How To Choose A Power Tool Brand

One brand- per battery voltage. Normally a separate charger, so no downside. The best (for you) 18v range is not always the best 12v range.

Cords and dust extraction- I fit power sockets to all my corded tools, and use AirLock hose ends. Quarter turn on each and I am good to go. And my dust extractor then knows which hose needs vac, so not only turns on but opens the correct gate (NOT available on bluetooth!).

28 years ago I started building stair cases and after 2020 I started going cordless and boy it was awesome at first but then all the tools started to die off one by one and don’t get me started on the cordless saws. Needless to say I’m back to corded tools that I purchased 28 years ago still working perfectly

You lost me at the "cheap baked beans taste the same as the more expensive ones" 😮

All my cordless work tools are Dewalt. I have quite a collection. I have 2 cordless Dewalt sanders 1/4 sheet and random orbit, both perform excellently daily (up to 3 hours at a time). For my occasional use cordless (the hardly use can't justify spending much) tools I've gone to the Einhell range, and to be honest they are surprisingly good value for money. Especially as they do a couple of tools no one else does. As for corded tools I buy any make I fancy as I'm not tied to certain batteries. And my best tool that gets so much daily use (up to 4 hours)and has been going for years without a breakdown (touch wood) My Numatic vacuum cleaner ( the trade named version of Henry). If it broke tomorrow and I couldn't fix it I'd buy another.

Great video just what I was looking for. I would be very interested to know where in house brands from the big specialist shops would fit. Rutland and Axminster being the main two that come to mind.

"If you had to be punched in the face once or twice, which would you prefer?" Alright good sir, you got me.

The very first power tool I ever bought was a Makita palm sander, back when they just started to sell their tools to consumers, which is why it has a red case and not a blue one. Works like a champ. My fave drill's a Makita, too. I believe you should buy good tools no matter how often you think you'll use them because quality lasts.

I've only watched like 5 seconds so far, but I'm guessing you're gonna say Milwaukee lol

Switching slowly from defective milwaukee tools/batteries to Flex.

It's odd to me how England has a completely different lineup of cheap-o tools. I have seen Black and Decker, of course (they were a very good brand back in the 70s when I was a kid) and Worx because of Amazon. But al of the other entries in the crap tool bin were different from ours.

Listen, one tool man to another...an old Sailor who was once homeported in a town with the same name as the one you live in...heed my warning. Ya'll need to set up a Naval blockade and turn them around, before a store called "Harbor Freight" makes landing on your shores!

Too bad you don't have any Harbor Freight stores in the UK. Tools so cheap they're literally disposable. Use once and chuck them.

Great video kieth misded this one. I yave einhell drill and driver and table saw must say there hreat German engineered but i mix that with makita aswell haven't had isdues 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿👍

Yo tengo erbauer hace 2 años y ningún problema ninguna de ellas

No intention of being a tradesman I'll just work around the house and help people out.

Ryobi is the sweet spot for me.

Discovering your videos and loving them. Thank you!
Would you still have a Milwaukee code and where can it be used in the UK ? THANKS

Great guide. The cheap brand in Australia is Ozito. They’ve come along way. As I’m an occasional DIYer, this is perfect for me.

Never buy cheap baked beans in Australia! Heinz English Recipe only. Yes, there’s an Aussie and English recipe versions!

Hilti have the longest warranty!

You didn't mention the best brand red devil I have lovely memories lol

i have parkside and find them great for diy seem well made compared to branded tools!

Asda baked beans are the way forward 😉

good advice and content, but if we took all the tools made in china away, there would not be much left !!

I'd put Erbaur and Stanley in the throw away category, they're more expensive but ones I've used have generally been rubbish while I'd move Einhell up to the pro-sumer level, I've burnt out a few, through serious abuse, but parts are readily available through their website

Good video, where does Ozito sit on this list? Prosumer or lower?

Anyone any thoughts on where Draper or VonHaus might fit in these categories please?

When it came to the beans I was expecting a Blazing sadle 😃

as an average diy'er I use a few ryobi tools but I also have a range of tools from both parkside and ferrex I think the main reason for this has to be the price of both the tools and batteries if an impact driver dies I know that when they have them in stock it will only cost me 20 quid to replace it, I do have quite few tools doubled up simply for the reason my father will often help with projects and having one tool for each of us does make the job go so much faster, i.e when I had to lay 20m2 of chipboard flooring.

Good advice. I was lucky and stumbled into woodworking as hitachi tools were rebranding and being sold off cheap so got some great bargains, bought hikoki since and no issues. Got a few parkside and ferrex cheapies too.

Bosch professional, best tools.

Your comparing your Top line free of charge Milwaukee Fuel with your probably middle class much older tools and say that they are better... what a surprise. Milwaukee is usually better at power yes i agree thats a fact. And thats what red communists fan boy always ranting about regarding who's best. In the end they still usually come short to Makita. I would never buy a stealing tech from everybody else Chinese Milwaukee tool.

Nothing to do with this video, but I was just having proper annoyance and getting some oak boards across my band saw, then I remembered is bought some of your wax a while back. A coat of that applied with 0000 steel wool and they practically flew through the blade. Nice one Keith

Great video. 👍 I'm an hobbyist.. and have been so for 30 odd years.

I prefer to mix it up... I have a rather eclectic array of tools. Corded and battery, cheap and expensive.

And to be honest love a bargain.

Agree with everything here except 2 things. My Erbauer kit including my impact driver just keeps on working. And it’s Heinz beans or it’s nothing, good grief man!

I try and buy the best quality I can afford when it comes to the “use it all the time” stuff. My DeWalt drill (batteries!) finally gave up after years of abuse and I had no qualms about driving straight out and buying the latest version. But for hobbyists, plenty of tools are niche/rarely used and I’m happy to go cheap and cheerful. Although it’s a mixed bag, I’ve had a lot of success with Parkside stuff (belt sander, SDS drill, multi-tool, reciprocating saw, angle grinder, 12v drill/driver, impact driver…!) - no way I could afford all of this in more expensive brands. Plus, a 3 year warranty on something that usually costs £50 or less - really can’t complain!

The biggest factor with buying cordless over corded is the price i like the cordless as it is much quieter than corded most of the time but if you are buying a tool with a battery it is usually double the price of a corded tool especially when you start looking at larger tools like mitre saws etc, but when you look at usa prices both types of tool are very similar in price, you can now buy battery convertors so you can buy most makes of tool and use the same battery for different makes.

I went Ryobi:
Drill driver - solid. Does the job. I've battered it and it still goes well, though appreciates a bigger battery.
Recip saw - brilliant, so easy to use and cuts cleaner than most. I have a multipack of Saxton blades to use with them though - I snapped one of the Ryobi blades on first use.
Hand vacuum - almost useless. Really poor suck & the nozzles don't fit many small spaces.
Circ saw (165?) - I read the reviews & went a step up from the basic model. It's decent, cuts square but easily wanders. The latter is probably user error though.
Impact driver - light, easy to change bits, but I often wish I had bought another drill driver instead. It needs a torque setting.
Light (flip up) - it lights things and seems to last well enough...
Strimmer/trimmer - brilliant. Really light & does the job well. Much admired by various passers by and friends. Batteries last ages.
Mower (33cm?) - underpowered for anything other than a perfect lawn.
Shrubber/pruner - useless. Traps what you're trying to cut between the blades, despite tightening - they seem too flexible/blunt to cut.
I have a sander too, but not used it yet.
I also have a corded Erbauer Multitool which has a tremendously useful plunge blade that I use often in preference to any other sawing tool, though I do sometimes wish I had bought the Ryobi cordless. Oh, and a mitre saw which does a job well enough.

Cool shirt! I just ordered one

I was with you right up until you said there’s no difference in beans. Go stand in the corner until you learn - has to be Heinz. 😀 Thanks for another great video.

Hi Keith, Great break down, just a little correction though Hikoki / metabo HPT I agree are prosumer quality however Metabo still market a premium quality brand of tools marketed purely as "Metabo" which align very much in the professional field, Indeed Metabo themselves are keen to point out this difference.

Hey Keith - Where would you place Draper, Katsu (Makita Copy) and Wickes own brand in your categorisation?

Great video! Always appreciate your honesty and unbiased opinion! Thank you Keith!

I went with Makita 18v tools exclusively!
My circumstances of living in a small 2 bed terraced house means I needed cordless and easy to transport outside without the cables everywhere. I like the MakPac storage boxes and have loads of them to keep them tidy and stored away safe.
My father is a carpenter and he used Makita so that also influenced my decision of brand choice.
Nowadays most tools in the Makita, Dewalt or Milwaukee range are very similar. Chose your favourite colour and go nuts 💪🏻

Well, my wife worked for DeWalt for almost 18 years as inside sales and service tech. So my choice was pretty simple. 😀

Loved this one mate, even more so the comparison between tools and your favourite bag of frozen peas 😜 And the slimy in the middle, brilliant 😂👊🏻

You missed out Project Farm for testing tools

One thing that you could have added ( I know it is easy to miss stuff as I miss loads in my own videos) is that brands from many years ago are not the same as today. For example, something by Ryobi or B&D from 40 years ago is a different class to what it is today. A 1970s Black and Decker workmate would be in a different class to say a Black and Decker drill found in the cheap shops in 2022. Diving deep into tool companies, takeovers, mergers, importing from China etc would require a whole separate video 😂

Sad that Milwaukee wasn't in your "pro" recommendartion. Sponsor might not be happy.

Do you compliment all your Milwalkee with their own accessories, I.e. saw blades, screwdriver bits etc.?

I bought an Erbauer cordless combi 2 years ago, gave up after 10 months of lightish use. Weirdly my black and decker set I managed to get very cheaply are currently onto thousands of 100mm screws and holes each

I’m just a hobbyist who does work here and there so I went with dewalt as there is the dewalt/ stanley-black and decker outlet here in the north east near where I live where they repair dewalt tools and sell them on cheaper. The tools are reconditioned but they are basically brand new and I’ve been using and abusing my full dewalt brushless range for over a year and they still work great.