Buying Power Tools

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Pop Golden

New User
Pop
​A couple of notes on starting up a shop. A lot of us have complete shops. That means we got 1 of everything 2 of somethings. MOST IMPORTANT! We didn't buy it all at ounce. I have probably $60,000 to $70,000 worth tools. I purchased this equipment over a 50 year period. I buy used machines, reconditioned machines, machines I recondition myself & new machines. It's easy to get caught up in I gotta have that frenzy. There are many ways to go about this process, but slow and easy is the best bet.

Pop
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Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
I bought my first power tool when I was 15, a Craftsman sabresaw. I think I paid less than $30 for it and I'm still using it.

Wore out several Craftsman drills and finally got a Bosch, but still have the Craftsman skillsaw. Sears was the only store in town that sold tools in the early 70s.

Over the years I bought better tools when the old ones wore out, that's why I don't have many new tools. Those old ones held up.

Moral of my story? Don't buy cheap tools expecting them to wear out so you can get better ones later. They may outlast you and then you'll never know the pure joy of using fine tools.
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
While I agree with Mike, I think everybody has their own idea of what is a "fine tool" and at least to me, it matters a lot how much you use it and for what. I have no desire for a Hilti or other really good hammer drill, for instance. My HF gets grease on my hands but it makes good holes, also hammers things apart just fine, and doesn't get used much. I'm sure there are nicer ones but I don't think I could tell much difference and I am sure the results would be the same. I also have a cheap angle grinder that I bought to cut up tile over 10 years ago and it keeps working. I don't think a name brand angle grinder would be enough nicer to matter to me. And it is not a frequently used tool.

I was surprised by my Fein multi-tool, however. I also have a HF and a cordless Ryobi and they get used occasionally but the Fein is smoother and cuts faster so it gets the most use. I used it for the first time to sand some clapboards my Bosch sander couldn't reach and it was good at that too. My Bosch 1250 DEVS is also a recent addition and is my favorite sander. A Festool for twice or three times as much might be nicer but the Bosch is the nicest I've used. I have an old DeWalt 6 inch that is probably going on Craigs list. No comparison to the Bosch.

I have a couple junk routers I never should have purchased too. Sanders wear out, at least in my shop, but get used enough a cheap one wouldn't make sense to me. Routers spin scary fast and cheap ones have poor collets that let router bits move and ruin good wood. So better ones (I have two PC690s and a Bosch colt which see regular use) makes sense. I have a Milwaukee circular saw that I got after I ruined a cheap WEN cutting concrete with it. It's a pretty nice tool but I use it less and less since I got my DeWalt track saw. I used to have a junk saber saw that would barely cut. I got rid of it after getting a Bosch. The difference in cutting speed was so great I just didn't use the cheap saw.

I hate spending more on a tool to find no better performance more than I hate trading from a cheap tool to a more expensive one - because the cheap one doesn't work very well. So I tend to creep up. Possibly not the best path but I just am not going to ever buy Festool everything. There are more expensive brands than Festool too. You said "fine tools" which I agree with but it is a bit hard to define. The few Festool tools I have used definitely had advantages. But the cost differential is just too great for me to justify.

I haven't gotten seriously into hand tools yet but I notice there is a similarly large range of prices and presumably performance on those too.
 

Mike Davis

Mike
Corporate Member
And I agree with you. My post was slightly tongue-in-cheek.

*Don't buy cheap tools expecting them to wear out*

In other words; Some cheap tool are very good indeed.
 

Rick M

New User
Rick
I've never regretted buying a quality tool but I've regretted not buying them sooner.
 

FlyingRon

Moderator
Ron
I started with a Delta Contractor saw and a Ryobi Router for power tools and a good set of chisels. The delta worked well enough for a while but after one move I never could get it back into alignment. I'm very happy with my Saw Stop now. I also have a Porter Cable router in a Kreg table that's very nice.

I got one of the Jet 12" helical head jointer/planers which I'm also very happy with. I replaced the little 6" Powermatic I had that I sold for about what I paid for it to my neighbor who sold his 4" jointer to someone else (sort of a power tool trickle down).

I don't use the router all that much. Oddly, I figured it would take more time setting up the jigs than to just use the chisels but it turns out that I was probably wrong on that, but it takes less "brain work" to reach for the chisels to make a hinge mortise or whatever.
 
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