Thanks Thanks:  0
Likes Likes:  0
Needs Pictures Needs Pictures:  0
Picture(s) thanks Picture(s) thanks:  0
Results 1 to 11 of 11
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Adelaide
    Posts
    35

    Default Best Cheap Tools Brand

    I was just curious what you guys think is the best brand for quality for your dollar in the cheaper DIY tool market. GMC seam to be very cheap. I have had Ryobi and it seamed to be very good quality for a little bit more.

  2. # ADS
    Google Adsense Advertisement
    Join Date
    Always
    Location
    Advertising world
    Posts
    Many





     
  3. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Sydney, NSW, Australia
    Posts
    5,014

    Default

    This is one topic that will go on for a few pages I reckon

    I don't know if you can say cheap and best and have it really mean anything although I do know where you are coming from.

    IMO Osito and those other super cheap tools that you see in the hardware supermart come at the bottom of the pile.

    Next would be the likes of GMC and Black and Decker, and now (shudder) Spear and Jackson.

    Having said that though, some of the GMC stuff is o.k. and I have a Ryobi industrial 18v drill that is excellent. It cost $250 though so I don't know if you can class it as a cheap tool.

    Craig

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Age
    54
    Posts
    706

    Default

    To choose between them don't rely on one brand being better, you need to look at the brand / tool combination. One brand may have a top 14v drill but the 12v sucks, these brands are cheap(ish) and inconsistant depending on which outsourced manufacturer designed and made the tool.
    If there is nothing between them I go for GMC due to the excellent warranty policy - if it is stuffed, it is replaced no questions asked.

    What this means is you will have to ask questions and research tool reviews based on "best 12v cordless drill under $200" etc.
    Great minds discuss ideas,
    average minds discuss events,
    small minds discuss people

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Pambula
    Age
    58
    Posts
    12,779

    Default

    I agree. I don't think it's possible anymore to say 'such and such a brand represents good value for money'. However there are certainly some brands that should be given a very wide berth.

    I think the replacement policy on GMC stuff makes it definitely worth considering but I've yet to buy any of it. Still labouring under the old 'buy quality' axiom.

    The good wood is to have something in mind and then shop around, compare reviews, ask here.
    "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2001
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    10,810

    Default

    It seems to me that there are a good many "in-house brands" around. These are re-badged items, often identical to the Big Names, and probably off the same conveyor belt at the same factory. It would be most interesting to compile a list for reference when seeking out cheap replacements. I'm sure that you still get what you pay for in that there must be a cost-cutting measure of some sort (other than just a change of colour scheme. Reprinting badges cannot cost THAT much!). Lower specification of some parts is, therefore, inevitable. But does this lead to a significant lowering of the lifespan among the better designed tools?

    I bought a cheap 7 1/4" circular saw when my Makita (of that size) packed in after a mere 14 years use. Since I no longer use a saw like this as much as I did in the past, I chose to buy a NRG brand from Mitre 10 (this was a couple of years ago, but I think it cost around $50, verses the $200 of the Makita). This saw was identical to a Bosch or something reputable that was on the shelf at the time. It seems to have good bearings and cuts well. I can't complain.

    I might say the same for my GMC biscuit joiner, which is a knock off of that Yellow brand.

    Much of the Carba-tec range of tools (which I am familiar with as I own a few), like other clones, are built in the same factory as Jet, etc and seems to have the same tolerances, and have actually been compared more than favourably to, in fact outclassing, the Major Branded items. OK, these tools are at the other end of the price range of GMC and B&D items, but the question remains: when are we just paying for the name, and when are we actually paying for the tool?

    Regards from Perth

    Derek

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Pambula
    Age
    58
    Posts
    12,779

    Default

    There's little doubt that in a lot of cases you are largely paying for name (also warranty, advertising, after-sales support etc.). Not sure how GMC make money actually...

    I reckon some of the 'rebadged' versions (which aren't really rebadged, just badged differently at the factory) are also cheaper because they use cheaper parts - plastic instead of metal, bushes instead of bearings etc..

    In some cases the finish is not as good because they've skimped on the assembly line or found a cheaper way to cast a part that doesn't give the same results. Probably there are a lot of factors.
    "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Australia and France
    Posts
    8,175

    Default

    "best cheap" is an oxymoron.

    If you want cheap, pick each item to suit the job....they all just have different self-destruct times, or do the job a little bit harder/slower/less accurately.

    Just compromise as you feel it appropriate.



    P

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Perth WA
    Posts
    1,764

    Default

    Its horses for courses.

    In 1984 I bought the following:
    Makita: 9 1/4 Circ Saw, 1100 Power Planer, Belt Sander, Palm Sander, 1/2" Plunge router, 4" angle grinder(all aluminium body), 9" angle grinder,
    AEG: 13 mm Hammer Drill
    Bosch: PST60PEA Jigsaw
    Couple of years later I bought a Metabo 9.6V Cordless Drill.
    The power planer and the 9" angle grinder have not done much work. The 4" angle grinder, drills and router have been flogged regularly, sometimes as tradesman tools and mostly as a keen amateur. I used the 4" grinder while welding gas pipelines for 6 months, 3 or 4 discs a day, more work than most will do in a life time. After 20 years they are all still with me except the Metabo which died a battery death. (and was replaced with a GMC as a stop gap).

    My advice is go to a specialist power tool shop and find the guy that actually repairs them (not the salesman) and see what he reckons of the actual build quality and what your getting for your dollar. My local guy just loves his Hitachi's but quietly admits for some particular types of tools you may be better off with a brand thats not even sold in his shop!.

    Then weigh up how much you are actually going to use the tools. If your like most serious amateurs then spending some extra dollars on say the cordless drill or the router or the jigsaw... whatever ...and going for something cheaper on less used items is the way to go. They don't all have to be the same colour. If you look after them they might still be around in 20 years time???
    Squizzy

    "It is better to be ignorant and ask a stupid question than to be plain Stupid and not ask at all" {screamed by maths teacher in Year 8}

  10. #9
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Drop Bear Capital of Gippsland (Lang Lang) Vic Australia
    Age
    74
    Posts
    6,518

    Default

    I have never been a Ryobi lover but they really seem to have lifted their game over the past couple of years. I have an 18v kit comprising of drill (average) circular saw (excellent) sabre saw (mean brute of a a thing) and torch (who can stuff up a torch, sorry, should not have asked that).
    I also have a GMC biscuit jointer but it took me three returns to get one that actually aligned properly. The first two kept skipping teeth on the track and were always a tooth out, even after dismantling and reassembling.
    Must admit the one I have now is good and if it does die I would probably buy another.
    Arlec I am very suspicious of and their are a lot of generics appearing on the market 'change out of $20', quality can't be a factor at that price.
    The other thing I have noticed is that cheap tools have noisy rough sounding motors.
    Stupidity kills. Absolute stupidity kills absolutely.

  11. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Australia and France
    Posts
    8,175

    Default

    The other thing I have noticed is that cheap tools have noisy rough sounding motors.
    It's just that they don't have bearings of any description! The one exception is the dreaded $39.00 GMC router, which I fired up yesterday for the first time and was stunned by the quietness of the thing.....a good one must be incredible!



    P

  12. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    West Lakes SA
    Age
    81
    Posts
    16

    Default

    Hi there Backyarder - here are my thoughts for what they are worth. Firstly, I've been a wood nut for 40 years now and also sell tools as a salesman at the local H/Ware - so I get some good feedback.

    At the bottom of the heap you'll find a $10 drill at Harris scarfes and $20-30 Bunnies Ozito. I get a lot of customers looking for pare parts for fairly new units - Please don't go that far down the ladder.
    Though almost everything I have is Makita or Hitachi and are between 23 and 32 years old I did buy aa GMC 1/4" router two years ago. O.K. so the first one ran at max speed no matter what the speed setting. The immediate changeover unit has served me well. Solidly built and no bad manners. From other feedback this would seem to be the only real problem with GMC - they could help themselves by using a better quality range of switches. However these are infant death components so unless you have to travel a 1000km to swap it you are well protected. A lot of tradesmen (who probably have Mak's for their own use) tell me good news about GMC saws, angle grinders and drills. They get good life out of them - if their on-site employees drop them from a roof or lose them it's not so painful. Further they don't seem to be so attractive to thieves - unlike Makitas.
    I'm particularly attracted to the GMC Platinum 4" angle grinder - at about $79 for an 800 watt unit with a two year replacement warranty - even for trade use - it's an excellent buy. Hey it even has direct access to the brushes - which some of the cheaper versions of top end brands do not have.

    For 240V stuff I class GMC as the next level up from Ryobi - generally more rugged with higher wattages for similar models.

    However for cordless stuff I lean the other way. Recently I've had some less than satisfactory experience with GMC cordless drills and cannot ethically push them. I suspect that it's a manufacturing/quality problem as I have many customers who have 2 and 3 year old units that they swear by. However I'm more than happy with the Ryobi 14.4V 2-speed unit - a brilliant screwdriver and quite acceptable drill for a woodworker. Though given another chance I'd select the 18V even though the battery life will probably be a bit less - I'd like a tad more torque on occassions.

    However it comes down to the definition of a "cheap" tool. Are you concerned about initial price or are you looking at the whole of life cost of having drilling, grinding routering facility.

    For oft used tools - 240v drill, angle grinder Routers - I figure that Makita and Hitachi are cheap. If I divide the price of these tools ( at today's price) by their actual life to date they are costing me $ 0.5 to 1.25 per year. Try that with an Ozito.

    Regards - Ron
    xron

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •