• drphungky@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    This tracks.

    DeWalt: high quality and good pedigree but overpriced = Slytherin

    Milwaukee: basically the same as DeWalt, but less pretentious. Thinks they’re better and tougher though = Gryffindor

    Makita: the smart choice for value, also best colors = Ravenclaw

    Ryobi: I know it will break, but they’re just tools and I’m not serious about this anyway. I would rather spend more money on my family or other hobbies = Hufflepuff

    Honorable mentions of other “houses” and schools in the thread.

    Black and Decker/Craftsman/whatever. Used to be very impressive, but completely corrupted. Probably evil = Durmstrang (Russian school)

    Festool: Beautiful, absolutely dripping with wealth signals. Still pretty amazing at what they do, but you might not want them on a job site = Beauxbatons (super wealthy French school)

    Harbor freight: Simple, potentially the most powerful but also likely to break. Can probably accomplish what you need by using a wrench as a hammer, but you wouldn’t want to do anything delicate with it. Actually the biggest group of dad-wizards = Uagadou (the school in Uganda where magic was invented but they don’t use wands)

    • Blue_Morpho@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      I don’t know where you shop but DeWalt is cheaper than Milwaukee and Makita. Project Farm tests show Milwaukee as usually best but trades wins against Makita.

      So no, DeWalt isn’t overpriced. It’s cheaper and less quality. Neither is Milwaukee equivalent to DeWalt. Milwaukee/Makita are better, sometimes incredibly better than DeWalt but at a much higher price.

      For example a drill with battery on Amazon is:

      DeWalt: $99 Makita: $149 Ryobi: $73 Milwaukee: $144

      At Home Depot and Lowes, the price difference between DeWalt and Milwaukee is even bigger.

    • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Depending on what you’re doing, you absolutely want Festool on a job site. A Rotex sander is fantastic for doing the edges when you’re refinishing hardwood floors, for instance. (Goddamn incompatible sanding discs though… You have to buy the Festool discs if you want the dust management.) For some jobs, there really aren’t any viable alternatives to Festool; no one else makes a domino joiner, which is somewhere between a plate joiner and a mortise and tenon joint. (You can get close by using a precision doweling jig, but the domino joiner is fast. Mortise and tenons are fantastic joints, but a mortising machine isn’t terribly portable, and cutting one by hand is far, far more skill than I have.)

      • drphungky@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        I’m familiar, but does a domino go to a job site? Or does it stay in a dedicated shop full of fancy/specialized tools?

        Also we should probably remember we’re talking dads getting sorted, not actual professionals, so if I’m wrong in industry - it’s because I’m coming from hobbyist dad-land. I don’t even know anyone with anything festool. At best I’m going off of forums and YouTube and guessing at what fancy dads want…though I wouldn’t mind a domino of someone else is paying!

        • HelixDab2@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          A domino joiner on a job site would be good for things like putting together pieces or a banister (railing) where you needed both the strength or something like a doweled joint as well as the alignment capability of a biscuit joiner. It’s going to add strength to any kind of mitered joint that would be glued/where you don’t want to see nails. Most of the uses are going to be in cabinetry or furniture rather than in general carpentry and contracting, but it definitely has a few very specialized uses on a job site.

          I am not a contractor, but I did it for a very brief period of time (until the business owner stiffed me of about a thousand in pay, and I realized it wasn’t a good side gig).

    • Sagrotan@lemmy.world
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      10 months ago

      Awesome characterization, I’m not following the Potterverse but what would Hilti be? Or Mafell?

      • drphungky@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        We’ve reached the ends of my knowledge of both tool brands and Harry Potter unfortunately. Hilti I’ve got no idea - I only feel bad about leaving out Bosch.