The great power tools debate - What is the best brand?

Hi All, I wanted to know what everyones opinions are on what you think the best brands of power tools are for professionals, the at home DIYer and the one time users.

My personal preferences are as follows:

Professional (top of the range):

1. DeWalt

2. Makita

3. AEG

4. Bosche Blue

DIYer:

1. Ryobi

2. Bosche Green

3. Ozito Power Xchange (red)

One time user:

1. Ozito

2. XU1

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Batman

AEG all the way!

Brad

You did leave out Festool, I can't justify the 4x price premium.
Hilti that they would rather rent you tools.
Milwaukee was a bit meh at their offering.

Triton router to put in a table is almost a given.

I went Bosch blue as it had most of what I wanted even if I have to import the 32mm guide rail and the 18v nailer seems to have vanished from sale. Over.
AEG nice black kit was missing things that I wanted though.
DeWalt was close to what I wanted.

I do have another brand drill kit that is fast to discharge and slow to recharge.
Some corded metalworking tools mostly Makita.
Ozito plunge saw that I got just before the Triton hobby saw was released.
Got a replacement table saw for the one my father built ordered today.
Cheap nasty mitre saw will go soon.
Some corded Bosch green.

Garden went Ozito for the cordless blower vac, it struggles in the war on gumnuts but the trimmer and shears are ok.

darylhewston

@JoshRaf

I would agree with your selection of brands for that purpose. I had a full suite of Hilti cordless tools but recently sold them because spares/repairs were too expensive.

I have a full suite of Ryobi 18+ that my apprentices over the last 6-7 years have abused and all are still going strong (abeit a bit worse for wear). These I also use in the shed at home.

I fully recommend Makita power tools. Have heard too many complaints about their cordless models (skins ok but battery life a bit disappointing).

DeWalt is made by Black and Decker and I have noticed over the years that they seem to be dwindling away, especially in the building trade.

Bosch Blue look very interesting and I recently bought a laser line level which is quiet good and very accurate. I will be looking to replace my current gear with this in the future. However not all their product range is actually available in Australia and I need to investigate after sales service/spares.

Festool is a great brand also, but $100 for 5 replacement bags for a vacuum is going a bit too far. Not recommended for DIY.

The problem with cordless tools are, if you don't use them, the battery will eventually die and you won't be able to re-charge them. So even for occasional use, I would still recommend a brand which converts to trickle charge so you can maintain your battery.

Cheers'n'beers

Daryl

T-Bear

@JoshRaf - I am a huge Ryobi fan (especially the 1+ range). I have used them for all my home renovations projects to date and continue to increase the collection.
Reliable, robust, reasonably priced and not bad looking tools.

Keep up the good work!
🙂

Prawns

When I bought my house I grabbed a Bosche "Green" kit from Bunnings - They have been great sofar and when I watch "Better homes and gardens" I get to see my tools getting used hahahahha. The "green" Bosche ones are more for home DIY though - The blue ones are more aimed at professional use I think (If you got the money and want Bosche - Id go blue if moneys no object but my green ones are working for me fine sofar at home)

I have a couple tradie mates though - and they swear by Milwaukee (seem to see alot of milwaukee tools on job sites locally too) and I have DIY mates who swear by Makita (home DIY'ers) Have heard good things about both those brands as well, my Green bosche have been good to me sofar at home though (my kit came with a spare battery as well was good)

Theres a youtube video around of Dewalt VS Milwaukee drills where they hook them up to each other for a "fight to the death" (which is why i havnt mentioned Dewalt - Milwaukee annhilated dewalt to the point of breaking it so Milwaukee is probably the better option out of those 2 if comparing dewalt and milwaukee specifically)

My brother inlaw is a Ryobi +one(?) Fanatic - I gotta admit Im pretty impressed with the attachements and tools for those that are around now - He can even trim hedges/chainsaw/circular saw etc with his ryobi and it sure looks handy all his tools using the same battery and they have a huge range of tools available too.

Should mention - this is all just my opinion and what Ive heard around "the traps" - Im definatly not a tradie or hard on my tools at all (or even that good at using tools hahahhaha)

Bosche Green kit from Bunnings

Ian-h

in my opinion you cant go past de walt ryobi and ozito are good

mike1952

I generally purchase RYOBI +1 tools they have been fairly reliable until recently. I the lower end batteries (those without a indicator) are pathetic and go flat quickly (beware buying kits that include these batteries as you will be disappointed). I notice also with the drills (not the bits) become very loose over time. I still favour the Ryobi even though some batteries as stated go flat. It is a choice which battery styles you want

kelvinw

i have dewalt high torque brushless motor drill and impact driver set. with two 5 amph batteries and a charger.

I use the drill with powerplanters

https://www.powerplanter.com.au/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwyoHlBRCNARIsAFjKJ6BjKpPWfPT7Lf_1JLuX80mVV8fYktqidXCel8zwNf8lDae_d7hKcwUaArMZEALw_wcB

These and the drill have helped me so much with establishinh my new garden and digging 1 metere deep post holes for my vertical gardens. I will share a post on these vertical garden ideas soon.

I get nothing from dewalt or power planter to say this. I am just so happy with both.

The drill gets dirty and muddy when i digging holes but it cleans up like new.

Look forward to sharing more with people in the future. powe planter.JPG

Jason

@Ian-h, @mike1952 and @kelvinw,

Apologies for not reaching out sooner, but I just wanted to extend a very warm welcome to the Workshop community. We're pleased you have joined us and look forward to reading all about your projects and plans. Please feel free to post anytime you need a hand with anything or have something to share. And please let me know if you ever need assistance getting the most from the site, or have any feedback about how we can improve the Workshop site for you.

All the best,

Jason

Seaton

I had the same question when I went down to buy my own set of cordless power tools before we started renovations as I was looking at laying down the cash for a big name brand over the percieved cheaper brands like Ryobi

In the end one of the store assistants said to go for Ryobi as they were great value for money, and alot of the tradies that come in use them and yet cheap enough to replace if something ever failed down the track out of warranty. So I took his advice and ended up with a set of Ryobi, from memory I think he even knocked off some of the list price to seal the deal for me.

I also purchased an additial second set of batteries when there was a special on, this has allowed me to get way without a fast charger up until now.

Four years later and the verdict?

Still going strong! These have proved be be a worthwhile investment from my point of view. They have been well worked during (my still ongoing) house renovations, a new kitchen, new bathroom and my garage build. The original set of batteries have only just given up the ghost this weekend. Granted I dont use them on a daily basis as I would a tradie, but when I do they are worked hard and reliable and work well, some time weeks at a time. Even the builder who helped me build my Garage uses them - the new brusless drill models he recently purchased has so much torque it will break a wrist if you let it.

The only exception I have to my cordless tools is my framing nailer, I went with brushless Hitiachi (now rebranded as Hikoki) as Ryobi just dont do a battery powered framing nailer (not sure why - I have their brad nailer), as I dont want to have to buy gas cylinders for the other brands. It is a bit on the heavy side but a solid performer - it literally built my Garage and workshop. Based on its performace I wouldnt have a problem purchasing this brand if I were to ever switch.

Stephen...

JDEpicgamer1

(MY OPINION)

I think of Ozito as a cheap DIY manufacturer that does the job, then I think of Ryobi as the luxury range, Homelite... although it is owned by Ryobi... think of it as the Toyota's of the Lexus's, Holden's of the HSV's, Ford's of the FPV's, VW's of the Buggati's... baisically the same thing but more affordable. Ryobi are the best for quility, but Ozito is best for price and they have a huge range.

Jason

Thanks for joining in the discussion and sharing your thoughts @JDEpicgamer1. We are looking forward to reading about your own projects and plans. Please don't hesitate to post anytime you need a hand or have something to share with the Bunnings Workshop community. We have clever and creative members sharing helpful information, advice and inspiration on the site every day, so we're sure you'll fit right in.

Welcome,

Jason

Timberme

I tend to agree there Josh - maybe 3 /1 and then 2 in your first list and put 4 top in group DIY - I once lived in Taiwan in 1969/ 1972 when it was part of ROC = ( NOT China) and accordingly suggest if made in Mainline China do not unless you KNOW parent coy has decent QC.over product control..

MitchellMc

@Timberme,

An outstanding example of a company that partially switched to manufacturing in China is Makita. They use their own quality control team to ensure the standard of products is suitably high.

The best product demonstration I have ever been to was from Makita. They had constructed a partial house and had all their range of Japanese and Chinese made tools out for use. Prior to being able to use the tools, they gave us a rundown on safety and what we could and couldn't do. I was well prepared to hear the line of "Now the Chinese tools are budget and expect less performance." but no, the entire premise of the day was for us to try to break and burn them out in a battle against the Japanese versions. This presented a challenge for me as I've always been extremely passionate about Japanese made tools. I held them in high regards as the premium tools in our range and would never recommend them over the alternatives if someone wanted quality.

After several hours of treating the tools worse than you ever would in your own workshop, I came away with blisters on my hands and a brand new appreciation for Chinese made products where the quality control is done right. We did not destroy a single Chinese manufactured product that day, though a few of the Japanese models were looking a tad worse for wear.

Mitchell

Sailor_67

I am a Mechanical Design Engineer, with an Australian based company. We have our R&D and company HQ in Aus & USA, but primarily manufacture in China and I used to travel there 2 or 3 times per year (pre Covid). I am also a Trade Certified Injection Mould Toolmaker with 35 years experience in Product Design & Manufacture. I had my own Toolmaking and Product Development business before Chinese Mould Manufacturers were landing (in Australia) finished, precision CNC Machined, sophisticated Plastic Injection Moulds with 100's of man hours of work in them, for cheaper than we could purchase the Steel to begin machining.

n.b.- RoC (Taiwan) is not part of PRoC (Mainland China) and hopefully will remain that way.

China (mainland) has world class manufacturing and cheap & nasty manufacturing and everything in between. Their rate of improvement in quality and design is immense and they improve every year. Because Product Innovation is inseparable from Manufacturing Processes, and China has the Lions share of global manufacturing, they will reach a point where their products are better and more sophisticated than the rest of the world as a natural progression, much as Japan gained a reputation for supreme quality despite being labelled "Jap Crap" with inferior products in the 1970's - 1980's.

It's very difficult for an outsider to know if a company is doing it's QC right, or the rigour of their product design and testing procedures.

The best decision support is customer feedback from a reliable source who's rating system is hard to falsify, like Bunnings, Amazon etc, especially if they are a reputable seller who honours warranty claims etc.

The only caveat I have is that every dollar you pay to buy Chinese made goods is partially supporting the PRC Government to build a war machine like the world has never seen to enforce global hegemony, that may some day very possibly be a rod for our own backs...

Any Company of any size in China is State controlled and it is mandated that they must have Government Agents on their Boards. The PRC gives Chinese Manufacturers special assistance to make their products more price competitive in World Markets that is hard to compete with.

Quick Question: Which of the following brands are made in China? XU1, Ozito, Milwaukee, De-Walt, Makita, Ryobi, Stihl

Answer: They all are made in China. (yes, some have other factories around the World, but they all make the majority of their consumer oriented tools in China)

Jason

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @Sailor_67 and thanks for joining in the discussion. Let's keep the conversation focused on the quality of the products themselves rather than their origin, as that can often lead to racist comments and political arguments which have absolutely no place here.

It sounds like you have loads of valuable experience and knowledge to share with the community. We are looking forward to reading all about your projects and plans.

Many thanks,

Jason

Noyade

Good morning @Sailor_67

"I am also a Trade Certified Injection Mould Toolmaker with 35 years experience in Product Design & Manufacture."

I was just wondering, historically, if you had any design involvement within the Global Machinery Company (GMC)?

Cheers,

Graeme.

Ari

My dad was a professional (carpenter/builder). Toward the end of his life he said he couldn't justify expensive tools any more so he bought Ozito. I've inherited his Ozito range and am a semi regular to occasional user of all.

I love the single battery which I keep on charge always so it's ready to go no matter what I want to do. I love my drill, sander, leaf blower, whipper snipper and long reach hedge trimmer

The only Ozito item I wouldn't recommend is the chain saw (although it generally gets good reviews online). It just doesn't feel solid or safe enough for me.

Ari

Noyade

I remember my mother telling me the carpenters in town when she was a child used bicycles for transport. They had a bag on the back with the essentials - hand saw, hammer, plane, chisels, screwdrivers, etc. Hardware places delivered the wood and building materials to the site.

Times have certainly changed.

Tyro

Don't know if you still have your Festool, but if you have access to a home sewer, the bags can be home-made! Or take one of the bags with you to a fabric store and buy similar material. Then get them made up. Gotta be cheaper than $100!

Tyro

Thank you for your power tool fav's. I'm a new DIY-er, so it's a great help that you included this group in your picks! 👏

All I've got to do now is decide ... 😖

EricL

Hi @Tyro

What are some of the D.I.Y. projects are you planning to tackle? If you give us a short list of dream your projects, I'm sure our members will be able to give you sound advice on the kind of tools you should be investing in.

Eric

Tyro

Thank you Eric! I've already found 2 plant stands and raised garden beds that will be perfect. I will will also hunt for a table. My local Bunnings (Alexandria) have some pallets. All I need to do now is decide on which brand of circular saw. Then find an elephant to cart the pallets home (I had no idea the tare weight is about 40kg!)! 🤣

Tyro

I've already got a jig saw and 2 hand saws. Have a great hammer. An inherited sledge-hammer. Have a green Bosch drill (one of the older models). Just got a Swanson speed square. And have ordered a Stabila spirit level. And I'm working on lubing up my aging joints and muscles! 🙄🤣 I'm getting there Eric!

EricL

Hi @Tyro

Please note that when getting pallets for your project make sure to get the ones that are marked "HT" (heat treated). These pallets are safe to use for projects. Any pallet marked with "MB" is treated with methyl bromide and is not safe. Coloured pallets are also not safe to use as these are often used for chemical transport.

Please make sure to wear personal protection such as gloves, goggles and a dust mask when working on your projects.

We look forward to seeing your first creation.

Eric

Tyro

Ahhh ... thank you mind-reader Eric! I was just thinking about how to tell the ones without arsenic in them! I take that would be the HT ones?

And I have some strikingly attractive goggles as well as gloves & covid n95 masks. So now for the elephant .. maybe a nighttime trip to the zoo ... 😂😂

Cheers

Tyro

udi

I've been a heavy tool user, both professionally and personally for over half a century. When I was young, a brand told you who the designers and manufacturers were, what the company culture and ethos were (such as commitment to quality), the country where the goods were manufactured (which meant something). Now, a brand is just a name and you can garner very little information from it. While the investment companies who own the brands, and pay someone to make their products, will aim to position the brand in a particular market segment, that is no guarantee. For some time, I've used my knowledge and experience, and that of others, to select individual tools from a variety of companies and brands. The problem with cordless tools is that a big part of the investment is in the battery system and batteries are not compatible between brands/series. Having said that, Milwaulkee and Makita seem to be the preferred brands among tradies in Australia. Dewalt, festo, fein, Hikoki, Bosch (blue) and AEG are also aimed at that market. All have some very good tools as well as some mediocre, or worse, offerings. If you are looking at something less expensive and place less demands on your tools Ryobi has a large range of different tools at lower prices and some Ozito and workzone (Aldi brand) tools are surprisingly durable for their low price. You'll never cover all the bases but check to see if the series has the tools you are likely to need, consider your budget and look into the guarantees offered.Then do the best with what you've .

EricL

Hello @udi

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community. It's fabulous to have you join us.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with power tools. I totally agree that you'll never be able to cover all the bases, but if you do your due diligence and match the tools to the projects you plan on building today and in the future, then you'll be able to maximize your budget and get the tools that will serve you well.

Eric

Noyade

I doubt that longevity necessarily means 'best' - but I have a "Heavy Duty" 8 inch Black and Decker circular saw still working well. Made in Croydon.

Carbon date = early 1960's?

And it is 'Heavy' - 7.5 kg.

DanFine

G'day all, aging not very gracefully tradie here...

Need to find a new cordless tools platform as quite a few of my seldom used AEG tools have just quit on me in the last couple of months. Now I know it's not battery fatigue as I am using and charging batteries constantly with tools like the circ saw, cipro, impact driver and drill but more speciality tools like one of the routers, planer, jig saw, rattle gun and my 2x subcompact impact drivers. These have all simply decided to stop working except for one of the SC ID was a chuck issue.

Now to the aging not so gracefully bit and the twist mentioned...

I now have CPS(Carpal Tunnel Syndrome) so want to hear people's experience with the different cordless platforms in regards to ergonomics and comfort particularly in extended usage.

Also if anyone has had a similar experience and found a solution? My next thing to try is wrapping the handles in a spongy tape or something but that's probably only going to be a temporary solution.

I appreciate you all reading this and look forward to your responses.

Cheers Dan

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