Power tool decibel ratings/measurements are not required to be published and I have had difficulty finding them for a lot of tools. I got a decibel meter because I was curious how loud my tools are. Here are the results!
Some factors affecting the results: this is not an audio engineer-quality decibel meter, and I did this in my closed 2-car garage. However, the values don’t seem wildly off.
Thoughts
I love how quiet my band saw and drill press are. Belt-drive table saws are also relatively quiet, but belt-driven table saws are the bigger ones that are at least $800 from what I’ve seen — all the cheaper ones are direct drive which is very loud.
It has come to be expected that power tools are incredibly loud, but a lot of people still don’t use hearing protection. I think tool manufacturers should put more effort into making their tools quieter, because why not? There are some quiet shop vacuums out there with soundproofing built in, which is definitely a step in the right direction and may be my next upgrade.