Screwfix - substandard tools

[Chris Kaley]

I'm rebuiding my kitchen.

One of the more onerous tasks has been to remove all the existing tiles (all over every wall....) So I purchased a Bosch SDS drill for this job (and others) and it's great.

Also purchased the tile removing chisel.

The first morning's use, it broke. I ordered two more from Screwfix, and paid extra for rapid delivery. They arrived today, and I started work again. This time the tile removing bit bent after half an hour. Now, I've followed all the instructions to the letter - let the weight of the machine do the work, and kept the drill shank regularly greased. I would have expected these things to lat a bit longer than that.

Last year, I did the bathroom and hired the SDS drill and tile-remover, and did the whole room with no problems.

Has anyone else experienced similar short life with drill-bits, etc?

Screwfix will replace the bits free of charge, bless 'em, but couldn't let me speak to anyone about the problem from a technical aspect, as I feel these items are not fit for purpose.

Chris

[usenet]

I have found that this area is where ScrewFix are weakest, things like screwdriver bits, tap and die sets, etc. I suppose these 'disposable' items are the ones that have most price pressure on them as they aren't "fun" things to buy like power tools and suchlike. I would guess also that they are the most likely items to *really* cost what you're paying so price cuts almost always mean quality cuts as well.

[Christian McArdle]

What is a tile removal chisel like? I just use the cheap cold chisel that came with my Nu-Tool. It performs flawlessly.

Christian.

[David]

I purchased what I assume to be the exact same bit a couple of months ago when removing all the tiles from the bathroom and had no problems. But I'm sure that there was someone else around here who was complainaing about it not all that long ago.

I remember reading the manufacturers instructions that come with the tool when the bit arrived and it certainly sounds like they had quite a few problems with breakages

I also bought a channeling bit which is a roughly similar design with offset shaft, and this has had a lot rougher treatment than the tile remover with no ill efects to date.

cheers

David

[rrh]

Haven't had this problem myself yet with Bosch SDS & 75mm tile-removing chisel from Screwfix, but I must admit I've only used it so far with vinyl tiles (very tough ones, in my defence!). Assuming we are talking about the same thing these chisels cost £29.99 a throw (c.f. a fraction of that for an "ordinary" sized SDS chisel) so they damn well should be fit for purpose.

[Chris Kaley]

It's basically a flat chisel with an offset bend in the shaft to allow you to have an angle of attack, but with the blade flat against the wall.

The shank is obviously of insufficient strength, and bends and eventually fractures.

[Richard Savage]

Don't know if it's any consolation but I took all the tiles off my kitchen using a 10 quid thing from Tilemates or Tiles R Us.

Basically it's an A5 size bit of steel plate sharpened along one short edge with a large chunk of steel attached to the other short edge. A short handle is attached to the weight. You drag it down the wall using the weight to give you a bit of 'persuading force' with the sharp edge between the back of the tiles and the wall. Frighteningly crude and effective.

Richard

[jacob]

I've had crap tools from Screwyou to. Some wire strippers - they replaced them once another crap pair so I complained again and bought some better ones. Got refund but they didn't want me to return them which means that they knew they were crap. I gave them away (2 pairs) as christmas presents. Another tool was wire cutters - good quality but badly adjusted with signs of having been hammered a bit to tighten them up - in other words someone elses returns. OK now i've hammered them a bit more. So watch out Caveat emptor etc.

cheers

Jacob

[Andrew Collins]

[snip]

[snip]

Having been an electronic technician for many years I can tell you that you really do get what you pay for with wire cutters / strippers etc. My general electrical stuff is all Wilkinson and the precision stuff is Lindstrom. Had this set well over 10 years without a single complaint. If you're going to need tools for more than one job, make an investment and buy something decent.

Andrew

[John Stumbles]

I'd generally agree but I did get a surprisingly good set of electrical (not electronic) long nosed pliers + combi pliers + side cutters from Lidl for £3 (I only wanted something for yet another toolbox so I'm not always shuttling the good tools from one box to another depending which toolset I'm going equipped with).