I am just learning to turn, and thought a slow 8" grinder would be nice to sharpen gouges. Sears has one on sale for $100.
As much as I love my RAS it is a lousy miter saw; but I don't have room for a miter saw. Sears has a 7.25" on sale for $80. I figure I can stick it on the shelf below the RAS.
Good buys, but I don't "really" need them. Then I get an email that online orders are 10% off. Can't resist. But when I order them they come up as $70 and $58!
So, I got $210 worth of tools for $128. Not a huge gloat, but from Sears...
Is that based on personal experience, or just nonsense you have heard? I have had a craftsman TS and RAS for years and they are both very decent. These tool seem alright also. Okay, they are not likely to hold up as well as $250 tools, but they didn't cost $250.
miter saw is a bit more, but it's 10" and probably a lot better than the craftsman. I have an older version of this miter saw. It's not great, but it does the job.
I had that (2) copies of that grinder, one via warranty. It was an unmitigated piece of crap, barely suitable for lawn mower blades. The speed control failed with barely 10 hours of use, the shafts had runout, and the tool rests stunk. About the only useable part was the lamp! 8^(
I finally got a used Baldor, now I can grind tools!
Ordinarily I'm a proponent of buying tools you can grow into since I've pissed away so much money in the past buying what I needed for today, only to find it wasn't enough tool for tomorrow's project. That being said, if that little miter saw can cut 2X4s, it'll be quite a bit handier to take to the small jobs around the house than that great big 12" Dewalt I own. Even with its rolling stand and work supports, it's a horse. I really end up thinking about whether it's worth my time to set it up for small jobs. He'll do better with his little one. If the work is bigger, he's no worse off than before... he still has his RAS.
>> The miter saw is a bit more, but it's 10" and probably a lot better
Well, lets see... my grinder is 8" rather than 6", it has a slower bottom speed, and a more powerful motor; all for $8 less. Yeah, I think I pick the better one. (Sears has one identical to the Delta 6" for $50.)
The Delta miter saw is twice the price and too large for what wanted. Hmm. I think I chose correctly.
You guys are just jealous because you don't get gloats. (I bought a $500 leaf blower off craigslist for $50 last week. Kinda old, but starts on the first pull. Anyone want to try to tear that one down? Or maybe the parachute I bought at a garage sale for $18 and sold on ebay for $360? Or the 200bf of oak I bought on ebay for $1. Or the exercise machine I found in the street waiting for trash pickup that I sold on ebay for $450?)
It's not jealousy in this case, just a strong hatred for all things craftsman. Their large tools (like the new table saws) have been getting better. But they have had many many years of using their good name to push junk on people. Just ask around about the random height adjustment feature. I'd buy another ryobi tool before craftsman. And that's saying a lot.
On the other hand, there's that new router that's a clone of the bosch. I have to wonder if it's different or just a rebadge. iirc, the craftsman is cheaper. I have to wonder why. It may just be marketing, or maybe not. I would probably just buy the bosch to be sure unless I could get a major discount on the craftsman.
I'm not at all sure. I just grabbed a link from amazon. :-)
But was it better than the craftsman? ;-)
The small delta tools I've had have been hit or miss. The drill press I have has been great. So was the lunchbox planer. The benchtop tablesaw was ok for what it was, which wasn't much. The benchtop bandsaw and jointer were utter garbage. The delta 10" miter saw has been ok, but hard to adjust and keep adjusted. It likes to deflect on miter cuts also. It worked flawlessly when I cut all the 2x4s to finish my basement though. As mortermer said, it's nice to have a light-weight one around to carry to job sites if you need it. Having said all that, the 12" PC miter saw is spectacular. I can actually see myself cutting miters with it.
Who do you think is building a lot of the tools for Craftsman these days? Table saws, hand tools? Yup: Ryobi.
I shake my head when I see/hear people babbling that Craftsman is Crappe: Fact is that "Craftsman" doesn't make tools... They're rebadged Deltas, B&D, Ryobis, Bosch, etc., etc......
Not too long ago there was a brouhaha in here about a bunch of (economy) 14" bandsaws. All had their passionate champions and detractors. Funny thing was that most of the saws being discussed all came off the same line in China: The only difference was in the logos on the wheel covers.
Like all predjudices, this supposed hatred of all things Craftsman is born in ignorance.
Wanna say something that makes sense? Say that Sears charges way too much for most of their Craftsman products, and if you don't wait until they're on sale (big time) before you buy, well, you're stupid.
I had a district manager from Sears explain it to me a long time ago when I worked there as a salesman and later dept. manager. Some are a straight re-label which usually are there "professional" or "Sears Best" tools. The ones that offer little savings over the originals. Next are the re-specified. Look like the nice competitors tools but are half the cost and a fraction of the quality. Usually these are the "better" quality (LOL) they push in the ads. Most of the time they are made with junk or poor quality parts by the original manufactuer. The last is the entry level tools. These are mostly their design and are made much the same way as the "better" tools except by a plant they own. The only difference is the power, weight, size, etc. These are the "good" tools they advertise all the time. Yes some of the lower quality can be fine. I actually have one of their RO sanders that I like better than a PC that I just bought.
My random height adjustment router, automatic diagonal cut circ saw, and tension free band saw from Sears are hardly worth there weight in mud. But the biscuit joiner, RO sander, 6" bench grinder, and hand held grinder that I have from them are actually pretty decent. So I guess it depends on the specific tool.
One major rule for buying Delta, learned the hard way. If it says "Shopmaster", it's just a toy with the Delta logo on it, and you will outgrow it- usually before it's even out of the box. If it says "Industrial", it's a tool worth owning. True over 80% of the time on the Delta stuff you'll find in the store these days- if I'd have known that earlier, it would have saved me several hundred dollars.
On the bright side, the Delta logo counts for enough that even the Shopmaster line keeps it's value pretty well if you decide to resell it.
Unfortunately, they may originate from the same Chinese factory, right next to the Harbor Freight and Grizzly assembly line. 8^( At least Grizzly will stand behind it.
I like my small(er) Delta drill press too! This also goes for my DJ-20, miter saw, and 12" disc sander.
The Delta 6" variable speed grinder truly seemed like they took the cheapest Chinese example they could find, painted it gray, and slapped a Delta name plate on it.
On the other hand, some Craftsman stuff is rebadged good stuff, like the Crafstman version of the Bosch 1617EVS router. I'm not much of a gambler, and the service SUCKS (capital!) at my local Sears entities, so I personally skip all of it. Why deal with the hassle?
Luckily, when I need a burlfurl, I just go to Coastal Tool, run my sticky fingers over all of the brands of burlfurl, and take the one that sticks the best up to Wayne at the counter. If I change my mind on the way home, I can still go back and swap for the runner-up. Screw Sears and guessing games! I can always gamble @ Foxwoods or Mohegan Sun or on Powerball.
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