The problem with "power max" tools is, you don't know whose tools
they actually are. For example, Wm puts out a spec that says
"circular saw, 6" blade, runs on 120V and has a cord x' long".
Then you, I, or anyone else can offer them our poducsts;
whoever's cheapest and has the least law suits pending gets the
order if they can supply the quantities on time. Usually they
will have at least two, they like three, different companies that
can supply the same specced circ. saw. They don'[t even have to
look the same!
B&D, Skil & Craftsman are all decent equipment and work well
for the homeowner. They have "residential" and "commercial" and
"industrial" versions sometimes, in order to sell the same basic
saw with various peripherals, etc., and usually the industrial
versions will last longer, cost more, and be less precise (eg
runout, in this case, on the shaft). Contractors don't want
precision necessarily: They want Power a la Home Improvement, so
the more expensive saws often arent' the best choices, besides
being more than you realy need ofr a homeowner.
Personally I've used or still use all three of those brands
and they've always been good tools. If you know what you're
buying, the chinese/japanese/etc. stuff can be good, but you
never know up front in my experience. I bought Japanese once,
not that most of them aren't already Japanese, because I'd used
one a neighbor loaned me, and it worked fantastic. Mine didn't
though; went thru two sets of brushes before I trash canned it.
The latest Woodworker's journal just ran an article about
them, and identified several Asian brands that, for instance,
beat the big three for shaft runout. The ten they tested had a
max .002" shaft runout while the "big names" went up to .004",
one at .009". Doesn't sound like much, but it is meaningful when
yuo're also putting a blade with its own runout on the shaft. A
blade with say .001" runout will cut terribly on a bad shaft, or
especially one that's not well balanced. Don't quote me; I could
have those numbers incorrect, but the relationships are right.
IFF you know what you're buying and can tell the mfg by
looking, Harbor Freight and Homier et al have some very low price
tools. But, it's a total crapshoot unless you know what you're
looking at.
Lately I'm liking B&D again, but if I recall correctly,
they're actually Makita. There has been a huge merging activity
in tool companies the last few years; no one seems to be the
names you know/knew anymore. Skil is another one that's
cross-owned; don't recall the rest.

My 2 cents anyway. ymmv of course.

Pop


davefr wrote:
Power Max, B&D, Skill, Harbor Freight, Craftsman are all the
low end
crap. (not much difference among them).

I'd buy the top shelf power tools such as Porter Cable,
Milwaukie,
Panasonic, Bosch and you'll be much happier in the long run.

On Tue, 28 Dec 2004 11:41:03 -0500, "Eli Sucks"
wrote:

Anybody have any experience with the walmart brand of power
tools
"power Max" ?
I was thinking of getting a circ saw for $39.99 CDN.
Should I just stick with B&D or Skil?
thanx
Steve W.