Memes

Be prepared for endless mockery no matter which direction you go. Best of luck sir.

Bosch: never the best choice, but always a good one.

https://www.festoolusa.com obvs

Dewalt if you want it to last forever

Milwuakee if you want to put it in a cool box

Ryobi if you're broke but dont live near a harbor freight

Festool if you have a trust fund

Depends on what you're doing, and how often you're going to be doing it.

For mechanical tools, I like both Harbor Freight and Gearwrench. I like Gearwrench a lot more, but I haven't managed to break any Harbor Freight tools yet that weren't air or electric. For basic sockets, etc., it will be fine for almost everyone. (Spend more for torque wrenches though; don't cheap out on those.) HF tools have pretty limited sizes though; they don't have anything really large, like about around 25mm. Unless you are a professional mechanic, you probably shouldn't waste your money on Matco or Snap-On.

For most cordless general and woodworking tools I like Makita. For more specialized powered hand tools I love Festool, but do not try to fill a shop with them. Just get the ones that no one else makes an equivalent of, like their Rotex sanders, or the domino joiner.

For woodworking shop tools--things that aren't portable--buy old Delta or Powermatic, particularly stuff that is in no way shape or form portable. Trying to do any serious cabinetry on a job-site table saw is an exercise in frustration and wasted material. A tabletop jointer won't give you good results.

And for hand-powered cutting tool, like chisels, pull-saws, planes, etc... Be prepared to start spending a lot of money. Hand planes alone can set you back a few hundred each, like for Lee Valley 'Veritas' planes. And that's not even getting into the water stones that you're going to need to keep them working in perfect condition.

My dad gave me a set of tools when I moved out. The choice was made for me.

I have an old corded Milwaukee drill that I inherited from my dad. The torque is so strong it will fly out of your hand if you’re not careful, and the whole body is made of metal. If you happen across old tools like that, snatch em up.

In honor of my dad, I also bought a new Milwaukee to go along with it. I adore that thing.

Meh, fuck brand loyalty. Keep an eye out for used tools. If it's tough enough to make it to round 2, its demonstrated some selection bias. For some stuff you just need to weigh how much you're going to use it to decide how much you want to spend. If you're using it enough to be frustrated with it every time you take it out, time to upgrade that one.

In the EU -

Makita - what most folk use

DeWalt - what posers with tan boots use

Bosch Professional (the blue stuff) - what pros use

Ryobi -

Second harbor freight and dewalt. I work industrial maintenance and use Pittsburgh impact sockets and wrenches,and dewalt for power tools. No problems at all. If you want tool truck quality,def gear wrench and even icon(their wrenches were tested and proven to beat snap on),for a fraction of cost. I use and abuse a set of icon chrome sockets,and they take a beating and keep going.

Genuine question, is there some reason you can mix and match tools?

I’m sorry, is this some sort of suburban thing that I’m too metrosexual renter to understand? All I have or need are sundry decent-quality hand tools and a plug-in electric drill.

I'm a big fan of buying power tools twice. I happen to go Ryobi for the first round but Harbor Freight / Northern Tool are probably similar.

If you can stand the fuss, buy corded tools and skip the brand loyalty that comes with batteries.

The biggest killer of cheaper power tools is generally heat. There are plastic components in the drive train. They hold up great to short jobs, but heat is their kryptonite. If you let a Ryobi tool cool down whenever you notice it getting warm to the touch it'll last a long time. If you need to run a tool for hours at a time then skip the fuss and go straight to a more brand with a good reputation like DeWalt, Makita, Bosch, or Milwaukee.

Depends if you use your tools to make money.

I do, so I spend good money on good quality with good warranty.

In Australia that's snappon for hand tools and Milwaukee for power tools.

It costs me a lot of time if I have to go back and buy a broken tool again.

Time is money

I always start with harbor freight. When I break that one, I buy a nice version of whatever it was. I don't buy "nice" tools very often. HF is nearly always "good enough."

Ryobi cordless tools because I'm a light duty user. Wiha screwdrivers because I'm worth it (and they are worth it). And the nice Hakko soldering tools because I use those more.

Yep. Had a family member buy me Ryobi and 2 batteries. Guess I'm a Ryobi man now

There's nothing wrong with going back to old hand tools that were made when James K. Polk was in the White House. Who needs a DeWalt when you've got a hand drill?

Makita. Best tools that aren't stupid expensive.

In Europe, LIDL's Parkside lineup is fantastic. The battery lineup is a system, with two battery types, a 12V and a 20V. Their battery and charger lineup is great, cheap and reliable. A 2Ah is 20€, and an 8Ah for 50€. The 8Ah has bluetooth (I thought it was a gimmick, but is surprisingly useful!)

The range is astounding, having tools that no major brand has. I have a convertible saw that can be a sawzall or a jigsaw that has no right to work so well as it does in both modes, or a tiny rotary drill, smaller than a full size battery hammer drill, that is a little beast.

I used to own a sign shop so I kind of know a bit about these tools. Sign shops work with almost all materials, from metal to wood to plastics, to concrete and masonry, so the range of power tools we had was bewildering. My shop was team yellow with the odd Hitachi, now Hikoki. When I closed the shop I kept some of them. DeWalt is very, very good, but for DIY purposes, LIDL's Parkside is my go to now.

I would place much, but not all the lineup at prosumer level, with features like all-metal one-hand-locking chucks, metal gearcases, brushless versions, and more.

I hate this so much that because of their proprietary battery slots you have to stick with one brand. And I can't understand how this is even legal in UE when they spend so much time and resources to push usb-c as a standard and even made Apple bend. Why would you allow this, it's much worse than a cable on ecological level

(I'm not saying that usb-c was a bad thing, far from it!)

Most consumer tools are made by like 2 or 3 companies, they all have different colors but are largely the same guts within a parent company's holdings.

Direct tools factory outlet is run by TTI. Milwaukee, Rigid, Ryobi are all made by TTI. Stanley Black and Decker owns Dewalt, Black and Decker (duh), Craftsman, MAC Tools and Porter cable.

Bauer and Hercules are doin their own thing but the batteries are pretty decent.

https://www.protoolreviews.com/power-tool-manufacturers-who-owns-them/

Going to work on cars? Milwaukee. Not going to work on cars? Can save a few bucks with Dewalt, the nailguns and saws are real nice. I say this as someone who has a LOT of Ryobi but they just don't work as well as the better stuff. If I had either of the two big brands I could probably ditch my corded circular, jig and reciprocating saws. Same with the 4in grinder.

Hand tools just mix and match, they don't need to be the same brand.

Do what I do with every aspect in life. Mix and match. Brand loyalty is for the 50s and should remain there. When brands are not loyal to their customers, their customers should not be loyal to the brands. Plus, you get better tools for cheaper, overall. Though, this works less with power tools due to the proprietary batteries...

You can buy a Snap-On hat even if you don't own any of their tools