I agree on Dotco, well made.
IR has both elcheapo & high quality tools. Stay away from the low dollar tools. Made in the USA and all over the world.
Dyna is high quality. Parts are pricey & harder to get than IR.
Snap-On has everyone make tools for them. Nice quality. Rebuildable if you can figure out where to buy the parts (or who made the tool).
Sioux tools are owned by Snap-on. Also a seller of both cheapo & quality tools.
CP is widely distributed. Like IR, good availabilty of parts & tech support.
Henry & TC Service (Top Cat) are the best in 3HP and 4HP vertical shaft grinders. Tougher than nails, easy to rebuild, good parts & tech support. 100% USA.
Jet builds good, heavy duty weld chippers, scalers & hammers.
Patco makes superb industrial tools, equal to the top IR & CP offerings. They make no impacts, but most everything else. 100% USA. Good parts & tech support. Sometimes found cheap at auctions or eBay as few people recognize the name.
http://www.patcoairtools.com/index.htm
-------------------------------------------------
If you go with a higher priced IR or CP, you'll start with a good tool that can easily be rebuilt to new condition.
Whenever there's a choice of a tool with a 90* head versus a straight tool, go with the straight tool if possible. The bevel gears are a PITA, really expensive to replace (just paid $360 for a matched set for an IR angle grinder!!!) and often unnecessary - many designs eliminate the the gears by using a vertical motor.
Watch some of the newer IR impacts, like the popular 2135Ti or the 2141. The cylinders are cast with the end plate integral. A hone can be run most of the way into the cylinder, but there's no way resurface the end plate as it wears - just throw away the worn cylinder & give IR $150 for a new one ......
-------------------------
Barry Milton