It is whatever you buy a battery and charger for first. Then you are unwilling to forfeit that battery to just buy another tool. So you get another tool of the same brand, even if you aren’t happy with the previous. Then at that point, you’ve gone to far. You’ve got several hundred dollars in batteries you would have to give up just to switch. It is the most blatant example of the sunken cost fallacy.
Ryobi, specifically has entry level tools (a basic drill) that come with a charger and battery for cheaper than you can even buy a battery by itself. When you’re young and broke and all you need to do is hang some curtains or something you get it. But really, it is just a seed for your future “house” that you belong to.
Feels like something the EU would eventually work on settling: making all tool manufacturers have a non-proprietary connector.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/eKOvXigyrXA?si=XiTMEQfNU1XmF2LQ
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Milwaukee included a bag and floodlight in their drill package so I guess that did it for me. Most of my drill bits are Ryobi though.
(Not a dad, just a lesbian)
I dropped my locking, variable speed, single direction, corded drill with the chuck key electrical taped to the cracked plastic cord on a board and the hole I needed formed naturally out of fear.
Festool is not on this list because Festool owners NEVER GET ANYONE PREGNANT.
Because you have to choose: children or Festool. Only the few elite can have both.
Good news everyone! Apparently, EU went for it https://youtu.be/eKOvXigyrXA?si=XiTMEQfNU1XmF2LQ
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/eKOvXigyrXA?si=XiTMEQfNU1XmF2LQ
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
What about us who only have one accurate drill to assemble and mount IKEA furniture and then buy everything else corded as we will use it once in 2 years or maybe never, but we want to have it as we’re thinking about having a small shed one day so we can finally make those 5 shelves for pantry and 2 cubic meters of storage space in the loft/garage?
In Australia
Ryobi: for DIY, apprentices or otherwise cheapskates. No shame in it. Best bang for buck if you don’t wear them out and the best part is you’re not going to be worried that someone will nick off with them. A lot of their range isn’t brushless and these tools will let you down the moment you need to do something moderately demanding.
Milwaukee: has won the trades tool war. They have a huge range of tools and their customer service with regard to warranty replacement can’t be beat. Tradies are very comforted that know that they can abuse the crap out of their tool and not be out of pocket.
Makita: my house. I consider more of a gentlemans tool even though many swear they are the most rugged things out there. I think their batteries are better than the competition in terms of overall cycles so long as they are not abused. Their carpentry tools are so so buttery to use. Wish they had a bigger tool range.
Bosch: Not as good as the above two but priced the same or higher. Limited tool range. Batteries are really not amazing. Sad to see but the only persons using these are really those who insist on buying only a german/european branded product.
Dewalt: Yellow is not as good as red or teal and is priced accordingly. Weird second best niche. Batteries kind of trash imo.
Ozito/Ferrex/etc: Chinesium. Bit of a roll of the dice. Some stuff may last but generally expect these tools to fail at some point even with light usage. Generally not fun/comfortable to use either.
I have tools from Ridgid
I’m in that fifth house that no-one ever seems to talk about: BOSCH.
J/K, I’m mostly Bosch, but I look towards whichever manufacturer makes the best version of a tool I currently need. For example, my chainsaws and yard/orchard power tools are Stihl, my lawnmower is Husqvarna, my circular saw, worm drive saw and abrasion/steel cutoff saw are all Skilsaw (not Skil!), and my oscillating multi tool is Fein.
Plus, many of the domestics are vintage, from before production was outsourced out of America, which makes them much more reliable and robust than modern tools. Even some of the other tools are vintage – my Stihl 076 Super can cut through a 60cm log like a hot knife through butter. And I have both 36″ and 72″ bars to go with it.
I always lean towards Bosch where possible, mainly because of their charitable work. The founder set things up so that it’s perpetually funded from the company profits. That just appeals to me as the tiebreaker when deciding between a bunch of similarly priced tools that will otherwise do the job well enough.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Bosch_Stiftung
That said, I tend to go for corded options where practical. I have some corded tools that I’ve owned for over thirty years now that still get occasional use. Battery tools are convenient for their portability, but they do have a limit to their useful life.
Makita still going strong after 15yrs of use. They were the best at the time and still works amazing today with backwards compatibility batteries. My 15yrs old driver can use a brand new battery that a 2023 model uses.
Drill a 1/2" hole through 4" thick stainless without a hiccup on a single battery. Then tap the hole on the same battery. Impressive power and reliable
4 inch thick stainless steel? What in tarnation is that for?
Adding a lift point. Did 12 of them and the driver was on the toasty side when done
A lift point on what, though?
Large pieces of billet material, lift point added for moving between machines on the first 2 operations. Afterwards the item is light enough to pickup. Roughly 323lbs of material removed in the first 2 operations. Then the items went on to 6 months of machining to complete them. Very expensive one off pieces manufactured during R&D. Final products are low number runs of 2-3 items that take 5 months to manufacture. This was a single piece in a larger piece of equipment that I manufactured. Largest tolerance on the item was 0.0005" with true position at 0.0001". Challenging item to handle and machine
What were they parts of?
Wafer manufacturing. High heat application for the unit, part described is the main internal platter
House DeWalt: The Builders
House Ryobi: The Slapjobs
House Milwaukee: The wishes they were house DeWalt
House Makita: Quality prevails regardless of how little I use my tools.
Unmentioned:
House Bosch: House Makita but doesn’t like Asians
House Metabo: House Milwaukee but green
House Rigid: wow these are fuckin cheap
House Worx: Tools take a backseat to Yardwork
House Metabo HPT: My wife says they’re great
Nah Makita is trash, unless you’re talking LXT, which is 36 volt. Most of the Milwaukee stuff comes out on top on the torque test channel on YouTube.
But also don’t forget House Skil: Issue
How about dads who went with the discount hardware store’s brand. It’s easily 1/4 Dewalt prices and comes with a 5 year no questions asked warranty? I spent like 80euros on two 18V cordless drills. I keep the receipt in the case they came in, and in the last 8 years I’ve abused the shit out of them, and have had at least one replacement. Just like Dewalt, makita, milwaukee, and ryobi, I have several batteries and charges, and a plethora of tools with the same battery.
I went to the store with a beat up drill, and the pimply faced teen at the register was like wtf?!? But the manager didn’t want the full story on the phone. Only three questions “is it [store brand]?” “is the receipt less than 5 years old?” and “what are you calling me for then?”. New drill, new case and new receipt. Oldest drill is about 4.5 years old now, so I guess that I have to torture the hell out of it and get a new one with 5 more years.
People talk shit about Harbor freight, but I have walked into that store with a box full of burnt up power tools and had absolutely no problems getting my money back or new tools. That bonus warranty for two dollars has paid for itself I don’t even know how many times. And you don’t have to buy a new warranty on every tool. You just have to buy that once and you get unlimited exchanges.
This tracks.
DeWalt: high quality and good pedigree but overpriced = Slytherin
Milwaukee: basically the same as DeWalt, but less pretentious. Thinks they’re better and tougher though = Gryffindor
Makita: the smart choice for value, also best colors = Ravenclaw
Ryobi: I know it will break, but they’re just tools and I’m not serious about this anyway. I would rather spend more money on my family or other hobbies = Hufflepuff
Honorable mentions of other “houses” and schools in the thread.
Black and Decker/Craftsman/whatever. Used to be very impressive, but completely corrupted. Probably evil = Durmstrang (Russian school)
Festool: Beautiful, absolutely dripping with wealth signals. Still pretty amazing at what they do, but you might not want them on a job site = Beauxbatons (super wealthy French school)
Harbor freight: Simple, potentially the most powerful but also likely to break. Can probably accomplish what you need by using a wrench as a hammer, but you wouldn’t want to do anything delicate with it. Actually the biggest group of dad-wizards = Uagadou (the school in Uganda where magic was invented but they don’t use wands)
I don’t know where you shop but DeWalt is cheaper than Milwaukee and Makita. Project Farm tests show Milwaukee as usually best but trades wins against Makita.
So no, DeWalt isn’t overpriced. It’s cheaper and less quality. Neither is Milwaukee equivalent to DeWalt. Milwaukee/Makita are better, sometimes incredibly better than DeWalt but at a much higher price.
For example a drill with battery on Amazon is:
DeWalt: $99 Makita: $149 Ryobi: $73 Milwaukee: $144
At Home Depot and Lowes, the price difference between DeWalt and Milwaukee is even bigger.