I don't know if this is the right newsgroup (if not, can someone point me to the appropriate one?), but I'm thinkong of relacing all my old (B&D) power tolls, and with all the choices nowadays, I was hoping for some suggestions (Ver speed drill, cordless driver, reciprocating saw, skill saw, jig saw,...) the works.
suggestions
I have had good performance with Milwaukee and Makita brands. Warren
You can go to rec.woodworking and find an awful lot of info. Try a google search on different tools for that group and you will see a lot of discussion on them.
Other than for circular hand saws go pneumatic tools for everything else. They are light, safe, self cleaning, variable power and don't burn out when they stall. Plus you get tools that electric powered ones can't do.
Why? The old B&D power tools were well-built. I still have a B&D palm sander. Last year my 35 year old B&D died, and I replaced it with a Milwaukee that has a larger chuck. Makita brand power tools are very good. Porter Cable, Bosch and DeWalt are better than average. Cordless tools are rather expensive and it is rare they last longer than a few years. In recent years I have been moving toward pneumatic tools rather than cordless.
What's the point of replacing them if they work? I have an old B&D scroll saw that's actually made of metal and has been with me for at least 25 years and it appears to be better made than what I see today. Ron
This is Turtle.
Look the tools that you have and look at the age and how well they held up. Pick the name of the tools you have that you think held up the best and use that brand. I use to use nothing but the high dollar stuff in my HVAC business but I've come to the conclusion that B & D and Skill run just like the other if you really take care of them. Now I do still use the Porter Cable recept saw for they seem to hold up the best.
TURTLE
Makita seems to be very popular. Though they are kind of pricey.
Thanks, I'll take a look at rec.woodworking.
I never thought of that. Any particular brand?
Some of them need replacing (triggers broken, etc.) I actually took a look at B&D again, but was told that they are no longer considered a "good" brand, just like Skill, Ryobi, etc. Makita seems to be a brand many are quck to recommend. You are the second person to mention pneumatic tools. I'll have to take a look at them.
Actually, everything I have is B&D. They were very popular for the home owner/amateur fixer-upper 25 yrs ago ;-) You are the first person to say thet even the cheaper brands will do well if you take good care of them. So, may be I should ust replace the failing tools with the same brand. Hmm... not a bad idea.
Thanks.
Harry, Unlike shoes and boots, relacing doesn't do much for power tools. You might want to consider buying new ones. Porter Cable and Dewalt are pretty good.
suggestions
B&D has various lines (as do most others)...professional, homeowner, etc. Their Pro stuff is as good as anyone elses. Also, you can replace triggers, etc.
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IMHO it all depends on what you are using the tools for. If you are a carpenter and build houses you have very different needs than if you a weekend hack (like myself) who uses the tools occasionally.
Being a weekend hack, and at the risk of offending the hardcores on this board, I love cordless tools. I literally found a Dewalt cordless drill 14.4v in the road about 7 years ago, bought a charger, and have used it ever since. (felt bad for the poor chump who lost it, put a sign up on a telephone pole near where I found it saying "Tool Found and my phone # but no one ever called.) It is all a matter of how much you plan to use them. I am starting to lust over those matched sets at Home Depot, where you have a bunch of cordless tools and they are all using the same batteries, I can see how that would be nice.
Save the flames, I know I have revealed myself as a pretender by the fact that I recomend: 1) cordless Tools 2) buying tools at Home Depot; but it makes a lot of sense if you are like me, and only get to use them occasionally for minor projects around the house, why buy an Hummer H2 if I only drive around on city roads, sure it would look cool, and I'd feel manly behind the wheel, but when I commute 60 miles a day on city roads, it makes a lot more sense to get a Honda Accord.
B & D is not the same quality today. I'd pass over them but they may hold up for the occasional user. You won't see any tradesmen using them today.
Harry - Might I suggest a slightly different approach.
Buy tools as you need them. When you need them buy the best quality you can afford while considering the cost and actual likely use. Pneumatic is good. Milwaukee, Makita are good. Cordless are good, corded are good. There are too many options. If you post over on rec.woodworking at least one person will ask you for the what do you need the tool for. The responses wont be too helpful.
I'll give you an example. I am building a small shaker style end table. One drawer, 18"x19" top and delicate tapered legs. There is this particular tool that will be helpful in this endeavor and I will invest in it. For project this its just a scraper, under $10, but I haven't needed one to date. I also need a particular router bit with a profile I do not have.
You get the point.
If you MUST go and get an assortment of power tools I would consider the Milwaukee 18v combo kit.
Have fun
That will work for some, but some brands have gone the high volume, low quality route in recent years. B & D, Craftsman, are not the same as their reputation from a quarter century ago. .
One of the woodworking magazines showed the difference between two brands, Skil and Bosch, that are made by the same company. The bearings in the Bosch were about twice the size of the cheaper one. The comutator on the mot has twice the segments. For the guy that uses a router twice a year, it may be OK, but it is not going to hold up and remain accurate for the heavier user or for more critical applications.
Even if you're meticulously careful, you're eventually going to drop a cordless drill from the top of a stepladder. You're also eventually going to be in a position of pushing a tool slightly beyond what it's designed to handle, because you misjudged what you'd need when you left the shop, or whatever. I'd much rather drop or heat up a heavy duty tool.
Now you use your tools for a living and I almost never get paid to use mine, but I still think you've been really lucky if you really are using orange B&D and Skil tools satisfactorily in a contractor capacity. You are BEGGING for that stuff to lay down on you at exactly the wrong time.
I have the Porter-Cable recip with two articulation points--can't remember the cutesy marketing name for it--and I love it. You can get in anywhere with that thing.
Different lines have different strengths and weaknesses. If you have a fetish to have all of your tools look the same, then you'll probably still do all right, but you'll have a situation where you could have made slightly better choices here and there.
Spend some time at Google Groups on this. There's enough information already out there to last you the rest of the year in reading time.
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