? ? ? Best brand of power tools ? ? ?

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Biggkidd

Biggkidd

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I ordered a new angle grinder tonight. Which got me thinking again, what is the best brand of power tools. Or in reality which brand is the best deal for the long haul or job at hand. I have bought and used a lot of tools in my 50 years. In my experience you get what you pay for. For many years I bought and used only Dewalt power tools. All the way up until I got my first Milwaukee at a broken pallet sale. Since then for tools I am going to use a lot or on a regular basis I only buy Milwaukee. Since I do not have deep pockets I will and do buy cheap or cheaper tools that are going to have limited use. Why spend top dollar for a tool or tools that are going to see one or two jobs. On the same note why buy a cheap tool that you are going to use on a regular basis. So I try and buy what makes the most since according to the use I foresee the tool getting when I buy it. Take angle grinders for example I have worn out at least 5 that I can think of at this moment. Knowing that and the fact we have a large project on the near horizon that will see a lot of grinder use I wanted a good one. I also didn't want to run the genny all the time or have the cord in my way.

So I ordered this one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154738292429

Got a couple more batteries also. This is the first time I've tried the off brand batteries but I have heard good things about them.

2-PACK For Milwaukee M18 LITHIUM XC 6.0 AH Extended Capacity Battery 48-11-1860 | eBay

I'd love to hear opinions on what are some of the best high and low cost power tools or tools in general.
 
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We have this discussion in my group at work on a regular basis. LOL One guy swears on DeWalt, another is all about Milwaukee. I get them started on each other at least every week. :dancing: I purchase their tools, so I can do that. That said, both hold up well, no real issues with any of their gear and we have quite a bit of it.

For around the house, I got a DeWalt drill years ago as a gift and decided it would be cheaper to stick with them and share batteries. I just got a new 7 1/4 20v circular saw. Works great and will last me for years. I love Milwaukee tools and have never had a negative thought about them, nor ever heard anything bad about them.
 
Biggkidd said:
I ordered a new angle grinder tonight. Which got me thinking again, what is the best brand of power tools. Or in reality which brand is the best deal for the long haul or job at hand. I have bought and used a lot of tools in my 50 years. In my experience you get what you pay for. For many years I bought and used only Dewalt power tools. All the way up until I got my first Milwaukee at a broken pallet sale. Since then for tools I am going to use a lot or on a regular basis I only buy Milwaukee. Since I do not have deep pockets I will and do buy cheap or cheaper tools that are going to have limited use. Why spend top dollar for a tool or tools that are going to see one or two jobs. On the same note why buy a cheap tool that you are going to use on a regular basis. So I try and buy what makes the most since according to the use I foresee the tool getting when I buy it. Take angle grinders for example I have worn out at least 5 that I can think of at this moment. Knowing that and the fact we have a large project on the near horizon that will see a lot of grinder use I wanted a good one. I also didn't want to run the genny all the time or have the cord in my way.

So I ordered this one.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154738292429

Got a couple more batteries also. This is the first time I've tried the off brand batteries but I have heard good things about them.

2-PACK For Milwaukee M18 LITHIUM XC 6.0 AH Extended Capacity Battery 48-11-1860 | eBay

I'd love to hear opinions on what are some of the best high and low cost power tools or tools in general.
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We use a lot of grinders at work! DWE405 is a dewalt. The paddle switch is easy to work and safer if it comes out of your hand or catches your clothes (you don't want one that stays on!) We have a Milwaukee drill set and it's good but don't have the grinders. Also for reference, Snap On index set is a great investment if you do any amount of drilling. They are guaranteed for life so if you break a drill bit, it's replaced for free - just keep the broken one. We have saved $$$ by purchasing that expensive set. Oh, I recently found the DWE405's on clearance at Wmart for $89 which is the least I've seen any usable grinder lately.
 
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Bacpacker said:
We have this discussion in my group at work on a regular basis. LOL One guy swears on DeWalt, another is all about Milwaukee. I get them started on each other at least every week. :dancing: I purchase their tools, so I can do that. That said, both hold up well, no real issues with any of their gear and we have quite a bit of it.

For around the house, I got a DeWalt drill years ago as a gift and decided it would be cheaper to stick with them and share batteries. I just got a new 7 1/4 20v circular saw. Works great and will last me for years. I love Milwaukee tools and have never had a negative thought about them, nor ever heard anything bad about them.
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I emulated my brother that uses Dewalt 20v for normal stuff and Milwaukee for the hard core. Since he has all of the hard stuff covered I have a large collection of Dewalt.

But it is the battery that has guided my selection for the most part. I got in with Dewalt when they were offering free batteries. I have more than enough to keep 3 or more people running a chain saw weed whacker an circular saw all day stowed in my Jeep.

Furthermore...

My Amazon tool wishlist is dominated by Dewalt.

Need I say more?

Ben
 
Mine are all many years old Porter Cable 20 volt lithium, they used to be sold at Lowes(maybe it was Home Depot), and they had a cordless impact wrench that had the right specs for working on my scooter. I have no idea of the best brand now, hopefully the Porter stuff lasts me as long as I need.
 
dademoss said:
Mine are all many years old Porter Cable 20 volt lithium, they used to be sold at Lowes(maybe it was Home Depot), and they had a cordless impact wrench that had the right specs for working on my scooter. I have no idea of the best brand now, hopefully the Porter stuff lasts me as long as I need.
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The good old Porter Cable were great!!
 
dademoss said:
Mine are all many years old Porter Cable 20 volt lithium, they used to be sold at Lowes(maybe it was Home Depot), and they had a cordless impact wrench that had the right specs for working on my scooter. I have no idea of the best brand now, hopefully the Porter stuff lasts me as long as I need.
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I have a Porter portable band saw for the big stuff. No idea how I acquired it.
 
I have a shop full of 20v DeWalt tools. I bought a drill/drive combo on sale and just decided to stay with one brand because of the batteries.
My son has a shop full of 20v Ryobi.
If you look closely you will see a couple of old Porter Cable tools.
I'm a DIYer so I don't really need the top of the line tools.
I will never buy anything but Bosch driver bits. The ones I have are far superior to anything else I have used. I do have a bunch of DeWalt bits but I bought them before I discovered the Bosch bits and I got them at a great price. Lowe's had them for $11.99 instead of $43. They were supposed to be marked down $11.99 but someone just marked them $11.99
If you are making a living with your tools that's a whole other story.
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dademoss said:
Mine are all many years old Porter Cable 20 volt lithium, they used to be sold at Lowes(maybe it was Home Depot), and they had a cordless impact wrench that had the right specs for working on my scooter. I have no idea of the best brand now, hopefully the Porter stuff lasts me as long as I need.
Click to expand...
For many years Porter Cable had very high quality control, with everything made in China anymore, I don't know if that's the truth now days. I pretty much use DeWalt, when the batteries die I just go out and buy a new DeWalt drill motor, costs about the same as replacing batteries and I ged new batteries, I hate this being a throw away society. Thankfully, as I age, my tools last longer, that's because I just don't use them as often, sometimes to the point of forgetting where I put them away.
 
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backlash said:
I have a shop full of 20v DeWalt tools. I bought a drill/drive combo on sale and just decided to stay with one brand because of the batteries.
My son has a shop full of 20v Ryobi.
If you look closely you will see a couple of old Porter Cable tools.
I'm a DIYer so I don't really need the top of the line tools.
I will never buy anything but Bosch driver bits. The ones I have are far superior to anything else I have used. I do have a bunch of DeWalt bits but I bought them before I discovered the Bosch bits and I got them at a great price. Lowe's had them for $11.99 instead of $43. They were supposed to be marked down $11.99 but someone just marked them $11.99
If you are making a living with your tools that's a whole other story.
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I like your storage shelves Backlash. That's pretty sweet.
 
When I had my pool installation company I had 20) 12V dewalt drills. We each had 2 (8 man crew) plus a couple spares for when one got dropped in a pool. They worked well but when it came to size versus power the Milwaukee won and really won big when it came to battery life.
 
Sticking to one tool brand for corded has never worked for me, found milwaukee
drills to be great, back in the day makita for angle grinders,
As to cordless probably milwaukee or dewalt, cause they have better battery access
I can't remember the brand of cordless trimmer my former wife from my former life bought, but it came with 2 batteries and a charge, then she decided she needed more batteries, first time the exact same trimmer was on sale for less than 2 batteries, after that it was a hedge trimmer, then drills, each time she bought the tool charger and atleast 1 battery for less than the battery alone, still cant remember the brand, the were White with orange trim, like a stihl but not I think. Best cordless drill was back in the day Pretty sure it was a coleman, from costco, nicle metal batteries, slow to charge, but the charge held and had very good capacity, wore the drill gear set out while the batteries were still good after giving at least 5 years service
 
Bacpacker said:
I like your storage shelves Backlash. That's pretty sweet.
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Thanks
I made that in just a few hours. There are things I would do differently if I was building myself another one.
My son and I built him one I like better. He has more tools than I do so it's bigger. The second thing I build is always better than the first.
 
backlash said:
Thanks
I made that in just a few hours. There are things I would do differently if I was building myself another one.
My son and I built him one I like better. He has more tools than I do so it's bigger. The second thing I build is always better than the first.
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Second time always has better features and the bugs worked out. I'm like that myself. Lol.
 
I like Rigid tools, but my cordless sawzall is crap. I have a set of Hilti 1/2 drill and driver. The driver will twist off a 1/4 inch bolt if I am not careful.
 
I have Milwaukee, DeWalt, Makita, Craftsman, Skil, B&D, Rockwell, Dremel, Stihl and Honda. These are all corded or gasoline (except for the DeWalt drill). I would not have such a mishmash of brands if they were battery powered - I would want them to share batteries. I would probably go for DeWalt if I were buying cordless. I don't know if they are "best", but for my light duty use they are certainly good enough. And you can find them and their accessories everywhere, which is a big plus for me. Oh wait, I also have a Harbor Freight drill press. I rarely need a drill press, and this one is 20-something years old. Believe it or not, it does the job I require of it despite it's ultra-low-end heritage. I think it cost less than the set of drill bits I got to use with it.
 
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I also bought a HF drill press. I bought it years and years ago on sale for $129. It's a regular free standing not a bench top model.
I checked it out with a micrometer and the run out was less than 5 thousands.
It doesn't get used a lot but it's still going strong.
As far as which brand is best that's like asking Ford, Chevy, or Dodge. There probably isn't much difference between brands.
I bought DeWalt because they were on sale and have a good reputation. It's cheaper to buy more tool combinations than buying batteries separate.
I bought a DeWalt 20v pressure washer. I took it back because it was weak. It only had 550psi and didn't do much more than a garden hose with my thumb on the end. It didn't have to be connected to a water faucet it could pump out of a bucket or a lake. If you lived on a boat it would be good.
 
Haertig said:
That rules out my Harbor Freight punch set. Unless you need to do punching around bends and corners.
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I have an 1 1/8" HF wrench that is kind of like that. The open end doesn't work so good for tightening the drive chains on my machine at work, but it's very efficient for rounding the nut off. Apparently the QC guy in the wrench factory didn't have his Go/No Go guage handy the day my wrench got built...
 
I've had a single Dewalt 18v drill for years that gets light use, and compact 12v Bosch drill/impact combo. A few years ago I got into woodworking, and started adopting the Makita LXT 18v platform, and will eventually phase out the other tools I have.
I've found that Makita's global reputation and quality is on part with Dewalt and Miluakee, but the popularity seems to be regionally dependent. Red and yellow focus on the US. Makita is bigger in Europe, Aus/NZ. Then you have Bosch in Europe also.
 
backlash said:
I have a brand new DeWalt corded drill that has never been out of the box. I've had it over 15 years.
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I've got an old (25-30YO) corded Dewalt 1/2" drill / hammer drill that will break your arm if you're not careful! I know an old friend got a concussion when he let the brace handle slip and slap him in the head when the drill bound. It may not have knocked him all the way out but he was certainly not in his right mind either. I've had it put a hurting on my hands and arms several times over the years. It honestly has more power than I would recommend. Needless to say I only use it when a 18V battery drill won't do, like stirring mud or drilling holes in steel over 3/4 inch.
 
milwauke built a 1/2 inch corded drill that has a pile of power but stalls when it jams, I think the package called it soft torque, I really like that drill. If I need to get hurt, I just use my 3/4 ' black and decker, you almost need to use a crane to lift it.
 
Tirediron said:
milwauke built a 1/2 inch corded drill that has a pile of power but stalls when it jams, I think the package called it soft torque, I really like that drill. If I need to get hurt, I just use my 3/4 ' black and decker, you almost need to use a crane to lift it.
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If it needs 3/4" power, it needs pneumatic tools. We've got a 1/2" corded Dewalt on the farm for jobs like drilling into concrete. Other than having to run extension cords, it works great...
 
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