Shopsmith Forums

Before I knew any better, I bought a Black and Decker drill back (way back) in the 80's. The drill was ok and it had perfectly straight sides that allowed me to use a square to drill holes straight. I didn't really use it much at first, so it lasted a few years until I actually put it to work. I was driving in a few screws and it suddenly caught FIRE!. I quickly unplugged it but it continued to blase away. I happened to have a bucket of water nearby and threw the drill into the bucket. That was the last time (or so I thought) that I would buy a Black and Decker power tool. I replaced that drill with a Bosch that I abuse regularly. While installing a sub-floor I have driven so many screws that I have to put the drill down because it is too hot to hold, but it has never caught fire.

I saw a great deal on a sander at Sears so I bought it. Little did I know, that it was actually a Black and Decker sold under the Sears brand name. I discovered this when I saw the exact same sander from Black and Decker at another store. Dam, I accidentally bought another Black and Decker. Unfortunately I could not take it back because it was a clearance item. A year later when I finally used it, it lasted 15 minutes before the motor burned out. I told my sob story to Sears and they actually replaced it. That one lasted about 20 minutes. Somehow I ended up with a Black and Decker weed whacker and it lasted a whopping 30 minutes before melting around the motor brushes like the sanders did.

Now I hear that Black and Decker have bought other tool companies, such as Dewalt in 1992, and Porter Cable, and Delta in 2004. I am sure they own many more now too. I just happen to have Dewalt and Porter cable tools, so again, I accidentally bought more Black and Decker tools. I like the Dewalt sander and the Porter Cable router, so I can't complain about them but I do question their quality now.

I read that they are keeping the companies separate, but I don't believe it for a minute. I have been noticing similarities between B&D and Dewalt for years but hoped it wasn't true. Hopefully the good quality from Dewalt is moving over to the Black and Decker side and not the other way around. Before I knew that Dewalt was also from B&D I was interested in a Dewalt jig saw. When I looked at the B&D and Dewalt side by side, they had the exact same blade holder. That is when I went home empty handed and looked up who owns Dewalt on the internet. Perhaps I'll go with the ridged now.

Last month I bought a Price Pfister faucet from Lowes and when I got it home and looked at the instructions I noticed that it is a Black and Decker company!!!! AAAHHHHHH! I can't seem to get away from this company.


Anybody have similar stories? or concerns?

B&D aquired DeWalt back in 1960, not 92.
B&D owns a number of companies. DeWalt, Delta, Kwikset, Porter-Cable, Price Pfister, etc.
B&D has been sold to Stanley.

Years ago I worked in the power tool test lab in Hampstead MD. There was quite a bit of product cross over, including Snap-On. Many DeWalt tools were made on the same lines, though often with slightly higher quality materials.

foxtrapper wrote:B&D aquired DeWalt back in 1960, not 92.
B&D owns a number of companies. DeWalt, Delta, Kwikset, Porter-Cable, Price Pfister, etc.
B&D has been sold to Stanley.

Years ago I worked in the power tool test lab in Hampstead MD. There was quite a bit of product cross over, including Snap-On. Many DeWalt tools were made on the same lines, though often with slightly higher quality materials.

Please, why do you think this??? I do knot think this is true and wood like to know more.

a1gutterman wrote:Please, why do you think this??? I do knot think this is true and wood like to know more.

http://www.blackanddecker.com/CustomerC ... ation.aspx

I guess I shouldn't believe everything I read on the net:o So, if it is true that they have owned Dewalt since before I was born, there may be some hope for other companies that they own.

foxtrapper wrote:B&D aquired DeWalt back in 1960, not 92.
B&D owns a number of companies. DeWalt, Delta, Kwikset, Porter-Cable, Price Pfister, etc.
B&D has been sold to Stanley.

Years ago I worked in the power tool test lab in Hampstead MD. There was quite a bit of product cross over, including Snap-On. Many DeWalt tools were made on the same lines, though often with slightly higher quality materials.

Interesting. Which used higher quality materials, Snap-On or DeWalt?

At the time I was there B&D started rebuilding the DeWalt name to be associated with quality, so DeWalt would almost always be the best B&D could manufacture. I say almost because the old B&D commercial automotive line was the best, and sometimes was better than the DeWalt. The DeWalt 4.5" grinder was not as good as the commercial automotive grinder for example.

Snap-On products would be built to the standards Snap-On decided on, and it wasn't always top notch. The Snap-On B&D grinder was good, the glue gun was the lowest of the B&D line as I recall.

Six years ago I purchased a B&D 1/4 sheet sander. (mdl FS500). It came with a paper punch and could be attached to a shop vac. It does an incredible job of sucking up the dust as I sand. This was a vast improvement over an older Craftsman sander that left dust everywhere and was difficult to change sanding sheets as well.

Then, a couple of years ago I, by chance, discovered that B&D had "reconditioned" FS500's for only $11. I purchased three more, gave one each to my son and son-in-law, and now have one each in Gainesville and the U.P. They all are working very well.

B&D no longer has this model, new or reconditioned. I see that they now have a model 540 which looks about the same, but I don't know if it has the quality of the older tool.

On the other hand, in a moment of weakness/temporary rapture while at Woodcraft, I purchased an expensive Festool pad sander. Of course, this also requires you to purchase their velcro backed sanding sheets with the vac holes already punched in them. Lotsa $$$$ and smiling faces on the other side of the check-out counter.

This Festool sander is quality plus. It comes in a hard plastic case that stacks with cases of their other accessories just in case the temporary rapture returns. It's suction is so efficient that the sander will virtually suck itself down hard and immovable on the wood. Now I find that I need to have a new vacuum with "variable suction" - more $$$$. So far I've resisted.

So now when I need to do some sanding I find myself reaching for the $11 B&D and the Festool stays in the case. Go figure.

foxtrapper wrote:http://www.blackanddecker.com/CustomerCenter/Company-Information.aspx

Thanks for that, foxtrapper! I had no idea. I guess B&D CAN make quality items if they so choose. It does seem to me that they choose knot to an awfully lot though.

foxtrapper wrote:http://www.blackanddecker.com/CustomerC ... ation.aspx

I see that, according to the site, B&D has reported "record earnings" in several quarters. That is not surprising since people have to replace their products over and over and over again.

I believe that is actually one of Shopsmith's greatest problems. They last so durn long and there are so many out there, the market is saturated. Hopefully, the new head will come to market soon and the demand for new product will pick up significantly!