Electrical box sinker comments please

[Anna Kettle]

I'm wondering about buying an electrical box sinker (eg Screwfix

91308) Do they make creating a hole in blockwork for a socket much simpler or are they a gimmick? In my experience the sides of a hole are easy enough to make but getting a reasonably flat back to the hole is the tricky bit.

If I do get one then as I only have about 30 holes to make I'm planning to buy a single box sinker and just use it twice to sink the double holes for sockets etc. Will that be successful?

Another gadget I've spotted is a wallchaser (Screwfix 11900) which I imagine (hope) is a lot less messy than an angle grinder. Is it?

Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repair and conservation / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Staffbull]

I got one of these kits,

a treat in block and not too bad in red brick either, youre not supposed to use them in red brick. If you are using them in hollow block (gp1's) then youll have a hard time getting a flat recess as the block will "blow out" into the hollow. I just stuck em in place with adhesive.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

In article , Staffbull wrote:

Worked a treat in block and not too bad in red brick either, youre not

Also says the chaser must not be used in brick so of limited use, I'd say.

[Owain]

A squirt of filler/plaster/foam at the back as you push the box in will sort that.

Owain

[Staffbull]

> > Worked a treat in block and not too bad in red brick either, youre not

As I said in the post, i have used it red brick, seems fine just slower, none of the teeth blunted yet, just got to wiegh up how many holes/chases will be done into brick? as mine was new build I never used the chaser as I just used PVC capping on the cables

[Dave Plowman (News)]

I've never bought one of these things even although a bit of a tool junkie. Mostly I seem to work on old places where the walls are brick - and often with a skim of mortar, so I'm not sure how long they'd last. You're gonna have to make good the cable entry anyway - so I tend just to cut oversize with the SDS and slap in a load of quick set cement.

[Staffbull]

I dont know how theyd fare with daily use, I was thinking of ebaing them as finished with them,

[Kev]

There were some posts about these things a few months back and they didn't seem to come out too well and are messy. Somebody suggested a large core drill, I can't remember the diameter, but large enough to encircle a box, then drill out the hole to depth and knock out the middle. I got one of these and I still have it should I ever need a large dia hole.

Kevin

[John]

I got this

(goes to ebay) and it's been brilliant. So far it's been used to do 8 doubles, two twin and 5 single boxes in red brick in my kitchen and I thoroughly recommend it.

John.

[Andrew Gabriel]

The circular cutter works in brick. It will sink about 25 holes before going blunt (which happens quite suddenly when it does). It would probably do very much more into thermal blocks. The box square is completely useless -- it just jams in the wall, and an ordinary chisel bit works much better. If you get this, I would suggest buying just the cutter (72224) and not the other bits (assuming you already have an SDS chisel bit).

A problem you might have with blockwork is that the pilot hole might not be strong enough to keep the circular cutter in place, so you might get a less tidy hole. Depends on the blockwork.

Bare in mind the cutter turns the debris into dust which it throws into the air, so it's quite messy.

It might not, as double holes overlap, and it might not stay in the second hole. (It does work in brickwork.)

Never tried that sort of wall chaser. The double disc type (81200) is about as messy as exactly 2 angle grinders ;-) As mentioned in another thread recently, a Dyson is about the only vacuum cleaner which can handle the dust take-off for more than a few seconds.

[Ed Sirett]

For cleaning out the holes and marking up the start they are useful. The circular bit for taking the 'meat' out is ridiculous. The square box part works OK in brick but the trick is to make it do the finishing not the work which you do with point, chisel or bolster bits.

That's my experience.

[Stephen Dawson]

Anna

Buy the wall chaser, use a decent hoover with it and dont bother with box sinker. Use the wall chaser to cut a pttern for the socket and then chisel out.

Steve Dawson

[Anna Kettle]

Thanks for all your posts. What a wide variety of comments about the box cutter ranging from 'The bees knees' to 'Useless'. I think that on balance I wont get a box cutter but I do like Kevin's idea of using a large core drill as I want to get one anyway to drill out for extractor fans and so on

Reading the replies reminded me that I have not chiselled out lightweight block before cos the last house was solidly built of Victorian red bricks. I didnt have an SDS drill either in those days so maybe the whole experience will be easier than I've been expecting

Stephen seems to be the only person with experience of using the wall chaser - and as you're an electrician I expect you are speaking from experience, so I'm tempted to put that one on my Christmas present list

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repair and conservation / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Stephen Dawson]

It would be a pretty big Xmas ask. here is a link for the one that I have, and you would be better off hiring it from HSS or someone similar.

mine is a hilti.

Just found a cheapie on screwfix part number 81200, buy some extra disc and you should be fine.Be careful on this one though the cut depth is shallow and if you are going to use flat plate metal fitting you will need 35mm deep boxes.

Regards

Steve

[Anna Kettle]

The one I was looking at was the cheapie option at 24 pounds so probably not nearly so good as yours but possibly enough for my needs? Screwfix 11900. The description is

"Wall Chaser Use with 43mm collar corded power drills. Consists of wall chaser attachment and a 12mm TCT cutter for cutting channels into plaster and light construction bricks. 5 year manufacturer's guarantee."

Yes if I decide tp get a supa one ...

But still 120 pounds so I think I'll go for one of

-The 24 pound cheapie (if I can find anyone who has used one successfully)

-Hire

-Elbow grease Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repair and conservation / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Andrew Gabriel]

They have been available for as little as £60. I have a Ferm equivalent which works well. I have hired the Bosch from HSS which probably has a longer life, but didn't justify the 3-4 times the price to buy for my usage. I also hired a much larger one with larger cutting disks from a local hire shop, but that was quite terrifying to use.

[Stephen Dawson]

Anna,

I have just had a quick look at the screwfix part you mentioned, and would not waste my money on it. It will be very messy/dusty. I think in your position i would work out where I had to chase and then hire one for a day. We chase a whole house in a day with the kit we have.

Best of luck

Steve

[Piers James]

well I bought one of these wall chasers the other week and have used it this weekend and am perfectly satisfied with the results. My own lack experience meant that my chase was not as straight as it could have been, but otherwise it did exactly what is says on the tin. For occasional work I would highly recommend it. It's very well built for £20. The collar that fits over the drill was a tight fit on my Bosch GSB20-2RE, but I just used a bit of soap and a gentle tap to ease it on.

The downside is the amount of dust created, but a friend with a vacuum cleaner to hand would solve that - unfortunately I didn't have that luxury this time :-(

Regards

snip

[Anna Kettle]

Thats just put me off cos I was hoping it would be a less messy alternative than the angle grinder. I hired a water dampened disk the other day and it was SO much less messy than an angle grinder that I think the hire shop will have my vote

PS Geoff: Who are you talking tof?

Anna ~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repair and conservation / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

01359 230642

[Piers James]

the tip to keep dust down is to dampen the wall first, which I forgot to do :-/