Which drill bits? / Present for new home owner!

Jim S wrote

I think I'd get him a Workmate (preferably the folding kind, but one that makes the tea would also be useful)

Peter

Reply to
Peter Taylor
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The Collins complete DIY manual £17.50 (or in second place the Readers Digest manual) is a must! Really useful for the beginner.

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Reply to
Derek

Hi,

Has anyone got any comments about the 'multi-purpose' drill bits (e.g irwin etc - ect.).

I mainly use a cordless drill for most jobs(none which need SDS). Thinking it may be cheaper and more convenient than having the usual wood, metal and masonary bits. Ive tried an irwin bit of my mates and that seemed to be very good for wood and masonary, and pretty good for metal, seemed to suit the cordless well.

And for another subject - My mate has just bought his first house and he has got a fair amount of 'DIY' jobs to do. He has only very basic! skills. As a house warming gift i thought id get him on his way with something to help him, he has got a cordless drill(thats about it for his tools!). Any ideas for a good start on the DIY trail for a beginner? Budget up to £50(Book/tools etc)

Any comments much appreciated.

Thanks

Jim

Reply to
Jim S

screwfix catalogue, costs nothing, very useful. internet connection, very very useful - more so than a DIY book, but also costs rather more.

If what you get includes drill bits, I'd go for: a set of 6 or so wood bits, the kind that have a central spike - cost a few £

- they perform way better on wood than gen purp things. a set of masonry bits and a set of 10 or so general purpose carbon steel bits.

screwfix does em all.

And I'd definietly suggest a screwdriver bit holder plus a set of assorted screwdriver bits - using the cordless as a screwdriver saves much work.

There are lots of useful power tools, but under £50 youre a bit limited really, to cheapo stuff with most of them. At best you could get one item with only a certain set of uses. I would avoid the more dangerous ones, could make you very unpopular. :)

If a limited amount of woodwork is planned I'd definitely recommend Toolstation's £26:75 Kinzo mitre saw. Its the rock bottom end of the mitre saw market, a cheapo but does the job reasonably, is a very handy tool, and a huge improvement on not having a mitre saw. I wouldnt bother if they'll be doing loads of carpentry though, they'd want something better. Ferm do them for 40 and 50 as well, may be better than the Kinzos.

You could always start with hand tools if they dont have a set: pliers, cutters, small cheap spirit level, waterpump pliers, monkey wrench, wood clamp, also those £9 workbenches are handy, though not the most central thing, filling knife, wallpaper knife and blades, paint scraper, hammers, masking tape - all a bit pedestrian though isnt it? Think I'd go for the mitre saw and the screw bit set.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

I'd get a set of multipurpose/cordless bits (Screwfix, about £8 IIRC). They're brilliant especially with a cordless - go through masonry without hammer, wood and even mild steel.

Angle grinder and diamond blade? Are screwfix still doing the grinder + 3 blades fro about £20? (keep one or 2 of the blades for yourself!)

Tollstation's waterpump pliers at just over £4 are good.

Reply to
John Stumbles

only with grit blades. If you want diamond, which are vastly better, I would definitely suggest Toolstation. £11 for 3 blades beats screwfix's offerings by miles. But you could become seriously unpopular buying someone a dangerous tool.

Regards, NT

Reply to
N. Thornton

Thanks for all the replies.

Already got the screwfix catalogue ready(they were going to homebase to buy some tools!)so thats saved a few pounds.

Probably buy: DIY book, good quality screwdriver/bits, spirit level and some drill bits. I would go for the workbench as well but the budget does'nt go that far, excellent idea though.

Reply to
Jim S

Jim S wrote

If there's any way he can get some edjumucation on how to use various hand tools to best effect, that would be a good option. Tools can be dangerous if used wrongly (or misused), and better results will be obtained when he knows how to use them! A course will probably be too expensive - a good book might be OK (but I don't know of one off hand).

J.B.

Reply to
Jerry Built

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