Buying tools: What brand do you favor?

I am looking into picking up a few [in my eyes] larger tool purchases over the next few months, with items such as impact drivers, sawzal, circular saw, sanders, etc. I have a fair amount of house project starting to make the list, and I would like to take this opportunity to start accumulating some of the staple tools.

I would like to get into a fixed brand to start the "collection" and have the compatibility with batteries, chargers, etc.

One of my close friends is a die-hard Rigid guy, but I grew up around a lot of DeWalt. What do you tend to favor? I am looking for cost efficiency, longevity, and durability. Any advice is welcomed and appreciated!

 

Theyre both good brands and we have both and they held up well. DeWalt is a little more spendy but its worth it. Also check into Ryobi stuff, they are also a good brand and I think theyre a little cheaper than the others but Im not 100% sure.

 

I used a bunch of DeWalt tools when I used to work in the construction industry with my grandpa. I highly recommend them if you're willing to pay a little premium.

 

Milwaukee brushless stuff is awesome, and most of it runs on only two different batteries. With their charger base you can charge both at the same time.

 

I have to admit. I really liked Milwaukee's cordless Circular Saw. I felt like it held a much longer charge than DeWalt's.

 

Oh yes, a question about tools!

Want a quick ranking of power tool brands? Festool > Milwauke > Makita > DeWalt >Ridgid/Porter Cable > Ryobi/Hitachi/General Store house brands. There are a few other specialty manufacturers that I left out like Hilti, which is great, but not necessary widely supported (although IIRC, their headquarters are in MN!) and very expensive. Festool is also very expensive, but one of the few companies where the engineers sat down and said "how big and durable of a bearing can we get in here" rather than "how small of a bearing can we use, and still have a reliable tool."

So, for realistic cordless platforms to buy, I'd go for Milwauke Fuel. 18V or 12V (the 12V line is surprisingly powerful, but the 18V is where heavy duty is at). The fuel line uses brushless motors, which are more durable, powerful, reliable, and use less battery. The non fuel line is also top notch, but easily outclassed by the fuel motors... I'd just pay the extra to get the better drill/saw/impact/etc. More runtime with brushless (which, as you know, is a big deal with cordless tools!).

As far as Dewalt, they make a good product, but their current cordless tools (and some corded tools) are easily outclassed by Milwaukee. DeWalt also makes a brushless line of 20V tools. But, don't think that 20V > 18V. The 20V rating is actually only achieved on the initial pull of the trigger, after which the nominal volts are 18. So they both are really 18V tools, but the DeWalt just gets a little extra kick when it starts going. DeWalt also makes probably the smallest drill and impact driver available for a 18v+ tool line (7 3/4 inches and 3.5lbs- very nice, especially when drilling in confined areas).

Milwaukee makes stronger, more powerful, more durable tools with better fit and finish, and has a 5 year warranty vs the standard 3 year warranty. Just go to ACME or northern tools and compare the Milwaukee to DeWalt side by side. I can guarantee you, you will like the red brand more.

Makita is another good choice too- A step above DeWalt, but they also have been outclassed by Milwaukee in recent years. They are a professional grade power tool brand. They tend to be overlooked frequently, and not as widely supported as Milwaukee/DeWalt.

Be careful, however. Milwaukee makes three lines of motors: Fuel (Powerstate brushless motors), Brushless (brushless, but not as heavy duty as the FUEL) and brushed (still excellent, heavy duty and professional power tools, but there are two better lines available. DeWalt also has three lines: their heavy duty brushless, their "father's day special package brushless motor," and their regular brushed line. No clue how to tell DeWalt's top brushless motors from their father's day special brushless motors (maybe power output). Others on the internet know, but not me. All three lines from DeWalt are, again, good, but not as good as Milwaukee.

Those three (Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita) are all fairly expensive still. Good choices though...

But, there are some other (cheaper alternatives too).

One is Ridgid. They make good power tools, and have a lifetime service agreement on the batteries (NOT A WARRANTY, A SERVICE AGREEMENT). The service agreement is rather fussy. You have to register each battery/tool within 90 days, provide proof of purchase, enter all your contact info, then wait for two cards to be mailed to you. On one card is your number, which you MUST HAVE in order to get the batteries serviced. Forgot it/lose it, and you no longer have a service agreement. The other card has information related specifically to each tool/battery you registered. You must also keep/not lose this. Then, you must ship the batteries/tools to a special repair shop that handles the lifetime service agreement (unless there happens to be one nearby). Not all Ridigd repair shops are authorized to work on tools under the lifetime service agreement (and they don't make it really clear which ones are or are not). Then, when you get your serviced/new battery, you must also register that otherwise your lifetime service agreement is void. Just a few hoops to jump through, but lifetime batteries is pretty nice!

Tools are durable and powerful, but not as nice as Mil/De/Mak. Never owned them, but they get very good reviews, even from people who normally use some of the heavy duty brands. Ridgid doesn't really play games with "Black Friday special tools." They just switched from the 4th generation tools (which were highly praised) to a brand new 5th generation. Not as much info and long term use on the 5th generation, but my guess is they will be a solid step forward from the 4th generation.

Another good option is Porter Cable. Their 20V Max line is incredibly lightweight and small. In fact, if you are observant, you will realize they look like another brand's drills/impacts/etc. Their drill is 7 3/4 inches, and 3.5 lbs. Just like the DeWalt. They both are owned by the same company actually. The Porter Cable version was released first, and my guess is that they wanted to test durability before DeWalt released it. The PC motors are slightly less powerful than the DeWalt brushed motors, and the exterior plastics are different, but everything else is pretty much the same. Essentially then, this is a budget DeWalt. I have a few tools from the PC 20V max line, and confirm that they are durable and powerful little beasts. The 20V drill I've used for almost two years drilling nothing but steel, and it still is in great condition and shows no signs of stopping. The reviews on them are incredible: 270 reviews for the drill/impact driver kit alone, and 92% are 4 or 5 stars. 95% are 3 star or above (http://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-...33827539&sr=8-2&keywords=Porter+Cable+20V+max). That's incredibly high for a cordless power tool! Tons more of positive reviews wherever else you look too.

Again, there is a note on the PC power tools. Don't buy the kits that come with the black batteries- get the kits with the red batteries. Not only are those batteries smaller (1.3 AH for the black, 1.5 AH for the red), but the actual tools that come with the black batteries are cheaper downgraded versions (again, to meet a father's day/black friday price point- often have less power and are longer, heavier, and use cheaper exterior plastics) AND they don't come with the quick charger (kits with the red batteries come with the quick charge, which takes 40minutes to charge the batteries). The quick charger also prevents overcharging from leaving batteries on the charger after they are fully charged. Also 18V PC tools just avoid. Nothing special there at all. So get the kits with the RED BATTERIES.

A lot of people like Ryobi, but I don't. They feel cheap, and I don't like that they actually promise to continue to design new tools that work with their old batteries. It means they have to severely compromise new design just so that they will be compatible with older batteries (including those batteries designed many years ago when battery technology was no where near today, and Ni-Cad batteries were cutting edge, not lithium ion). It's a very attractive concept, especially for a homeowner who doesn't need new cordless tools every few years, but I think that also shows who and what these Ryobi tools are being designed for- driving screws into the new Ikea furniture the wife just bought. Ryobi tends to be well liked, and fairly durable, but that is mostly because the owners rarely push them hard. They also tend to much larger and heavier than other brands, with lower power outputs, lower speeds on the gearboxes/motors, and other similar cost saving designs.

Skip craftsman cordless tools. Craftsman is known for being horrible with supporting tools lines. They once introduced a new battery/tool line, and then discontinued it less than a year later. No support for those who had bought into that tool line! Meant no replacement batteries or tools under warranty, just store credit. They also tend to just be re branded version of another tool line that will have better support. Their 20V "Bolt on" line is actually just the black and decker 20V "matrix," which is the ultimate homeowner grade cordless tool line!

Which also leads me to Black and Decker. Which is a nope. They are also owned by Stanley (the same owners of DeWalt and Porter Cable), but B&D is the homeowner line. While the B&D 20V Max line uses the same battery tech as the Porter Cable and DeWalt 20V tools, everything else about them is cheap, cheap, cheap (motors, triggers, circuit boards, etc). Same category of owners as Ryobi, but even worse in my opinion. Of course, their corded angle grinders are actually an exception. These are almost identical clones of the DeWalt lower level angle grinders. But for cordless tools- avoid!

So in short, if you want to pony up the cash, get Milwaukee. If you don't want to spend that much, get Ridgid or Porter Cable. Both are fantastic options! I left many other brands out, so if you have questions about those, let me know.

And, because this tends to be an important questions when taking advice from someone over the internet about what brands to buy, I own a lot of DeWalt (older corded tools), Milwaukee (older cordless tools, new cordless tools, and new corded tools) and Porter Cable (old corded word working tools, and new cordless tools). As of the last few years, I've only been buying Milwaukee for both corded and cordless tools, with the exception of the Porter Cable drill, impact driver, and angle grinder I picked up for super cheap (and a $150 DeWalt angle grinder that I got brand new for $30!). As I said, I like Milwaukee over DeWalt, but if you can get a deal on DeWalt or want to go for Porter Cable, you'll still get some great tools.

Damn, that was long. Sorry. I like tools.

 

And here I thought that I loved tools...

 

Home Depot has a sale on 12v impact and driver set on dewalt for 149.99 normally 220 ish. I really like those I use them everyday at work. If you buy Mac tool impacts guns the batteries are interchangeable

 

Ahh shoot. I knew I forgot an important one. Yes, Mac power tools are DeWalt power tools sold under the Mac label. However, they do receive some nice upgrades (aluminum gear cases and other such nice things) from the DeWalt versions. Those are more on a level playing field with Milwaukee, but harder to find and usually WAY more expensive (unless you have a truck driver that gives you good deals). Also unlike DeWalt and PC or B&D, the batteries are interchangeable between DeWalt and Mac.

For clarification, Stanley actually owns: Black & Decker, Porter Cable, DeWalt, Blackhawk hand tools, ProTo hand tools, Mac hand tools, Bostitch power and hand tools, and Stanley Hand tools. They also have a close business relationship with the French Facom hand tools, and sell many of their products under either the ProTo or Mac label. Very large and expansive business. I just listed the tool companies they own, as there are many others under the "Stanley Black and Decker" banner.

I spend way too much time looking at, researching, buying, and using tools. I like making stuff!

 

I have a fuel line cordless ratchet and the half inch impact driver. The impact is ****ing gnarly, it's a beast. Well worth the money.

 

I have the brushless Milwaukee impact and drill. Good power. Great battery life. Have not had a issue with them. Used a set that I got at my old job for 3years daily in tons of oil and they kept on going. Decided that was good enough for me and got a set for home. I will warn the drill plus the extended battery does weight a fair amount though.

 

This drill from ikea should be all you need.

 

I agree with @Nhibbs

 

I like my Ryobi's, they are cheap, but they sit on a shelf 350 days out of the year. If I was using them every day/week I would get something better (can't believe there's no Bosch in the novel of a post above). My 1/2" impact gets the most work of anything, even though the pneumatic gun is right there, why drag an air hose around the shop every time you take a wheel on/off.

 

I will also voice my love for the Milwaukee Fuel brush less drills/impacts. The XC battery is amazing and lasts for friggen ever. I just picked up the impact and hammer drill pack a couple months ago and very happy with my investment.

 

What about air tools?

 

Another +1 for Milwaukee M18 Fuel brushless...I just got the M18 Fuel 3/8" drive cordless impact, and I friggin love it. Their stuff is spendy though, but I could justify the cost for how often I use the cordless impact. But for other weekend DIY tools, I probably wouldn't spend that much.

I normally check the Amazon reviews for tools. I recently bought a black and decker sander, Skil circular saw, and Hitachi miter saw based on the reviews and have been happy with all of them thus far.

 

Oh, and look out for coupons at Northern Tool. They carry Milwaukee and I used a $50 off coupon when I bought my Milwaukee cordless impact.

 

1st pick: DeWalt (spendy but very durable)
2nd pick: Ryobi/makita (they're about the same in my book) (cheaper but durable for medium duty work, I've had my makita angle grinder for years)
3rd pick: black and decker/chicago electric (throw away tools, when i'm in a pinch for a once or twice use tool)
4th Fisher-price (for when i'm drunk and don't want to accidently saw something off)

 

I wouldn't trust Amazon reviews that much. There's a huge market for Paid Reviews, and you don't know which ones are real, or fake.

 

Stfu

 

I'm just trying to help...

 

Lol it fits at times

 

Man, you don't want to start that here. That might be pages of info

 

I can tell you from personal experience that Rigid batteries (the Lithium Ion ones anyway) are crap. Mine stopped holding a charge after only a couple years of light use. And the 'warranty' is a massive pain in the butt. As described above, you have to register them when you buy them. I was able to get replacements ONCE. Because you have to have proof of purchase to register them, you can't register the replacements as they are a new serial number. This surprised me when I tried to register the replacements. So you don't get lifetime batteries. You get ONE replacement for each battery. At least, this was the pain that I went through. I'm planning on just cracking open the packs and replacing the cells myself.

Maybe others have had better luck with the Rigid warranty, but my experience was NOT a positive one. Other than that, the tools are okay. They are certainly price-point tools, though. If I had to do it over again, I'd go with something better.

 

I've been a Bosch guy for almost 10 years now, as that's what I was able to "get" from Menards for "cheap" at my time of employment there. I've never had an issue with any of it, but am not a on-the-job, beat-the-sh!t-out-of-it-daily contractor type either, even tho that's who they claim to market it to. Recently (within the last 3 years) upgraded to the Li-Ion stuff and really like it. Have a few Makita things as well that I'm more than happy with. Kinda surprised to see Bosch not mentioned by one person, but also surprised that you don't really see Bosch stuff that much in stores nowadays either.

If I could/was forced to start fresh, I'd probably take Makita or Milwaukee, just for the expansion opportunities. Makita has an absolutely ridiculous amount of cordless stuff and I've always had good luck with their stuff. Go to Acme in Plymouth sometime and don't wear sweatpants. Milwaukee also seems to have a ton of stuff recently as well. Have always heard people say "you're paying for the name", but I feel like that's somewhat true of any "name brand" anything. People always complain about how short something lasts after they've abused the living sh!t out of it and expected it to go forever.

Anywho, like most people have said, you can't really go wrong with one of the more recognizable brands.

 

It was two, essentially. I replaced one of the originals that came with my kit. Then the replacement crapped out, and they wouldn't replace the replacement as it was never a 'purchased' battery. They told me no proof of purchase, not possible to register, thus no replacement.

 

Agreed.

 

Being a typical light-duty use, homeowner, I have just used Craftsman. I think they are a good value for the money when you buy on sale. What is usually going to happen to a cordless power tool is that the batteries are going to wear out and replacements are so expensive you are better off buying a whole new tool or you drop it off a step ladder and break it. Doing that to a $200-plus pro tool would make me cry...doing to a $99 Craftsman, not so much. If I used it for my job all day, I would have a different opinion.

 

I bought a 12v Ridgid multi tool/drill combo kit. It came with 2 batteries and within 2 months both batteries were shot. I had to send them out and I bought 2 more while I was waiting for the replacements to arrive. By the time the new ones arrived the two I bought were crap. I went through 8 batteries in 6 months. Then the trigger went to crap on the drill so I had to send that out to get repaired. Then the motor went to hell on the multi tool and shortly after that the motor fried on the drill. I didn't use these for work either, this was the set I kept at home for my personal projects. I now have a Milwaukee M12 drill and impact I use the hell out of on a daily basis for work and love it.

 

lol I don't normally use my drill more than 8 times in 6 months...sounds like you might use your drill a little more than the usual home DIY'er so the Milwaukee sounds like a much better fit! I do use my cordless impact fairly frequently, and for that reason I bought the M18 fuel impact...loving it so far.

 

Would it be to far off topic to ask about people's options of tool chests?
I don't have a lot of tools, and none of them are very nice, but all I have currently is a brown cardboard box to keep them in.

I am looking for a "nice" tool chest. And sadly I don't want to spend a ton on it.
I know you get what you pay for, but any recommendations in the ~$200 range?
Just something with drawers to hold sockets and wrenches, that is not a little portable box, but a medium sized chest for a garage.
Thanks.

 

Craftsman has some "decent" boxes for around $200

 

Going on with what @JasonoJordan said, here are two chests that I recommend. I personally own the 6 drawer, and I love it.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-...p-00937711000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=3&blockType=G3

http://www.craftsman.com/26-in-3-dr...p-00937710000P?prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7

 

Thoughts?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NHBZ9AA?ref_=gbsl_tit_l-1_8122_17ef22b3&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Slightly time sensitive...

 

Id say do it and start with those and you can always add to it if you have to. We dont have a whole lot of cordless stuff, most of our stuff is the corded stuff but its held up to what we use it for.

 

I know it is not necessarily the #1 popular vote in this discussion, but for the cost and all three tools, it seems like a decent deal...

 

Yea it does seem reasonable