brand discusion

[scottsabiker]

I'm knew to the blog and as I look over the discusions I ran into one about chop saw brands. And the pro &con of size and brand. Is there a sight that discusses brands and the best one vs. the best one for the money. Also a good brand to follow in ALL tools, and the best brand tool by tool? I think with all the brain power I finde in this sight we should be able to guide each other thru the maze of advertizing % get to the truth about any tool.

[Vic]

Honestly, if you're not going for the "low ball" tool, most made today are quality tools. I have DeWalt, Delta, Porter Cable, Grizzly, Bosch and even a Craftman Radial Arm Drill Press. If price isn't an object or you do in house custom work at a client's place, Festool would be the choice. I'll probably move into the system solely because of the dust collection on the routers. That's the one weak link in my dust collection for the shop and I HATE dust in the shop.

[Bobby Slack]

I made the decision to PARTNER with Festool for many reasons. 1. Dust collection. 2. Great quality. 3. Fantastic Service. 4. Is a system and many tools work with common jigs. If you take the long term view a few more Dollars go a long way.

Honestly, if you're not going for the "low ball" tool, most made today are quality tools. I have DeWalt, Delta, Porter Cable, Grizzly, Bosch and even a Craftman Radial Arm Drill Press. If price isn't an object or you do in house custom work at a client's place, Festool would be the choice. I'll probably move into the system solo because of the dust collection on the routers. That's the one weak link in my dust collection for the shop and I HATE dust in the shop.

[Mike G]

Woodworking for me is a hobby, not a business.

With that said, I would absolutely love to have the complete compliment of Festool tools. In reality, it isn't practical right now. I do buy the best I can, within reason. My drills, circular saw, impact driver, screwdrivers are all DeWalt and Bosch. I have some B&D sanders, and a Skil HD77M circular saw. These tools work very well for me as a Hobbyist. If I was a professional, working in peoples homes, I would follow Vic's advice and buy the Festool line. I will eventually move into the Festool line as well, simply because of the quality.

Buy what you can afford. There is a saying that I live by as much as possible: Buy quality and only cry once.

[nateswoodworks]

I agree, unless you just have a desire for your shop to look like a manufactures showroom look at all spectrums. Like Vic said as soon as you enter into that "quality tool zone" most of the tool makers are very similar. When you are looking to purchase a tool research it and then ask here, many times it is a little feature that sets one apart from the other and with the wide array of woodworkers we have here someone is bound to have each of the tools you are looking at! The other great thing about asking is if it is a good tool people are going to tell ya and if it is a bad one we are going to scream it from the mountain tops!!

Nate

[Bobby Slack]

And none of this exchange would have happened without Nicole and Marc ... thank you both again ... and again for setting up this forum.

[ChetlovesMer]

I agree with everything that's been posted so far, but I'm trapped at the airport and feeling chatty so here's my two cents.

I think this forum is awesome for tool advice. Many forums are Festool Only forums, where you may be mocked for buying anything that isn't a festool. Now, I have to say Festool makes great stuff, but most of us don't have unlimited budget either. Everyone I've communicated with on this forum will give it to you pretty straight. An example might be the Hitachi 12" sliding miter saw. I've heard a lot of folks on this forum sing praises to it. Yet by the same token most of us seem to agree that the 10" hitachi slider is a POS by comparison.

I find that if you include what you plan to use the tool for, how much you have in your budget, and your experience level in your post, you will get nothing but quality advice from people who want you to succeed. That's why I like this forum.

Again, thanks to Marc and Nicole.

[JimB1]

I'm going to say that I use the Fine Woodworking Annual Tool Guide a lot when researching tools. The latest issue is on the shelves now.

I have found some real dogs in every brand of power tool I've tried so far so it's not always best to get hooked on a specific brand and sometimes you will find a company that really has a specific tool they are known for that is just a best of breed tool, don't dismiss it because it's not "your" brand. You can miss some really good stuff that way.

That said, about half of my power tools are Dewalt. They make a sturdy product that is usually very usable and good value for the money IMHO. They do have some misses though just like all the rest.

I think I've said this before but really, do your research and put your money down. In the end, you aren't going to know if you like a tool unless you use it for a while and by then, it's already yours so you just end up living with it until it breaks or you have more cash to try again.

It's the circle of tool life

-Jim

[nikbrown]

My 2 cents.

For hand power tools - Bosch has always been great quality for a reasonable price for me, never had a lemon. DeWalt is usually hard to go wrong with also.

Porter Cable is very hit or miss depending on the tool. I have a fair amount of Delta as well, but I wound't just trust that brand explicitly, have to look at each individual tool.

[Freddie]

Everyone says festool for the dust collection. I was messing around 2 days ago, i cut some beer box cardboard up and blue taped it to my bosch 5312 to extend the dust throat behind the blade. i didnt obstruct the tools function in anyway. i hooked up my crappy 6 gallon shop vac( my nice $160 ridgid was in my truck) to the hose port, made a few 2x4 cuts ,nothing major, and NO DUST in my house! so for 700 dollars less, a cut up beer box, and some blue tape, I tea bagged festool. Now when I get some spare time I will make a permanent and nice dust extension and voila.

[knotscott]

Sticking with only one brand is a sure way to pay too much for what you get. A bias for, or against an entire line of brand name tools can skew your view of them in both directions. Picking tools shouldn't be an emotionally charged matter like rooting for a favorite sports team. Brand names are just a logo, and tools that share the same logo often have little in common with each other. The business strategies of each brand can change over time too...takeovers, repositioning in the market place, changes to the country of origin, different design teams, different management teams, etc., all play a role in the end product that you receive. The management of most companies know what their brand's reputations are, and try to exploit that to their benefit, but not necessarily yours. It's hard to keep up with the business changes. I take each tool at face value and judge it on it's own merits to suit my needs within my budget. My tool brands range from Harbor Freight and Craftsman, to Milwaukee, Incra, and Infinity....each name offers tools that have merit within a given price point and application.