65refinyellow

I just talked to an entrepreneur who not only wants “USA”, but environmentally friendly and Kosher and they raise beef. It’s way more quality locally and humane. That being said I was the county’s sole after hours sports store and I sold a lot to ranchers. It’s not like you simply raise cattle and humanely. What nobody tells you is how many predators are gunned down. I supplied the ammo and though I was a law student then who supported the law and constitution, I couldn’t stomach it anymore. What predators haven’t got run over get shot. Google Griffith Park for an infuriating read. A very rare unseen wolf variety (once plentiful) was shot dead near a ranch. It had a collar on and was being tracked and was the literal lone wolf of its type in my state. So if you want “USA” with modern USA standards that respects workers and the environment, it just won’t happen at a reasonable price.

I am no longer a DIY hobbyist and now doing this for a living. I am a one man crew and often alone at a site. I have medium sized rotary hammer in a 9 amp 1” Milwaukee, and small 18 v. Makita 11/16” inch rotary hammer. Do I even need a hammer drill? I have two nice brushless regular drills. I saw a YouTube saying any non-rotary hammer drill is ok for hobbyist but one should always use rotary hammers when it’s concrete and a real paid job.

...Dealing with 1” inch corded rotary hammers either being too powerful or too bulky at times. Usually corded is great and battery hammers are slow by comparison. But $229 for an occasional tool?

I know in pro circumstances the M18 is the better pro tool than M12 but I am considering M12 rotary hammer. I had a remodel where a 1” corded Bosch and 1” corded Milwaukee rotary hammers drilling in destroyed the delicate old foundation. I need something more compact and delicate on this type of job. Also I was destroying overhead sheet rock with my brushless 18v impact driver so I switched to my much weaker brushed M12 impact driver and it’s more delicate power though slower was the right thing. Billing out at $125 an hour doesn’t easily forgive mistakes of breaking things (in delicate situations) so the M12 is perfectly the right tool in those less common situations. Doing this for a living has made it impractical to stick to one brand or either battery or corded only. If I forget a tool I need to buy it wherever on lunch break and having M12, M18, and LXT increases my odds of getting the workable tool. I am in one of the most rural areas in the USA so all of us have at least one Milwaukee, Ryobi, Ridgid, Makita, or DeWalt. Nobody that I have seen is all one company. I guess if I were in SF or San Jose (or similar big city) I could be all one company and be within minutes if getting any tool off the shelf.

China. If you want to minimize China then go Festool and (some) Makita but then who makes motherboards and components? Is every resistor and capacitor in the tool not Chinese? Nope. Today it’s physically and logistically impossible to avoid China. China isn’t only as big as they are because they cost less to make, but nobody has grown faster in the “electronics” sector which is in a lot of our tools. Heck, look at a power tool battery. If there’s a motherboard then we’re likely talking China. I am in the southern area of Silicon Valley and so much has gone to China. IPhone production, guess where? When I looked into grad school, the University of California router research section via Cisco was largely Chinese students here in Northern California. I am pretty strong in math but these kids kicked my ass. In other areas of interest, for me synthesizers, many criticize the fast growing Behringer company who is based in Germany with a Swiss founder with English engineers but still made in a giant facility in China. Behringer makes excellent gear but is criticized by the big four (Yamaha, Casio, Korg, and Roland) users. But the majority of their synths are made in China. Even the old school Moog and ARP have Chinese made gear. Tools, with equally heavy electronics behind the casing are likewise made with Chinese electronic parts. Near me, we had an electronics startup company that didn’t want to outsource like the major companies only based here and it failed. Unless you abolish the minimum wage and basic environmental and safety requirements, you’re not going to be stamping out motherboards and daughterboards and thus potentially making 100% percent non-Chinese power tools.

I think that’s why I like Makita because less cheap outsourced parts there but there’s still cheap outsourced parts in the best tools.

I think the way TTI (half the tool brands from mid level to pro) gets around it (watch VCG for details of many issues, lol) is that they throw in lots of free gifts year around so nobody complains. I went to get an M18 battery and for ten dollars more I get a brushled drill or multitool. Their business model is disposable cheap tools “just” good enough to work well early on. I stick with DeWalt and Makita for my frontline heavy duty needs. Sometimes TTI makes the better tool that my main chosen companies don’t have like my small corded Milwaukee rotary hammer for $179 or M12 $99 compact hammer, or crazy smooth and powerful Ridgid impact driver, or Empire level set. Sometimes the big three (MMD) venture into nailguns which Porter does better dollar for dollar which isn’t always advised. Likewise Porter has small drills which may be nice but the safer bet is still (maybe slightly so) going with MMD faire.

If I go truck I want a small one and not one designed to carry a soccer team which is basically a luxury suv pretending to be a truck. Many multiseat, four door trucks are so nice they aren’t designed to get scratched or work and belong to the Range Rover club. I don’t need leather seats, mahogany and Brazilian rosewood, and a supercomputer. I am liking a stripped down Santa Cruz. https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/2022-hyundai-santa-cruz-pickup-ford-maverick-pricing/

But the Transit line seems somewhat more affordable but still far more than trucks locally. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.motortrend.com/reviews/2020-ford-transit-250-awd-first-drive-review/amp/

Trucks are downright cheap compared to hipster or rich contractor Sprinters. ...Actually I should say rich “Subcontractors” because we don’t have the water to build but plenty or rich high tech people who won’t blink to dodge taxes and sink a quarter of a million into a bathroom or kitchen. lol What happened to single van trucks with large and low beds with decent mileage? I expect to be a handyman with state contractors license and I read I may need to have a gas guzzler to write off of. I would rather buy tools.

...anything higher end needs to be in the field making money for me so it’s Skil or B&D at home. However, I may retire one of my Milwaukee impact drivers and keep it solely at home. I love my brushed M12 impact driver and I think it will be my home based go to tool. It’s more comfortable than my Milwaukee and Makita brushless drills. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M12-12-Volt-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-1-4-in-Hex-Impact-Tool-Only-2462-20/204300705?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US&&mtc=Shopping-VF-F_D25T-G-D25T-025_009_PORT_POWER-MILWAUKEE-NA-NA-SMART-2231655-WF-SMARTSHOPPING_Q1Q2PLUSUP_CO2&cm_mmc=Shopping-VF-F_D25T-G-D25T-025_009_PORT_POWER-MILWAUKEE-NA-NA-SMART-2231655-WF-SMARTSHOPPING_Q1Q2PLUSUP_CO2-71700000082748908-58700007021279142-92700063177701115&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfyLCQs9USp4blAGqJkEEaPC&gbraid=0AAAAADq61UfyLCQs9USp4blAGqJkEEaPC&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIhpr96YaK9AIVhD2tBh3CFg8kEAQYAiABEgL4pvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Impressive. Are you in the trades or is this your personal hobby/tool stash? I work in construction and have a pretty big setup all in packout containers ready to go to a client but my brother is white collar but has more tools than me. Lol. I have seven packouts by category with toolbox for demolition tools, construction tools, mini subcompact tools, nail gun tools, paint/plaster tools, and two boxes for overflow tools that live in the garage and are unlikely to be called out into the field. I have two big saws and of course random plastic cases for jackhammers, nail guns, and other gear.

In my high stress lifestyle of working towards being a builder, I need to leave the world of tools, clients, and building and chill out at night. I am a longtime musician who has taken up atonal analog synth to guide my meditation. It takes me to a different place and rejuvenates me. What do you fellow toolheads do to relax?

Mods, delete this if it’s against the rules. With the common rollout of electric cars and the price going down, and of course power tool batteries and (Stanley Black Decker) DeWalt’s power stack, this can be a good time to buy stock.

I didn’t know the reason for this lineup.

When I started in construction this summer, I used the contractor’s Bosch Bulldog when he worked on my childhood home. What an amazing experience!! Since then I have come to work for him and used Ridgid, Milwaukee, DeWalt, and Makita stuff that I had purchased. It’s all great, but in a week or two, I will get a Bosch mud mixer drill that I ordered today. I am a little extra excited because I consider Bosch to be slightly better than the gear I currently have from the other far more well known professional brands. I consider the other slightly better pro brand to be Metabo. Of course I think Festool is probably the best but I would only consider it as a tool I would use professionally from home like a couple of my contractor friends who make highly precise finish pieces for jobs and other contractors. https://www.amazon.com/Bosch-GBM9-16-Amp-Mixer-D-Handle/dp/B01GJ40T1A/ref=asc_df_B01GJ40T1A/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309763890402&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10768312245623992075&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031901&hvtargid=pla-571225761113&psc=1

This sounds like a game changer. Troublesome size and weight brought on by giant batteries make the experience of an otherwise good tool much less. I am invested thousands into the Makita and Milwaukee battery systems so I could only hope one or both follow suit. It seems to be like the better power in a smaller space like a 9 volt battery over cylindrical batteries.

Milwaukee is my favorite. But I spent a little more and bought separate battery, charger, and vac in a Makita. On paper, the Milwaukee was slightly stronger, but the Makita compact vac had the better rating. Generally I would say Milwaukee makes great gear almost all the time but sometimes they have a bad design so I check reviews and I also have Makita battery tools just in case I need something but Makita has the better model. The few times I bought Makita over Milwaukee was the subcompact 18 v impact driver over the M12 or M18 FUEL. The other time was Makita sidewinder LXT saw over the M18.

Thanks for all the suggestions!! I have often thought about cheaper Black and Decker or Craftsman gear, but in my job I tend towards the standard pro stuff like DeWalt, Makita, Ridgid, and Milwaukee. At home though, my personal tool stash is the Stanley-Craftsman-Black and Decker faire, and I polish them too, lol, but my predictably thrashed looking work tools are all pro stuff mostly because I can’t afford to break down since I am alone. I think I may get a corded Ryobi type general purpose mixer for home and seriously consider a pro drum mixer for my remodeling accounts. Any suggestions then for small pro drum mixer?

When I was a small scale landscaper, I just saw any old truck including stylish raised up, hang around the beach vanity trucks with chrome wheels. But now that I have expanded into construction and have to load and unload thousands of pounds of drywall and cement as well as the common semi-stationary DeWalt saws, I see why there are sprinters and lower bed trucks. I am older now and not a hobbyist power lifter like I was when I was only 30. I am double that age now like most of the builders I see in town. Interestingly on the older set I see with licenses. Maybe the lack of younger builders shows the younger millennial kids are lazy, or, or hmm perhaps smarter. I know that my generation of builders all want their kids to go to college and make money from a desk and not be loading heavy stuff in the dark like me. I am only doing this physical work because my cardiologist implored me to.

I think if I were a high end home user or pro who very rarely sees mixing duties, I would just use a battery Milwaukee or Makita hammer drill (either next on my list for home and professional uses). But for my remodeling jobs around the county where I am often alone, I have narrowed it down to an M18 or LXT mud mixer for smaller stuff and full on corded for heavier use. I can see getting both, but maybe a drum? Where I can cut the cord, I do so but certain things like my table saw, compound miter saw, jackhammer, and compressor, I use the extra power of corded gear. I like the Makita or Ridgid or Bosch corded mud mixer which I think I can mix mud in a 55 gallon trash can. Using a 5 gallon bucket is slow because we had to do it ten times for a tiny tile flooring job (serious lol) where the thin set was hardening mighty fast. Lol. That was a stressful experience and made us consider a small drum mixer: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Marshalltown-3-cu-ft-1-2-HP-Electric-Wheelbarrow-Mixer-MIX3/205699493?source=shoppingads&locale=en-US

Under $300 and I prefer mixing in 5 gallon bucket because at Home Depot I can get a small rotating canister mixer for $350. That’s maybe too big. But there are times I need to mix in a 55 gallon trash can so I may have to rethink cost.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-9-Amp-Corded-1-2-in-Spade-Handle-Mud-Mixer-R7122/100523157 The only corded mud mixer at Home Depot online and in the store is the Ridgid one. I really can’t see a battery one from any maker being strong enough without burning up. On battery platforms in my price range, the Makita hammer drill 14 can do light mixing with its 104 foot/pound torque but not sure about the long term aspect of the LXT range for a long lived tool like a hammer drill-light mixer. Milwaukee makes a similarly strong hammer drill in this affordable range but it might burn up easily. Milwaukee tried a higher volt battery setup only to ditch it so the M18 line should be fairly long term. If I increase mixing duties enough, then no battery mixer can handle the work that any corded tool will do with ease. Maybe Ridgid mud mixer is it. Any experiences?

I usually think in terms more of cord and battery. If not made obsolete by battery changes by the manufacturer, the smaller format battery tools are much more delicate and don’t last as long. There are times having no cord is great because of the convenience but corded tools always have more power. I think the brushless tools have a lot of power but still not like corded tools.

Though I am new, I have to say so many I have seen use LXT. When I was switching from greens to building, I started researching what to get and it’s LXT, M18, and brushless DeWalt all day going to registers. I cant see XGT ever becoming a standard anymore than I can see people picking up Festool.