Tool Thread!

[captain_aggravated]

I'm currently swimming in battery-powered tools.  My father had bought a big old Craftsman set from Lowe's (that still doesn't sound right to me) including a drill, driver, circ saw, fucksaw reciprocating saw, jigsaw, flashlight, palm sander and "one of those stupid reciprocating multitool things."  Craftsman has been bought by the same faceless megacorp that owns Stanley, DeWalt, Porter Cable, and Black & Decker, so most of these tools are just rebadged versions of existing products.  I've not gotten much use out of them yet, but here are my impressions:

 

• Drill.  It's got Voltron disease; it's jagged and overdetailed like a cheap boy's toy.  The case is screwed together longitudinally with screw bosses that stand proud of the surface.  The gear selector feels a little stiff and reluctant but does snap positively into place.  The typical cross-bolt direction switch is small and not very definite.  It's got a cheap little light on the front for lighting the work that I'd rather just not be there.  I don't notice any PWM whine when running the motor slowly, so that's nice.  I haven't actually used it much yet for reasons I'll get into later.  Also no onboard storage for drivers.
• Driver.  See the drill review, really, though I like the fact that it's virtually identical to the drill until you get to the chuck.  The grip, trigger, battery pad and direction switch are identically molded to the drill.  Again, I haven't used this tool much, for the same reasons I'll get into later.
• Circular saw.  This thing is going to come in handy.  The foot is steel and should be plenty sturdy enough, but the fixed and movable guards are both plastic.  The foot is only mounted to the plastic guard, so I'm expecting imperfection out of it.  It's got just the tiniest little motor, but it's got gumption enough to cut through a 2x6, so I'm happy with it, especially given I've got a 10 inch DeWalt circ saw should I need to go all Tim Allen on something.  I don't really see a problem here.
• Reciprocating saw.  AvE had the Porter Cable badged version of this saw apart on his channel, and panned it like a Colorado river.  It's not the most impressive thing, but I basically never need a fucksaw for anything, but I'll have one should the need arise in the next 20 years.
• Jigsaw.  Probably the highest quality item in the entire batch; I like it better than my 6 year old wall powered B&D.  It's got a steel foot that securely mounts; it does require a tool to tilt the foot but the tool stows onboard and who tilts the foot on a jigsaw?  No onboard blade storage, that's a bit of a downer.  It does have an "aggressiveness" switch that controls an elliptical motion; basically the blade can be set to move forward on the upstroke and backward on the downstroke for faster, worse cuts in soft materials.
• Sander.  I thought a cordless random orbital sander would be useless, but it's really grown on me, I've used it more than any other in the lot.  There's a bizarre delay in switching it on and the motor starting, but otherwise it's a functional little sander.  I like it better than corded ones because the battery makes it heavier; you don't feel the need to press it down into the work, or grip it that hard, so you don't get that numb "I just rode a Harley for 67,000 years" feeling in the wrist.  Standard round velcro pad on the bottom, so it's not hard to find ammunition.
• One of those stupid reciprocating multitool things. I have no idea what this thing is for, what it does, or why it's here.  It comes with an inch wide sawblade thing, and a triangular (actually wankel-shaped) sander pad.  They can clip on the power takeoff of the thing and it rattles them back and forth through about 2.3 degrees.  7/10 -IGN.
• Work Light.  I would rather not run my work light off of the same batteries my main tools use, nevertheless this light has gotten some use during the renovation of my bathroom while I was mostly painting.  It's got three rather bright LEDs, they're probably CREE ripoffs.  The optics are puke; it's got a very bright blue center with a piss yellow halo, it's as if they didn't care about the quality of the light and just needed an 8th thing to put in the box.  Nonetheless, it works, and it will help you get up behind your dishwasher to fix that leaky line I guess.  I'm determined to use it so that A. I wear it out rather than my good lights, and B. to occasionally cycle the set's batteries.
• Overall impressions:  I prefer the Ryobi "up the butt" style of battery attachment to the slide rail system, it's a lot less awkward, and the battery latch on the Craftsman set just feels toy-like.  The case situation is kinda silly; it comes with two triangular duffel bags to haul everything around in.  They do make several other pieces in this set, there's an angle grinder I'm eyeing.  Wouldn't dream of carrying these to a jobsite, the drill in particular.  But, for the occasional fix it job around my rundown bachelor pad, they'll definitely do.

As to why I don't get much use out of the drill and impact driver:  Shortly before Christmas, I bought myself a 12V Bosch drill/driver set.  Got a really nice deal on them for the holidays, too.  They're small and light, so they're easy to get into/behind/under things, they carry up ladders easy, and they've still got all the torque I'll ever ask from them.  The build quality, fit and finish on them is head and shoulders above the Craftsman set; I would actually use these on the job.  I really planned on this set being my around the house DIY set, but they might come to work with me.

 

Oh, I also won't hesitate to mention another recent acquisition of mine:  A Kitchenaid stand mixer!  As often as I bake, this thing has already paid for itself in pizza crust.  You've got to appreciate a kitchen tool that's got a power takeoff.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

47 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

I need to go all Tim Allen on something.

I've been waiting for someone to bring up Tim the Toolman Taylor (funny how it was Richard Karn who wound up doing  some tool infomercials after Home Improvement, sometimes with Robin Hartle, formerly of Hometime).

[Lady Fitzgerald]

52 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

One of those stupid reciprocating multitool things. I have no idea what this thing is for, what it does, or why it's here

Actually, those are one of the handiest tools ever! Just don't use cheap blades in them. Look up multitool on Boobtube YouTube to see what uses they have.

 

Craftsman is no longer sold exclusively by Sears and their power tools have been crap for several years now. I also steer away from any of their tools that uses consumables (like nailers and staplers) bcasue they usually use a proprietary consumable and, if the tool gets discontinued by Craftsman (which is frequently), the consumables will also disappear. Then the tool is useless because nothing else will fit. Their hand tools are stil OK.

[captain_aggravated]

Craftsman basically isn't a thing anymore; Stanley Black & Decker bought the trademarks and badge their existing products as "Craftsman."  The power tools I have are all straight out of DeWalt's catalog, and "Craftsman" ratchets, sockets and wrenches are now identical to Stanley tools.  I usually think of Stanley with carpentry/construction tools; claw hammers, spirit levels and combination squares. I've got a Stanley tape measure that basically built my career.  I can't really be mad at them, though the use of their use of the Craftsman and Porter Cable brands really mystifies me.

 

As for hand tools, wrenches, ratchets and screwdrivers--If I could have only one wish, it's that Leatherman would start making toolbox tools.  I carry a Skeletool everywhere I go, have for the last seven years, fantastic tools and fantastic warranty.  If they made a set of wrenches, I'd buy them on principle.

[Scheer]

5 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

Craftsman basically isn't a thing anymore; Stanley Black & Decker bought the trademarks and badge their existing products as "Craftsman."  The power tools I have are all straight out of DeWalt's catalog, and "Craftsman" ratchets, sockets and wrenches are now identical to Stanley tools.

I was under the impression that Stanley had been the OEM for Craftsman hand tools for the past 10-ish years, so basically they just bought the name since they were already Stanley tools. Plus then they can get a big chunk of cash from Lowes to be their house brand by literally just slapping a different label on the box that already has recognition, win win.

 

Funny enough, TTI (Milwaukee, Ryobi, Ridgid) is also the OEM for Craftsman power tools, so for a short time and possibly even still, Stanley was/is paying its direct competitor to make tools for them.

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Here is a link to a lost of who owns and makes what.

 

Tools under the Stanley name has been crap for several decades. I once bought a set of three nail sets and I wore out out the cups on all three of them within a half dozen finishing nails. I used a center punch to finish the project. For years, Stanley tape measures were notorious for jamming when retracting the tape.

 

Black and Decker branded power tools and appliances were once high quality but, for the past couple of decades or so, they also have become crap.

 

Emerson hasn't been a name associated with quality in half a decade.

 

Keep in mind I'm referring to products with these brand names. They can still make quality tools under other brand names.

[captain_aggravated]

Name me a brand that hasn't been crap for several decades.

[Real_PhillBert]

35 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

Name me a brand that hasn't been crap for several decades.

Snap-On. They've made some misses, but are usually solid.

 

SK has also been a quality tool for a very long time. 

[Drak3]

32 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

Name me a brand that hasn't been crap for several decades.

Milwaukee.

Bosch.

Lincoln Electric.

Hilti.

Makita.

Klein.

Dremel.

[buzzinkeegs]

On 1/27/2019 at 10:34 PM, Lord Mirdalan said:

I'm curious if other members would like to see a tools thread or sub-forum.

 

Thinking along the lines of anything from buying advice to chronicling rebuilding of old tools to just shooting the breeze.

 

Any other tool-lovers out there? (Insert snickering here).

would love to see some

[Guest]

43 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

Name me a brand that hasn't been crap for several decades.

Dyson

[captain_aggravated]

1 minute ago, Real_PhillBert said:

Snap-On. They've made some misses, but are usually solid.

 

SK has also been a quality tool for a very long time. 

AHAHAHA Snap-On!  When I was in A&P school, they took an hour of our time for the Snap-On man to come give his sales pitch.  After passing around an old Snap-On screwdriver and a new Snap-On screwdriver...to prove how much better Snap-On is than Snap-On...?  He proceeded to talk mostly about how good financing tools was for your credit rating, and he got real defensive and cagey when asked about their tool warranty.  When I found the actual manufacturer of their safety wire pliers offered the same tool for almost half the price, I officially blacklisted Snap-On.

 

3 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Milwaukee.

Bosch.

Lincoln Electric.

Hilti.

Makita.

Klein.

Dremel.

I have been enjoying my little Bosch drills, I'll give you that one.  If Lincoln Electric are the manufacturers of welding machines, I'll say my main experience with them is watching the ones at work break almost as often as my first Dell.  Dremel I feel is consistently mediocre.  Their materials, fit and finish is the worst I've seen on a power tool, none of their accessories actually work worth a damn, but occasionally no other tool will do the job, and Dremel can be relied upon to sort of not suck.  I've never enjoyed using a Dremel, but I've certainly needed them.  I'm also a bit down on them for their overpriced rebadged 3D printers and laser engravers, I don't see their rebadging and overpricing of off the shelf products as useful or positive in any way.

[Real_PhillBert]

6 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

AHAHAHA Snap-On!  When I was in A&P school, they took an hour of our time for the Snap-On man to come give his sales pitch.  After passing around an old Snap-On screwdriver and a new Snap-On screwdriver...to prove how much better Snap-On is than Snap-On...?  He proceeded to talk mostly about how good financing tools was for your credit rating, and he got real defensive and cagey when asked about their tool warranty.  When I found the actual manufacturer of their safety wire pliers offered the same tool for almost half the price, I officially blacklisted Snap-On.

So because the Snap-On dealer marked up a non-snap on product, you blacklisted Snap-On tools? 

 

#Logical

 

Yes their prices are high, and sometimes disrespectfully high; but they are almost inarguably high quality. 

[captain_aggravated]

1 minute ago, Real_PhillBert said:

So because the Snap-On dealer marked up a non-snap on product, you blacklisted Snap-On tools? 

 

#Logical

 

Yes their prices are high, and sometimes disrespectfully high; but they are almost inarguably high quality. 

I wasn't then, and I'm not now, going to put myself into debt for a set of severely overpriced combination wrenches and tools I could have for quite literally half the cost from the actual manufacturer, especially when the representative of the company cast doubt on their honor of their warranty.

[Real_PhillBert]

2 minutes ago, captain_aggravated said:

I wasn't then, and I'm not now, going to put myself into debt for a set of severely overpriced combination wrenches and tools I could have for quite literally half the cost from the actual manufacturer, especially when the representative of the company cast doubt on their honor of their warranty.

Again, you're talking about that snap-on truck, not the company. 

 

You are aware that those guys dont work for Snap-On, right? They're private people who bought into a franchise. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

33 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

...Dremel.

Dremel makes great rotary tools and bits (with one exception; their Rotozip type cutting bit) and it's one of most frequently used tools. However, some of their accessories are pure garbage. For example, Dremel makes a drillpress type of accessory that is next to useless due to the head where the Dremel itself is fastened being made of thin plastic that flexes too much. The pistol grip like attachment has a similar problem.

 

One has to keep in mind that Dremels are intended for LIGHT work. Too many people try to use them for work that is too heavy for them or they try to force the tool. For example, most people use way too much pressure on the cutting wheels, prematurely wearing them out, instead of letting the wheel do the work. Another common error is burying the wheel into the work, increasing the chances of breaking due to binding. I use both the older style wheels and the newer EZ-Lock wheels without any problems.

 

Btw, the old Linkweld 100 was practically indestructible (the one that looked like a tombstone). I did a lot of welding (and even cutting) on ones from school and ones I rented.

[captain_aggravated]

1 minute ago, Real_PhillBert said:

Again, you're talking about that snap-on truck, not the company. 

 

You are aware that those guys dont work for Snap-On, right? They're private people who bought into a franchise. 

I'm perfectly aware of Snap-On's business model, and I'm not even a little bit interested in being associated with it in any way.  And if you yourself drive a Snap-On truck, I'll invite you right now to kindly leave me alone.

[Guest]

The best tools I have owned so far ( and I am surprised a few haven't been mentioned yet ) :
 

Like @Lady Fitzgerald I have a whole fleet of Ryobi 12V products. Has never failed me. The price/quality ratio is unbeatable imo (coming from Australian market price where a Milwaukee brushless drill + battery is 380 bucks and a Ryobi brushless drill + 2 batteries is 270 bucks with great warranty).

 

Leatherman: I own multiple Leatherman products and are great tools! Handy for all things in my line of work.

Victorinox Swiss Army Knives: I have owned one SAK for the past 16 years, and has never let me down once. And I have abused the thing time and time again.

 

 

[Scheer]

26 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

Milwaukee.

Bosch.

Lincoln Electric.

Hilti.

Makita.

Klein.

Dremel.

I'd agree, but with exceptions to:

 

The Milwaukee M28 series was so bad they essentially had a buyback program for them. We actually made money on trading some of them back in. The newer stuff isn't terrible, but its not going to last as long as the old old tools. They've gone to the planned obsolescence model.

 

I won't deny that Dremels are extremely useful, but they don't last very long if used outside of hobby work, which would be fine if they were priced as such. I understand my abusing them is why I have to buy one every few years, but all the failures are just lack of proper engineering (or really good engineering for planned obsolescence). They even know it too, there are several $100 Dremel models that you can't even buy new brushes for from Dremel, you have to go to third party sites to find them, because they don't expect you to use it long enough to need to replace them before just buying a new Dremel. I'd gladly pay $200 for a Dremel with brass brush holders, dual spindle bearings, ground spindle bore, and decent power cord. One of my Dremel 4000s had 20 thou of runout, you could visually see it wobbling back and forth.

 

I did get a Foredom to replace the Dremels, but its so clunky if you want to be mobile with it that I ended up crawling back to Dremel.

[Drak3]

4 minutes ago, Scheer said:

but they don't last very long if used outside of hobby work

I've got 2 200s, a 4200, and an 8220 that all have lasted more than 3-4 large FRP jobs. FRP consistantly kills routers after 1-2 small jobs.

 

5 minutes ago, Scheer said:

The newer stuff isn't terrible, but its not going to last as long as the old old tools.

The old tools may have lasted marginally longer, but at the cost of either performance, portability, or battery life.

6 minutes ago, Scheer said:

The Milwaukee M28 series was so bad they essentially had a buyback program for them.

A bad line =/= crap tools.

 

30 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

One has to keep in mind that Dremels are intended for LIGHT work

According to who exactly?

[Ravendarat]

My shop is a bit of a mess right now but this is my tool box which is full but not over flowing and my current favourite tool that’s a life saver working on new cars and avoiding being blamed for issues my products that I install had nothing to do with. 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

1 hour ago, Netivity said:

The best tools I have owned so far ( and I am surprised a few haven't been mentioned yet ) :
 

Like @Lady Fitzgerald I have a whole fleet of Ryobi 12V products. Has never failed me. The price/quality ratio is unbeatable imo (coming from Australian market price where a Milwaukee brushless drill + battery is 380 bucks and a Ryobi brushless drill + 2 batteries is 270 bucks with great warranty).

 

Leatherman: I own multiple Leatherman products and are great tools! Handy for all things in my line of work.

Victorinox Swiss Army Knives: I have owned one SAK for the past 16 years, and has never let me down once. And I have abused the thing time and time again.

 

 

Methinks you mean 18v.

1 hour ago, Drak3 said:

...According to who exactly?

Me, for starters. I've been using Dremel rotary tools far longer than you have been alive so I'm very familiar with them (I also minored in Industrial Arts Education in college). Dremel rotary tools are primarily aimed for crafters, hobbiests, jewelers, etc., not heavy production work. Also, anyone who knows anything about using tools, which I do, having worked in machine shops, cabinet shops, etc. should be able to see the tool is intended for light work only, such as computer case mods, jewelry work, drilling small holes (up to 1/8"), etc. 

[Drak3]

1 minute ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

I've been using Dremel rotary tools far longer than you have been alive

That means nothing to me.

 

1 minute ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Me, for starters.

Ah. Someone whose opinion is totally insignificant to me.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Lady Fitzgerald said:

Methinks you mean 18v.

Yes oops... my brain is fried from work and it's nearly weekend... Is it beer o'clock yet?

[Lady Fitzgerald]

3 minutes ago, Drak3 said:

That means nothing to me.

 

Ah. Someone whose opinion is totally insignificant to me.

Frankly, I don't give the north end of a southbound furry rodent what you think of me. I lost all respect for you a long time ago.