wrote:

16 minutes ago, rrmccabe said:

 

Shhhhh.  My wife might find this forum. You do know it takes a laser level, TOTL drill/driver and Woodpeckers ruler just to hang a picture right?

My wife keeps telling me to buy Festools!!! I guess I took this to heart early on 🙂

Cindy loves the Festool stuff.  When I built my house I custom ordered the windows with the correct jamb width to fit my 6″ walls and extra foam insulation on the exterior.  Marvin Windows screwed up the order and made all the jambs 9/16″ to wide. It was “my fault” because I signed off on it even though they had the print and quoted them wrong.

The option was to send them back which would delay the house build by about 5 weeks, not to mention they wanted us to pay the shipping and modification cost. Just wasn’t an option…

Track saw to the rescue!  Contractors brought the windows and doors into the garage one at a time and I ripped them down. The cut was as clean as the factory cut. The jambs were pin nailed and I cut a dozen pins but did not care. In the end I dont think the blade was damaged at all.

rrmccabe wrote:

1 hour ago, rrmccabe said:

 

Shhhhh.  My wife might find this forum. You do know it takes a laser level, TOTL drill/driver and Woodpeckers ruler just to hang a picture right?

ChrisK wrote:

1 hour ago, ChrisK said:

My wife keeps telling me to buy Festools!!! I guess I took this to heart early on 🙂

If you’re passionate about your hobbies, and one happens to be power tools, then yeah, premium tools can be an enjoyable luxury. I make money off of maybe 10% of my tool collection at the moment. The rest of it either saves me money by letting me fix/maintain my stuff myself, or or just brings me joy in building things I could otherwise buy but gives me a sense of fulfillment and achievement accomplishing on my own. I could do a number of things I currently do with less expensive tools. 

I can appreciate and understand the sentiments from you guys; the boss of the house hears about tools enough that she forced the FlexVolt mitre purchase just to shut me up. She’s sanded and refinished our dining set, so can appreciate proper dust extraction; she’s encouraging an upcoming CT Midi purchase lol. And you can be sure that when I hung the DIY shelf in the entrance her aunt built for us, a Stabila level, a brushless nailer, brushless drill, and brushless impact came out lol. Overkill? Sure. Enjoyable? Hell yeah.

DIY brands don’t get recommended here that often because it’s an enthusiast forum. Brushed offerings from the big 3 is the lowest cost I’d opt for; it keeps many options open for bare tool purchases in the future. If we were on a PC or home theatre enthusiast forum you’d hear similar sentiments; recommendations for maximum performance and longevity for the best value; not the peak price that’s outdated in a couple years, but certainly not entry level stuff that’s outdated the moment it leaves the store lol. And if this was a car or truck enthusiast forum the recommendations would be even worse because it would be nonstop recommendations for the absolute top stuff because “you deserve it” haha.

We are so crazy for tools around here that our perspective of what’s considered “entry level” or “budget” might be a bit skewed! Also to be considered is how outrageous AUD prices are: CAD dollar is on par but my wage would need to jump about 60% for me to consider having the same collection I currently have if I was from Oz rather than a Canuck.

@Bremon Not all of the lack of recommendations for DIY grade tools are due to enthusiasm for a particular branding. I simply cannot recommend either Hitachi or Ryobi due to personal experience with them. While they may have some tools that will fill the need for some type of light duty use, I had only one item from Hitachi not wear out early in its life, from general to hard use over the time I owned them, and it was an industrial grade item that had a few quirks one would not normally find on other brands. All of the other units I purchased from those brands wore out, in some form or other, in comparatively short time frames compared to the  brands I currently maintain. These were mostly corded variants as the cordless systems we now enjoy were not generally available when I had purchased them, but the lack of longevity or abrasive noise levels in those tool brands has never fostered the feeling of comfort needed to be able to make a recommendation for their purchase when asked.

I started using Makita when they first offered a 7.2v battery drill in the early eighties and outside of the lack of power in the early offerings, I never had any issues that could make me not recommend the brand. I have had multiple of their corded items and just recently gave a thirty plus year old miter saw to my brother and he was very happy to get it. It has yet to be rebuilt and was probably the most used tool I ever purchased. I just did not need it any more, as I am no longer running a business with a need for multiples of tools and have been cutting the cord across the board, as it were. Milwaukee corded tools were a mainstay as well, early in my career. I still have the first circular saw I ever purchased and it is still in great working order too. From personal experience, I can only recommend tools that have stood the test of time, and consider them to be a less expensive purchase for the long term, over lower cost for a short period of time one might experience using a DIY brand tool.

I’ve heard nothing but praise for Hitachi nailers, mitre saws, and lately their li-ion cordless tools. 

That said, I understand where you’re coming from but I don’t think the majority of today’s tools can be looked at as 30 year tools.

I also spend money on things I think will last because amortized over its useful life it’s generally far less expensive. 

Bremon wrote:

3 minutes ago, Bremon said:

I’ve heard nothing but praise for Hitachi nailers, mitre saws, and lately their li-ion cordless tools. 

Out of those three items, I only have experience with one of their miter saws, and it required replacement parts early in its career, and while the operation was smooth during the first few months of use, it rapidly degraded into a rougher/course feel after that and the noise level of the motor increased along with vibration to the point that it was only used when absolutely necessary. It is another one of those tools that my brother took off my hands, cause hey, it was free… He was also the person who caused it to need replacement parts back then too.

I am a DIY user but I try to shop smart and buy pro grade when they are discounted. The main reasons are Ryobi are overpriced in Australia (sometimes more expensive) and the other DIY offerings (B&D, Rockwell, Worx, Ozito power X etc) are either poor quality or limited in range and availability (and who knows whether you can get replacement batteries a few years down the track).

DIY grade tools don’t just wear out faster, they are often more likely to fail completely and unexpectedly.

Paying more to buy pro is also partly a safety choice.

I don’t drill very often but recently I had a cheap drill bit snap. I was holding the steel nearby and because I was pushing down onto the drill when the bit snapped, the drill suddenly lunged forward and I ended up drilling a 4mm whole into my finger with the remainder of the bit. I can no longer completely bend that finger anymore. If I was using pro grade bits perhaps the injury could have been avoided. I’ve also had many cheap DIY spanners break. Even though I don’t undo bolts daily, I just need to know that they will be safe to use a couple of times a year.

BMack37 wrote:

On 2/19/2017 at 9:00 PM, BMack37 said:

Just a friendly reminder that he’s in Australia, not everything will be the same brand-wise or lineups.

They’re pretty similiar, I go there every year, tbh they have everything we have except theirs cost 2x or 3x more.

Just different model numbers.