There's a place for cheaper home owner level tools. In most cases that tool is going to lay on a bench in a box or bag until it's needed probably less than a couple times a month. HF and Ryobi fit that knitch just fine. My SIL has a half dozen or so Ryobi tools and a tool guy would call her a criminal for how she treats them. They are stored in drywall, sander, and saw dust filled bags. They're absolutely filthy but they work every time one is pulled out, and that's ultimately what you want. The professional based tools are in a knitch unto them selves and unless you have deep pockets or the "have the I to have the best" attitude are unneeded by most homeowners. I think it's also silly to judge a craftsman by the quality or brand of his tools. It's his skill with those tools that counts.
My contractor defecting to Makita from DeWalt
- Thread starter UncleDave
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The Makita are definitely a step above quality wise, yes Omron switches and NSK bearings all available for repair at decent prices that make the tool well worth repairing out of warranty as are the Bosch, German Metabo (not that HPT crap), Hilti and a few others.
I've recently started collecting Makita 18v tools (I've got four so far) despite owning about a dozen Bosch tools and a dozen Bosch batteries. Anyhow, I simply purchased a battery convertor for about $25 so I can continue to use my old Bosch batteries in my new Makita tools. Eventually I'll convert to all Makita gear, but it might take a while.
Some people coddle their tools, some abuse them, we are in agreement what you want is something that works when you need it.
I take better care of my stuff than you are describing but I'm not going to use a Qtip with any kind of regularity.
We are in full agreement - I never judge a craftsman or mechanic by their tools, but solely by their work and time it takes to do that work. A japanese craftsman with a beat up chisel could run circles around me.
PRICE-
The price discussion is interesting in that I don't see enough of a difference in the big 5 to make price a huge factor if you buy them cleverly in advance of need. How and where you buy them makes a huge difference in what you pay.
If you just waltz into a big box store needing to walk out with X - yes you are going to find price differences.
If you walk into a mom and pop Makita store - the owner there will show you the smart way to buy what you want (if you arent a tool yourself)
Example - I walked in after my sander purchase and told my man Tony I needed a dust vac. - to which his reply was - no you need a mitre saw. I laughed and told him to put the pipe down and he showed me the deal of the month which was a dust vac, 2 batteries, and a mitre saw - for the price of the dust vac and one battery.
Same conversation earlier when I was picking up a circular saw and had two batteries on the counter - Tony said put that back and go grab a leaf blower. huh? Leaf blower had 4 " free" 5AH batteries for the price of the leaf blower stand alone.
Of the 25 batteries or so I have I only bought 4 a- la carte. The rest came with package deals.
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Although almost all of my cordless tools are Makita, the only reason I went that route was because I got some Home Depot gift cards for Christmas, and I didn't want red or yellow tools, and Makita was running a sale at the time. Otherwise, I wouldn't hesitate to buy Hercules or Ryobi, or a bunch of other homeowner-grade power tools. I don't use any of them enough to ever wear them out anyway.
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I got an adapter that lets me use my LXT batteries on my ancient Craftsman C3 impact wrench. Ugly but works fine.
These are always interesting to me. You are going lose bi directional communication with the tool, but if you arent driving the tool to exhaustion they should be fine.
Im really curious about makitas step down adaptor on something like my 36V saw.
Being able to step down higher voltage & capacity batteries I may find my existing 36 Volt tools gain a new level of performance and run time I never even imagined they could have when I bought them while still offering overload protection.
To date, none of my tools have ever tried talking to me. However, if they do, I'll be sure to book them into a rehab clinic.
Good to know, Ill bet you'd be one of the most interesting poster if it did.
The star system lets the battery communicate with the tool and vice versa to keep one or the other from overloading.
It has taken me a long time (6 decades plus) to get to the point of understanding that the smart choice in this stuff is Makita. Most of what I have is DeWalt, but will replace over time. If money was a big concern, I would probably go with HFT tools.
I have both 12v and 18v Makita tools. I absolutely love the 12v drill/driver and mini circular saw. They are awesome and I'll tell anyone who asks that for typical homeowner jobs they're the ideal choice. 18v mostly I have some outdoor things (blower, weed whacker, hedge trimmer) and lights, which are overlooked. It's super convenient to have lights that use your tool's batteries.
jeff
jeff
Im about to do another home fresh up renter leaving after half a decade.
floors, paint, modest fresh up work between tenants - lights are going to be a part of it.
My / our old eyes really do better work with great lighting.
A city guy may never need anything above an 18v setup even for the yard.
The 18x2 line was brilliant allowing your needed outdoor gear to scale without investing in a new platform.
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Im interested to hear what tipped you over, if you have the time or inclination to tell us the journey.
Curious what the blade size is on that?
Can it cut a 2x4 at a 45 degrees or an end in one cut?
3 3/8" blade for a hair over 1" cutting depth. Not terribly useful for lumber but great for plywood and other sheet materials. I have an old corded DeWalt for heavier work.
Similar to the 12v drill and driver. On the rare occasion I find them lacking in the power department I'll drag out the 1/2" HF drill. For the other 98% of the time the compact size and light weight of the Makitas are superior.
jeff
A bunch of things: I had an old Ryobi fall apart in my hands; I saw in one of our plants that only Milwaukee tools are being purchased; I was using my friends tools, and I see every good YouTube mechanic has them. I got the message eventually, but still need the will to replace perfectly functional items.
Im also very reluctant to retire and re-buy something I already have that works so I make the pact to myself to only do that when there is an actual deal in place to do so.
I also try to make sure the new tool is truly additive in some way to my capabilities or convenience - having a tool that focuses on lightweight is really nice when doing long stretches of work.
I have started donating my corded tools to both my retired on budget and younger friends just starting life here in the mountain community.
Some things are tricky in that you want multiple of them anyway for specific tasks.
I agree completely. I have old socket sets and hand tools that I know of better brands, but try to be content with what I have. I also have knockoff Chinese tools that I would retire or push to the back of the drawer with little regret. If I hit the lottery , it would all get replaced.
In the case that I had something with that capability that when moving up in life and capability, I'd definitely use it and I'm sure I'd love how light it is, zipping through sheet goods.
My own reality and that of most guys I work with is that a 2x4 is the universal building block of just about everything I make or do.
As a young guy like my dad, and both grandpas, there was really only one go to - I'd grab a Skill worm drive saw for anything and everything then fight it for all the little stuff. The Skill 77/ mag 77 worm drive really is the saw that built America.
Now as a 59 year old guy I have the incredibly luxury of being able to buy and use the smallest lightest thing that will do the job.
The smallest thing I can get away with grabbing for a days work has to be able to cut a 2x4 on the short end with one pass - that'd be my wicked little 125MM 40V saw I brought back from Japan.
Better yet if it can do a 45 on a 2x4 in one pass which would be my LXT 5-1/4 which is just a beautiful little machine. Not as fast on a rip with 18V but still easily controllable with one hand and powerful enough to build anything I'll take on.
Im still in awe of how good these tools have become.
