View Poll Results: If you had no limitations, which brand would you choose?

Voters
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  • Powermatic

    51 38.93%
  • Jet

    4 3.05%
  • Grizzly

    22 16.79%
  • Delta

    7 5.34%
  • Rikon

    0 0%
  • Baileigh

    1 0.76%
  • Shop Fox

    1 0.76%
  • General

    3 2.29%
  • Laguna

    6 4.58%
  • Other (specify in a comment below)

    36 27.48%
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Thread: POLL: If you had to choose just one brand of woodworking power tools . . .

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
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    Chicago, USA
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    Question POLL: If you had to choose just one brand of woodworking power tools . . .

    I know this is ridiculous and probably not constructive at all. But just for fun, I want to ask the question:

    If money was not an issue, and you had no limitations on space/power/time/etc, and you had to buy a shop full of new woodworking stationary power tools, and you could choose only one brand, which brand would you choose?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jul 2017
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    TX / LA border.. Toledo Bend
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    To make this more accurate, you need to specify handheld... OR stationary.

    ALSO, you CANNOT for an accurate result picture just say "Delta", or "Powermatic" ,.........you need to differentiate between Old Iron USA made, and current relative offshore Asian.

    That would include Canadian General vs foreign General and any other brand also.

    USA made vs. offshore, (meaning specifically Asian, NOT including Italian, German, generally "European" made, Canadian, etc) two VERY VERY Different animals.

    This isn't a Flag waving thing, It is a quality, longevity,sturdiness, quality of build thing.

    So, again... myself, cannot vote w/o that info.

    Just my thoughts. Marc
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 07-30-2017 at 1:13 PM.

  3. #3
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    Reading your OP again, I guess you did use the word "New".

    I myself have little interest in that, For most tools anyway, especially stationary, when USA made Old Iron is available.

    Certainly some European made is very good, but virtually NOTHING Chinese or anywhere near there. (A few exceptions possibly, but very few) Marc
    Last edited by Marc Jeske; 07-27-2017 at 2:04 AM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2008
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    Courtenay BC Canada
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    2,750
    Only one brand I would choose Felder .. SCM doesn't have dust collection. My favorite brand is Martin but they have 4 tools plus a bunch of Griggio stuff which is also very good.

    Felder because I would have great quality and dust collection ..

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jun 2017
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    Chicago, USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Marc Jeske View Post
    Reading your OP again, I guess you did use the word "New".
    Yeah, I guess I'm curious to know who people thing is making the best tools overall now. So one requirement in my question (in the original post) is that the tools have to be new. I def respect what you're saying about Asian and how current tools often can't compare.
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 07-30-2017 at 1:15 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2005
    Location
    Helensburgh, Australia
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    2,700
    Felder.......
    Chris

    Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening

  7. #7
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    Tasmania
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    2,162
    No way is any one manufacturer better than the rest. I'm not an apologist for any of them. They have to try harder than that. Cheers

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Location
    Toronto Ontario
    Posts
    11,247
    Hi, General machinery is no longer being made unfortunately. General International is still in business.

    That said, for a survey asking about purchasing equipment based upon unlimited resources, you left out all the high end manufacturers.

    I'd vote Felder and Martin.................Regards, Rod.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2017
    Location
    Northern Illinois
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    943
    It's an impossible question to answer. First, none of us have experience with all of the brands (at least I doubt we do). Online reviews are just about useless. Plus, in reality, I have never chosen tools completely based on brand name. All companies make some tools that go to the top of the list and others that don't.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Central Missouri, U.S.
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    1,263
    Maybe a better question is which Asian factory do you prefer?

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Location
    Texas Hill Country
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    705
    Quote Originally Posted by Marc Jeske View Post
    To make this more accurate, you need to specify handheld... OR stationary.

    ALSO, you CANNOT for an accurate result picture just say "Delta", or "Powermatic" ,.........you need to differentiate between Old Iron USA made, and current relative offshore Asian.

    That would include Canadian General vs foreign General and any other brand also.

    USA made vs. offshore, (meaning specifically Asian, NOT including Italian, German, generally "European" made, Canadian, etc) two VERY VERY Different animals.

    This isn't a Flag waving thing, It is a quality, longevity,sturdiness, quality of build thing.

    So, again... myself, cannot vote w/o that info.

    Just my thoughts. Marc
    You nailed it Marc.
    Last edited by Keith Outten; 07-30-2017 at 1:16 PM.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Milwaukee
    Posts
    907
    I marked Delta. Because that's what I did. All my big tools (3 of them) are Delta. But today Delta isn't making all the big stuff I use.

    So today, money and space being no object - Felder or Hammer. For the floor standing stuff.

    Hand held/small stuff like a miter saw - that depends.
    Last edited by John Piwaron; 07-27-2017 at 9:22 AM.

  13. #13
    I would buy European brands for stationary machines, just look at Martin USA website http://www.martin-usa.com/

    For portable tools, I would buy Festool, Mafell (http://www.mafelltoolstore.com/), and Lamello (http://www.lamello.com/en/home/machi...ntex-ergo.html)

    For hand tools, certainly Lie-Nielsen or Veritas.

    James

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Dec 2005
    Location
    West Lafayette, IN
    Posts
    6,529
    You're right, this is ridiculous. You left out more manufacturers than you included - not to mention old iron was not included as said before.

    First post too, welcome!

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
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    Marina del Rey, Ca
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    It is really a silly premise for anyone with a "money-is-no-object" budget to handicap himself to only one brand of new machine. And, for the rest of us, not only does cost matter, but each set of personal machine parameters favor a certain few makers and eras.
    "Anything seems possible when you don't know what you're doing."

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