Cutting the cord

some of the old tool makers have divided their lines into industrial and c onsumer with very different results, but the ones you listed are pretty clo se. B&D, although it once made a great industrial line (I have three of the ir industrial drill motors, all 40 years old or more and going strong), is now one of several companies owned by the same conglomerate, and B&D has be en assigned to the consumer market. Still, I have two recent ones, and I ha ve no complaints about them. The same company owns DeWalt, Porter-Cable, De lta, and others. DeWalt is a little higher-end, and Porter-Cable, in the op inion of many,is higher still.

rent market segments. At the premium industrial end you have Fein and Metab o -- and you pay for it. The rest are pretty much head-to-head. (I still fa vor Milwaukee, but that's based on old experience.)I own a Makita grinder a nd a Ryobi belt sander, and both are doing fine after years of heavy use.

you listed. It's a little like cars: nobody can afford to make junk these d ays, unless they don't expect to stay around.

That sounds like a good homeowner's collection of power tools. They're all good brands.

We only had a fairly short period in which the consumer-grade power tools d escended in quality. In the late '70s, US power-tool makers were alarmed th at the Japanese were beating them up. They redesigned their lines to compet e on price -- particularly Sears, Skil, and B&D. Some of the cheaper tools went from ball bearings to plain bearings; Skil and Loctite co-engineered m otors that were glued together; all of them developed cheaper gears. The mo tors were OK but down on power. The gears and bearings were awful. Even the electrical switches were cheap.

That didn't last long. Quality became a big issue, and the manufacturers up graded. Now, as I mentioned, building junk is a good way to go out of busin ess. Word gets around really fast. Junky tools don't last long on the marke t.

So, if you stick with reputable brands, and if you aren't looking for indus trial-type performance, it's hard to go wrong. The individual product repor ts are easy to find online, if you're shopping.

Reply to
edhuntress2
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That decision is out of my hands, but I'm glad that it makes you happy. d8-)

Talking with a variety of manufacturers, it sounds like everyone has upgraded their batteries and controlling electronics, and that's where most of the competitive game is now.

I can't wait to see Metabo's 2,500-watt (3.3 hp) angle-head cordless grinder. Maybe they'll have it at IMTS in September, or at Fabtech in November, but I don't know yet.

Reply to
edhuntress2

Clearly there's a market for very low cost stuff that is sometimes very bad. I don't fault folks for buying cheap. After all, a large proportion of tools are bought as gifts and/or destined to live in closets. I'm reminded of that every time I see an ad for a 100 piece set of router bits. :) I have lots of stuff that others would consider junk, but it's fine for the few times I need it. I've misjudged occasionally both ways, buying better than I needed, and buying too cheap for use that turned out to more than expected. One example, an $80 SDS hammer drill. Didn't think I'd use it enough to wear it out, but I was wrong. Bought a second one only slightly better, still miles ahead of buying a brand name model considering my limited use.

An anecdote: I have a Bosch miter saw. Paid a lot because it was something I use more than most, but nowhere near as much as a professional does. People nod approvingly, fine German craftsmanship. Nope. It's an overpriced but better quality import, and that's all. Lots of features, some aggravatingly non-intuitive. When it quit, a shit brush connection was at fault. I patched it up, and the only reason it's lasting is that it isn't being used every day. That event and many others have taught me not to be brand loyal, and to accept that spending a lot doesn't guarantee good quality or good design.

Yup. No reason to make judgment based on brand or high price.

Reply to
The Voice

When I was in college ,some friends and I found that one should either buy Sears Best or Sears Worst. Sears Best if you expected to use it a lot, and Sears Worse if it was likely a one time thing.

Then Sears was about the only place to buy tool at reasonable prices.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

What vintage was that? My dad and I found in the early/mid 1970s that buying Sears stuff was not a good idea as too many parts were non standard and when they failed you either couldn't get the parts or the replacement part price was as much as a whole new tool. A scroll saw bought one year needed 4.5" blades and the next year Sears didn't sell them and no one else did either as the standard was 5", easily fixed with a 0.5" spacer but a minor PITA. The killer that put my dad off buying from Sears was a hand drill where the 3 jaw chuck failed and the replacement cost as much as a new drill, the mounting thread was non standard for the chuck size so Sears was the only source. Maybe thing have changed.

Reply to
David Billington

Yes, and I have a lot of them -- because my dad was a Sears store general manager. Even my shotgun was Sears.

They had a promotional sale on corded drill motors around 1962 -- $5. Plain bearings, and plain everything else. I tried to kill mine for around ten years with no luck. Finally, I lost it when we moved.

Reply to
edhuntress2

Back in 1979 I was living in a small town in a depressed economy. There was a Goodwill box in the parking lot and folks would leave stuff outside the box, even though signs said it was illegal to do so, so that other folks could see if there was anything they could use before Goodwill picked it all up. So one day my brother and I were driving past and since I was the passenger I spied first a box that looked like it had a Sears drill motor inside. It did. It didn't work but when I opened it up it was just a wire from the power cord that came off of a spade connector. After fixing that the drill motor worked great. It is all cast aluminum, kinda heavy for a 1/4" drill, but the chuck on it is a very good Jacobs that grips well and runs very true. I have used that drill motor with sanding discs and worked it until it was too hot to hold comfortably. It still works great. A really high quality tool. My brother is still a little miffed at me for spying it first. Eric

Reply to
etpm

Late 50's.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

Montgomery Ward was the other source for affordable tools. I still use the welder i bought at thier going out of business sale. IIRC they even sold logan lathes back in the 50's. Power-Kraft was thier label.

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Best Regards Tom.

Reply to
Howard Beal

Sears stuff is contracts to make stuff. Once a really good one goes out the lessor takes over due to budget cuts - and we get junk. After a while, a good one comes on line and away we go again.

I was in Sears some years ago and they had stopped taking tools back. Some salesmen did but they were careful.

What I see as 'stupid' is going to a estate sale, get the sears tools and take them back for new ones. (of lower lesser grade steel and such).

Mart> >> On Friday, July 22, 2016 at 12:33:21 PM UTC-4, The Voice wrote: >>

Reply to
Martin Eastburn

You are right. I forgot about MW. I too have one of their welders. It was better than the one Sears sold at that time.

Dan

Reply to
dcaster

MW had a huge store in chicago which had a bargain basement where they sold customer returns, display items, damaged in shipping goods at big discounts. I used to go there every saturday morning bargain hunting in the tools section. Sears had a simular bargain basement in thier shipping warehouse/store. Lots of fun saturdays back then.

Best Regards Tom.

Reply to
Howard Beal

I have a PET 1/4" drill I bought in 1957 for $17.00 from Canadian Tire. I don't know how many houses I have wired using it, used it with grinding wheels, sanding disks, as an improvised lathe and many other applications. The only reason I don't use it much any more is that I usually grab yhe cordless one hanging inside the shop doorway.

Reply to
geraldrmiller

I have one of those Logan lathes branded PowrKraft ... in fact , MW was the driving force that got Logan into the lathe business , their main line was and still is mine safety equipment . MW wanted a lathe that could compete with the Atlas that Sears was selling .

Reply to
Terry Coombs

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