Tools

[Mark Woodmark]

When you purchase either stationary or hand tools, are you loyal to one brand or do you buy different brands and why?

[Cary Falk]

I am not loyal to any one brand. I don't think any one brand has the best offering in every category. My shop consists of Shop Fox, Grizzly, Jet, Delta, Steel City, Harbor Freight, Ridgid, Makita, DeWalt, etc. Sometimes I shop sales. Other times I pay a little extra for features I want.

[Scot Ferraro]

I have a melting pot of tools from most major manufacturers. I think that no one tool company has everything and since so many are similar and just a different color, it often comes down to price.

Scot

[Darnell Hagen]

Stationary- I buy old used, so what ever I find that I like and can afford.

Power- I'm a Bosch man

Hand- Veritas specialty planes, because they innovate, Lie Nielsen saws, because they fit me nicely, old Stanley bench planes, because I can afford them, Berg chisels, because they are abundant here and I like Swedish steel.

[glenn bradley]

I buy the tool, not the brand. Some of my favorite tools are made by folks who make other tools 'not-so-well'. There are folks who are brand loyal or want their shop all one color and that's fine. I just try to get the best bang for the buck or best of breed as opposed to buying a certain color just because they make a good <insert tool type here>.

[Will Overton]

So far in my shop I'm loyal to Craftsman, Grizzly, Delta, Steel City, Ryobi, Jet, Bosch, Powermatic, Festool, Porter Cable and Milwaukee, with SawStop and DeWalt on order. I'm very loyal! :)

[Chris Kennedy]

I have brands that I favor, though I wouldn't call myself loyal.

For hand tools, I favor Veritas. For power tools, I have a fair number of older Porter-Cable, but I view their more recent offerings with some dismay. I tend to like Bosch as well, but I have a smattering of other brands as well.

I try to find brands that reliably put out good tools, and favor those accordingly.

Cheers,

Chris

[Tony Bilello]

When I buy new portable electric tools I only buy Porter Cable
When I buy new stationary tools, I buy delta.
As for used tools, I buy what I consider a reasonable deal. Usually that comes in the form of Grizzly.

[Tom Rick]

I end up with a bunch of different brands. I use the tools professionally so just buy the brand that has the best tool of any given type. I will happily pay double for a quality tool when buying portable power. (or more... my Fein vac cost ~300 bucks.. yikes!) For stationary I try to buy used and again pick the brand that has a decent machine of a given type and end up paying around the price of the new cheaper tool for a decent used machine.

[Gene Howe]

I like Porter Cable routers and corded drills. Old Stanley planes and try squares. Skil is my brand for worm drives and Makita for cordless drivers. I have a gussied up ShopSmith for a table saw/router table and band saw. My 30 Y.O 6" planer is a Craftsman. And the miter saw is a Craftsman (I lust for a Makita SCMS, though).

[Larry Norton]

I'm partial to Delta because they gave me a DJ20 8in. jointer after a tornado destroyed our house and most of my tools. But I do buy other brands, depending on features and options.

[Bill Huber]

I buy what ever I feel is the best for what I can spend.

I don't like cheap tools, hand or stationary but I can not afford the top of the line for everything.

[Troy Turner]

Mostly everything in the shop though is Craftsman. I did buy a Steel City mortiser 'cause is was very much on sale and free shipping...When I first started, I didn't know much about DeWalts, Milwalkees, etc., other than they were out of my price range. I had always bought my mech tools from Sears and figured the power tools were about the same. Bandsaw and tablesaw are OLD craftsman, Made in the U.S.A, and still kickin. The others are newer, but still craftsman and no problems with them yet.

[Jim O'Dell]

I'm with Bill. I buy the best I can afford, and look long and hard for sales on an item of interest. I'll often buy a tool that is in my price range when I see it on a great sale, if I have the funds available, whether I'm ready for it or not. Case in point: my Delta 52-580 lunch box planer. purchased almost 6 years ago...haven't even fired it up yet, but got it for under $210.00. If it doesn't work, and I now finally have wood and a project to use it on, it will not have been money well spent. :o But it was a great buy. Jim.

[Gary Herrmann]

I'd only buy Northfield if I could afford it.

I have 4 Canadian General tools and keep my eyes open for others for cheap, so I guess that is a form of loyalty.

[Jesse Wilson]

I buy the best I can justify for the use I will get out of it.

As far as new/used, I buy new or used that is in like new condition only. For some reason my tools have to be pretty as well as functional..... it's an illness I know.

[Greg Plowman]

It depends on the item, I do get quite a bit of bosch stuff though and many of the large floor tools such as the table saw and drill press are old deltas, I will go with whatever suits my needs.

[Jim Rimmer]

Grizzly TS & BS, Ryobi planer, Delta joiner, Ryobi 9" BS, other odd brands on other power tools - Craftsman, Skil, B&D, Protech, Freud, etc. I try to get the best tool for the money. I am upgrading some tools leading up to retirement and am buying "up" a little while I can still afford it. Looking at Bosch jigsaw, some type of small (laminate?) router. I've bought new and used. Will be looking at factory refurbs.

[Dave Lewis]

Good question:

Stationary: Delta - most bought 5-10 years ago; new and used. Because I can always get parts.
Penn State - dust collection & acc. - would go with Oneida if second system needed.
General (CA made) looks like the best traditional machinery though.

Portable:
Fein: vacuums and 3HP router - good value
Bosch, Makita, Porter-cable - shop & compare middle ground; Festool looks nice, but I can't justify premium.
Senco, Hitchi - great nailers & compressors

[Van Huskey]

I buy the tool not the manufacturer, however if the price is a wash there are some brands I prefer over others. If I had unlimited fund the majority of my tools would be PM, Festool and Felder but in most cases they are way past the point of diminishing returns compared to my expected usage.

[Paul McGaha]

I buy the tool and not the manufacturer also. But I must say I do maybe favor Powermatic and Delta though.

I try to read what tool reviews I can find. I noticed that FWW did a tool test a while back on shop air cleaners with JET being the overall winner.

JMHO, but I think the best way to buy tools is to buy used tools in near new condition and save maybe 40 to 50% on the price of a new one. Too bad for me that I fiqured this out on the last tool in my shop instead of the first.

My wife has been nice enough to give me our 2 car garage and a reasonable yearly budget on what I can spend in the shop. If I had to do it again I think I would try to have bought really nice tools used and saved some money.

Just my.02 cents.

PHM

[Steve Beadle]

Wile E. Coyote, I think, buys the Acme brand exclusively, but, much as I admire the guy, I buy nearly everything EXCEPT Acme: Makita, Delta, Grizzly, Bosch, Porter-Cable. I also own some vintage Craftsman and Shopsmith tools.

[Ron Blaise]

Delta, Shop Fox, Grizzly, Rikon, Hitachi, Ryobi, Porter Cable, Jet, Performax, DeWalt, and formerly Craftsman. I buy used based on condition whenever possible and new based on percieved need and quality. I always try to buy the largest I need so I won't have to upgrade later. I seem to have more Jet large tools than any other. My tools vary in age from the 1930's to date. Works for a tool junky like me.

[John Piwaron]

When you purchase either stationary or hand tools, are you loyal to one brand or do you buy different brands and why?


Most my stuff is Delta/Porter Cable. I like the quality but I'm not married to them, I have other brands.

I also have DeWalt, General, Bosch, Makita and Festool. Too many different brands to name in the hand tool stuff.

Why? At the time each was bought, the factors of price, quality, function and availability played a roll. I start by checking out the offering(s) made by Delta when I want something big, but sometimes other brands simply offer (to me) a better value at that moment. Only once did I walk into the store with a specific machine in mind and nothing else was going to substitute for it.

They all have a shot at selling me what I want, but for me, Delta is usually at my sweet spot. but not always.

[glenn bradley]

So far in my shop I'm loyal to Craftsman, Grizzly, Delta, Steel City, Ryobi, Jet, Bosch, Powermatic, Festool, Porter Cable and Milwaukee, with SawStop and DeWalt on order. I'm very loyal! :)

Will, you are really going to have to get over this 'clinging to one brand' thing :D.

[DanW Miller]

On Friday got a new Delta 790 planer. Spent about 3 hours Friday night and 4 hours Saturday assembling. Sometimes you think to yourself what kind of idiot designed this thing. Then you realize that Delta engineers must not use their own equipment because some things are so easy to correct anyone could do it. Then spent another 5 hours trying to adjust the cutting. It still doesn't perform satisfactorily. I could go on but take my advice and don't buy this planer.

[Tom Hammond]

I don't have brands that I buy in particular, but there are some I won't buy... Craftsman, Jet, Shopsmith. I do favor Delta and Porter-Cable, but aren't exclusive to them.