WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE TOOL BRAND?

Powermatic for power tools, DeWalt for power hand tools and Lie-Nielsen for hand tools in general.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

I’ll place a vote for my Shopsmith 520, and their special purpose tools and accessories. I also love my Sojberg workbench, and Clifton hand planes. Just about anything made by Starrett or Veritas also catches my eye.

-- "Heaven is North of the Bridge"

Depends on the individual tool and the time frame it was made.

I would take an early 50’s unisaw (cast iron plinth) over a late 90’s Powermatic

My favorites on an industrial scale, the Italians build the best CNC and Moulders ( SCM), the Americans build the best clamps by far (Taylor) and the Germans build the best saws (Altendorf). Power tools, Bosch , but I can,t get decent hand tools here and it,s limited to Stanley and some chinese brands which are identical to the stanleys anyway.

-- if the hand is not working it is not a pure hand

I really don’t have a favorite brand I have several brands that I prefer (Bosh, Makita, Milwaukee, etc). To me tools are too specialized to a specific task to prefer one brand for every tool. The main thing I look for in a tool is how comfortable I am using it.

-- Warning: Sharp chisels are dangerous and should be handled with care. Dull chisels are even more dangerous and should be sharpened.

This sort of topic is a no win deal. When I was a kid, it was ford vs chevy, or, where I came from, John Deere vs Farmall. By the way, what brand beer do you drink? Is it because you think it is the best, or simply because you like it?

-- "non illegitimis carborundum"

LOL, I think we all need to learn to lighten up a little! No one is asking you to swear by one brand over another, he’s just what tools do you like and/or are you favorites?

Right now I like Crown turning tools, along with Thompson. I just got an Easyrougher and love it. I like my Powermatic lathe, my SawStop table saw, my Grizzly band saw, my Grizzly 8” jointer/planer, my Dewalt Planer, my Dewalt routers, my Clearvue cyclone.

Will I like something different later on? Probably. :)

-- Chip -- Manchester, Connecticut "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

I’d have to say Makita for handtools

Festool (Power Tools)
Veritas (Hand Tools)
Ulmia – E.C.E. – Primus (hand Tools)
Record (Hand Planes)
Sauer & Steiner (Infill PLanes)
Holtey (Infill PLanes)

-- Francisco Luna, San Francisco Bay Area.

For simple hand tools, I prefer Memakeit.
Especially using recycle parts.

-- Randy, Rustic Artisan, a family tradition. (No PM's - auto-deleted.) - "I am a seeker, not a follower."

Bosh, Makita, Milwaukee, Dewalt, PC…some Ridgid corded, no Ridgid Battery tools…I’m a carpenter by day so they need to pass the ladder test…...

-- Todd, Oak Ridge, TN, Hello my name is Todd and I'm a Toolholic, I bought my last tool 10 days, no 4 days, oh heck I bought a tool on the way here! †

I like the ones that when I say to my wife… “ah, hon”... and she says, “go ahead get it…” Even if she does roll her eyes.

seriously, in my limited experience. I’m really liking at this point Bosch for their good design and accuracy and porter cable for just being well made and durable.

-- The smell of wood, coffee in the cup, the wife let's me do my thing, the lake is peaceful. http://web.me.com/deceiver6/Deceiver/Craftsman_on_the_lake/Craftsman_on_the_lake.html

My favorites seem to be that ones that I do not own yet…Whats with that!!

-- Hope Never fails

My machines are Delta and steel city
Power tools porter cable and makita

If and when I upgrade certain items or purchase new machinery (still need a bandsaw, dust collector, miter saw, drill press), steel city will probably be my first place to look. Awesome stuff at reasonable prices and some new innovations too (granite tops, helical cutterhead lunchbox planers, granite wheel bandsaw, etc.)

-- "It's a good thing my woodworking is done afterhours so my 2 year old daughter can't hear the swearing."

I clicked through to this topic when it first came up, then didn’t say anything, but today on another forum Steve Adams said “Never complain about a messy shop when it’s making money”.

II think the same thing is true of tools: I like any tool that makes money.

Now woodworking is just a hobby for me, so “makes money” involves slightly different criteria, but I like any tool that lets me implement my vision with as little frustration as possible, in order to keep me sane for the activities which actually do make money for me. But I’d imagine the overall criteria are roughly the same in a commercial shop: Does this tool cause the least amount of down-time and frustration for a skilled worker?

I love the Porter Cable 7518 router in the Jessem lift in my router table. It just works, no futzing about with it.

I’m a little less happy with my Porter Cable detail sander, it’s noisy and doesn’t hold the paper on very well, I think that (and the Black & Decker Mouse and the Ryobi detail sander) will be replaced with the Festool LS before too long. The Porter Cable sander was cheap, but after a few sessions trying to get the sandpaper holder to seat right we’re back to “does this tool make me money, or cost it?”

I love my Craftsman random orbital sander for what it is, a cheap noisy sander that works, and is great for when I’m doing finishing or gap filling and need to both sand and generate sawdust. The Festool sanders are quiet and balanced and don’t leave much dust, which something I’ve had trouble with when I was trying to fill gaps with cyanoacrylate.

I love my Craftsman circular saw, for all of those situations where I don’t want to risk dinging up my Festool saw, like putting the griding blade on it and cutting tile.

So far I love my DeWalt 735 lunchbox planer, but if I had the room in my shop for a real fixed planer with a nicer blade system, I’d get one.

Festool is where I start looking for tools, but it’s not like those tools are without flaw. I use them as my “would I be happier with the Festool version”, and often when I try both tools out the answer is “yes”.

-- Dan Lyke, Petaluma California, http://www.flutterby.net/User:DanLyke

I have mostly delta stationary machines. I just got a used jet1236 lathe for $400 which I think is a fantastic machine (Shouldn’t have bought it, but couldn’t pass on the price)

for portable power tools I like bosch by far the most. I have porter cable, dewalt, milwaukee, but bosch tools are well designed and engineered at a reasonable price. if money was no option, I’d say One way, minimax, festool, and a few others I don’t have and could never afford.

for hand tools, I enjoy using my old stanley tools past down for generation to generation. I like using tools that my family members also once used…. and kept sharp, they still work well

-- Sean Buffalo, New York

Anything Pre-1959.

-- http://www.federalsaw.com

My machinery is mostly Powermatic. I do have some Delta, and a Jet drill press. For hand power tools I like Porter Cable and Bosch. My air tools are Bostitch including the air compressor.

-- Wayne - Plymouth MN

My favorite tool is any quality one that I can buy used, for 50% of original cost or less, on Craigslist :>).

And I do find great deals this way.

-- -JimmyC...Clayton,NC- "Just smile and wave boys, smile and wave"

I wanted to say I don’t really have a favorite brand, but then I remembered, even though it doesn’t have a brand name, my favorite is my Brain. It allows me to think when I need to cut, sand, drill or make a stupid comment. it’s the ultimate multi-tasking tool. We all need tools that do more than one thing and take up such little space.

I have Lots of Ryobi cordless tools, that some people scoff at, and I have Old Craftsman and Bosch things too. As already said though, I’m not loyal to a brand, but the idea of whichever piece makes my work easier at the time. AFTER my brain.

-- Respect your shop tools and they will respect you - Ric

I’m fairly ‘brand agnostic’. If I determine that I need a new tool, I scour the review sites and stores on the web so I can make an educated purchase. Things I look for? In this order.

1. Quality
2. Value
3. Price

I don’t mind paying more for the first two. If more than one tool has equal amounts of #1 and #2 then #3 is my ‘tie breaker’. I won’t buy a particular tool out of loyalty. Some companies make better X tool than another. And that other might make better Y tool than the previous one.

Just my two cents. :)

-- Matt - My Websites - http://www.bestinwood.com - Hand Tools :: http://www.workshopgarage.com - Small Shops

Good quality ones that do the job.

I have a method I use for tools. The more I will use the tool better the quality I will get.

Something I will use 1 or 2 times a year if that, either I won’t get it or I get an inexpensive (cheap) one.

If it turns into something I end up using more and more, then I will know what features I want in a better
quality one.

-- Gary, East TX -- The longest journey begins with a single step.

- All my saws are Hitachi (TS, Miter, and Circulars) Not saying they are my favorite, they are just what I have. As far as circular saws go, the Hitachi is about my favorite.

- Power Drills: DeWalt

- Power Tools: Porter Cable

- Air Tools: Porter Cable / Bostich / Hitachi

-- Location: Birmingham, AL - Stimulate this Mr. President!

Hilti (anything)

-- Just 'cause a cat has kittens in the oven, it don't make 'em biscuits.

Older Craftsman and DeWalt.

-- Brian, Lebanon PA, If you aren’t having fun doing it, find something else to do.

I’ll try anything as long as it’s American made. I love my Craftsman hand tool collection and you can’t beat a lifetime warranty. However, with a lot of their power tools I noticed you end up buying their name and not so much quality. My carving tools are Sheffield.

-- Don't tell her I'm in the shop!

If I had to replace all of my tools, the only ones that I’d directly replace without hesitation are the Jet bandsaw with Carter upgrades, the Bosch and Triton routers, and the Triton powered respirator/hearing protector/brain bucket. Other than that, I’d probably start the research process over.

Whit

-- Even if to be nothing more than a bad example, everything serves a purpose.

Here are a few of my picks,

Radial arm saw…..... Omga
Table saw…....Delta
Router….....Porter Cable
Pin router…......Onsrud
Bandsaw…....Tannewitz
Saw blades….....Amana
Router bits…....Onsrud

Cheers,

Ben

Craftsman…My wife swings a big stick so I gotta be frugal. I do enjoy showing her the Festool price guides now and then!

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

Power hand tools – DeWalt
Band-Saw, lathe, drill press and oscillating sander – Grizzly
Table-Saw – Delta
Jointer – Jet
Routers – DeWalt and Porter Cable

I can say I like them all equally for their respective features and have not been disappointed.

-- Rich, WNY, www.nyrockingchairs.com

Any tool that gets the job done with minimal fuss and maximum accuracy.
Most likely if people have a ‘favorite’ it’s because they bought a tool and they were happy with it, not because they tried them all and picked the best.

If there was such a thing as a best brand, then there would only be 1, right?
I think you will get so many answers ( because, let’s face it, there are 1000’s of brands) that it won’t amount to anything, but it’s fun to ask anyway.

-- Steve, New Zealand, www.steveracz.com