Carpentry and Woodworking - general saw manufacturer question

This is just a general ignorance question, but hopefully someone will be able to help me out.

My Dad's interested in getting into some basic woodworking projects. I volunteered to help him out in terms of researching companies that manufacture miters, band saws, lathes, and so forth.

Help. I know that there a bunch of companies out there that make this stuff, but I don't have a clue about who is known for what. Any recommendations out there?

Boy you just ran the risk of starting a serious e-mail battle! :-)

I am one who has no loyalty to any single brand. I will go with a brand that has what I think (IMHO) is the best value (in terms of quality first, price second) of whatever tool that I need. Some manufacturers may do one tool better than other manufacturers but may not in another tool.

Here is what I have and have loved:

Rigid TS2424 Table Saw -- Awesome quality and precision. They have a less expensive (but still good) saw, the TS2412.

See both at:
http://www.ridgid.com/index3.html

You can purchase Ridgid tools at Home Depot.

Ridgid also has a lifetime warranty!!!

Ridgid also has a great miter saw but I do not have one because I already have a Craftsman 12" compound miter saw. I have not been happy with it. I wished that I had taken it back and got the Ridgid 12" miter saw or a DeWalt. I buy Craftsman mechanic's hand tools but I tend to shy away from their power tools unless I know who manufactures them. And then, I can usually get another brand name of better features/quality for the money.

I think that he would like a lot of the Ridgid tools.

I have a Milwaukee Tilt-Lok circular saw. I liked it because of the adjustable handle, wide open site window where you can easily see the cut line from either side of the saw, and the warranty. I have really loved it.

See it at:

http://www.mil-electric-tool.com/

I also have a Porter Cable reciprocating saw and a Porter Cable pneumatic brad nailer. I am about to purchase a Porter Cable finish nailer. http://www.portercable.com

I have a DeWalt 5" random orbital, variable speed, counterbalanced sander. http://www.dewalt.com.
I also have a DeWalt deck/drywall screw gun.

You can also take a look at the following brands:
http://www.deltawoodworking.com/home.asp
http://www.boschusa.com/JumpPages/PowerTools/
http://www.makita.com/

I hope this helps.

Hi Toolclueless,
George is right, this could start a heck of a debate.
Here's my 2 cents worth:
BH&G's WOOD magazine usually run tool comparisons of some type in every issue. The only problem is it takes about three years or so to get around to all the various tools available. In the larger shop tools Delta usually gets a very good review. I'm a bit partial to Delta - have their contractor's saw, jointer, dedicated mortiser and planer.
There are a number of very good small tool mfgs. out there; Dewalt, Bosch, PC, Makita, Ryobi, Senco. I mention Senco(air nailers) cuz they are conveniently oil-less, but somewhat more expensive. Most of these boil down to price and personal preference.
You mentioned the lathe. - give that alot of thought, it's last on my want list and I may never buy one. You can create/build a house full of projects w/o a lathe. I'm working on walnut furniture now(end tables & coffee table) and when I get to the kitchen table I will probably buy pre-milled legs.
Consider these tools first for general woodwrking:
Table saw, mitersaw, random orbit sander, drill press, jointer and maybe the planer if you have access to rough cut lumber.
Check out the various woodworking magazines and happy hunting,
fred