quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
Dewalt just won my quest for a new 12" compound miter though. Best size/weight ratio. Price was good too.

I have an older Dewalt 12" double bevel miter saw that's been through hell and back and still does a terrific job. From cutting 4x4 PT posts and 2x8 PT for a deck, to miles of molding and trim, I can't seem to kill the thing. What I'd really like to add to my inventory is a 'sliding' 12" miter saw.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
What I'd really like to add to my inventory is a 'sliding' 12" miter saw.

Yes, actually what I just bought was a slider. Here it is, overall weight is a dream compared to my olde steel deck Makita 10," and I bought it because of the deep throat, and crown stops.

I have an 18v L-ion Makita drill/circular saw/sawsall set that I got in 2005. I use the drill ALL the time. The thing is a tank and keeps on ticking.

I just picked up the cordless, brushless, impact driver (18v) and the 18v Oscillating tool.

I love that Home Depot is reasonable for pricing on the hardware replacements and batteries/chargers. I love that the Oscillating tool accepts all kinds of compatible blades and attachments. I love that the drill is a work horse. Still.

YMMV.

Take your pick. They are all good tools. I have a 30 yo makita drill 18v, 35 yo old dewalt 12v, and 20 yo milwaukee 14.4 drill and impact driver. They all work.
Ive had to replace batteries over the years but thats about it.

I have a DeWalt 12v kit that i've beat the shit out of for the better part of 6 years. I think i've finally smoked the screw gun but prior to that purchased DeWalt 20v Brushless kit and I'm very happy. I'll replace the 12v because sometimes the lighter weight tools are life savers.

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by CQB60:
Just keep the hell away from the Hitachi stuff....

Why?

As I noted, above: When I was in the market for a new cordless drill/driver combo, a couple years ago, in terms of performance the testing came out:

1. Milwaukee
   
2. Makita, Bosch and Hitachi
   
3. Everybody else
   

The separation between each of 1, 2 and 3 was fairly pronounced. Thus the grouping.

Bosch didn't offer as large a battery as Makita and Hitachi, so it was down to those two for me. I fondled each and decided I liked the Hitachi ergonomics better. I've not been disappointed. I ran the hell out of those two tools, right out of the gate. Performed like gangbusters. Been working well for me, in casual use, ever since.

My question, too. Why not Hitachi?

I have a 18V hammer drill with two L-ion batteries and charger for two years when Lowes had a sale on them. Drill isn't used every day, nor for heavy duty work but I see no problems at this time.

DeWalt 20V for cordless tools.

Milwaukee for corded hand tools.

Milwaukee 12V for speciality cordless tools (2" pvc cutter and little band saw for cutting electrical materials).

Back to DeWalt for the table saw, miter saw, etc.

Surprised nobody has said Ridgid. I am an active but non professional user and have/had most all the brands. I find for the price/features/quality balance the Ridgid is a great value. But what really pushes them over the top for me is free battery replacement "for life". I have gotten several new batteries at no cost over the years.

I was going to say Ridgid.... but for pipe wrenches, pipe cutting and threading.

quote:

Originally posted by bigdeal:
No Milwaukee? That's all I have and love it.

Milwaukee is my preference.

For home use, I think any will do. But definitely go with the lithium ion batteries. What an improvement over the old NiCAD batteries of old.

I would search to see how many tools are offered for the battery system. That's why I went with Milwaukee myself. More specifically the M18 Fuel line. 1 battery/charging system so I don't have to worry about different batteries and chargers for different tools.

I got the charger and batteries with my initial impact driver and hammer drill. After that, I just bought the tools only.

quote:

Originally posted by GWbiker:
My question, too. Why not Hitachi?

I have a 18V hammer drill with two L-ion batteries and charger for two years when Lowes had a sale on them. Drill isn't used every day, nor for heavy duty work but I see no problems at this time.

Mine is the 18v hammer drill and driver combo. And I did give mine a torture test.

I used the drill motor to drill 20 ea. 10" long by 1/2" diameter holes through railroad ties so as to drive rebar through them into the ground.

Then used the drill motor to drill 72 ea. 3" deep pilot holes for 5/16" lag bolts and the impact driver to drive the bolts.

Neither Hitachi product skipped a beat. Was in the summertime, in the sun, too. Neither battery ran down through all that, either.

quote:

Originally posted by straightshooter01:
Surprised nobody has said Ridgid. I am an active but non professional user and have/had most all the brands. I find for the price/features/quality balance the Ridgid is a great value. But what really pushes them over the top for me is free battery replacement "for life". I have gotten several new batteries at no cost over the years.

I've been using Dewalt cordless tools for several years around the house. The 20V 1/2" impact is awesome - even breaks loose the lug nuts on my 1 ton pickup. I have been very happy with them so far - though I did start buying these before I found out that Rigid had a lifetime warranty on the batteries.


When it came time to buy a cordless drill for my daughter, I went with Rigid for her and registered right away. If I recall correctly, only batteries that came with a tool are covered under that warranty and they need to be registered. Since she's 22, she should get many years of service from that tool.

Dewalt. I use and abuse their products every day at work. I have yet to break one.

Worked at Home Depot for many years through High School and in my youth. Dewalt tools got returned broken all day, every day. Makita, never. I own a metric shit ton of Makita, some of it fairly old now and it keeps on rocking without a hiccup. Also a big Milwaukee fan, have a lot of their M12 stuff for the smaller jobs. Dewalt is the Ford F150 and/or Harley of the tool world. Substandard quality and over priced. People don't buy it because it's the best available in it's segment, they buy it because their daddy, and their daddies daddy had it, etc etc.

I have screw guns from Ryobi, Dwealt and Milwalkee in the trunk of my car right now.

At work we "went Milwaukee" as a means of standardizing. Cordless screw guns, impact drivers, sawzalls, grinders, circular saws, brad gun, planer, vacuums, a few types of lights... I like them all except for the screw guns. I prefer my Dewalt and Ryobi to the Milwaukee. Some ergonomic thing about it I just don't like.

I used a different Milwalkee for many years, one of their first 18v ones. My only complaint about that one was it weighed a ton, as lots of their stuff does. It was a killer doing overhead work, or carrying it around all day. (which was the reason for buying the Ryobi, because it was much lighter. It's still going strong, but the newer Dewalt 20v is lighter still)

I've two Dewalt 20s, one I found on the side of the road (LOL) and one work bought. Were I buying it myself, I'd probably get another. While we have several corded Dewalt tools, the only cordless one's are the screw guns and impact drivers.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but I understand that both Dewalt, Mikita, etc make tools to Home Depot and Lowe's specs which are different, i.e. "lower quality" than the "general market" models.

This is like when Winchester made guns for Sears, but to the lower Sears specs.

Hopefully you won’t have to file a warranty claim and I’m glad you like how they feel...

quote:

Originally posted by ensigmatic:

quote:

Originally posted by CQB60:
Just keep the hell away from the Hitachi stuff....

Why?

As I noted, above: When I was in the market for a new cordless drill/driver combo, a couple years ago, in terms of performance the testing came out:

1. Milwaukee
   
2. Makita, Bosch and Hitachi
   
3. Everybody else
   

The separation between each of 1, 2 and 3 was fairly pronounced. Thus the grouping.

Bosch didn't offer as large a battery as Makita and Hitachi, so it was down to those two for me. I fondled each and decided I liked the Hitachi ergonomics better. I've not been disappointed. I ran the hell out of those two tools, right out of the gate. Performed like gangbusters. Been working well for me, in casual use, ever since.

We use the Milwaukee Fuel 18v here at work and haven’t been overly impressed with them. Compared the hammer drill to Dewalt 20v brushless and the Dewalt smoked the Milwaukee while drilling 1/4” holes in concrete for tapcons.

I’ve used the 18v NiCad Dewalts for years until beginning to upgrade to the 20v Lithium. Personally I believe the Dewalt is a superior tool and will be upgrading all my cordless over time.

Now if we’re talking drill bits and nut drivers than Milwaukee has Dewalt beat.

This conversation tends to go like any other Ford vs. Chevy or SIG vs. HK thread—people are passionate about their chosen brand.

I went with Makita simply because I got a good deal on them, and I kept purchasing Makita to avoid having a bunch of different batteries and chargers to keep up with. I’ve been very happy with Makita and their tools have never failed me, but I only do general house work. Their 36V (uses two 18V batteries) blower is amazing. I usually buy brushless motors if it’s available.

To be honest, for general house repairs, any better-known brand would do, whether it’s Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ridgid, etc. If you want to Cadillac of tools, and have a hefty tool budget, look at Hilti. Whatever brand, look at the warranty, the brand support in your area, the cost of batteries, and the variety of tools that you may find yourself purchasing in the future. Color may be important to you, too.