Regular readers will know that I build a few decks - 10 so far this year, the last one being a massive 34 sq mtrs.
The real PITA is screwing down the deck boards, over 1,200 on that last deck - so in May I spent the best part of £200 on a Makita 6844 autofeed screwdriver. All the dealer blurbs claim it's ideal for decking.
Screwfix sell collated decking screws & an e-mail confirmed they should be suitable for the Makita. Only problem, they are Pozidrive & the Makita comes with Phillips head bits. I get onto the Makita web site to look up the part number for the Pozi bits & order a pack of 10 from a dealer - except they don't fit the machine.
Makita admit they have the wrong part number on the web site & send me a pack of 3 bits.
First deck, the machine is a fecking disaster, unable to drive more that 10 or so screws without jamming to the point of needing pliers to sort it. Several calls to Makita service, a few adjustments and its a little better for a while.
Four boxes of Screwfix collated decking screws later and I'm getting a little hysterical about it. Its taking more times to clear jams than I'm saving. SF must be the largest screw supplier on the planet, can they be wrong?
More calls to Makita who offer to check it out if I send it back. Costs me £10 to return it.
Very impressed with the service, returned within 2 working days with a complete new front end at no charge.
A note attached says "We cannot guarantee that other manufacturers screws will work in Makita machines. Please ensure Makita screws are used to prevent failure".
I didn't even know that Makita supplied collated screws. When I check it out they supply Drywall screws or stainless steel screws to a maximum length of 55mm - not really long enough.
Further e-mails to Makita elicits the reply that I have to use their stainless screws - which cost 110% more than the SF decking screws. I ask Makita if their screws will drive in 15mm from the end of a board without splitting, like a decking screw will - no reply so far.
So it looks like I'm bolloxed. £200 worth of machine that doesn't fecking work, £24 worth of incorrect bits, £112 worth of collated screws, most of which ended up being put in with an impact driver, £10 to send the fecking thing back & countless hours of lost labour. Makita blame the screws, Screwfix blame the machine - I'm piggy in the middle.
You would think that these allegedly professional companies would get their act together and make sure they got these things right.
Mutter, mutter.