What brand of power tools?

[Irving]

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

[Hummer]

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.

[buffalobo]

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.

[Wulf202]

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

[JoeRoss]

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

[Zach O]

Milwaukee all day every day.

[Delfuego]

Obi-Won-Ryobi

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

[whitewalrus]

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

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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[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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[JohnnyEgo]

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.

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.