favorite / least favorite brand of tools

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I haven’t bought a harbor freight angle grinder yet but my name brand bit the dust and I need something. I’m going by the $19 jab saw I bought at harbor freight that has lasted me two years of really abusing it and over last weekend I needed to take out an old mail box 2” water pipe pole. It zipped that off below ground level with ease. I’m still using the $10 pack of blades. If the angle grinder is similar quality I would be quite happy.

I think they are all close in RPM for a given size wheel. Amps is a good judge of torque. I have no desire for a battery powered grinder.
 
My battery grinders are horrible. Good for quick cuts but nothing that take any time. They just overheat the battery.
 
Yeah, I've already ruled out a battery unit. I would have thought that the amps were the more important factor, but the guy at the store (apron guy) was making a case for RPM.
The Dewalt and Makita units were close in specs and price, but I may have to go looking for a Harbor Freight, just because....
 
Like I said before my makita is my longest lasting unit so far. I haven't used that one for my muddy work but it has given me years of use doing tile and metal work.
 
When I do a job the requires a tool that I don't own and may never need again, I buy cheap or used. and sometimes that tool will become an everyday tool and when it gives up I have a better idea of what can be done and whether or not to go for quality. We just replaced a sawsall with one with a bigger motor and longer stroke, works great but the added weight when cutting over your head should have been a consideration.
 
Good point. I often buy a cheap version of a tool until I know how - and how much - I'm gonna use it. if the tool is a good fit, then I start shopping for a quality replacement.
 
I made the mistake of getting drill bits at harbor freight. I thought that I was just a failure because I couldn't drill through 1/8" luan-- the drill bit actually bent... So then I went to a 20 year old toolkit and pulled out a drillbit and it went through like a hot knife through butter.

Most of the stuff I bought from HB has an oily smell to it and the stuff usually breaks rather quickly. If it doesn't break, it rusts.

Chris, I'll have to keep my eyes open for makita. My airconditioning guy had a Makita tool and he said it was very reliable.
 
All if the box wrenches and crescents in my crew trucks are HF brand and have had no issues with them in six years of hard abuse.
 
I just saw what I want for Christmas.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PK4XY90/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I do have the Martix and the circular saw attachment already-- and the extra life battery, but my friend borrows it all the time. I could let him borrow the one with the lower life battery and get the extra attachments. Then I could get the hedge trimmer attachments. I think getting this one would be cheaper than buying all of those attachments separately. Plus I know my friend would love to get to keep one around his house and I wouldn't have to drive in to town to retrieve it when I need it. LOL.

Thus far the part swapping feature is very cool and convenient, but I do need the impact attachment for some things.

I do wish it had a light attachment to shine on the screws so I can see them in cubbies.

Don't mind my rambling. Can't sleep because I'm sick. LOL.
 
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Problem with those kits is when one thing goes, a lot of the other parts are useless. I tried that with Craftsman drills. But a year later, i couldn't find a battery to fit it, and the drill was almost the same price as the battery alone.
 
slownsteady said:
Problem with those kits is when one thing goes, a lot of the other parts are useless. I tried that with Craftsman drills. But a year later, i couldn't find a battery to fit it, and the drill was almost the same price as the battery alone.
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Good point. I actually have an extra battery just in case. It came with one that I got earlier. But I inherited my father's inclination to collect more tools. He would even buy duplicates of ones he already had just in case we needed an extra (and also because he couldn't find things).
 
My wife is out of the kitchen for a bit so I can mention the word tools, but just in writing, not out loud.
I have just about 3 of every tool made for woodworking. I cannot afford Festools. I do have some old B and D tools which still work very well. Favorite router is an old Makita Redline. I also have a couple of Craftsman Routers that I only use with my dovetail machine. I also have a Bosch router that's nice to work with. I have a monster 3hp Freud router as well.
I used to work part time with my cousin framing homes here in Calgary so I have an old Emglo 2hp compressor to tote around along with me on odd jobs. I have looked after it so it looks like new. It's almost 25 yrs old.

My pride and joy is my 10 inch tablesaw. It's a 3hp Rockwell Unisaw. Turn it on without a blade in it and all you hear is a low hum. With a blade in it, you hear the whistle made by the blades teeth. Totally accurate cuts. It has a Biesemeyer fence and I like my Incra Miter guide. I have an Elu miter saw and a Makita 10 inch slider.

I am of the opinion that a lot of the more recent power tools are built to be used for a month or two and then thrown away. I have a lot of battery powered tools but like some others here I have been caught reaching for corded tools more and more.
 
When I'm working on something in the workshop and can attach a cord to one of the hanging plugs (My father rigged the place to have plugs available hanging down with extension cords-- I'll have to get pics) I prefer to use the corded tools.

Unfortunately, a lot of the stuff I work on is not in range of an outlet or extension cord so I use the battery powered ones in a pinch. I've been pretty happy with the B&D Matrix thus far.
 
Imo black & decker is for light weight use, good for the wife to use. Craftsman rachets are junk. If you only want to purchase an angle grinder one time consider metabo.
 
kok328 said:
Imo black & decker is for light weight use, good for the wife to use. Craftsman rachets are junk. If you only want to purchase an angle grinder one time consider metabo.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm pretty much a lightweight user. I do have some more powerful tools to use in a pinch, but they are heavier. I have carpal tunnel issues so I prefer lighter tools.
 
my doc had me do this for carpal tunnel

get a one half pound weight. sock with sand tie a string to the weight.

reach your arms straight out. tie the string to a stick so that it is above the floor 1/2''

roll the stick with your hands to bring the weight up, with arms straight out, roll it up, the roll it down :banana:
 
I'm trying to visualize that, but I kept picturing a banana instead of a stick. Gee, I wonder why. :p

Dancing banana emoticon is fun.
 
Nailers I like the older Senco SN70,,,Harbor Freight has decent sockets etc but I would not buy any air tools there
 
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