Tool Sets Reviews

I have been using this system for about 9 months and I am very satisfied. This machine works wonders on straight edge blades such as chisels. But beware, sharpening curved blades, such as knives and plane blades, requires practice to acquire a certain finese.

For example, I sharpen my hand plane blades so that they have a slight to substantial curve on them. My scrub plane has a substanial curve while my smoothing planes have a very subtle curve. The curve eliminates the "edge bite" that results when a straight plane blade is used. I use the multi-purpose jig for plane blades and it requires a bit of practice to get a really nice edge. Still, using the Tormek for curved blades is probably easier than water stomes but not much.

I bought a lot of the accessories and boy, are they expensive. One of these days Delta will make a knock-off Tormek that sells for half the price. Some of the accessories are great, such as the scissor sharpening jig and the knife sharpening jig. But who in their right mind would need to sharpen an axe to a razor sharp edge?? Just use your regular grinder.

Certain accessories shold be included in the basic package, such as the diamond truing tool, because the wheel WILL become out of round.

I'm a long-time doubter here. My primary hand tools are a set of Japanese chisels, some Pfeil carving tools, and a number of Lie-Nielsen plances of which I'm inordinateld proud. I have an entire library of sharpening stones and have been completely egotistical about hand sharpening and honing. In other words, I was an edge snob. That it could take me two days to sharpen everything after a sizeable project was besides the point.

Age, and the addition of another set of exotic chisels, finally did me in. After all that time sharpening it took another two days to work the cramps out of my fingers. suddenly the Tormek, despite its price tag, began to look good. So I attended a demo and watched someone sharpen a very fine chisel in about 15 minutes, including the traditionional hair shaving flourish. the finish of the edge was mirror perfect. I started saving my pennies.

The Tormek works by using a sharpening wheel that can be surfaced easily for either fast cutting or fine finishing. It rotates through a water bath at about 90 RPM. The tool being sharpened actual stays cold so you never lose temper. On the other side is a honing wheel with a leather surface on which you put a bit of rubbing compound, and that finishes the job. Because of the way you use the wheel, the edges are hollow ground. So if you are a perfectionist, you should grind at a slightly greater angle, but I know of no one who has ever had a problem.

I bought the Tormek with a host of accessories, but this model, out of the box with just the basic jig, will do 90% of your sharpening. It took me 6 hours to go through every edged tool except my joiner blades, and every one is perfect. Including the iron on an old, ugly Record T5 that had literally become a paperweight. If you want a way to consistenty get great edges on a host of tools (you can even get an axe sharpening jig) there really isn't another option. And it actually does what it says it does.

I've been using the grinder with a few of the different jigs and I can say it does, indeed, put a great edge on tools. I did find out that nothing is as easy as you might expect. The grinder does take a little practice in setting up and using the various jigs. The jigs are repeatable which is a big strength. That is, once set up correctly, you can repeat the bevels without even thinking about it. I gave this tool five stars because it does what it claims to do and does it very well. My plane blades and chisels have a mirror finish on them and are VERY sharp.

I teach high school Wood Fabrication and Manufacturing and I have two of the Bosch 3727 Random Orbital Sanders in my shop. I have used other random orbital sanders in the past, like Dewalt and Ryobi, and I found them difficult to hold on too. These sanders are wonderful. They are very smooth, create an excellent finish and are very well balanced and stable. You can easily hold on to them with one hand and keep the sanding pad on the work piece. Definitely the best random orbital sander I've ever used.

I have this sander at home and it does an amazing job. I have a Fein vacuum that, when connected to the sander, makes it pretty much dust free. The sanders own dust bag does a good job too but hooked up to the vacuum you really get spoiled.

If you work in a wood working shop everyday the sanders to get would be the Fein 8", 6" and a pneumatic 5" or 6". The Fein has a lager throw so it sands off more with each pass than the Bosch with the same grit paper.

The Bosch however is easier to control, lighter, very quiet (compared to the Fein), less expensive, and a lot more comfortable to use. I work in a shop making furniture so I do a lot of sanding and I have been very happy with this sander!

I bought this sander to replace my Dewalt palm sander and I love it. Its a little heavy if your sanding walls or a ceiling but if you're on a flat surface its fine. The paper is a snap to change. This is a truly awesome sander.

The chuck alone is worth the extra cost. Size, weight, balance and power make it chosen over my other cordless drills by Milwaukee, DeWalt and Porter Cable. I use the other three when I have lots of room, mainly to save the batteries in the Panasonic or we need a hammer-drill. We try to save the panasonic for all the driving and tight spot drilling. The chuck locks up as tight as a keyed chuck with real precision. Full power at low speeds is nice. the electric brake is good and the motor is outlasting the other tools according to motor odors.

I recieved this drll as a gift for chrismas. My friend told my wife about it as he is a cabinetmaker by trade and they have 3 of them in the shop. Well I wasn't to be disappointed. I have small hands, but find that the erogonomics fit my hand perfectly. It is well balanced and the forward and reverse are right where you expect them to be. I especially like how you chuck up the bit. This drill has the power it takes to do the job with less effert. I had a Porter-cable and I would choose the Panasonic hands down.

I have had this drill (actually it's predecessor) for over 10 years. I bought it just as I started working on "Hook", the movie. It had one feature I found too compelling not to try: the speed controller gives FULL or MAXIMUM TORQUE at ALL speeds! That means you don't have to give it more gas to twist harder. That translates into control! Fine, precise control. Amazing. Now after all those years of super hard use, I must replace it. The batteries are ready for the recycler. I am going to get the 15.6V 1/2" model to replace it, and I am sure it will ROCK! Way to go Panasonic! As a Product Designer (too) I applaud your work!

(PS: The main shaft could be harder, as mine bent slightly after a drop...but it still makes Makita owners blanche!)

Leslie Ekker, SFX Modelmaker

Just like any thing "Milwaukee" it is top quality,and I wasn't disappointed,it is very compact,and is everything that was advertised.

Purchased it with Milwaukee's cordless screwdriver just in case. Well, I needed it for a task within a week after receiving it. I would not have been able to do the task with the cordless otherwise. Get it. You'll be glad you did.

If you have an electric screwdriver, you gotta have one of these. Compact, rugged, smooth. Has a indexed handle that can mount in a variety of positions to offset the torque. Sooner or later you're going to have a use for this on a Sunday night, when all the stores are closed, so get one now, you wont regret it! Identical as one produced by AEG, now owned by Milwalkee.

I personally never saw the garden set, but the recipient was delighted and felt it was sturdy enough for outdoor use also.

This set is not only practical for indoor gardening but also oh so cute! The size is just perfect for small space and small hands. The quality of the tools is surprisingly good, considering the price. I don't need to buy a garden tool from the big-box stores again! And it came packaged beautifully. You can give it to anyone as a great gift. Highly recommended!

so cute - fun to use - great for indoor plants and flower boxes

Dado cuts are smooth and clean - no ridges. Corners are crisp and 90 degrees. Case for storage is excellent and with wide selection of metal shims you can get just about any width of cut you desire. Highly recommend. Why pay double the price for the high end other product when this will do the job just as well?

I purchased this set after researching several other sets from various manufactures. This was the only dado set in its price range that includes a 3/32 inch chipper. I have used this set to make dadoes in hard maple, cherry, and birch plywood with excellent results. There is virtually no tearout in any of the above materials, the grooves are perfectly flat on the bottoms with very shallow scoring grooves which completely disappeared in the box joints I made. The groove widths are exact requiring no additional shimming to get a perfect fit. After using this set on several projects it appears to be one of the best values out there in an excellent quality dado set, and it even comes in a very good case.

great dado set!!! clean flat bottom cuts little tearout couldn't go wrong for $200 yet $100 wow! No problem achieving 29/32 cut on my r-dgid 3650 without the outer washer. awesome!

I LOVE this drill. It requires no cords or electricity. It's lightweight and simple to use. It's simply the handiest tool when you need to make a hole in most surfaces.

This is one of the most used tools I own. It is so much easier than hauling out the power drill. It does take some skill to use well but it is SO handy that it is worth the effort. I think I need another one so I have twice the chance of being able to find it. Mine is Yellow BTW.

We use this all the time for hanging pictures, repairing furniture, etc. It's easy to use, it's reliable and steady and is the perfect tool for anyone who needs a small drill for home projects. We considered buying a power drill when we bought our house a few years ago but we've found that this hand drill works fine for everything we do here.

Milwaukee always represents quality and this set is no exception. Well worth the expenditure.

If you want good, really really good, drill bits - GET THESE! The differance between these and cheap ones is unbelievable. Worth every penny. Accurately sized, finely machined, SHARP, properly ground angle, and somewhat larger sized index case with size markings that are easy to read. I first used these to drill some holes in metal for tapping. Granted I was using a drill press but I hardly felt any resistance at all in the handle. A perfect clean hole.

Good drill bits are getting harder and harder to find! These are the fastest and smoothest bits I've found for drilling metal hands down.

I'm new to nail sets but I bought these forlike $8, the otherday a saw Stanley nail sets for $5 but they were not color coded. If you ask me spending an extra $10 for the color coded ones would be worth it. I use this set every week and it is simple to determine whichone I need everytime thanks to the colors.

these sets work great and function well. It is hard to screw up a set of nail sets. these are just fine.

I replaced my old Stanley nail sets with these and have not regretted it one bit. Though my old set was reliable and very good quality (good steel, through and through) these are much more pleasant to use. The cushioned handles are much easier to hold in wet or sweaty hands and MUCH easier to find in a crowded tool box or tool belt pouch. Also, by having three different colors it is easier to remember which is which! Lastly, though this is not a big deal, I prefer these because they won't discolor as much as my old set did over time (due to the coating).

Basically they are inexpensive and a joy to use!

For me, the main reason to purchase this tool set was to build the Costco SUNRAY playground playset in my backyard.

As a new homeowner myself, I did not have any tools. And this is the list of the Required tools from Costco for building the playset:

Tape measure, Carpenters level, Claw hammer, Wood clamp,
Standard cordless drill with medium Phillips bit,
1/4" and 3/8" ratchet,
1/4", 7/16", 1/8" drill bit,
7/16", 1/2", 9/16" deep well socket,
9/16" box wrench.

I expected to spend two hundred dollars in Homedepot to have the complete set. Luckily I checked Amazon first and found the Allied 39025 tool set.
Sixty dollars and three days later, I have almost every tools I need.

I am no expert on tools, but after three days of intensive use, I feel this tool set is very solid, especially taking consideration of the value.
The drill is very powerful too.

If there is anything more I'd hope for, it would be an extra battery. But with the current price, I have no complain.

...SO if you are paid to put wooden things together, fix plastic things or do any of that jazz on a daily basis, then you should know better. Much better.

For someone like me, however, who occasionally puts cupboards and wardrobes from Ikea together, this kit is simply the best value for money I could find online and offline.

I've had it for about 3 months and it still performs as new. The drill doesn't come with diamond crystalized drill bits to break into safes; it comes with bits to drill holes into dry wall and brick wall. And it does a great job.

The plastic casing supporting the tools/holding them in place, feels a bit cheap but that's about the only problem I can identify.

Here's why I was interested in this tool set and why it's pretty much perfect.

a) Hated having to search through a giant toolbox over & over on every project because everything is tossed on top of each other. EVERY tool, component, etc has its own slot and it's a nice tight fit so if you drop it, the 178 pieces do not fall into one giant heap of tools, sockets, etc ...

b) While quality is important, if tools are just tools to you and you don't need/want a $1,000 tool set - these might not last three generations but they are all solid and work great and at a price where I don't have to worry about if people might make off with some tiny wrench.

c) No real compromises on what you get. Unlike other sets, it not missing some main tool. This one has a screwdriver, wrench, plier, crescent wrench set, hammer, saw, etc, etc ... not to mention the cordless drill. Look at the ZOOM photo - and unlike other sets where 100 screws count as part of a "115-set" tool kit, 99.5% of what you get are actual tools or actual attachments to tools. (there are $1,000 tool sets without a hammer!)

d) the box is nice. It's not pretty but it's solid heavy plastic and the pieces require effort to get in each slot - again, that's actually a good thing as I've had sets that look pretty in the picture but if you drop the tool kit, all the pieces fall in a heap and no one really likes to pick through 50 socket heads to put everything back or the 'holder' is some flimsy plastic that yellows, cracks or just gives up the ghost. This is very solid.

There's even a little extra room in the middle when it's closed that you can keep gloves and a towel there.

About the only thing missing is that if the bolt is very long, the crescent wrench does not have an extender and you can't really reach the nut but that's pretty obscure - not to confuse anyone - there is an extender if the nut is merely a ways from your hand but not if the bolt is exessively long.

Other than that, finally a set that will serve 99.9% of your average home, car and even some computer repair use (it has torx and even a tool/magnet retriever if you drop a screw somewhere) - ALL solidly built in a solidly built case with a slot for EVERYTHING. And of course, a great price also! It's excellent!