Often I see people within woodworking communities disagreeing on which brands of woodworking equipment , tools and machinery to use.

It made me wonder how people new to woodworking ever decide.
How do YOU choose which brands or models to purchase?
Do you trust online reviews? Ask your friends?

1st and most important, look to the company...
evaluate their CS and will they step up to the plate should there be issues...
see if they have a planned obsolesce program in force...
what will the company and their product do for me...
try to figure out if they will respect me in the morning...

no sense in buying something that can't be fixed a few years later...

next the product...
quality..
will it have a long productive life...
will it do more than I need it to....
is it a good value...
will it protect my bottom line...
will it go the extra mile...
will it go obsolete or become disposable in short order...

tools that don't cut the mustard, suffer down time, hurt production and the bottom line need to left on the store shelf...

Online reviews...
not too much...
read a few too many that my VOE said other wise...
I prefer to use and abuse different brands and evaluate them myself and I pay attention at large job sites as to who has what and what, if any, issues they are having......

the testers should eval a tool and then put it in production mode for a few years and then do another eval..

 

Tool Obsolescence



Your comment about planned obsolescence caught my attention as I have that problem with a tool that I have had for years and the model and replacement parts are no longer available. How do you find out information concerning planned obsolescence?

 

Being a Newbie these days I would be totally confused. There is so much good stuff out there it would be hard to decide. And a newbie hasn't had the experience doing woodworking so that compounds things by not fully realizing the correct steps required to build things.

Being a veteran woodworker , I have no problem by knowing what I want a tool to do,and reading the specs and reviews and comparing prices and then making the decision.

It would like me buying a computer and software to do things cool.
I would not have any idea where to start.

Herb

 

Not much to add to what @Stick486 said

Agree with the statement that their is some disagreement on forums as to what might be best, or at least what people like, but I've always taken that with a grain of salt; personal likes and dislikes don't mean much.

I watch a few do it shows and realizing that there are sponsors to the shows, I pay attention to what the professionals use.

Lastly, I have had a membership with Consumer Reports (hope I can say that) for quite a few years, and use the service to check their tests and reports when I'm about to make a substantial purchase.

 

Just ask Stick or Harry. How could you go wrong?

 

I get press releases from many of the tool companies and I talk on a regular basis to others. This is a great way to get information on new products which I usually share on the forums. IE.. routerforums was the first to announce the plunge base for the Bosch Colt routers... 9 months before they were released. I was able to get one of the prototype bases and present a review a couple weeks before the release.

A couple of the local forum members come by and test tools with me to provide differing views. With the input of other forum members we give an accurate view of a tools quality and value. This makes the forums one of the best places to get good advice. The best advice is still to get a tool in your hands and check it out yourself before dropping your hard earned money.

 

I like to read professional tool reviews, not so much the ones from average Joes. The reviews will tell you about things like is it powerful enough, how it handles, how easy and accurate to adjust, does it do it's intended job well, etc.

What any review won't tell you is how long it's going to last and that is a biggie. I'm not a big fan of buying new models of tools. I would rather wait a year or two and see what kind of reviews it's getting then. You can often see how a tool is rating by googling it and adding "reviews". Repair shops are another place to find out. Ask which tools they see a lot of and which ones they don't see. Of you can always ask here on the forum too.

 

Herb pointed out..."There is so much good stuff out there it would be hard to decide."

And there's the winning ticket. There (likely) isn't one best choice for everyone.
For most folks $500+/- is the tipping point where making the really wrong choice will hurt like Hell.
Less than that and I can suck it up and get on with things, over that and I'd be really depressed...
For a router purchase, going in for cheap is a really bad idea; unhappiness to follow. Something that is subject to the stresses that a router encounters needs stringent Engineering not cost accounting overseeing the design process.
(I don't care what anyone says, sintered metal bearings were invented by the Devil ... They're a deal breaker for me!)

 

@DaninVan...

''sintered metal bearings''...
been a while since I heard bushings called that...

and don't fret Dan...
I won't let spell check change DaninVan to Darwinian..

 

I agree with all of the above, especially Charles about not buying the newest thing out there. A lot of my tools have been following me around for 30,40 even 50 years and I want what I buy today to be high quality durable productive tools. I'm not one to buy what I can make so lots of things get put together here at home. Buy quality once buy for life. Buy junk buy again and again.

 

@Cricket...
that is one squared away picture...

 

I love that big photo....but...I had it drilled into me, "Never put a plane down on its sole!" They're supposed to be lain down on their sides
The folks that did the photo shoot aren't woodworkers; but they are good photographers.

 

I never thought of that , good catch Dan

 

Stick,
I have a 10" Delta Miter Saw and the plastic handle cracked. Part is no longer available. It's a really good tool. I have the handle held on with a few rubber bunji (sp) cords. I did find a tool place that has the handle but I would have to buy the entire motor assembly. I was going to try some epoxy when I have some free time. Any thoughts or suggestions?

 

There is a product called Plastaid. It will weld plastic parts. Mix a thin solution and use it to mate the parts in the cracks. Then mix a thick solution and use it on the inside. It works on almost all plastic except the plastic that has a Fiberglas base.

Al

 

I find it very hard to buy tools these days. Tools used to be built to compete on quality and how well they perform a task. Now it's all about the price. And that has been set by the buyer. So the manufacturers are giving us exactly what we want. Cheap tools. Even my beloved Porter Cable has been whoring out their tried and true routers to the lowest price they can put on it. Which can't be done without making a cheaper product.

Few of the tools are built the way they used to be. My second favorite tool the Uniaw has gone through its own stripping process.

So when I choose a tool I look for an older model and hope its in good shape. Fortunatly I don't need any tools at this stage of my woodworking. I've had the Unisaw for almost 30 years. Same with my PC 690s.

Al

 

totally agree...
my uni's are circa lat 40's and the PC's are late 80's...
maybe you should consider Bosch in the future... they still appreciate us....

 

I'm a labour only subcontractor and work on site with quite a few other people. Consequently we all get to have a go with each others tools to some extent.

For instance, as a carpenter I'm usually paired up with another carpenter. Might go to a different site and I'll be paired up with a different one.
I get a fair amount of tools out of the van to do a job but with the powertools I might get my plungesaw out and the other person might get his jigsaw out to use for the day, no point in doubling up on tools we get out of our respective vans.

He (or she as I've worked with women as well) gets to have a go with my plungesaw and I get to try their jigsaw out. Sort of a two way reviewing thing going on.

If you work in that kind of environment before long you have had a good go with pretty much every tool around and there's no single manufacturer that produces the best of everything. Most of them have their value DIY range.
My tools are an eclectic mix of Veritas, Stanley, Estwing, Rabone, Fisco, De-Walt, quite a few Hitachi's, Metabo, Festool, Paslode and loads more.

I don't often go into a purchase thinking what can I buy from a particular manufacturer, I want a tool and see whats best the that I can afford.

Nowadays with a few companies producing more and better cordless tools I can see me picking the manufacturer with the best overall line up that use the same battery platform.

 

So bottom line, lay a smallish piece of carpeting on your work area and place your planes vertically on that, and that only(?)...

 

If you work in that kind of environment before long you have had a good go with pretty much every tool around and there's no single manufacturer that produces the best of everything. Most of them have their value DIY range.
[/QUOTE]

Scott that reminds me of the time a labour picked a wide chisel out of a finish carpenters box and was caught cleaning concrete off boards.
You can just imagine the rest of the story.

Herb

 

Scott that reminds me of the time a labour picked a wide chisel out of a finish carpenters box and was caught cleaning concrete off boards.
You can just imagine the rest of the story.

Herb

I don't usually leave my tools on site when I'm not there for pretty much that reason, the worst offenders are the formen.
They might be working the weekend when the tradesmans not there and the labourer needs a particular tool, they figure that the carpenter is likely to have it and then they lend the labourer that tool.
Hell, it was never their tool to lend but that doesn't seem to matter.
The labourer doesn't care because he never paid for it and it gets damaged or lost. Then carpenter has a sense of humour failure because he did pay for it.

If I absolutely have to leave my tools on site I lock them up in a box in the site container/shed, not a massive lock but that changes the person from being an enthusiastic borrower to an outright thief if they break that cheapo lock.

Realistically I avoid leaving tools on site if at all possible as it keeps me happier and the responsibility for my tools is just on my shoulders, I'm good with that bit.

 

I was taught a long time ago you never stand a plane up right. During a recent demo by Rob Corson to our woodworkers group he stood his planes on the bench upright. When questioned about it he said that it was safer on the blade because laying down the corners of the blade can be damaged by the other tools on the bench, and that is the most critical part of the blade.
I remember when the Lee Neilson rep dis a demo for us that he did the same thing set the plane upright.
These are two guys that make a living by the plane ,so I would assume they know what they speak.

Herb

 

Now for the other side of the argument. These guys are talking about working in delightful pristine woodworking shops, not jobsites where very horizontal surface is contaminated with grit, or in the finishing stage with expensive surfaces in process.
In the first case, laying your plane down on a plank that everybody has walked on, cut cement board on, cut tile on, is guaranteed to be a really bad idea. In the latter phase of the project placing it blade down on a hardwood mantel top, laminate counter top, or polished marble surface, is going to cost somebody big bucks...
I'll take my chances with the preventable bump with another tool.

 

That^
I put mine down on its side for all of those reasons.

 

HAHAHAHA you are right on ,Dan. I guess this should just be filed under Common Sense. Setting a plane upright on a concrete floor is not a good idea. LOL

Herb

 

I was taught as most others to lay a plane on its side. But since I work alone under no pressure to hurry up production I have a magnet of the front end of each plane to protect the iron when not in use. When I lay it aside I just slip the magnet back on it and it is ready to grab, slip the magnet off and go to work. Works for me. I like the carpet idea. I have a small wooden box with carpet in the bottom so if set my sander down before it stops. Might try that with a plane.

 

Heh...Richard, if you could find a chunk of 1970's kitchen carpeting (offcut) you'd never misplace your planes!!

 

Read reviews from several vendors. And word of mouth.

 

On their side. Been doing this since 1969 when my shop teacher taught us how to use a plane. bumping the blade with another tool would be a very low percentage shot. Laying it on the blade is a sure shot.

But back to the question posed. How do you guys pick your tools? I really would like to know. I find the whole process a real bummer. Where have all the quality tools gone? I understand the sale of cheap crappy tools, but did they have to drop the good ones?

Al

 

On their side. Been doing this since 1969 when my shop teacher taught us how to use a plane. bumping the blade with another tool would be a very low percentage shot. Laying it on the blade is a sure shot.

Again that^. I'm guessing that many of you have you're own workshop?

You guys with your own workshop where either nobody else touches things or everyone else is there taught the same as you might be OK but...

For this not damaging freshly sharpened plane irons thing to work properly its got to be the same across the board. Everyone doing the same right thing.
If I put my plane down on its sole, so do the labourers at work when they move it from wherever safe place I put it and down to the concrete floor when they tidy up. Great cheers...

Now I might well know that when I put it on its sole I've retracted its iron, do the labourers know that?

THATS why the best way is to drum into people to put it on its side.
Mixed messages don't get through to as many people.

 

Better yet, flog them if they touch your planes!

 

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