This week’s question comes from Shawn. He writes:
Hey Marc, I really enjoy your web site, keep up the great work. I’m thinking about going into woodworking full time and my shop now has more table top tools than big industrial tools. If money was not an issue which manufacturer of tools would be the best for a woodshop and why? I’m really torn between people saying this tool is better even though it’s cheaper than another or vice versa. Thanks in advance for your response, have a great day.
And here was my reply:
“Hey Shawn. The best piece of advice I can give you is not to get too hung up on brands. Even well-respected brands make a bad tool now and then, and budget brands occasionally make a show stopper. So the important thing is to be brand blind when shopping for tools. Now you might notice that I do not practice what I preach. Most of my tools are Powermatic. This is because, like many woodworkers, when I have a good experience with a tool, I tend to gravitate to that brand for future tool purchases. Its only natural that we do this and it makes sense. But depending on which brand we had a positive experience with, we all wind up being faithful to different companies. And this is why you will see devotees in each brand camp trying to convince you that their favorite brand is the best. And you know what the truth is? They are all pretty good. The key is to simply avoid the tool that has well-documented flaws. Even still, deciding which brand to go with can be tricky. So here is what I usually do. I read the Amazon.com reviews. I usually throw out the worst reviews and the best reviews and see what’s left. I also check out the latest reviews in the magazines (taken with a grain of salt of course). And if after all of that there is no clear winner, then I simply pick the color I like the most. And for me, that’s yellow (or is is baby poop color?). I have an unusual need for all of my tools to look the same. And I trust Powermatic based on my previous experiences. But I have heard great success stories from people using General, Steel City, Delta, and Grizzly tools as well. So if you want the best tool in each category, do your research and forget about brands. If you want to simplify your life, pick a color and do enough research to make sure you aren’t buying a dud. I am sure you will be happy with the results either way. Good luck.”
10 Responses to “What Tool Brand is Best?”
Extremely well put…..if you open a dozen wood mags. you’ll get a half dozen Top Buys. Most of these picks are based half and half on experienced statistics and collected opinions. But warning flags should be noted if more than a half dozen rate something as crap-in-a-box.
I’ve been building up my shop for the last couple of months and I recently spent hours in Woodcraft, Rockler, and Sumner Woodworking store (in Washington state). I feel the same way, that no one “brand” is superior to the rest because all the major brands do exceptionally well with some of their products and so-so with their other products.
I’m quite impressed with Steel City though. I learned (unconfirmed) that the company was created by a bunch of woodworking old timers with the intent of creating machines specifically designed for fine woodworkers. I was shown some features in their machines that is evident that a whole lot of thought and experience went into their designs. They don’t compromise for cost buy using cheaper material either.
Festool also greatly impresses me.
For me cost is a major factor so my method is to think of what I’ll be using a machine for and finding the least expensive machine that will do what I need it to do. It’s like not buying a $1,000 color copier with all the pretty bells and whistles when I only need to make black and white copies. Instead I buy the $200 black and white copier.
As you’ve probably guessed, I don’t own any machines from Steel City or Festool, but one day when I win the lottery…..
Shawn, I can’t remember who gave this advise, but I think it wise. “Find the best machine that your money can buy, then save a little longer and get the one that’s just better”. Over my life I have, almost 95% of the time, regretted buying something I felt was just O.K., but affordable. It pays to save and buy what you really want first. That way you don’t by one machine for the price of two.
Yea I have to agree with Vic. I also went with a more affordable to than regretted later not waiting and getting the better one.
I agree with Vic and Tim, after buying a couple of budget tools that never gave me what I wanted I discovered Festool (just plane Festo back then). I decided to bite the bullet and bought a sander. I have never looked back, I now have 3 sanders, 2 routers, a jigsaw and a shop vac ( I put the vac off for some time as they are pricey but I got one this April and I should have got one ages ago). They are pricy but that just means more haggle room to get a better price.
Here is my 2 cents Shawn,While I don’t disagree with the notion that you will never be dissappointed buying the best that you can afford, It’s not necessary to get the most expensive, I have Grizzly tablesaw and horizonal boreing machine, Jet bandsaw, General 15″ planner.(so much for matching colors) Mark’s advice is good read the reviews. There are alot of good machines out there by different manufactures.
My advice is to learn the most you can, I have seen some very fine pieces of furniture come out of some very basic shops.
Jim
All the above are excellent thoughts — no argument. Whatever the case, if it comes down to waiting a while longer to save up versus buying cheap now — WAIT.
In terms of specifics, I too love my Festools. I’ll never own a BMW car but I sort of think of these as my BMW tools. Not perfect (I don’t much care for their jigsaw and tend to use my Bosch more) but overall they are batting about a 975. My DeWalt impact drivers remain the most used tools in the shop and they apparently don’t ever wear out. I, too, love Powermatic stationary tools but like my Delta drill press better than the Yellow one.
So as you can see from all these replies, there is no one answer to your question; but, you are on the right track – asking questions and looking around. Good luck.
Is a mini lathe powerful enough to turn bowls. I was considering buying the Steel City variable speed model.
Thanks,
Peter
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Hey Peter. I used to use a Jet Mini Lathe to turn bowls all the time. It wasn’t the most powerful thing in the world, but it was certainly capable. I can’t imagine the Steel City version will be all that different. The biggest limitation you will probably find is the size of bowl that you can turn. The mini lathes can be a little limited in that area.
I have very few powertools in my collection. Two Craftsman, one Skihl, one Rockler brand, one Chicago Electric. (and one unknown, but I haven’t tried to break it in yet.)
They do the job as advertised. Nothing fancy, but they work. They were acquired on a “least cost” basis. (except for the lathe. layaway. And worth it.)
I particularly pay attention to Wood Magazine’s listings. Not that they are gospel truth, but they tend to break down tools more clearly to me. (plus I’m too lazy to pay for any subscriptions; I can snag the current issues from my father for a week or two.) I have noticed that one I had my eye on was rated poorly, and it was given that rating (I think it was a dovetail jig) because it was not easily adjusted.
The thing that seems fitting to me is that in woodworking, you need to take a “long view” approach to everything. From staining the end projects to buying tools to start them.