Tom's Tool Pages

We stand at a unique point in time and history. American manufacturing is grinding to a halt and almost everything these days is made in China. Old and respected brand names are now used as marketing leverage to sell mediocre (or miserable) products manufactured "offshore" (i.e. in China).

Black and Decker fell hard many years ago. I wouldn't buy any Black and Decker products these days, but with care and luck, you can find fine tools they made in the good old days at yard sales. The frightening thing is that Black and Decker now owns fine brands like Delta, Porter-Cable, Dewalt, and others!

Bosch was once German quality, but now seems to have fallen in a few areas. Most new Bosch products are great, but some get bad reviews. Their good stuff is fantastic, and I watch some of their hammer drills get used hard day after day and hang in there.

Bosch appliances (microwaves and dishwashers for example) have been the source of many horror stories. My take is that almost anything else is a better choice.

Makita has a very good reputation, especially older Makita tools from the 80's and 90's. But the new stuff is not bad either. Consider:

• Makita BHR261 36 volt Li-ion hammer drill $900 ($1550 list).
• Bosch 11536VSR 36 volt Li-ion hammer drill $624 ($1324 list).

I always confuse Ryobi and Makita for some reason. Ryobi is nothing special (to be kind). Makita can be quite good.

Battery hammer drills are a topic of particular interest. See my notes on the Milwaukee M18 system elsewhere.