What brand of power tools?

I'm currently pot committed with Ryobi, as I currently have at least 11 Ryobi branded tools, 2 charges, probably 6 batteries, etc. I burned up my Sawzall the other day, and want a second grinder, as well as a 1/2" high torque impact. So I'm thinking about transitioning to something a little better. They've served me well for all these years, but they aren't perfect and certainly aren't quite contractor grade.

Every time I've used my buddy's Makita stuff, I've noticed that his tools are twice as quiet a mine, but other than that, I've never used anything that blew me away. For example, you can run his radial arm saw without ear pro and not feel like your hurting yourself, where as when I pull mine out, the headphones are a mandatory accessory. What do you like and why?

Related: there is a YouTube channel called the Torque Test channel that tests the torque of tools had to head and is enlightening. I'll be watching some of that to see what is holding up to advertising claims as well. They did a torque test using 15" of extensions on an impact and found that you get HALF the rated torque with that much extension. Good channel.

DeWalt 20vMax or nothing IMO.

Dewalt has definitely been around and doesn't look like they are going anywhere. I have a Dewalt portaband already as well, even though I kind of hate it.

Gotta go with Milwaukee, tired to stick with Mikita but had to make the change and I am so glad I did. Use I fuel potraband and fuel ratchet almost daily

Dewalt flexvolt ftw.

I have used Dewalt for a lot of years. I built a house with my 18v set, then worked on a few more. They have mostly burned up now, and I have a couple of the 20v coversions to run them on 20v batteries. All but my 18v grinder are retired now, and I have moved to 20v. I have burned up 1 20v drill so far, one impact driver is on its last legs in about 5 years. Please know, I use them a lot. The impact has driven several 25lb boxes of 1 5/8, 2", 3" and 4" screws. The impact started having issues driving 6" 1/2" lag bolts for the barn doors.

I swapped to all Milwaukee M12 and M18 about a decade ago, and have never looked back. When it's time to replace the battery, the new batteries are always readily available and better than they were in the previous generation. Been very happy.

Milwaukee.


I miss the 28 volt series they had before they where bought out by which ever Hong Kong based company that currently owns them.


For the prosumer level pick a battery and stick with it

Dewalt or Milwaukee.

Either or should be good for you.


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Milwaukee 12V/18V. You can find deals on batteries around holidays and fathers day.

Since I picked up the 18v Sawzall, I've not used my corded recip saws. It's been 3+ years.

All the Pro brands make excellent stuff, so I'd go with the brand you can get most easily. Which for most people means brands home depot carries, instead of Bosch or Festool. I have used all of them and I think Dewalt has great ergos. You can find new tool-only ridgid tools on eBay for dirt cheap. Get the batteries on sale and you are set up well for cheap.


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Originally Posted by BPTactical

DeWalt 20vMax or nothing IMO.

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My company has an employee rewards program where people can award you points for various crap. Then you can buy all sorts of products on a special website. I've used points to buy a few DeWalt 20v Max tools (impact wrench, driver & drill) and they are great. Have a few more points added to the hopper recently . . . might have to pick up something new (eyeballing a sawzall).

Thanks for all the input so far. Now that I'm not on mobile, I can flesh out some more of my dislikes of what I currently have.

-The first Ryobi drill that let out the smoke was when my dad put all his weight on the drill using a 4" hole saw through my roof. I saw that one coming.
-Recently, I was using my trusty sawzall with a 12" blade to cut up a tree limb and that let out the smoke. Previous to that, no issues. I used that sawzall all the time and it probably was just getting worn out.
-I already mentioned that my 14" compound miter saw is LOUD. Also the laser never quite lined up correctly, and within the last year or so something must have bumped it because it's now at a 45 degree angle from the cut. Not a huge deal because I never used it anyway. Also, now when the blade is locked into the 0 degree position, the indicator says 1 degree. I believe I've checked it for square and I think it still more or less is square. Honestly I'm not good enough of a wood worker to tell. Or maybe I am and that explains my struggle with those Christmas boxes I built last year.
-I bought the little 12v screw driver thing thinking I could keep a regular bit on that for smaller jobs like taking apart body panels or electronics. However, there is no speed control on the trigger and I hate it.
-I've run the batteries hard enough to where they overheat, shut down like they are out of power, and won't even charge for a few hours until they cool down. That was cutting 4x4 fence posts building a shed. I think there were at least 8 of them and I probably had a dull blade. All the batteries recovered, but I never have that issue with the weedwhacker or using the drill to make 100's of pilot holes in a day. It's only ever happened with the sawzall. I'd like to avoid that issue in the future, but that might just be a generic failure due to my abuse and not a tool quality issue.

Some of your tool issues come from overtaking them. You need tools rated for the job, then a little extra umph.

Like trying to use a little pancake compressor, to pull your front end. Will and can it work? Sure. But not as well as a larger unit.
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For cordless DeWalt and Milwaukee.. but not any DeWalt or Milwaukee, you have to bet the commercial or contractor models with the metal chucks and other parts, not the plastic chuck made for home use models..

I use DeWalt 20V for work, I work commercial low voltage so drilling a ton of holes while pulling wire and so on. I?ve stuck with DeWalt simply because I?m invested in the batteries.

Corded tools I use, Hilti and Bosch hammer drills. I have an old Milwaukee corded drill with a 3ft extension on it so that I don?t have to bend over to drill holes in bottom plates or get on a ladder to drill top plates. That thing has lasted decades.

Don?t have a ton of experience with table saws.

I have to 60v Dewalt table saw and I like it, but I wish it had a cord adapter as well. The 20v chop saw it really nice, it is very handy to not have to have power in an area t build a house or building. I use the 60v batteries on my saws when I am on bigger projects. I also like them for the chainsaw when I am out trimming trails for the atv/utv. The weedeater will do a large yard with a single 5 ah battery, and I dont have to mess with gas and dealing with difficult to start. My next purchase will be the 20v pole saw to trim the trees higher without having to carry the generator in the utv for power.

We've had good luck with everything but Ryobi, Crapsman and Festool. As you can imagine, we use tools hard here, many times till absolute failure. To date, we've never even had to even maintain anything from Dewalt. We use lots of Porter Cable routers (among other tools) and the most we've ever had to do was change brushes which it totally expected and routine. We have two DeWalt cordless drill from WAY back, and while the batteries are pretty tired the drills run like they are brand new. I have my first chopsaw still. It's a Makita. It's probably 25 years old now and has made millions of cuts. Still perfect.

I'm sure there are subtle differences from one brand to another, but I consider DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, PC, Bosch, and probably some others I can't remember to be equivalent. We do have several Rigid tools, and they appear to be top quality, too.

Ryobi and Craftsman have been junk in our experience. Both of those brands are the only tools I've ever thrown in the dumpster.

Festool is weird. Super expensive with a reputation for extreme quality. When new, they are beautiful tools with innovative features that really impress. Sadly, they're not durable enough for professional use. We've killed several very expensive sanders and an $800 vacuum. There are a few lying around in the shop, but they are just back-ups at this point.

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Originally Posted by encorehunter

I have to 60v Dewalt table saw and I like it, but I wish it had a cord adapter as well. The 20v chop saw it really nice, it is very handy to not have to have power in an area t build a house or building. I use the 60v batteries on my saws when I am on bigger projects. I also like them for the chainsaw when I am out trimming trails for the atv/utv. The weedeater will do a large yard with a single 5 ah battery, and I dont have to mess with gas and dealing with difficult to start. My next purchase will be the 20v pole saw to trim the trees higher without having to carry the generator in the utv for power.

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I have the pole saw and it?s good for trimming branches around my house.

I have some of the other 20v outdoor power equipment and it has about the same power as the smaller gas versions. I love not having to wear ear protection. Putting them down while working I don?t feel the need to rush back to it like the gas.

Also the electric company you may have might have a rebate on them, if so it?s a good way to get into the battery system.


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Keep it coming. Great input!

I do like my corded Milwaukee Sawzall. I have some garbage corded drill, but I like to use it to run my nibbler for long periods. Battery powered weedwhackers are fantastic for home use.

I have no experience with them, but Rigid seems to fall in the middle and they offer lifetime service agreement even on batteries of bought with the tools.

Not sure if someone here has experience with them or their service agreement.


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I think Jer went all in on Rigid because of the battery warranty.

I went mostly Makita 35 years ago after tiring of breaking the old US made Skil and Black and Decker tools. Have never had a Makita motor fail. But as someone said, all the pro brands are very good now.

I also have a Bosch saber saw, DeWalt compound miter, Delta contractor table saw and bench grinder. Quality tools do the job better and faster and are usually good for a lifetime of use. Throwaway tools are a waste of time and money.

Can't go wrong with Makita( my work tools), Dewalt or Milwaukee. As long as HD is still around the Rigid brand is viable too.

As Tim K said, Porter Cable large routers are pretty much bullet proof and Festool will break your heart(and wallet).

I have run Makita for work for the last 15 yrs, typically lower priced than Milwaukee and lighter weight with comparable power and battery life.

Bosch corded jigsaws have ruled for 20+ years but others have started to catch up features.

Milwaukee corded sawzalls outperform all others.

Dewalt for portable table saws.

Cordless yard/lawn tools don't quite stand up to rural living. We stick to gas or PTO powered yard/lawn tools.

I had rigid and switched to Milwaukee after rigid refused to honor their warantee.

I have a Milwaukee corded 1/2" drill that I busted the chuck on. Took it into the Milwaukee shop on W 8th? and they fixed it FOR FREE.
Lots of Porter Cable, and the most I have had to do with those, is replace the pad on a couple of sanders.
Dewalt sliding miter saw has cut a LOT of wood, and has gone through quite a few blades, still runs like a champ.
Black and Decker is junk. IMO

Milwaukee all day every day.

Obi-Won-Ryobi [Ban1]

Honestly pick you favorite color, hopefully it's either Yellow or Blue...

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Originally Posted by Wulf202

I had rigid and switched to Milwaukee after rigid refused to honor their warantee.

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That?s not good to hear. They really push their LSA in advertising for their tools, guess it?s too good to be true.


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My other advice would be to spend the extra money for the brushless models of the company has both. Worth it in my opinion.


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Originally Posted by Tim K

We've had good luck with everything but Ryobi, Crapsman and Festool. As you can imagine, we use tools hard here, many times till absolute failure. To date, we've never even had to even maintain anything from Dewalt. We use lots of Porter Cable routers (among other tools) and the most we've ever had to do was change brushes which it totally expected and routine. We have two DeWalt cordless drill from WAY back, and while the batteries are pretty tired the drills run like they are brand new. I have my first chopsaw still. It's a Makita. It's probably 25 years old now and has made millions of cuts. Still perfect.

I'm sure there are subtle differences from one brand to another, but I consider DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, PC, Bosch, and probably some others I can't remember to be equivalent. We do have several Rigid tools, and they appear to be top quality, too.

Ryobi and Craftsman have been junk in our experience. Both of those brands are the only tools I've ever thrown in the dumpster.

Festool is weird. Super expensive with a reputation for extreme quality. When new, they are beautiful tools with innovative features that really impress. Sadly, they're not durable enough for professional use. We've killed several very expensive sanders and an $800 vacuum. There are a few lying around in the shop, but they are just back-ups at this point.

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I love Festool, but I feel like they have two clearly defined markets; mobile tradesman / on-site installer, and middle class hobbyist with income to burn. I cannot imagine them in a production shop environment. I think my Kapex is as good as it gets for trim and fine work, but I can't imagine it lasting very long in a framing or rough carpentry environment, either. So I am sad, but not entirely surprised to have your experience confirm my suspicion.

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Originally Posted by BPTactical

DeWalt 20vMax or nothing IMO.

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This.

Don't take our word for it though, go to any construction site & note how much yellow you see.

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Originally Posted by Jer

This.

Don't take our word for it though, go to any construction site & note how much yellow you see.

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Did you bail on Rigid then?

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Originally Posted by Irving

Did you bail on Rigid then?

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Rigid? I never had any Rigid gear that I recall. I've had Dewalt forever.

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Originally Posted by Jer

Rigid? I never had any Rigid gear that I recall. I've had Dewalt forever.

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I distinctly remember you talking about the Rigid battery warranty a few years ago, probably the last time I asked this question. If you don't use it, you must have mentioned it but not actually bought in.

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Originally Posted by whitewalrus

My other advice would be to spend the extra money for the brushless models of the company has both. Worth it in my opinion.


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This.

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Originally Posted by Irving

I distinctly remember you talking about the Rigid battery warranty a few years ago, probably the last time I asked this question. If you don't use it, you must have mentioned it but not actually bought in.

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I may have been talking about the warranty in terms of you'd need to exercise it a lot but I never said I owned the gear. I've been a Dewalt snob for a couple of decades now.

If cordless tools were handguns:

Ryobi = hi point, Sccy
Ridgid = Ruger
Dewalt, Milwaukee = Glock
Bosch = HK
Festool = Infinity
Porter cable = Taurus
Makita = walther?


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For non-cordless tools, I like the old Porter Cable when it was still a US company owned.

I also have a few Metabo pieces, drill motors and angle grinder. The Metabo angle grinder is bomb-proof.

My wife got me a black friday special Ryobi drill and 3/8 impact combo several years ago. I've put 'em through hell.
Impact still works great, but was never designed to pull big bolts. Awesome for pulling bolts under 50 ft/lb or so.
The drill, has seen a rough life. I bent it somewhere. If I apply pressure to it, the chuck wobbles. No hard feelings, I can replace it for $40 or so.
Ryobi has a 4 mode 1/2 impact on my shopping list. From what I've seen, it's plenty powerful for anything I need to do.

I'm not a contractor, electrician, or mechanic, but I have hobbies. They work for me. Yellow is cool (my wall powered router is yellow and mills aluminum great), but yellow tools aren't generally in my budget.