Good vendor report

[caguy]

I'm with you Paul. Picked up the habit from my dad who was a machinist/engineer. He and I have ccollected tools from swap meets. I also used to buy surplus lots from Hughes aircraft for next to nothing. As a result I have ended up with some pretty exotic tools. Anyone need 3' lefthanded torque wrench. My latest find however came from Lowes. Bought a close out 18v impact screw gun with battery, Black & Decker, for $7. I even talked the guy into throwing in a $29 charger for free. Tried to talk him into throwing in the last backup battery they had but he drew the line. He did however reduce it to 50% for me. BYW I loaned it to the cable guy yesterday becaise the battery went dead on his Dewalt.

 

[Maine Sail]

I tell you what Dewalt batterys and chargers have lifespan problems

My Hitachi and Ryobi chargers shut OFF when the battery is to HOT or CHARGED the BETTER Dewalt just keeps cooking the battery

Yeah I wish you had told me that before I invested almost $600 clams into DeWalt drills and batteries. I have yet to have any of my $39.99 for two 18V Ryobi batts fail me. I expect them too based on the price but they have not and I abuse them often by forgetting them in the charger for weeks on end..

My buddy who works with his hands for living and has been through just aboute every brand of drill and cordless tool. For drills he now only uses Panasonic and swears by them. Hell I thought Panasonic only made car steros and TV's but apparently they make teh vast majority of the batteries for most every cordless tool on the market. He was running Lithium Ion batteries in Panasonics well before the rest of the big brands even had them..

 

[Maine Sail]

Some quality brands have also lowered their standards on some lines so they can get into the big box stores.

Totally!! I killed my Milwaukee Sawzall after about 20 years of hard use, well not dead, just snapped the shaft but it was more money to fix than replace.

So I went to the local real tool store Advantage Gasses & Tools and picked up a brand new Porter Cable Tiger Saw. My buddy Jay had one and loved it. Well I brought it home and dug into my deck with it. In the second 4X4 all of a sudden it made an awful noise and stopped cutting. the next Monday i brought it back to Advantage and the guy just laughed. Apparently teh original Tiger Saw had metal gears and the new ones had plastic gears...

Needless to say I had my 20 year old Milwaukee fixed... Just because a brand had a good reputation does not mean they do not cheapen the insides while keeping the exterior the same.

P.S. Ross my cheapy angle grinder that is still going strong is a Black & Decker too..


It is hard to tell what is good and what is junk these days as the lines have been blurred. I think it is safe to say the both Festool and Fein are still very, very high quality and it's a crap shoot with Porter Cable, Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee & Bosch these days. I'm on my third Porter Cable random orbit palm sander in less than 8 years.. I think I'm going to try a Ridgid next with the lifetime warranty..

 

[caguy]

I just remembered, thrift stores are another good source for tools. What do you think the first thing a widow donates to charity when her husband dies. Good Karma helps too (not meaning to bring up Buddism), I was at the DAV making my annual last minute large donation of left over gowns etc. from an old business when I saw a 10'' Craftsman table saw with extensions, adjustable fence, miter, saw cover, heavy uty motor with dual belt drive and a 25' industrial cord attached. I already have a 9'' Craftsman but have always wanted a 10 incher (kind of like mast envy) The manager (a female) offered it to me for $40. I hemmed and hawed for a couple of days. I decided to pick it up and when I returned the manager on duty (a man) insisted that it would be no less than $120. I explained to him about the large donation and he shook his head. The woman manager just happened to walk in and verified the $40 price. He was not happy but he, myself and one other guy loaded it into the back of the truck. I gave him 2 20's an left, heh, heh, heh no taxes. I have already use it to make a door, That was in December, it is still sitting in the back of the truck, too heavy to lift out alone.

 

[Ross]

That line is worth waiting for.

 

[Boompa]

Thanks for the heads up. Ordered the catalogue...