Mac Disaster

[Doctor Drivel]

Because I am not from Essex.

[Doctor Drivel]

Reciprocating one - Ryobi.

[Doctor Drivel]

You have never used one. The 700w Makita is actually cheaper than the 700w Ryobi in s/fix. Ryobi has a two yr guarantee to 1 yr. Ryobi make equiv to Makita. Kress are better than Makita

[Doctor Drivel]

The Kress drills bounce as well.

[Doctor Drivel]

Three of them

[Doctor Drivel]

The Kress is higher in quality.

[dmc]

[snip]

Indeed. Given the prices are comparable now I'm not sure I'd go for one again - I'd probably go for a known brand. Back when we bought the thing it was considerably cheaper than the alternatives (this was ages before Argos etc sold them. I don't think B&Q did either).

BMJ power was the place I took it IIRC - they went bust shortly after :-(

Darren

[John Rumm]

At £80 it would make sense. The Makita can usually be had for £109 (or £119 with the extra chuck), with the Hitachi at £102.

If it has the multi position lock, then it sounds fine.

[John Rumm]

Perhaps your using a different web site to the rest of us. Product codes and prices?

(and take care to compare three function machines)

[John Rumm]

You seem to be falling into the trap of assuming that all DIY equates to low usage with low expectations. For some users that may well be true, but not all.

Even if you do anticipate low usage, it depends on the tool in question. For an ordinary percussion drill then they will all give you a hole in most materials, and there will not be much to choose between them. So cheaper will probably win for that category of user.

If you are buying a router however, the quality of the tool makes a difference to the finish you can achieve, so there is no point in buying the cheaper one if the result is not acceptable.

If you are assembling flat pack furniture and you want a mains drill that can stick screws in as well as cope with general drilling tasks then you would find the budget drills will fail rapidly. (quickest I saw was a NuTool hammer drill that lasted about six mins used as a screwdriver - after that there was smoke pouring out of it!)

[John Rumm]

Snap-on know their market, and sell at a premium price to trade customers. That does not seem to be the case with Kress in this country as yet. I think it would make more sense if they did get someone like Wickes to sell under the Kress label so as to establish some reputation over here. However they would need to get some trade focussed distributors on board as well and pretty sharpish if they are not going to have people associate the name with kit aimed at the home DIY market only.

[:Jerry:]

There are probably more people out there who know that they have no need to buy something like a DeWalt drill (professional products in other words), and will happily ignore many of the considerations that Andy seems to think need to be considered before buying a product, those who need such pro products will of course consider *all* aspect of owning a tool before investing in both make and tool.

But again that depends on why they are buying / needing a router, even the cheapest will do certain tasks even if it won't give a fine, accurate finish to highly visible work - for example many will be buying a router to join their kitchen work tops or fit concealed hinges to doors etc, not everyone is buying it having taken up furniture making.

Well yes, if one miss uses a tool anyone can kill it, pro or bodger, quality tool or bargain basement...!

[Andy Hall]

Incorrect.

and....

Wrong

Also wrong

[Andy Hall]

Exactly.

50%+ would be interesting. 15% isn't.

[Andy Hall]

It suggests that they are doing a promo on a particular product. Nothing more than that.

If there was a concern, all of the prices would have been reduced.

[Andy Hall]

Exactly. There really isn't.

[Andy Hall]

[Andy Hall]

No I'm not.

Do you believe that that is the sum total of DIY activity? For some people it may be. Perhaps it is for you. My range of activities and expectations under the umbrella of DIY is rather wider.

On the contrary.

Who is this "they"?

[Andy Hall]

Nothing at all. The comment was about limiting market size. This is either through inadequate resources or because of some exclusivity or incompetence.

Go and take a look at their web site. Their *total* production is only

700k units per annum.

Are they in the commodity part of the market?

It's one thing having a controlled RTM if you have a premium or differentiated product. If you have a commodity product and are limiting your marketplace then either you don't have the resources to expand or are inept.

[The Medway Handyman]

That was a shame, they had a depot near me in Chatham which was very handy. Bought a Makita router there 20 years ago + still use it.