On Sun, 06 Mar 2005 00:25:08 +0000, John Stumbles
wrote:



On the other hand cheap tools can give you useful experience of that
type of tool and help you decide whether you really need a better (and
more expensive) one. Ultimately if you use it enough to break it you
know that you do!

I think that this is fair comment. One could do this with a low end
product, but with a mid range it may not be justifiable moving up to
the high end if it involves dumping the mid range, and therefore being
left kicking oneself for not buying the better one in the first place.

Also, there are cases where the real entry level gives a poor
impression of the tool type in general. Jigsaws are a very good
example of this.

Perhaps we could put in a few notes on where we know of exceptions
like this.




High End

Makita, Trend, Bosh (blue bodied), Hitachi, Festool, Fein, Lamello,
Freud, Elu, Metabo, DeWalt
Ryobi
Atlas-Copco/Milwaukee



I agree with you regarding Milwaukee. They are a very popular trade
tool in the U.S. and seem to be more popular than DeWalt for the trade
market.

I have difficulty with placing Ryobi anywhere above mid range.......





****



Really ought to say something about batteries and chargers(/cookers :-)
since this is a big factor wrt cordless tools and a lot of people don't
pay much attention to them.

Definitely. Also motors and motor control.




Overall I think this is a general intro but we could do with specifics
of particular tools including corded and cordless drills (e.g. geared
speeds, variable speed, hammer, sds, roto stop, weight, torque limit,
safety clutch, chuck size & type) jigsaws, circular saws, routers, angle
grinders ....


If you mean generic comments to this level of detail, I completely
agree. It's probably better to avoid getting too much into product
and model specifics because experiences vary and information is likely
to change quickly as models come and go. I don't think that any of
us has the time to maintain a list like that.




--

..andy

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