On Apr 18, 7:48 am, Robatoy wrote:

Big SNIP

Some companies get ahead by constantly improving their products. Other
by playing the 'dummies will buy anything' card.
When I look at a Skil or B&D piece, I feel insulted.-


I wouldn't get insulted about B&D and Skil. They served their purpose
- they are and have been homeowner-once-a-month-project-plastic tools
for almost as long as I can remember. They guy that live across the
street from me uses his cordless every few months for about 20 - 30
minutes. And he doesn't want to spend $200 - $300 on a drill.

I try not to say it too loud since most can't deal with it, but to me
the quality of most tools sold had gone from well made with good fit
and finish to just barely usable about 20 years ago. It has only
gotten worse.

I have a Milwaukee circular saw that has been rebuilt 4 times; new
bearings and brushes every time, and two new triggers. As a saw used
by me every day I was at work for years as a commerical carpenter,
then as a house framer, I am amazed it still works. I have had that
saw since I burned out my Rockwells, so it was purchases around '77.
My Milwaukee "hole shooter" was purchased in '76, before screwguns,
and was used by me for sheetmetal framing and equipment installation.

They cost a lot more than everything out there, but they were good
tools, reliable tools, so the money was not wasted.

I don't care about all the garbage the sell now. BUT what I do care
about is that I have less and less choices, and worse, I know that the
tools I buy are not the quality I want, and possbily at this time in
the wonderful world of woodworking, the may not be available. I don't
have choice.

The quality of "professional" tools sold now have been cheapened to
the point that they are actually the "homeowners" quality of years
ago. I hate that. Even when I buy a tool for a fair amount of money,
there is no joy, no satisfaction of knowing that I will have those
tools happily working on site for years.

But when I bought the Milwaukee equipment, I knew that I was "set", at
least for a while.

And what completely ****es me off is that some kinds of tools just
aren't available in quality anymore. NO MATTER what you pay for
them. We used to have a couple of suppliers here in town that carried
specific brands of tools for specific trades. You could go in a
marvel at the old turret topped Rockwell saws (still have my old 346)
and routers, the Millers Falls upper end drills and power saws, and
really nice tools by Blue Grass and Stanley. No more.

All the tools are the same, from Home Depot to Woodcraft. Yes, the
plane enthusiasts can go buy Lie Nieson instead of Stanley, but for
every day hard working tools I don't even know who makes them
anymore. For me an mine, I will call up another contractor and say
"hey - looking for a XXXX, got any ideas on that?". Many years ago I
would just get in the truck and go down and buy the brand I liked. No
shopping. But after breaking so many DeWalt, Porter Cable, and misc.
other tools, I find myself looking for a specific model, not brand
specific.

I like my 2 1/2 hp PC router, but hated the circular saw so much I
took it back. I like my DeWalt cordless drill, but hated the cordless
saw; my buddy's Sears cordless saw outperformed it in every way and
was less than half (literally) of the cost. My DeWalt laminate router
is pretty well made and nice to work with, but when installing tubular
skylights as part of the roofing end of my business we broke 4 of
their recip saws in 3 months.

In a very sneaky way, the bottom line driven companies have cheapened
every last aspect of engineering, assembly, quality control, and
materials. So we are left with nasty, throw away tools that aren't
reliable and don't last. A jewel is found from a manufacturer every
once in a while, and if I can use it, I will pay what is needed to get
that tool.

So I am glad when a guy like Leon takes a minute to post something
like his Grex review, and others here comment on it. I tuck those
things away - it is like finding a gold nugget in the ocean to have a
tool at any price live up to expectations.

Off the box now.

Robert