talking tools

What brands of stuff do you have? how has it lasted. Had any tools that have surviced some severe abuse? What was your worst tool purchase ever?

I'll start with this one-
I worked commercial construction for some time. We used to use wet dry vacs for all kinds of things often cleaning the crap out of forms before a pour. Or sucking concrete dust out of holes before gluing rod in. Often companies would go out and buy a bunch of Sears or HD vacs. the longest they lasted was about 3 weeks the average was less then a week. The rental places had theses Wap vacs. these things would take abuse for months. sucking gritty mud up for hours. The best thing about them they were so quiet. some shop vacs are not loud, compaired to, say an airplane. but you could eaisly talk over these. I am going to get me one of them, next $400 I find on the street.

Well, in my 'younger years' I used to buy Black&Decker tools, and kept replacing them faster than I changed my socks! And Sears 'home tools' (cant tell you how many circular saws, jig saws and other hand tools I went through).

Now, I have DeWalt (and no jokes about it still being B&D) and Sears but, Professional Tools, instead of "home tools". Ryobi is in there also, (scroll saw).

I have a problem with a belt sander from DeWalt. Seems one of the rollers has the Rubber come off and its s shiny metal wheel, and when I put a belt on it, the thing overheats fast and the belt seperates at the glue line. (Almost ready to buy one of those belt sanding stations and see how that works...elcheapo model, but, who knows, havent made up my mind to get this fixed or just pitch it...sheesh!).

My Sears Cordless Drill I bought for Fathers Day (yea Wife didnt know what to get me, so sent me to Sears all by myself...silly girl), and its been working for ten years now, but, the batteries arent lasting as long now... hmmm may need to think DeWalt with the Lithium Ion batteries now...

Oh, when they make a tool that can withstand my Brother in Law from borrowing them, and leaving them out in the RAIN!!! Then, they will have me hooked!! Fortunately, the truck I gave him years ago, finally died, and he cant leave them in the bed of that beast anymore!

Ok, my diatribe is over... rant and rave on...

Jesse

I think the worst tool I have ever owned was a B&D belt sander. Mt Dad bought it and the thing wouldn't sand pine without stalling. I stuck with my old PC until it died. The thing must have been 40 years old. I went and found the new version. It was expensive but everything as good as the original. The old one was oil cooled. The new one doesn't have oil but works great.
Dewalt was a good tool until recent years. I have a 14.? volt drill that is crap. I also bout a Panasonic 15 volt drill that will out drive anything I have used. My Dewalt SCMS is a great saw. Too many others. I wold stay away fro Sears, B&D, and the like unless your just a hobbyist.

On my work tools I can be very hard, but must say that the 2 best I have ever had are Black and decker proffesionals. a 1/2" impact (electric) and my porta-band saw. Both were bought in the very early 80s and still get used daily. My other main work tools are a Ridgid 18v drill, Bosch hammer drill, and an old craftsman prof. reciprocating saw. At home for general repairs and woodworking I have the Ryobi one+ system 18v tools and must say that they are great. Biggest surprise tool I have is a Chicago Electric (HF) 10" sliding compound miter saw that I bought 3 years ago for $99 with free shipping and it has been a truely great tool. Not quite up to fine woodworking accuracy but for framing and deck building it cannot be beat. My worst tool purchase ever was a Skil table saw. 10" bench top, 2 months and the motor burned out, replaced under warrenty, 2 months and the motor burned out. Junked it and bought a Ridgid TS2400 portable and don't think there is a better saw out there at any price.

Old thread, I know.

I use a wide variety of power tool brands. My table saw is a 10" Craftsman (~$200 model) that works well for my needs. The fence isn't very accurate, so finish cuts are rarely perfect in dimension.

I have two cordless drills that I use in tandem. A 12V Makita from 5 or 6 years ago. Well-built, good chuck, and good battery life. I haven't needed anything more powerful yet. The other drill is a 9.6V DeWalt. This one isn't as tough as the Makita, but works well. Battery charger is VERY fast.

I have used several B&D tools...never impressed.

I have a Skill "classic" circular saw that works well. None of those fancy gadgets like lasers or dust bags...just a strong baseplate and good power.

Delta compound-miter saw that works great. No complaints, other than the cheap stick-on gauge isn't perfectly accurate.

Milwaukee router that I love. Great power, easy to adjust with the fine tuner.

The one thing I haven't found that I really need is a good, solid jigsaw. I have been through many cheapies, and the latest cheapie just won't hold the blade straight, so most of my cuts are slightly beveled. It's annoying. Can anyone recommend a good one?

That's about it. I stay away from Ryobi, B&D, and most Craftsman stuff.