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)
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.
At Home Depot and Lowes, the price difference between DeWalt and Milwaukee is even bigger.
I want to see model numbers on those prices you're comparing.
Anything I go to an actual store, DeWalt is more then Milwaukee. I never look at Ryobi or Makita because they are not good professional tools and break much faster then DeWalt or Milwaukee
My Makita circular saw is great, though admittedly it gets pretty light use. The rip guide/fence system it comes with is absolute garbage though.
1/2" drill/driver. The Milwaukee comes with 2 3a batteries compared to DeWalt having 1 4 ah which explains $50.
Although I also see a $99 Milwaukee with a single 2 Ahr battery which is weird because the tool alone is $129.
Those are hard to compare, especially at Home Depot. They are always having combo deals. Those are also the cheaper lines, the MAX XR and M18 FUEL are where the prices separate. That's the top of the line of each brand.
Could be, but there are also like 80 different impact drivers in each brand, so tough to compare apples to apples. I also bought all my power tools years and years ago, so just going off what I remember when I was doing my research. I actually own mostly DeWalt and some Makita and Harbor Freight, and my router stuff is all Bosch. The only Milwaukee stuff I own is their M18 yard tools stuff and it's really shoddily built and quite shit, though it did look the best compared to the alternatives - so probably just a function of compromising on a multi tool. But hey, I'm just one dad.
The one thing I know for sure is there's a silly amount of brand loyalty and sweeping generalizations (like the ones I made!), and it's tough to cut through any of it since tool review websites and videos are probably the worst example of AI generated blogspam I experience in my daily life. Unless someone's a professional tradesman, they probably don't get to use tools enough to have well-informed opinions, and then their needs don't even really match harry homeowner in the first place!
It's probably best to just do blind tribalism and give us something to make fun of other dads for. What I'm trying to say is your response is exactly what someone in House Milwaukee would say.
FYI Durmstrang is from Hungary.
So Russia-lite
Ah, thanks. I haven't read those books for years and years.
Awesome characterization, I'm not following the Potterverse but what would Hilti be? Or Mafell?
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.
What about snap-on?
Is this canonical?
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.)
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!
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)
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.
I want to see model numbers on those prices you're comparing.
Anything I go to an actual store, DeWalt is more then Milwaukee. I never look at Ryobi or Makita because they are not good professional tools and break much faster then DeWalt or Milwaukee
My Makita circular saw is great, though admittedly it gets pretty light use. The rip guide/fence system it comes with is absolute garbage though.
1/2" drill/driver. The Milwaukee comes with 2 3a batteries compared to DeWalt having 1 4 ah which explains $50.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20V-MAX-Cordless-1-2-in-Drill-Driver-2-20V-1-3Ah-Batteries-Charger-and-Bag-DCD771C2/204279858
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-18V-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-1-2-in-Compact-Drill-Driver-Kit-with-Two-2-0-Ah-Batteries-Charger-and-Case-3601-22CT/325544370
Although I also see a $99 Milwaukee with a single 2 Ahr battery which is weird because the tool alone is $129.
Those are hard to compare, especially at Home Depot. They are always having combo deals. Those are also the cheaper lines, the MAX XR and M18 FUEL are where the prices separate. That's the top of the line of each brand.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/DEWALT-20V-MAX-XR-Lithium-Ion-Cordless-Premium-Brushless-1-2-in-Hammer-Drill-and-20V-MAX-XR-Premium-Lithium-Ion-4-0Ah-Battery-DCD996BW204/309377508#overlay
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Milwaukee-M18-FUEL-18V-Lithium-Ion-Brushless-Cordless-1-2-in-Hammer-Drill-Driver-Tool-Only-2904-20/320326855
Could be, but there are also like 80 different impact drivers in each brand, so tough to compare apples to apples. I also bought all my power tools years and years ago, so just going off what I remember when I was doing my research. I actually own mostly DeWalt and some Makita and Harbor Freight, and my router stuff is all Bosch. The only Milwaukee stuff I own is their M18 yard tools stuff and it's really shoddily built and quite shit, though it did look the best compared to the alternatives - so probably just a function of compromising on a multi tool. But hey, I'm just one dad.
The one thing I know for sure is there's a silly amount of brand loyalty and sweeping generalizations (like the ones I made!), and it's tough to cut through any of it since tool review websites and videos are probably the worst example of AI generated blogspam I experience in my daily life. Unless someone's a professional tradesman, they probably don't get to use tools enough to have well-informed opinions, and then their needs don't even really match harry homeowner in the first place!
It's probably best to just do blind tribalism and give us something to make fun of other dads for. What I'm trying to say is your response is exactly what someone in House Milwaukee would say.
FYI Durmstrang is from Hungary.
So Russia-lite
Ah, thanks. I haven't read those books for years and years.
Awesome characterization, I'm not following the Potterverse but what would Hilti be? Or Mafell?
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.
What about snap-on?
Is this canonical?
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.)
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!