Feedback on Craftsman tools

[cezanne]

Re: Feedback on Craftsman tools

Milwaukee undoubtedly makes the best reciprocating saw on the market.

Word. The Milwaukee corded Sawzall is a beast. It will dismantle a house in no time.

[Kungpao]

Re: Feedback on Craftsman tools

someone mentioned harbour freight. FWIW, Harbour Freight hand tools are also guaranteed for life.

I look at power tools this way. Buy a decent affordable brand according to the jobs that you plan on doing for it. For instance, most of my tools are B&D. Would I like DeWalt tools? Absolutely! Do I plan on doing projects that require the durability of the contractor grade tools? Nope. I'll settle for my less expensive b&d. As for sears power tools, I haven't had any problems with the ones I own.

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Feedback on Craftsman tools

someone mentioned harbour freight. FWIW, Harbour Freight hand tools are also guaranteed for life.

I look at power tools this way. Buy a decent affordable brand according to the jobs that you plan on doing for it. For instance, most of my tools are B&D. Would I like DeWalt tools? Absolutely! Do I plan on doing projects that require the durability of the contractor grade tools? Nope. I'll settle for my less expensive b&d. As for sears power tools, I haven't had any problems with the ones I own.

Harbor Freight can warrant their products for life because their markup is so high it's cheaper to simply replace a defective product that has a high percentage markup. They take a chance the product won't break or if it does the customer won't take advantage of the warranty because of their cheap retail price. But if the product does come back for warranty service, a simple replacement is all that's needed because the initial retail sale probably just paid for the replacement several times over.

Regarding picking the value for the job, I agree. Home Depot sells Ryobi all the way up to Dewalt, Ridgid, Makita and other professional lines of tools. If a customer tells me he's just doing work around the house or a simple addition to the garage, a Ryobi table saw is fine. I have the $99 10" Ryobi table saw and am quite satisfied with it. It'll rip an 8' long 2x4 stud into a 2x3 with no problem.

But if you buy tools because you are a carpenter or rely on your tools for your bread and butter, I don't recommend Ryobi at all. The only time I do recommend Ryobi to contractors is for back up. Many carpenters come in because their tools were stolen at the jobsite while they ate lunch. When that happens, they have to stop work, rush down to a tool store and buy another set while there's still sunshine to work in.

I tell them that the Ryobi cordless combo sets are so cheap (under $250 for a 7-piece set) that they can keep that set in their truck ready to complete a job if their expensive professional brand tools are lost, stolen or break.

When you're out at a jobsite, for every tool that breaks or gets stolen, that's hourly wages you don't earn. If you earn $25 an hour and it takes you three hours to buy another cordless impact drill, that's $75 out of your pocket. You can buy a cordless Ryobi impact drill for under $70 and finish the job and not lose any wages. The standby paid for itself at that point.

I have Ryobi cordless power tools and with that I built a 10x10 cottage in my backyard. Less than $350 in tools total and the job's done plus the tools are still working for the next project.