stuff where you can really tell the difference....

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  • JimD
    Veteran Member
    • Feb 2003
    • 4187
    • Lexington, SC.

    #16
    I think the trick is to spend the extra money necessary to get good performance and not just to waste money to get a better tool when it isn't really necessary. I could afford a nicer table saw than my BT3100 and I think about it occasionally but the BT3100 is far better than any other table saw I've owned and it does not limit me. I wish it had a miter gauge but I can give it one.

    I don't know if they're still available but I have "footprint" chisels, an English brand, and they are hugely better than my Craftsman chisels. I use the latter for srapping glue and beating on. I use the good ones when I want to shave a bit of wood off.

    I think there are several brands of routers that will do good work but most Craftsman routers are junk as are some Ryobi's. My old R-500 plunge router started sticking but it's motor is still giving me good service in my router table. For hand held work I use my PC690s or Colt.

    I usually buy Freud sawblades but I was pleasantly surprised with a CMT router bit and also one of their sawblades. I usually buy MLCS router bits. I don't think MLCS are the best bits but they are good enough and I like the free shipping and good customer service.

    The brand I understand the least is Festool. The drinkers of the green Kool Aide say they are far better than other brands and worth the money. I just can't see 2X the price of other good tools as supportable. I might buy a Domino someday but I can't see a Kadex and I am very happy with my DeWalt track saw.

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    • bigstick509
      Veteran Member
      • Dec 2004
      • 1227
      • Macomb, MI, USA.
      • BT3100

      #17
      Originally posted by JimD
      I think the trick is to spend the extra money necessary to get good performance and not just to waste money to get a better tool when it isn't really necessary. I could afford a nicer table saw than my BT3100 and I think about it occasionally but the BT3100 is far better than any other table saw I've owned and it does not limit me. I wish it had a miter gauge but I can give it one.

      I don't know if they're still available but I have "footprint" chisels, an English brand, and they are hugely better than my Craftsman chisels. I use the latter for srapping glue and beating on. I use the good ones when I want to shave a bit of wood off.

      I think there are several brands of routers that will do good work but most Craftsman routers are junk as are some Ryobi's. My old R-500 plunge router started sticking but it's motor is still giving me good service in my router table. For hand held work I use my PC690s or Colt.

      I usually buy Freud sawblades but I was pleasantly surprised with a CMT router bit and also one of their sawblades. I usually buy MLCS router bits. I don't think MLCS are the best bits but they are good enough and I like the free shipping and good customer service.

      The brand I understand the least is Festool. The drinkers of the green Kool Aide say they are far better than other brands and worth the money. I just can't see 2X the price of other good tools as supportable. I might buy a Domino someday but I can't see a Kadex and I am very happy with my DeWalt track saw.
      I agree regarding the overpricing of the Festool brand. It is easy to find a mid to high end tool at about half the price. That being said I do use some of there products, clamps and MFT tops in conjunction with other brands like the Dewalt track saw. The only tool that can't be duplicated is the domino to my knowledge. I have seen a home built clone from Stumpy Nubs over on his youtube channel but at best its just a novelty. At 950 I think I can wait for a alternative from another brand.
      Last edited by bigstick509; 02-25-2015, 07:43 AM.

      Mike

      "It's not the things you don't know that will hurt you, it's the things you think you know that ain't so." - Mark Twain

      Comment

      • leehljp
        Just me
        • Dec 2002
        • 8429
        • Tunica, MS
        • BT3000/3100

        #18
        My dad left me a Starrett 24" combination-square. I have used squares and other combination-squares, but that starrett just stays square and is tough and durable. I would not have bought one new at their prices, but having used one for 19 years, I would certainly replace it if I lost it - with a new one. I don't even know where my old non-starrett is anymore. May have given it away.
        Hank Lee

        Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

        Comment

        • Carpenter96
          Established Member
          • Aug 2011
          • 178
          • Barrie ON Canada
          • BT 3000

          #19
          The first thing I ask my students is what is your budget for tools. If they can't afford to pay rent because they went and bought the best tool in the world it's really not going to help them. I tell them to buy the best tool that they can afford. There used to be a much broader spread of quality tools. Now you seem to either have cheap crap or very good but expensive tools, the mid-level tools are not quite as prevalent. Now on the expensive Kreg Jig I had one of my students drop mine and break the bushing so I called Kreg and asked if I could purchase just the bushing and they said no but if you could give us your mailing address we will send you a new at no charge for the jig or shipping. All they asked is where I had bought the original. From the posts about track saws I have seen the blade seems to be what matters the most. Does anyone remember when the only biscuit tool was Lamelo or the only oscillating tool was Fien they were both very expensive, I imagine that when the patent runs out on the domino then we will see an influx cheaper versions. If you spent everything on tools you may not be able to afford material.

          Regards Bob

          Comment

          • lrr
            Established Member
            • Apr 2006
            • 380
            • Fort Collins, Colorado
            • Ryobi BT-3100

            #20
            Originally posted by JimD

            The brand I understand the least is Festool. The drinkers of the green Kool Aide say they are far better than other brands and worth the money. I just can't see 2X the price of other good tools as supportable. I might buy a Domino someday but I can't see a Kadex and I am very happy with my DeWalt track saw.
            I'll not argue with anyone on Festool pricing. Festool is a very expensive tool line. But what high-end German product is not expensive? Lots of people pay pretty amazing sums of money for a Mercedes-Benz, Audi, or a BMW. I'm happy to send my money east, over the pond, to Germany, rather than west, to China, once in awhile.

            I'm at a point in my life where I want the best in tools. I spent what seemed like an outrageous sum of money at the time for a Festool track saw. It is an absolute delight to use. No regrets here. I used one of their sanders at a woodworking show a few years ago -- same thing -- amazing results, how can their sanders be so great? Isn't a sander a sander? It is really hard to appreciate a Festool product until you try one.

            Finally, Festool designs almost all of their tools with quiet operation and dust extraction in mind. My track saw does not have the harsh scream of my other circular saws, and it leaves virtually no sawdust behind. It is also a plunge saw, with retracting riving knife -- pretty nice features.

            OK, I'll step down from my soap box. Enough said. Carry on.
            Last edited by lrr; 02-25-2015, 07:01 PM.
            Lee

            Comment

            • leehljp
              Just me
              • Dec 2002
              • 8429
              • Tunica, MS
              • BT3000/3100

              #21
              Originally posted by lrr
              I'll not argue with anyone on Festool pricing. Festool is a very expensive tool line.

              Finally, Festool designs almost all of their tools with quiet operation and dust extraction in mind. My track saw does not have the harsh scream of my other circular saws, and it leaves virtually no sawdust behind. It is also a plunge saw, with retracting riving knife -- pretty nice features.

              OK, I'll step down from my soap box. Enough said. Carry on.
              I am not wealthy but I do have some friends and relatives that climbed the corporate ladder or did a good job of getting wealthy. Their houses in the higher priced sections of Memphis are not your middle income houses. Caulking to fill a small kerf is a no-no. Perfection is everything and they can afford it. They pay for skilled professional workers, usually with top of the line tools. Most don't have Festools but some do. You will see Fein and other top of the line tools in their midst. Most of these contract folks have fairly good organized work trucks/trailers that are clean. When working on/in a 1 to 5 million dollar house, they want comparable skills. If one is impressed with the low noise, that guy will be invited back or referred to someone else.
              Hank Lee

              Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

              Comment

              • leehljp
                Just me
                • Dec 2002
                • 8429
                • Tunica, MS
                • BT3000/3100

                #22
                I am in need of some knee pads to put down some locking wood flooring (4 rooms). I have used the HF and another cheap pair off and on over the past 15 years. It isn't worth it for the HF ones for me. The plain strap of HF and the other cheap brand cut into the back of the knee and then fall off if they are not tight enough. After posting today, the response plus looking as some at Lowes, there certainly is a difference between HF, other $5.00 and better quality knee pads.

                I am looking for gel type with wide elastic bands.

                Cheap pads will make one wonder if knee pads are worth it at all! There is a difference, as this thread is all about!
                Hank Lee

                Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

                Comment

                • phrog
                  Veteran Member
                  • Jul 2005
                  • 1796
                  • Chattanooga, TN, USA.

                  #23
                  Paint brushes. After spending a great amount of time picking "hairs" out of my paint or other finish, I decided to spring for good brushes. A painter friend of mine recommended Purdy. After buying and using one Purdy, I decided to buy several more. I won't buy any other brand now unless I'm working on a project where a few stray hairs don't matter.

                  Edit: Another friend of mine said Sherwin Williams premium brushes or also good but I haven't tried them.
                  Richard

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