Does everybody have to hate Ozito???

[Skratchynuts]

I have read the previous posts and I think that what is lost in the comments is simple. It is the family budgets that dictate what you can buy not the cheap price of the product.I purchased an Ozito drop saw from bunnings for $38 (was $55). I looked at the other brands and would gladly buy one.
However, being the father of two (one 15yr, the other 3months old) and the only bread winner, the ozito brand allows me to build things that I would normally not be able to.
It would take me years to save up the money to buy an expensive brand.

I am in total agreeance here. I am buying tools that I need for my hobby, but at the same time, I need value for money. I know that if something is a lot cheaper than an equivalent name brand, theres a reason for it. But, it allows me to have a hobby.

[echnidna]

The tool snobs loose track of that fact of life

[mjmjm]

I've got some Makita, some Bosch, some Ryobi, some GMC, and some Ozito. And some other various brands.

I use an Ozito hammer drill sometimes at work and I'm always impressed at the thought that went into the pack.
Apart from the masonry bits there's a hammer to push the rawl plugs in, a cutter to trim them, bits to drive in the screws, and pliers to pull things out and start again. Like it.

I also use an Ozito cordless drill at work for the occasional job and it's always performed faultlessly.

On the other hand, I used an Ozito third sheet sander last week. On the first sheet change the spring holder gave up the ghost. Took it back for a refund, bought a Makita.

Still willing to buy Ozito though because apart from the sander I've never had a problem with their products. (Makita and their compadres, although enjoying a higher reputation for quality, don't offer a three-year warranty.)

If you like buying expensive tools, that's fine. If you think there's value in buying cheap tools, that's also fine. There isn't an eleventh commandment about it, and pontificating is for popes not for woodworkers. (Smiley face supposed to go in here, but I don't know how to do it.)

Michael

[pharmaboy2]

Please dont buy crap unless you REALly cant afford better.( I spent the profit of my last job on this drill)
Its bad for the economy in the long run.
Bad for the environment too.

Astrid

Let me see, I buy a $70 ozito angle grinder, instead of the $280 makita one - so about $30 of my money goes to china, and I get to spend $210 on a couple of dinners out that employ aussies, home grown ingredients etc, Seems a lot better for the economy to me than no dinner spend, $150 goes to the US or Japan????

I dont know about the environment, but for sure, cheap tools is bad for Kennards hire....

[Homer1]

My experiences with cheap tools is normally positive (except one GMC Drill - where the battery died after 6 months).

I have an Ozito hammer drill - used it to pull up slate - worked wonders. My 18v Ryobi drill came with 2 batteries and a radio for under $100, and has never missed a beat. The batteries last forever, and the radio was worth the money alone (runs of the batteries). I just used it to clad my shed with cement sheeting, and was very impressed.

My cheap Ryobi drop saw is farily good, and still chugs along

Dont get me wrong - I have a Hitachi saw, but the rest of my tools are cheapies, and work well so far . . . . . .

[bluegum30]

I have been watching this thread for a while and because i don't have any ozito tools ignored it ,but was in bunnings today and they had on sale 184mm circular saws for $55 and because i have 2 makita's and 1 triton saw can't justify buying a ozito ,but if i was in the market for another saw i'd give ozito a go at that price just to see how they go.Lloyd.

[soulspirit]

My feeling is that it depends on the tool. I am not surprised that the ozito angle grinders have lasted, and that someone is happy with them. The working part of the tool does not need to be inherently accurate, and doesn't operate relative to any kind of guide such as a fence, it just needs to spin extremely fast.

The failings of these cheap tools come in to play in several areas IMO

Cordless tools:
-Ozito and Ryobi cordless tools in my experience about a tenth as long as bosch tools which might only be twice as expensive. They also never have the same peak power output, which can mean they are completely useless.

Machines:
Whilst an angle grinder could be thought of as a motor and a gear train in a plastic case, with a few switches - none of which needs to be calibrated, machines require all the parts to be accurate relative to one another i.e. work surface true, saw blade true to work surface, saw blade perpendicular to motor axle, fence parallel to blade etc. etc.

If I was buying a machine such as a thicknesser or a compound mitre saw, I wouldn't shoot myself in the foot with tools I could never trust to be accurate.

[Boeing777]

I've got 2 Ozito tools, a standard $39 power drill, and a $69 hammer drill...both have been copping random abuse from me every few weekends for about 4 years now and still going strong...they occasionally blow some electrical smoke and the hammer action isn't as powerful as it used to be but they live on! I've had much less luck with GMC, had 3 circular saws in a row that refused to cut a straight line (even against a guide) - now replaced with a Bosch Blue...and 2 GMC digital levels that refused to go at all (I tried the second one at bunnings before I took it - broken!).

I'd happily buy a Ozito product for an odd job before I'd get a GMC...but its true you get what you pay for... and I'm a happy Bosch customer so far!

[Gajic's Blanks]

One question? all the higher end (expensive tools) what sort of warranty do they offer?

If its the same (around 3 years) then how can we trust it. I would hope that the expensive named brands have really long warranties ..

[bobsreturn2003]

the best thing about ozito is the return policy a quick swap . its the time and travelling that cost . not to mention the inconvience . if its home duties dont expect a long life and you wont be disapointed . if its pro use you bought the wrong tool . cheers bob

[pal]

I have had an Ozito 18V cordless drill for about 5 years and have used it in making patterns for castings in a foundry for 2 years.The only problems I have had with it is when I dropped it and busted the clips that hold the battery in, a bit of bog fixed that.
I have found it doesn't have the same torque as the big brand names.

pal

[rosewood]

Went to one of those travelling tool auctions a couple of years ago.
Saw in amazement, as a young block plugged an Ozito drill in and pulled the trigger to see how it went before possibly bidding,the drill burst into flames in his hand.
After letting go of the trigger and dropping the drill, the only way to stop the flames was rip the extension lead out of the wall before it burnt the pavilion down.

Cheap tools --- love em or hate em --- but the look on that blokes face always comes to mind when i am in the market for new tooling.

I will keep my opinion of these #@** tools to myself if thats ok with everyone.

[damian]

Another ozito story. Needed to drill a 120 mm hole in a besser block retaining wall, 200 deep and concrete/bluemetal filled on the weekend.

Bought the 800W $89 ozito rotary hammer drill and a set of 600 mm masonry bits for another $25. I was probably inefficient in drilling the hols as I started with the small 8 mm bit to position the holes round the edge accurately, then opened them to 12 mm before using the 600 drill to go right through. Then I chiselled out the core. Took about 1 1/2 hours but the result was as good as I could have done with a hilti. The plumber has had one for about a year never missed a beat. Very good machine for the job.

Be aware the 1100W ozito is about twice the weight.

[Spear]

I bought my first Ozito product this week. I have a workshop full of blue-chip, brand names that I've used for yonks. The industrial vacuum cleaner I was using for my dust "control" finally said it was time to depart this life, and promptly refused to wake up one day not too long ago. I shopped around for a dust extractor and found units from $1K+ down to around $360. I looked at Gasweld, Mitre 10 and another large tool supplier in my town. Then on the way home I dropped in to Bunnies and saw an Ozito unit for $199 with a 3 years warranty. Decided to bite the bullet and buy the damned thing. Brought it home and set it up. Works fine and dandy, despite the fact I keep expecting it to start saying, "Warning Will Robinson. Danger Will Robinson." Has a number of step-up/step-down adapters for various size exhaust hoses. I run a Ryobi compound saw, a thicknesser/planer, a Triton saw table, a Triton router table and a wood lathe to mention just a few dust and shavings creations. I won't be flogging it every day and fully expect it last well beyond 3 years. If it doesn't I'll just return it for replacement. If it does, I'll be happy with a cleaner workshop.

[rrobor]

I bought the random orbital sander, Its a great tool for launching sandin disks into random orbits