I made this decision when I purchased a house… Or rather, the bank purchased it, I just live here and pay them instead of a landlord.
I went with DeWalt and I don’t really have any regrets. I had one of the really basic 12v drills from them for like 10+ years. It mostly rattled around my car’s trunk during that time. I’ve purchased two additional batteries for it, one was shortly after I bought it, so I’d always have a charged battery on hand, the other to keep on the drill. When I needed to swap, I’d just take the dead battery into my home at the end of the day and charge it overnight, then dump it back in the car the next day.
I used it mainly for computer stuff, since I work in that industry… Racking equipment in server racks, opening computers, etc. Rarely did I need to actually make holes or anything with it… The third battery was purchased when the original battery that came with it, stopped working. The drill and two remaining batteries still work fine, though I don’t really need/use them anymore.
I might “donate” it to a young relative someday, for now it collects dust in my basement.
When I replaced it, I got all 20v DeWalt everything. I bought a pack of tools that came with a couple of fairly basic battery chargers, a couple batteries, a hammer drill, impact driver, reciprocating saw, oscillating tool, a circular saw, and a portable light… It even came with a carry bag, which was promptly tossed in a corner and hasn’t been touched since, except to kick it further into the corner.
After a short while of owning the house, we added a small (additional) set of batteries… I think 3 more? And picked up lawn equipment that’s also 20v from DeWalt. A string trimmer (aka a “whipper snipper”), and a hedge trimmer. I feel like I’m forgetting something… Oh well.
The odd man out, so to speak, is the lawnmower, we ended up picking up a DeWalt mower, but it’s 20v/60v, so it will take either pack. We had all 20v so we just stuck with that.
Then, I think last year? DeWalt released a snowblower, but it’s 60v only. So we had to get specific batteries just for that. The 60v ones are compatible with the 20v tools, but the blower will only take the 60v packs, so we have two 60v packs for it (and the lawnmower, I suppose, since they can take advantage of the extra juice), and 20v packs for everything else.
Everything is cross compatible, with the one exception of the snowblower, so we’re all set.
My experience with the 12v drill heavily biased me towards sticking with DeWalt.
I won’t tell anyone to buy DeWalt or Milwaukee, or any other brand. You’ll have to make that decision got yourself. I don’t have any strong feelings about other brands because I simply don’t have the experience with them to have an opinion… Except Ryobi. Fuck Ryobi. My brother used Ryobi for a long time, and he had nothing good to say about them besides the fact that their tools are cheap. They’re cheap in every way. You’ll spend more trying to keep them working than you’ll spend simply by buying better tools. Don’t do it.
Dewalt if you want it to last forever
Milwuakee if you want to put it in a cool box
Ryobi if you’re broke but dont live near a harbor freight
Festool if you have a trust fund
While I generally agree, I must say that my Ryobi tools are doing just fine after 15ish years of use. Primarily the drill is what’s used, and it’s seen some shit but aside from a little cosmetic issue (rubber peeling off here and there) it’s in great working order. I can afford better now, but I’m happy enough to keep what I’ve got.
I’m just a handy home owner, so it’s not like I’m abusing these things.
I started with Ryobi but they kept busting. I’m the type of home owner thatll remodel a kitchen or bathroom so I use them a little above average.
Red boxes fit all brands :)
Burn the heratic
I wish Dewalt could make half do half as good as the pack out but every new system has been a big miss.
I’m a cheapskate, I usually end up with ryobi.
I went with Ryobi under the rubric of “if you use it enough to break it then buy a good one”. I have a wall of green tools because most of them are used only occasionally. My hammer drill is the one that is gonna go. And yeah. I will buy something f’in awesome. Because using an underpowered hammer drill sucked.
After three and a half years of semi professional use, my ryobi impact driver has a lot of play in the shaft making it rather difficult to use and it can no longer do heavy jobs. But for the price, 3.5 years was worth it.
Plus I like obnoxious green as a color.
Yeah I’ve got DeWalt drills and Ryobi everything else
Hilti. Or Duss.
Bosch: never the best choice, but always a good one.
Depends on what you’re doing, and how often you’re going to be doing it.
For mechanical tools, I like both Harbor Freight and Gearwrench. I like Gearwrench a lot more, but I haven’t managed to break any Harbor Freight tools yet that weren’t air or electric. For basic sockets, etc., it will be fine for almost everyone. (Spend more for torque wrenches though; don’t cheap out on those.) HF tools have pretty limited sizes though; they don’t have anything really large, like about around 25mm. Unless you are a professional mechanic, you probably shouldn’t waste your money on Matco or Snap-On.
For most cordless general and woodworking tools I like Makita. For more specialized powered hand tools I love Festool, but do not try to fill a shop with them. Just get the ones that no one else makes an equivalent of, like their Rotex sanders, or the domino joiner.
For woodworking shop tools–things that aren’t portable–buy old Delta or Powermatic, particularly stuff that is in no way shape or form portable. Trying to do any serious cabinetry on a job-site table saw is an exercise in frustration and wasted material. A tabletop jointer won’t give you good results.
And for hand-powered cutting tool, like chisels, pull-saws, planes, etc… Be prepared to start spending a lot of money. Hand planes alone can set you back a few hundred each, like for Lee Valley ‘Veritas’ planes. And that’s not even getting into the water stones that you’re going to need to keep them working in perfect condition.
Second harbor freight and dewalt. I work industrial maintenance and use Pittsburgh impact sockets and wrenches,and dewalt for power tools. No problems at all. If you want tool truck quality,def gear wrench and even icon(their wrenches were tested and proven to beat snap on),for a fraction of cost. I use and abuse a set of icon chrome sockets,and they take a beating and keep going.
I’m sorry, is this some sort of suburban thing that I’m too metrosexual renter to understand? All I have or need are sundry decent-quality hand tools and a plug-in electric drill.
I mean that’s all most people would need. It’s more of the “oh I have this tool and this is other tool on sale and it takes the same batteries”.
I’m also in an apartment so I just have basic hand tools and an electric screwdriver.
My dad gave me a set of tools when I moved out. The choice was made for me.
Same. I got a set of porter cable tools that are still going strong 19 years later (though I am on my third set of batteries).
I always start with harbor freight. When I break that one, I buy a nice version of whatever it was. I don’t buy “nice” tools very often. HF is nearly always “good enough.”
I had a Harbor Height cordless drill that worked just fine for like six years, to my surprise and delight. I’m a light duty user, so I upgraded to a brushless Ryobi.
My wife and I have been abusing our Ryobi for like 10 years. I thought it was finally dying, but then I got a new battery, still going strong.
Meh, fuck brand loyalty. Keep an eye out for used tools. If it’s tough enough to make it to round 2, its demonstrated some selection bias. For some stuff you just need to weigh how much you’re going to use it to decide how much you want to spend. If you’re using it enough to be frustrated with it every time you take it out, time to upgrade that one.
the battery is the problem, I don’t know why UE is so focused on a charging cable and seems to completely ignore this issue.
It’s the batteries that keep you in their ecosystems, they’re expensive as hell.
Just use corded except for the hand drill.
I’m an electrician, and cordless tools are ten times easier to manage on a jobsite. There are also plenty of times like where I’m doing a service panel upgrade, corded tools aren’t even an option when there’s no site power, and I’m not lugging a generator around.
At the end of the day, cordless tools just make the entire day easier. The battery situation is annoying, but I’ll gladly pay the price for the convenience, especially when time and efficiency gets me paid quicker and home sooner. All those little efficiencies add up over the course of a day.
Genuine question, is there some reason you can mix and match tools?
Power tool batteries are expensive and are not interchangeable between brands (without 3rd party adapters that can be a bit risky). I only own DeWalt power tools because I want one set of batteries and chargers.
I have no brand loyalty to hand tools, however. Well, except for Knipex. My pliers-wrench has been life changing.
assuming you mean *can’t
if cordless: batteries
else: brand cuckery
Depends if you use your tools to make money.
I do, so I spend good money on good quality with good warranty.
In Australia that’s snappon for hand tools and Milwaukee for power tools.
It costs me a lot of time if I have to go back and buy a broken tool again.
Time is money
I have an old corded Milwaukee drill that I inherited from my dad. The torque is so strong it will fly out of your hand if you’re not careful, and the whole body is made of metal. If you happen across old tools like that, snatch em up.
In honor of my dad, I also bought a new Milwaukee to go along with it. I adore that thing.
I’m a big fan of buying power tools twice. I happen to go Ryobi for the first round but Harbor Freight / Northern Tool are probably similar.
If you can stand the fuss, buy corded tools and skip the brand loyalty that comes with batteries.
The biggest killer of cheaper power tools is generally heat. There are plastic components in the drive train. They hold up great to short jobs, but heat is their kryptonite. If you let a Ryobi tool cool down whenever you notice it getting warm to the touch it’ll last a long time. If you need to run a tool for hours at a time then skip the fuss and go straight to a more brand with a good reputation like DeWalt, Makita, Bosch, or Milwaukee.
If you can stand the fuss, buy corded tools and skip the brand loyalty that comes with batteries.
Just want to second this. A good quality corded tool can last you a decade or two, even with moderate use. You’ll probably be replacing your cordless tool batteries within 5 years.
The only cordless tools I have are a drill, lawn mower, and chainsaw. That’s only because I use them often enough to justify it.
Drill, impact, etc are pretty much necessary to have cordless. I agree with the corded stuff though. Need an angle grinder or sawzall? Get corded. Way more powerful too.
