Attention everyone! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

[HereWeGoAgain]

Whatever happened to Makita?

Haven't seen them around as much, but they used to make some good tools. Store chains make deals with various companies and I guess Makita doesn't have the bargaining power some other brands have. ANYONE can make a good tool IF THEY WANT TO. It all depends on the price point and market they are shooting for. Years ago my dad had a killer Craftsman sander. It took wood off like there was no tomorrow. Best sander I ever saw. It broke one day, something came loose inside and he threw it out. I could kick myself for not saving it and getting it fixed. The thing literally created a pile of sawdust in a few seconds.

Me, these days, WAY too much plastic on everything and I hate all the gaudy, obnoxious, bright color plastics.

I probably have the same belt sander.

The Craftsman sander was actually an oscillating, not a belt. It took wood off like a belt though. I actually have a smallish Craftsman belt sander I must have bought more than 40 years ago. It was on sale at a great price. Thing actually works great.

Mine is the belt sander.
The last palm sander I bought was a Ryobi and it sucks!!! I still have it but only because I rarely use it because I hate the damn thing!!!
I have been buying more air powered tools for the garage these days. Those things are tough as nails and compact. Plus I already had a bunch of air powered tools from my machining days. And with the 80 gallon Ingersoll and Rand compressor air capacity isnt a problem.
Then you have the air ratchet and the impact wrench for working on the truck so it was a natural direction to go.
Absolutely love this thing!!! The head swivels and you can get into tight places.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

The last palm sander I bought was a Ryobi and it sucks!!!

That statement is redundant.

 

[toobfreak]

The last palm sander I bought was a Ryobi and it sucks!!!

That statement is redundant.

Another place I bought a Porter Cable. PC is known for their sanders and for palm sanding, I have this one which not only gets into tight corners but is swirlless. Leaves a glass finish. Something like 13,000 rpm.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

The last palm sander I bought…

I'm supposed to be impressed by your Palm sander?

I have something better. A Palm T|X. Last of its line.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

Got a new (for me, anyway) toy today. It's been in the back at the thrift store where I've been working, lately, and even though I objectively know that I don't need it, I could hear it calling me. I have a much more modern (and in most cases, more usable) version of this sort of tool, but this appeals both to my love of tools, and my love of vintage things. What little I could find by Googling it seems to date this model to the 1970s.

It's in beautiful condition. Not mint condition, of course. It's clear that it has seen a fair amount of heavy use, but also that it has held up very well to that use, as one would expect of any Milwaukee power tool. It's much more primitive than my DeWalt DCS380, but it runs great.

I have Milwaukee power tools that are well over 20 years old and still work like new.

If the meager information I was able to find by Googling my new toy, I now have a Milwaukee tool that's about twice that old, has obviously seen a lot of use, but, based on what meager testing I've done on it, seems to run as well as I'd expect of it if it were brand new.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

There are good Ryobi tools out there. It isn't rocket science making a good tool. Every tool is made to sell at a given price point.

I have to admit that today, I came across a couple of Ryobi tools that don't suck.

 

[Bob Blaylock]

They quit making batteries for them at a certain point; my De Walt is still in practically mint condition, but the batteries wore out and they don't make replacements for my model any more, and it isn't that old.

I just now happened upon an ad from an outfit that offers knockoff batteries for the old DeWalt 18V NiCad tools.

For Dewalt 18V

 

[Bob Blaylock]

 

[miketx]

I just now happened upon an ad from an outfit that offers knockoff batteries for the old DeWalt 18V NiCad tools.

For Dewalt 18V

I got two of them and so far they work well.

 

[whitehall]

You can take apart the world with a battery operates sawsall and the right blade.