Silverline. Any Good?

[Dylanwad]

Is any one familiar with the brand Silverline? I was wondering if the tools are any good, especially the drill press, planer and band saw.

http://www.silverlinetools.com/shop/PowerT...hPower/d9/sd232

Are they cheap for a reason or are they ok?

[Woodenspoke]

Is any one familiar with the brand Silverline? I was wondering if the tools are any good, especially the drill press, planer and band saw.

http://www.silverlinetools.com/shop/PowerT...hPower/d9/sd232

Are they cheap for a reason or are they ok?

The web site could be slower, LOL. Looks like the standard Chinese selection of low end tools. I would look for name brand tools and save yourself the cost of replacing them in the near future. If its non critical tools like angle grinders, clamps and so forth go right ahead. But if you are cutting critical parts forget it.

[Dylanwad]

Ok, good to know. Excuse my ignorance but what brands are considered quality? How much should I be looking at spending on decent tools, specificaly a router, drill press, planer and band saw?

[ihocky2]

Bosch, Porter Cable, Dewalt and Hitachi all make good hand power tools. Jet, Steel City, Rikon, Powermatic, Delta are some of the good name brand stationary power tools. Another good one is Grizzly, not a large name brand, but a good tool, and a little lower priced, but being overseas, shipping may be an issue.

A drill press is probably $100 to $200 for a good bench top one.

Router- $150ish or higher

Planer-$250 on up

Bandsaw- what type of work do you want to do. If you want to resaw 12" wide boards you are looking at least $500 unless you find a decent sale. If you just want to cut bodies, $200 is probably a better starting point.

[Rick500]

I can personally vouch for Bosch and Jet(/Powermatic).

In fact, most of my stationary power tools are Jet, and I've been very pleased with them. My 17" drill press had an unbalanced belt when I got it, but other than that I have had zero problems with my Jet tools (drill press, jointer, band saw, drum sander).

Have also been very happy with Ridgid (planer).

Ryobi... I have a table saw and a benchtop drill press. Less than thrilled with them. Although my Ryobi 18V cordless drill is great.

[dpm99]

I don't know if this matters to you, but if you're looking into a planer, and really want to blow a ton of money, consider a drum sander. That way you can use it for acoustic builds as well. That's one tool I really wish I had.

-Dave

[dh7892]

Ok, good to know. Excuse my ignorance but what brands are considered quality? How much should I be looking at spending on decent tools, specificaly a router, drill press, planer and band saw?

In the UK, you can't go far wrong with anything from Axminster Power Tools. As far as I've experienced, they don't sell anything that won't work. Unlike some DIY chains who sell cheap tools that are a waste of money because they can't actaully be used to do the job they're supposed to do! Axminster might not be the cheapest place to get stuff (I don't think they're bad though) but it's a good place to start looking as you can get a feel for how much you should expect to pay.

I've got a bandsaw from Axminster (was ~£240 now more expensive) and I bought a Jet benchtop drill press from them too. Both have been very good (although I'd get a bigger drill press if I had the space).