Does the look of a tool/machine affect your buying decision?

[CMax]

This may sound utterly stupid and vacuous, but it's something that's bothered me on several occasions. If I'm evaluating a new tool or machine (my current case being a new bandsaw), when I get beyond being satisfied with the specification, I often find myself agonising over the look of the thing. I know it's not rational. I know it shouldn't matter: the performance, practically, should be the only criterion that matters—if within budget. But I can get torn between two competing candidates, and if one doesn't look as good to me as the other, that can sometimes take precedence even if the other choice may be equally suitable and cheaper.

Does anyone else put any thought into this? Do the looks of the thing have any bearing on your buying decisions?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Green and black seems to to some.

 

[CMax]

Green and black seems to to some.

Festool?

Oddly, it had the reverse effect on me. About 15 years ago, I bought a Festool track saw and MFT before they cost more than the average UK home, and couldn't get over how cheap it looked. Never really enjoyed using it, either. It sounded cheap and rough. Still a great tool, but I always hated how it looked. I eventually sold it on as I changed the way I worked. I've never been tempted to look at their power tools since then.

Clifton and Lie Nielsen planes, though... now they're some beautiful pieces of metal.

 

[Spectric]

if one doesn't look as good to me as the other

That is very vague, what may look good to one person may look bad to someone else and therefore you cannot compare just on the grounds of "looks good" because it cannot be evaluated. If it was a secondhand machine then looks can tell you a lot but if new then the specifications should get you into the right ball park and then all you need to look at is the build quality which equates to engineering judgement but the actual cosmetics of color and visual appearance are irrelevant. The exeption is of course if you belong to the green and black fan club in which case it is like a moth to light and just the brand suffices.

 

[MikeK]

If you have evaluated the performace, cost, maintenance, availability of consumables, and availability of spares to arrive at a pool of technically proficient candidates, why shouldn't appearance be a factor?

 

[Spectric]

why shouldn't appearance be a factor?

I suppose you will have to live with it! The bright orange triton routers are always best hidden under a router table and never on view.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

My power tools - 2 x DeWalt, 3 x Milwaukee, 3 x Bosch, 1 x Metabo, 1 x Hitachi, 1 x Skil, 1 x B&D and 2 x Evolution. I don't suppose I've ever bought on appearance.

 

[CMax]

That is very vague, what may look good to one person may look bad to someone else and therefore you cannot compare just on the grounds of "looks good" because it cannot be evaluated. If it was a secondhand machine then looks can tell you a lot but if new then the specifications should get you into the right ball park and then all you need to look at is the build quality which equates to engineering judgement but the actual cosmetics of color and visual appearance are irrelevant. The exeption is of course if you belong to the green and black fan club in which case it is like a moth to light and just the brand suffices.

Yes, I admit it can be a little vague. I suppose ultimately, if something doesn't look 'good' to my aesthetics, then perhaps I assign a negative value to it, as in it appears cheaper or somehow lesser than the one that looks visually appealing.

I agree with you regarding used machines; that's a very important deciding factor on the machine's worth and usage history.

As an example of my issue, I suppose I'm feline-footing around the subject when it comes to my current decision of which bandsaw to buy, which is the genesis of this thread. I've narrowed my search to the iTech BS400 and Record Power Sabre 350. The latter is almost identical in performance and has a good history of reliability. The iTech has a few higher-end appointments but is the same Startrite 403 model Record Power used to sell. The BS400 is about £700 more expensive, but I prefer how it looks: black and industrial, and one piece, rather than sitting on a cabinet. I dislike RP's green and gold; to me, it looks somehow cheap, despite the good reviews it gets. There is some argument the BS400 is a better-built machine (it's certainly heavier), but I don't think there's likely much in it for my casual, hobby use, and yet I find myself wanting the BS400 for what seems like superficial reasons even though it's considerably (to me) more expensive.

An argument could be made that if you 'like' the machine, you're more likely to enjoy using and owning it. But likewise, the counter-argument is that the more affordable option that can do 95% of the same jobs would allow me to invest in other tools, making the hobby more enjoyable in a greater sense.

If you have evaluated the performace, cost, maintenance, availability of consumables, and availability of spares to arrive at a pool of technically proficient candidates, why shouldn't appearance be a factor?

Indeed, I definitely think appearance plays a part, but I'm struggling with how much does it matter.

My power tools - 2 x DeWalt, 3 x Milwaukee, 3 x Bosch, 1 x Metabo, 1 x Hitachi, 1 x Skil, 1 x B&D and 2 x Evolution. I don't suppose I've ever bought on appearance.

The only power tools I currently own these days are 3 x Ryobis (two drills and a sander), but that's only because I'm too cheap to buy another brand's batteries. Oh, I also have a MacAllister track saw because I needed to cut some OSB for a garage conversion and didn't want to sell a kidney for a Maffel or Festool With these, I don't care what they look like as I use them so infrequently.

 

[Inspector]

Paint it in the colour (pink?) you love and get on with your woodworking.

Pete

 

[CMax]

Paint it in the colour (pink?) you love and get on with your woodworking.

Pete

That's a great idea. It would match the rest of my kit:

 

[MikeK]

If your evaluation reduced your selection to the iTech BS400 or RP Sabre350, and cost is not a factor, I would not hesitate to choose the iTech BS400. The BS400 has larger wheels and a higher blade speed than the Sabre350. The table on the iTech BS400 is slightly larger and it can accept a wider blade. The specifications state it can take a 30mm blade while the Sabre350 can take a 19mm (3/4-inch) blade. I have a feeling the RP specifications are more of what would possibly fit rather than what would properly work.

I'm not sure if the iTech BS400 can properly tension a 30mm blade, but I'm confident that the Sabre350 will struggle with a 19mm blade before you permanently damage the tensioning springs. I have the RP BS350S that has the same blade specifications as the Saber350, and there is no way I can properly tension a 19mm blade. I use M42 blades from Ian at Tuff Saws, and the largest I feel comfortable with for resawing is the 5/8-inch or 1/2-inch. Both work great for resawing oak and walnut.

 

[Vann]

The appearance of a tool has a slight influence on me. But not as much as the country of origin. If a tool is made in China I'll put it right back on the shelf (unless there's no alternative tool or method of doing the job).

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Bingy man]

I think after trawling though reviews and studying the specs the looks and imo the feel of a tool are just as important as the the other details. If like me you expect your tools and machines to last forever then it’s best to be completely satisfied. Difficult admittedly when shopping online but some makers are better at this than others . Nearly purchased a lumberjack tablesaw once but as luck would have it they had a factory outlet 2 mins from where I live . Apart from some poor reviews I was still tempted but after I viewed it -it was awful . So yes I’ll consider looks as a final deciding factor-and if bugs me I’ll probably give it a miss .

 

[Lorenzl]

Just a bit off topic but I have the same feeling about buying from a website if it is old and dated or covered in adverts I tend not to buy from it.

 

[Spectric]

I dislike RP's green and gold; to me, it looks somehow cheap, despite the good reviews it gets. There is some argument the BS400 is a better-built machine (it's certainly heavier), but I don't think there's likely much in it for my casual, hobby use, and yet I find myself wanting the BS400 for what seems like superficial reasons even though it's considerably (to me) more expensive.

An often overlooked synario that applies to more than woodworking machinery is:

People spend ages trying to decide what color there hallway should be and what matches, it all becomes an intense process but a few months after it has been done they don't even notice the color and it becomes accepted. The same applies to a new machine, once you are using it then the color or looks becomes overlooked because you are more interested in what you are making. I lost / misplaced a tool the other month, I was convinced it was grey and spent ages looking for this grey tool to no avail and gave up. Later I picked it up and then realised it was red and it had been looking at me all the time but I was not looking for a red tool so I was blind to it.

 

[Ttrees]

That's just SIBAS
Could get a good machine for that 700 quid difference.

 

[Sideways]

Yes. In all sorts of ways.
I think a really good look that stands out from the crowd can make anything more desirable, and a really bad look (think ugly car colours) can make you exclude something even if there's nothing else wrong with it.

Bridge City is an example that comes to mind. The original squares and gauges sold for premium money partly I'm sure because of they were beautiful pieces of brass and rosewood, not just strong and maybe a little more accurate than most.
Nowadays, loads of tools sell because of anodised aluminium bling despite the fact that plain steel would be far far more durable and better suited to the job. Woodpeckers, modern Bridge City and many more. If these makers were actually concerned about durability of their tools they'd feature type3 hard anodising that's far thicker and much more durable but drab grey and green finishes just don't look so good to most folk.

 

[rogxwhit]

I think that how things look is part of our sense of things and should never be discounted. In terms of functional items / equipment it might not be the lead consideration but is still a relevant part of the mix. At best an overall sense of rightness includes everything - choice of materials, functional engineering design, relationship to budget inescapably but also, even at surface level, aesthetics. I feel that we sense such things subliminally even if they are not in the forefront of our consciousness. How things perform and how they last is built into all of this.

Some aspects might be just subjective and personal - for instance I could never stomach the yellow colour of DeWalt power tools, so never bought one - I preferred the green, blue or grey equivalents. ;-/

 

[giantbeat]

not that I know, I did just buy a powedercoating oven that has a door in a similar shade of teal to my itech saw & drum sander, but generally I like grey things, grey machines, grey dog (blue according to some), grey drum kit… the machines I make myself I also paint grey, jigs too.. I just like grey.

but I own several itech machines, and they are all great & perform well, s&s have always be brilliant and helpful with me too, so they always get my vote.

 

[Ttrees]

Clifton and Lie Nielsen planes, though... now they're some beautiful pieces of metal.

You'll not match that impression you get from those planes with any machine.
But if you're alright with that, and maybe sometime considering those tools... then it's a 20" machine at the least, not for fit or finish, but results will be good enough for you to not constantly wish you went for Italian.
You can swap out the guides for tool free for example...should you be able to get some options with the guidepost mount.
That's one thing which you wouldn't be happy with at all, should you need change blades for differing operations often.

If wanting the Euro guides and the heft and reliability of the best Italian machines,
then even then you might be displeased about some things.
There's a thread right now on the creek ATM, about an old Felder (SNAC) 640
(near on heft spec compared to Centauro CO)
and the displeasure of some things from seemingly a stranger to bandsaws,...
or should I say, at least a stranger to anything in the domestic market.

I would say the Achilles heel in the impression of fit and finish
to someone who's bought a spanking new ACM machine might be the guidepost
is free to rotate by a small amount, and moves about a bit because of the spring steel guard which
travels with the rest.
In use this is no bother, and the Euro guides make one forget all about that
should one have had experience with cheaper guides before.

If one is bothered by those things, then a Centauro C500 wouldn't even be the only way to put end that madness
as those are supposedly a bit more rougher from a LN or Clifton perspective
as the tables are slightly grooved on some/all?, kinda like a corrugated sole on a hand plane.

Lest cut to the chase here, as a tin o paint isn't going to break the bank, and
a machine like so aint some throwaway battery drill.
An ACM machine or another 500mm saw at around 200kg worthy of plonking money into regarding guides or even tires is what I'd be looking at,
so IMO it would make sense to look for something used instead, as those cheaper ball bearing guides need maintenance or changing for newer skateboard bearings compared to Euro's.
Castings stripped straight away on one of the guides of the far Eastern machine I had,
which wouldn't have happened if the machine was capable of being set up.
Things like that would get you a bargain, should one not swap them for new ones for the sale.
I wouldn't buy the cheaper option without seeing it run smooth, guides backed off.
You will notice a wider blade will be more telling than a narrow one.

Just giving some more food for thought, from a perspective of someone who's experienced both flavours.

Best of luck with your bandsaw hunting.

Tom