Yeah I’m a big fan of Wera and Gardena stuff. My SO keeps misplacing screwdrivers so I’m going to buy a nice set of the weras and keep them in my desk haha.
Relatedly, we bought a ryobi electric mower last year and i cannot say enough good things about it. it’s a champ.
When I was a professional carpenter I was too poor to buy all Dewalt. I figured I’d get a cheap set of Ryobi while I earned money and saved up. That was 2003, I still have that set and it all still works. No Joke. I have dropped them off houses, worked with them in the rain, and abused the hell out of them. I hope they never brake, the newer versions don’t have all the cool features that the older ones do. Come to find out, all the motors and gears are straight from Rigid tools.
Finished 1200 sqf walkout with DeWalt 12v. Not a nail anywhere, every stud fastened with 4" screws. Opened the case twice to relube gears and clean commutator across 10 years.
Couldn’t have been happier with it. Bought a new 18v li ion without thinking twice.
If I’m not mistaken, B&D built Craftsman power tools for many years.
I would have no fear buying anything Rigid makes.
Got their Jobmax multi tool a while back. Same power unit has changeable heads, the vibrator multi tool, jigsaw, right angle drill, right angle impact driver, recip saw - power unit and all heads have unlimited lifetime warranty if you register.
Some brands will make different grades depending on the box store they’re selling to, but it’s sad to have a hard time getting what you want even when you’re willing to pay for it.
I also wonder about B&D making noises about a new US plant – their other plants have shown that it’s quite possible to make lousy stuff in the US. Or at least to assemble it.
Used to just love the Rigid Tools calendars when I was working offshore…every tool pusher kept one next to the coffee maker. 
(Before political correctness got to be a thing. Chuckle!) 
I remember, “Someday you may wish you had a Rigid Tool” 
Craftsman power tools used to be made by King-Seeley in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Their factory was on my paper route and I went into the factory 6 days a week in the early 1960’s. I think that is one of the reasons I love tools, watching all the table saws and hand power tools being manufactured.
Factories were’t heated in those days and the winters, even indoors, could be brutal in Michigan. Also, most factories built stuff, verses assembling stuff. For instance, the River Rouge Ford plant brought in iron ore and sand. They made everything from those raw materials, all the steel, all the parts. The sand was to make the glass for the windows. The only part of the car not made / built there were the tires. Henry Ford liked Mr. Firestone, so purchased the tires from him.
King-Seeley built their tools, casting and machining the parts. Today, things are assembled and not built.
A friend’s dad worked there and had everyone of the Craftsman brand power tools at his summer home. It was a fun place to visit and develop tool envy.
The bad news is that the quality went down when King-Seeley stopped making the Craftsman brand. The good news is that there is now a micro brewery in part of the old building.
This year’s was less…controversial…than prior years 
Not saying old wrenches aren’t something to behold, but…
Didn’t know they were still making them…I’m surprised they can get away with it now. 
The non-power tools seem to be pretty solid, but their power tools dropped in quality over the years.
Early power tools were just re-branding of solid power tool manufacturers, but more recent power tools just became cheap Chinese knock offs that seemed to be just barely above Harbor Freight.
I like some of the Harbor Freight tools and equipment, but I know what I am buying and when it breaks, it has served its purpose. I expected more from Craftsman and was willing to pay more.
Gonna miss the hand tool lifetime policy.
As much as I want to find it locally, it just irritates me when I go to the store and they are out of stock and the first thing they will say is, “You can go to our website and order it and have it delivered for free (sometimes)…”
If I had wanted it in a few days (or a week), I won’t be in the store right then.
Amazon Prime is my friend and for $3 to $5 I get next day delivery.
The Ridgid LSA (Lifetime Service Agreement) is wonderful.
Make sure you get it applied by the 90th day and keep your receipt (I take pictures of mine).
Funny you mention hose connectors. I was in HD the other day looking at them and I walked out without buying anything. It all looked like garbage… Cheap plastic painted like chrome, and overpriced too. It was appalling.
The Gardena stuff? It’s actually all pretty great. I’ve been pleased with all of it so far and darned if those couplers don’t beat all. Makes it much handy to deal with multiple hoses in my experience.
NOOOOOOOO!!!
I still think there is a need for curated tool offerings. All my major woodworking equipment is Craftsman: bought new or collected from online postings and flee markets and parking lot trades. I started collecting Craftsman tools after my grandfather helped me make a wooden tool tote on his 1964 10" table saw. I know that many people have complained of decreasing quality over the years, but the world today expects 100% perfectly adjusted machines right out of the box (that’s why we’re backing the Glowforge, right?), with little knowledge of machine care or adjustments. Many of their products are still “Made in the USA” (Screwdrivers!) and have put up with year of my abuse.
Bummed.
Agreed. Anyone who spends much time in the garden ought to look into these.
I agree that the non-power tools have still been pretty solid, but the power tools, not so much. When I first got into woodworking I started with a 1964 Craftsman 10" tablesaw. One of the gears that controlled the angle of the blade got completely stripped (only 1 gear tooth left on it) and they no longer make that part (and I had no friends with milling machines or the ability to make a duplicate). So that had to be scrapped, I bought a newer Craftsman table saw about 3 years ago, and I’ve had to replace the wheel to raise and lower the blade twice. This second time also saw that the bolt that held the plastic wheel on was stripped and would not come off of the shaft. While deciding what to do about it, I got the opportunity to get a SawStop at almost 50% of normal price. The decision was fairly easy and now I have a much better table saw. The Craftsman is currently being used as an extra workspace to assemble pieces.
The table saw still works…anyone want to buy it?
I would absolutely love a SawStop. I did have a table saw accident two years ago that caused more than a few stitches. Thankfully everything is attached and working except for some numbness in two fingers and temperature sensitivity. When I told the wife I had supported the Glowforge, her first question was “Will this one send you to the hospital too?”
Sawstop saws are great saws, but the cartiges are super expensive. You also have to replace the blade after a trigger. That being said fingers are definitely worth more then a few hundred dollars .
You just have to be mindful of what your cutting. ANY metal, or if your wood is overly damp in any way, and it will trigger as well. I saw someone do the metal thing back in cabinet school. I don’t even think the teachers appreciated how the saw worked till that incident 