Whats your view on Magazine Tool Reviews please vote in the poll.

Bill Arnold said:

I voted "Yes" because there was no "Sometimes" option.

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I passed on voting because there was no "sometimes" option. Some reviews are useful to me and others I disregard.

I suspect that most reviews are done honestly and well intentioned, but many times the review loses credibility for various reasons. Now and then a reveiw will come along that appears to be very well done.

I could not vote "yes" and I could not vote "no".

Jerry White said:

I passed on voting because there was no "sometimes" option. Some reviews are useful to me and others I disregard.

I suspect that most reviews are done honestly and well intentioned, but many times the review loses credibility for various reasons. Now and then a reveiw will come along that appears to be very well done.

I could not vote "yes" and I could not vote "no".

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I would agree that most are "done honestly". But, when the publisher tells the senior editor that the review being planned must not include Brand C, objectivity goes out the door and if the writer/reviewer wants to keep his job, he keeps his mouth shut and does his best.

I didn't see what I would have checked on the poll.

I read the review & enjoy it.

Then I go look at the tool in person & make my decision.

I find reviews have some merit and entertainment value, but I don't treat them as gospel, therefore you can label me as a skeptic of absolute credibility even if the intentions are pure. Reviews are as fallible as humans, and all the pitfalls associated with humanity....read into that what you will. (There's big money at stake and very few reviewers who attended a convent. ) There's also opinion and many sources of variability that can impact end performance, and thus user opinion.

In any given review of a particular kind of tool, one mag rates Brand A #1, another picks Brand B, and a third picks Brand C above the rest....who's right? With just about any major tool, there are always a handful of logical contenders that most owners are happy with. Within that group, the #1 pick is a matter of opinion of the writer or mag staff, which may or may not agree with your opinion. That's why it's important for a buyer to pick the one they like as opposed to the one a magazine picked.

The end performance of any tool, including the "logical contenders" in a review, is largely a matter of setup and quality of the cutter. Even when the cutters are the same brand and model#, there's variability involved. Try as they might, it's got to be difficult for any writer or staff to do a perfect setup on 10-12 tools and write an objective review that fits within the allotted space, and is handed in by deadline. Even if the setup is not a variable (but it most certainly is), there's always normal variability in the parts, motors, bearings, etc. from the factory, and choosing one sample of a given model may or may not be representative of the whole population. One hybrid review says the Jet cut the fastest, another says the Griz does....again who's right, and what caused the discrepancy?

I'd like to continue to see tool reviews written, but I advise buyers to be aware of the potential pitfalls of treating reviews as fact, and judge for themselves.

I voted NO, because of the generalization of the question "Magazine" is far too vague. Some magazines seem to do a better job than others, but there is no "Go To" magazine, IMHO.

What I like to see is an actual "Review" of the tools, tell us what the reviewers liked, and disliked, and why, also give us some specs, but not too much, then, it will be left for us to make up our own minds.

One very quick short example.

I know a lot of guys love the flat handle on the DeWalt chop saws.......

I've not owned one, but I've used them, and for whatever reason, I really do not like them, they feel "Odd" to my hand

I find the straight type of handle on these saws to my liking..........



If I were doing a review on SCMS this would have a fair bit to do with how much I would like a saw.

Just an example.

I take everything I read in a magazine review with a grain of salt, and would consider most information to be the reviewer's opinion, if I do that, then I think that the reviews can be of use, but only to help construct a total view of the tools in question.

Cheers!

Stuart Ablett said:

I voted NO, because of the generalization of the question "Magazine" is far too vague. Some magazines seem to do a better job than others, but there is no "Go To" magazine, IMHO.

What I like to see is an actual "Review" of the tools, tell us what the reviewers liked, and disliked, and why, also give us some specs, but not too much, then, it will be left for us to make up our own minds.

One very quick short example.

I know a lot of guys love the flat handle on the DeWalt chop saws.......
View attachment 24954
I've not owned one, but I've used them, and for whatever reason, I really do not like them, they feel "Odd" to my hand

I find the straight type of handle on these saws to my liking..........

View attachment 24955

If I were doing a review on SCMS this would have a fair bit to do with how much I would like a saw.

Just an example.

I take everything I read in a magazine review with a grain of salt, and would consider most information to be the reviewer's opinion, if I do that, then I think that the reviews can be of use, but only to help construct a total view of the tools in question.

Cheers!

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I agree with everything you said, Stu, "Except" the handle preference, that is, ('course the Carpel Tunnel Syndrome may be why the horizontal Handle is more Comfortable, AND natural for me), but I REALLY don't like those vertical handles on those saws. But if someone states their personal preference for things like this in a tool review, then the objectivity is still there, and has value to the reader.

Yes, no, depends. Need more choices. I like WOOD and FWW. I feel the methods they use approach impartiality in the most practical way. Some others just list features with no opinions.

I voted yes to give them credibilty, but they definitely do not make my final decision. I believe that opinions of friends who have the tool you are looking at should be considered. Also, most importantly, any hands on experience you can possibly get with the tool.

And I agree with those of you that say some reviews don't even include the specific model you are looking at. A few weeks ago I picked up (Taunton's 2009 Tool Guide) and was pondering the sliding compound miter boxes. I am VERY interested in buying the new Milwaukee 6955-20. In the beginning of the magazine they wrote a short little paragraph on the saw (not saying much anyway), but when I skipped to the actual review section of all the miter boxes, it wasn't even in there! Neither was the Kapex! You would think both of these would be in there for sure, even being that they are new to the market within the last year or two. And on top of that they rated the Makita best overall. Now I'm not ranting and raving here but I don't see what's so awesome about the Makita? ...might just be my taste. But at my school we have about 12 different miter boxes and I've gone through them all to get my feel. Well 2 of those include the brand new Milwaukee and the brand new Makita. For starters, the Makita's miter angle markings are printed on the table itself that swings... with the needle being stationary on the right side. So to accurately read it you have to stand above the saw on the right side, and even worse your workpiece could be covering it half the time. I think it's kind of a poor design. It also has a laser which I think are pointless. When you get the laser on your pencil mark it makes it invisible anyways. Plus the fence isn't very tall and I believe you have to pay extra to get the taller half of the right side too??
The Milwaukee was pretty cool and comes with a light (no laser), nice dust collection, huge fence, and a micro adjust for miter angles with a digital readout to tenths of a degree... that worked awesome. The bevel adjustment worked out nice too. Also it had very little side play when I fully slid it out. It did have some (like all sliders do) but it took some force to actually push it to the side. I'm not one of those guys that's all for Milwaukee everything, but I was pretty impressed with this saw. I'm sure the Kapex rocks too but my school is never going to buy one of those nor do I know anybody that's going to fork out that kind of money for it, so I don't know that I'll ever get to try one Anyway, sorry for talking your ear off, just my 2 cents

I voted no. I know how a lot of mags are. I have a friend that use to work for them. He says they try to do as good a job as they can but the bottom line is the bottom line. Some companys pay for advertisements so that skews the chart in their favor at times.
I come to Faimly and a few other places for the best insight. If someone has it chances they will tell you how they like or dislike it.
Reg

I voted no because I can't give credibility to any magazine that has any kind of interest in the outcome. Since magazines make their money on advertising, they have an interest in keeping advertisers happy. You don't do that by saying their tool is junk.

It's not that I think they're not telling the truth, it's just that I think they may write the review in a manner that won't lose them advertising. That doesn't exactly help us, the consumer, a great deal. I'm not saying that they actually do that, but I can never be certain. At least on internet forums, few here have any interest in sugar coating anything.

Tom

I didn't vote since there wasn't a sometimes catagory. My biggest gripe is that the Mags will only list minor problems, (like chipped paint, loose bolts or such). They never come right out and say that XX Brand should be avoided at all costs because the product is not worth spending money to buy it.

Ozzie

I voted yes because it gives a neophyte like myself a place to start. I follow up by monitoring discussions of knowledgeable folks like are found here on FWW. When the two sources agree, it influences my buy decisions heavily.

Tool reviews

Hello everyone, I read them for a basic guide to the top three tools being reviewed then I try first to put my hands on it and physically use it, may involve testing it my self and then returning it, I know that is time consuming, but it really seem's to work for hand tools, large tools different beast, generallly I look at the source where it is made for example and who is distributor and then look at people who have made the purchase , such as user reviews on the net , if you have model and mfg name then there is usually some source for positive or negative info. If tool is brand new to the market , I generally try to get info. about the manufacturer if I'm not familar with them, I research for several months to make sure I'm not going to make a bad buy, It's kind of like buying a car, you don't run out and buy the first one you drive or read about, if opinions are totally opposite then that usually means possible some bone head did pay for a favorable review, or just one person has the experience to do the review and the other person or group had lessor experience and shouldn't have been involved. Just my thought's and opinion guy's. later trying to stay warm Doug.

Don't know. Do they purchase the tool without the tool maker knowing they are going to be tested? If they know they are going to be tested, do they do more quality checks etc. on them?
paul

This thread was featured in a post on ToolCrib.com blog. You can see it here.

Pretty cool to see FWW referenced.

Jeff Bower said:

...Pretty cool to see FWW referenced.

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Definitely cool. Good article, too.

It was probably on the Popular Woodworking website, but I recently saw a video clip of Chris Schwartz, Robert Lang and Glen Huey each giving their report on what they liked/disliked about 3 or 4 of the hybrid cabinet saws. Not actually needing a new saw I wasn't trying to decide "which one is best", but did think that this was a good way to do a review. Three respected woodworkers, each with similar but differing requirements from a machine, offering their take on the products. I thought the approach had value. Unfortunately, you don't find this in the printed mags (I've given up on those reviews).

Cheers.

Yes, but with wariness

I voted yes, but I have a broader range of recources nowl.

I have found articles very helpful for things like drill bits and router bits, and I used to think that the tool tests were very well performed. But now that I have been exposed to more information through my job, I have quickly realized that there is more to a tool test than can be expressed in a limited word count article. For as helpful as tool tests are, they certainly can't convey in use experience.

As I work with more and more professionals, I have realized that no matter what tool tests say, the professionals who use these tools day in and day out really have the last word on what is worthy of praise and what features/shortfalls are neglected by tools tests. Without getting into specific instances, hands on use is what counts.

I think in general the articles to a respectable job. However, many hobbiests who don't have connections to professionals or "those in the know" invariably have to rely on these articles to give them guidance. And for many hobbiests I think they provide "enough" info to make tool purchases confidently.

But for me, I have been blessed with the opportunity to either try many tools first hand, or converse with those who have. I have found that in all cases, first hand experience can point out the weaknesses in tool tests very readily. Plus, manufacturer support is sometimes neglected, and poor customer service can often be a deal breaker, especially with "Best Value" tools.

Hutch

I voted no. The biggest thing that I don't like is that a lot of the reviews don't include all the brands or at least the most known brands. I also see that the mags picks differ from the reader picks. This is ok but one would think that they would be close.

Voted yes and I understand that the mags are limited to the tools that are supplied for the reviews. It is not all that I go by when getting a tool but it is a part of it. I also think the answers could have had more choices. This forum is a huge wealth of info as well.

Drew