Power Tools

[kosmonooit]

You certainly get what you pay for with tools and I concur with Grumps and others about brands. I have a mixtures of brands though to gravitate towards MetaBo and Makita, Bosch Blue is excellent as well.

 

Uris Power Tools in Randburg is a good place to source any power tool, they also do servicing,

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Try Toolquip & Allied. Although some of their products are chinese imports they only sell the good ones, which are tried and tested.

 

Yah, buying the best you can afford when it comes to tools is wise. I find you can immediately tell the difference between inferior tool quality and a good high quality product just by feel in the hand. Quality products fit anatomically in the hand, are well balanced, feel solid and when its electrical goods they have good high quality motors which can handle the loads required.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

My tool choices

Hilti impact drill

Metaba drills and jig saws

Festool circular saws

Metaba router

Estwing hammers

Marpels wood chisels

De Walt cut off saws

Stanley hand planer-nothing beats working with a hand planer

Ryobi drill press, yes, Ryobi on this

Gedore spanners, nothing comes close

Snap-on screw drivers and pliers

 

Stahlwille also make excellent high quality spanners, very difficult to find in SA now for some reason (cost I guess) but if you can get them they will last your lifetime and you could hand them down a few lifetimes more.

 

Just as an aside, many, many years ago when I was an appy, the company I worked for used to give all the new apprentices a set of Stahlwille spanners on completion of their 5 years apprenticeship, I still have that set, mostly because back then we still worked in Imperial and as the spanners are all Imperial they are not relevant anymore, but the craftsmanship and quality of the product is still something to behold.

[LOOK695]

Yah, buying the best you can afford when it comes to tools is wise. I find you can immediately tell the difference between inferior tool quality and a good high quality product just by feel in the hand. Quality products fit anatomically in the hand, are well balanced, feel solid and when its electrical goods they have good high quality motors which can handle the loads required.

True. Like I have mentioned, I have 2 Makita cordless drills and I have really worked a lot with them, even drilling into walls. I also have a new Ryobi cordless drill, but the old Makita drills still feel better and handle heavier torque loads easier. Both are 14.4v

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Why?

 

Old Ryobi (as in 20 - 25 years ago) is fantastic stuff. Then they started going the way of "lowest possible cost" assembly and motor / tolerance selection, and their quality went down the tubes. I have a Ryobi tablesaw that I WILL NOT USE. It jacks down 1" when you start it (with the height selector "locked" in place) and can't cut for $hit. Even with a brand new blade in there, it doesn't cut true.

 

Same for all their other stuff.

 

If you use it once or twice a year, they're okay. But anything more than that and they'll break down faster than a bulimic teen at a cupcake party.

 

Same as modern STANLEY tools. They used to be King Dong on the handtool circuit. And then profit margins and cost cutting got in the way.

 

Sad, really.

 

Oh - and as for the Ryobi cordless variety - their battery packs are packed with vastly inferior batteries. Over extended use they need to be swapped out. quite often. And then the batteries that they're repacked with invariably last much longer due to the far higher quality. Although there are exceptions, they aren't that common (their little Li-Ion cordless screwdriver is an example)

Edited August 24, 2013 by cpt armpies mayhem

[GrumpyOldGuy]

True. Like I have mentioned, I have 2 Makita cordless drills and I have really worked a lot with them, even drilling into walls. I also have a new Ryobi cordless drill, but the old Makita drills still feel better and handle heavier torque loads easier. Both are 14.4v

 

Yeah, the other day my neighbour asked me to supply an extra pair of hands to help assemble his new shade net carport, we started off using his set of No Name brand spanners and screwdrivers just because they were already outside, but "Oh Man" I very soon went and collected some quality spanners from my house because I just couldn't work with that rubbish, poor head fit, thick and bulky, no balancing or comfortable hand fit, just poor quality, immediately noticeable.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

True. Like I have mentioned, I have 2 Makita cordless drills and I have really worked a lot with them, even drilling into walls. I also have a new Ryobi cordless drill, but the old Makita drills still feel better and handle heavier torque loads easier. Both are 14.4v

 

Yeah, it's the amperage rating of the battery that you have to have a look at. That and the motor windings & brushes.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Old Ryobi (as in 20 - 25 years ago) is fantastic stuff. Then they started going the way of "lowest possible cost" assembly and motor / tolerance selection, and their quality went down the tubes. I have a Ryobi tablesaw that I WILL NOT USE. It jacks down 1" when you start it (with the height selector "locked" in place) and can't cut for $hit. Even with a brand new blade in there, it doesn't cut true.

 

Same for all their other stuff.

 

If you use it once or twice a year, they're okay. But anything more than that and they'll break down faster than a bulimic teen at a cupcake party.

 

Same as modern STANLEY tools. They used to be King Dong on the handtool circuit. And then profit margins and cost cutting got in the way.

 

Sad, really.

 

Oh - and as for the Ryobi cordless variety - their battery packs are packed with vastly inferior batteries. Over extended use they need to be swapped out. quite often. And then the batteries that they're repacked with invariably last much longer due to the far higher quality. Although there are exceptions, they aren't that common (their little Li-Ion cordless screwdriver is an example)

 

Hmm, Indeed, Stanley has certainly lost the plot when it comes to quality. Their woodworking tools especially used to be known as almost the best in the class, but today they really dont cut the cake anymore.

[Captain Fastbastard Mayhem]

Hmm, Indeed, Stanley has certainly lost the plot when it comes to quality. Their woodworking tools especially used to be known as almost the best in the class, but today they really dont cut the cake anymore.

 

Yeah. I'd LOVE to get hold of my grandfather's Record & Stanley planes, spoke shaves and chisels. They're the PROPER stuff, 40 plus years old and still going strong. Proper steel. I wouldn't touch anything with the Stanley name on it now. Even their levels & set squares are out at times.

 

I'm going to say it, and my flame suit is on - but - I'd buy GRIP tools before I bought Stanley.

Edited August 24, 2013 by cpt armpies mayhem

[RexFuzzle]

I still use my dad's Stanley plane from time to time- such a joy- I don't think anybody makes proper stuff like that anymore.

I must say I am very impressed with Mastercraft stuff from Makro- cheaper than the Gedore and Snap-on but haven't broken anything yet and i think its very good quality. My uncle gets a set for all his mechanics and they are goeie boere and they don't complain at all.

My Makita cordless drill set I am disappointed with though- Expected more from it- battery life is socking, but I suppose they are NiCads.

[Skylark]

True. Like I have mentioned, I have 2 Makita cordless drills and I have really worked a lot with them, even drilling into walls. I also have a new Ryobi cordless drill, but the old Makita drills still feel better and handle heavier torque loads easier. Both are 14.4v

 

You can have the battery packs repacked with new cells if that's why they getting less used.

[kosmonooit]

Those Makita 18v Lithium Iron range are excellent tools, I have one, have my beady eye on a few more like that small angele Grinder and Jig Saw. Pricey but good, real works horses.

 

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cm/popularmechanics/images/dg/makita-18v-12078.jpg

[V12man]

My tool choices

Hilti impact drill

Metaba drills and jig saws

Festool circular saws

Metaba router

Estwing hammers

Marpels wood chisels

De Walt cut off saws

Stanley hand planer-nothing beats working with a hand planer

Ryobi drill press, yes, Ryobi on this

Gedore spanners, nothing comes close

Snap-on screw drivers and pliers

 

Mostly I agree with you - EXCEPT for the gedore spanners.... they are OK - but I have broken 3 of them so far (in more than 20 years) , and the eina from hitting your hand on steel bits under serious pressure is worth buying decent spanners - Stahwille or Snapon - and if you really must - FACOM.

[GrumpyOldGuy]

Mostly I agree with you - EXCEPT for the gedore spanners.... they are OK - but I have broken 3 of them so far (in more than 20 years) , and the eina from hitting your hand on steel bits under serious pressure is worth buying decent spanners - Stahwille or Snapon - and if you really must - FACOM.

 

Good Grief....I have never heard of a Gedore spanner breaking, I guess it happens of course, but we used them industrially and never broke one, the staff left them on site, under cars, around the workshop, in the trucks, under the table's in the back of the bakkies, dropped them from the top of ships, lost them in rivers, took them home, loaned them to friends, sold them off ...but as far as I can remember we never broke one.

Agree fully with you on Snap On and Stahlwille though, uncompromising quality.

[V12man]

Good Grief....I have never heard of a Gedore spanner breaking, I guess it happens of course, but we used them industrially and never broke one, the staff left them on site, under cars, around the workshop, in the trucks, under the table's in the back of the bakkies, dropped them from the top of ships, lost them in rivers, took them home, loaned them to friends, sold them off ...but as far as I can remember we never broke one.

Agree fully with you on Snap On and Stahlwille though, uncompromising quality.

 

You didn't try hard enough... - 2 of them were 13mm deep ring spanners - not the strongest things around because of their design - both broke on the same landrover nut - stahwille undid it.... there might have been a bit of extra leverage applied... to the second one

 

Gedore did replace them - no questions asked.

[pastapouch]

Good Grief....I have never heard of a Gedore spanner breaking, I guess it happens of course, but we used them industrially and never broke one, the staff left them on site, under cars, around the workshop, in the trucks, under the table's in the back of the bakkies, dropped them from the top of ships, lost them in rivers, took them home, loaned them to friends, sold them off ...but as far as I can remember we never broke one.

Agree fully with you on Snap On and Stahlwille though, uncompromising quality.

+1 Grumps...I went Whaaaattttt the ffffffffkkkkkk???? when I read that...