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Comment by MisterTea | Hacker News Reader

> I had one of their circular saws which dropped from a roof ...

Mine went under in Sandy. Still works. I once accidentally ran my old pipe handled hole hog on 240V for a few seconds. That thing also fell from ceiling height down sideways onto concrete, broke the rear handle, bent the hole saw but it kept working. That is a scary drill.

My only gripe with Milwaukee is their corded power tools were redesigned with more plastic so they discontinued the parts for them. My Magnum needs a new brush holder and my screw gun needs a trigger.

I really want their mag drill but too rich for my blood so I bought an import that is meh but does the job.

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The hole hawg is the only tool I own that I’m a bit scared to use and won’t lend out unless I go along with it.

That thing will fling you into the next room and break both arms while doing it without even breaking a sweat.

I really enjoyed Stephenson’s story about those things.

> The danger lies not in the machine itself but in the user's failure to envision the full consequences of the instructions he gives to it.

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28015229

I'm with Stephenson on that one and it is the exact reason I ended up buying something smaller. I'm simply not strong enough to properly handle a hole hawg and I also don't have frequent enough work to keep it around doing nothing for extended periods of time. The 'smaller' version I have is a Bosch SDS-max capable drill that still makes short work of anything I throw at it but I can imagine jobs where it wouldn't be able to match the hole hawg's capabilities (or frankly, to even come near it). These aren't toys and you should get what works for you, not just what looks impressive.

Another brand I still like after many years is Makita, I've yet to have something made by them break from normal use. DeWalt has lost the plot, they are no longer worth the premium price. And with Bosch it's hit-and-miss you have to do a lot of online reading before making the call on one of their tools. They are very efficient in their use of materials and sometimes they can be too efficient and deliver a tool that isn't up to snuff. But they are always price competitive.

The makita problem (and somewhat the Bosch problem) is they refuse to bring the good stuff to the USA, so I’ve joined the Red Army.

Significant differences between Bosch 'blue' and Bosch 'green'. Makita is universally top quality, I don't know what they sell in the USA though, but what I can get here in Europe is very well engineered and reliable. Fun story: we went through one jigsaw after another of 'A' brands back in the day when Makita was still not well established in Europe. Cutting fiberglass (which is kind of nasty stuff on mechanisms). Then we decided that if they're going to fail anyway let's get something cheap so that we won't cry when we have to toss it. Enter the first Makita tool in the shop. And it just lasted and lasted... for half the price that was a pretty good deal :)

They're not so bad when you have the pipe handle installed, which gives you a lot of leverage over the body of the drill.

That being said, even the cordless ones have an absurd amount of power. At my work we use them to send a 3-flute, 1 1/4" auger bit about 5 feet straight through Douglas Fir (drilling concealed electrical wiring chutes in columns). I've seen them roll a 10' 8x8 (~150 lbs) across the sawhorses when someone forgot to clamp it before drilling.

I played withsome else's hole hawg and I realized it has too much torque for me to work with safely. I'm not physically large or strong and that tool needs a physique to match it if you don't want to end up in the infirmary. I have a somewhat smaller model that does the job as well but that takes a bit longer and doesn't immediately break my arm when it jams.

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