ALDI Wall chaser

I got one a couple of years ago, used it on one job and hated it. AFAICR the laser guide thing was utterly useless as it pointed *backwards* as you moved along the cut (ie moving in the opposite direction to the disc rotation as directed).

To be fair on the device I was ignorantly trying to use it to fit 'capping' rather than oval trunking, which I'm sure would have given better results - I'll probably try it again next time I have some chasing to do.

David

Reply to
Lobster
Loading thread data ...

formatting link
>

Tell me when you used it which end of the chaser emitted the ost dust? I'm suprised you could still see the laser or line of cut in the cloud of dust?

Reply to
George

How much you willing to bet £100?

Reply to
George

Not that much dust as I had it hooked up to my Earlex (Wickes) vaccum cleaner. Certainly not enough to blank out the laser!

David

>
Reply to
Lobster

I'm willing to bet some are made in China, yes.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Hello,

I was reading old posts about wall chasing and discovered that Aldi did a cheap £40 chaser. I don't think a DIYer can justify the expensive of a "proper" chaser but this machine/price combination sounds like it could be useful for the occasional DIY job. The old posts were from people about to buy or not buy it. Now that people have had chance to use it, did it live up to expectations? Did it do the job? Was the dust extraction useful? Is it worth me buying one?

Thanks, Sam.

Reply to
Sam

Sam coughed up some electrons that declared:

Tell you in 1-2 months. Sorreee

Reply to
Tim S

The way I see me buying tools is....

1.They must pay there way either on the first job or two. 2.How much use will it get? 3.Can I do that job with a conventional tool,in this case a bolster chisle will do a one off chase or two without a cloud of dust.
Reply to
George

George coughed up some electrons that declared:

For me...

If it's a tool I know I will use again and again (even if infrequently), eg a power drill, screwdrivers, I'll try to get the best I can afford.

If it's a one off jobbie, cheap is OK providing it's not *utterly* crap. Nothing worse than using a really crap tool.

Mind you, I've probably wasted more money on pliers that either bend or get left to go rusty than I've ever wasted on power tools!

Best cheap tool I ever bought was a small cordless B&D drill from Texas when one closed down in 95 or so, for about 14 quid.

Technically it still works, though the battery is weak and the axle is decidedly untrue.

Cheers Tim

Reply to
Tim S

Have a look at the separate thread of two days ago called, oh, "Aldi wall chaser"

David

Reply to
Lobster

So have you got one and how does it measure against the above three points?

I don't think a DIYer can justify the cost of a "pro" chaser but the Aldi one may pay its way within a job or two (1) and is not likely to be used regularly (2). It will be quicker than the chisel alone and since this has a vacuum port, will not produce as much dust as an angle grinder (3).

Reply to
Sam

That's what I am trying to find out: in this instance does cheap tool =crap tool?

Whilst it's nice to get the best you can afford, for a rarely used chaser, I don't think I can justify the big price tag.

Reply to
Sam

To be fair, I began my OP by saying I had been reading old posts about the chaser. I simply hadn't realised that they weren't that old! I had been reading other posts from 2007 and mistakenly thought these were from then too.

Reply to
Sam

No I don't have one,because I've only chased one cutout in the bathroom wall in the 3.5 years I've been here.

The thing about Aldi tools is... They last providing you use it in the manner it was made for and not abuse it and if its a tool that has a blade then buy a dearer blade for it,although the blades in the Aldi tools do the job they become worn easily.

My Aldi tools consist of.... Drill Bench Press Table Saw Biscuit joint cutter Dremel clone drill All the above are still working and are 4 years old that have been used regulary.

Tools I won't buy from Aldi are the hand tools.

Reply to
George

Thanks to the heads-up here, I went and bought one today. Whilst in the store a customer told me he had bought one and had had problems with the laser not shining where he was cutting. At the time I thought he meant that his laser was misaligned but now I realise his remarks could be interpreted in a number of ways and I wish I had asked him more.

The advantages are:

  1. the price. Screwfix don't sell one for under £100 and Toolstation sell a Silverline, which I thought meant budget, for £85 IIRC. I wouldn't call £85 budget but I would call £40 budget ;)
  2. the discs are fully enclosed so (hopefully) keep all the dust enclosed. I couldn't try for sure as my vacuum nozzle didn't fit, but the dust that was ejected all seemed to come through the exhaust port rather than the sides. There is a disclaimer in the instructions not to use a "domestic" vacuum but they don't say what you should use nor what they consider to be a "domestic" one. That they are enclosed is also a disadvantage though (see below).

The disadvantages are:

  1. The discs protrude so you have to lower them onto the wall. I understand that posh models allow you to drop the blades into the wall once the machine is in position. This may be only a minor disadvantage, though I suppose this is when you will get dust ejected at the sides.
  2. The maximum width is 29mm. There are two spacers so you can set three widths in total. I think if you are running two cables, as you would for a ring, you might want it slightly wider than 29mm?
  3. Third and finally, this is the big disadvantage to me, the laser, as someone said above, points backwards. You place the chaser on the wall and drag it downwards but the laser points upwards. I don't know if this is what the other customer was trying to tell me. I have always though that tools with white LEDS or lasers were gimmicks and this has confirmed that.

I am not sure but I think that if you drift one way, the laser will drift the opposite way, so if you try to correct your steering by following the laser's direction, you will actually increase the drift rather than correct it!

I wasn't sure whether the laser is actually to one side of the cut rather than on it but I couldn't cut a straight enough line to find out!

It seems to align (roughly) with the left disc; not the centre of the chase nor the right disc. Since the left disc is a bit hidden in the middle of the machine, I think shining along the line of the right disc might have been better.

On the subject of left and right, I do not know how left handed friendly it might be.

Though enclosing the discs encloses the dirt, this does mean you cannot see what you are cutting. Whilst the exposed disc of an angle grinder causes all the dust, it does mean you can watch the disc follow your line. I always had straight lines with my angle grinder.

What happens next? I have one more chase to cut. I think I will mark a line on the wall and pull the machine with the edge of the machine aligned to my mark and use this to guide me rather than the stupid laser.

I think I will send a letter to Aldi and the manufacturer thanking them for a model at a good price but ask them to remove the laser or put it on the correct end in the future!

If I cannot cut straight tomorrow, then I'm afraid it's going back! How do you guide other models, are they similarly difficult to see where they are going?

I have never used/hired/bought/seen/touched/held a wall chaser before. IANA Aldi employee nor wallchaser manufacturer, YMMV, and all the other standard disclaimers etc.

Stephen.

Reply to
Stephen

Forget the laser,they are just a gimick.

Draw two straight lines up the wall that are the width of the chaser at the same time mark lines where the channel is supposed to be,then follow the lines of the chasers side width.

Reply to
George

Forget that.. nail a batten to the wall and use it as a guide.

Reply to
dennis

Face it, with any wall chaser, even with a dust extractor going full-pelt you will get dust everywhere. Just not as much as if you were using one without the vac. But still plenty of it everywhere.

Reply to
Steve Firth

I did that, once. The resulting perfectly straight channel means the oval trunking falls out. A bit of freehand wobble holds it in place perfectly.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

Only with a very good vacuum cleaner.

The only domestic I've found which comes even close to coping with the rate of dust one of these ejects is a Dyson. Forget any bagged cleaner, and forget a Henry - that worked for less than 10 seconds before it completely clogged.

If you use a Dyson, bare in mind the dust will sand-blast the inside of the Dyson's dust bin, and the bin will weigh much more than the handle was designed for when you empty it. You will need to wash the pre-motor filter every 5 or so bin fulls you empty, so if you're doing lots of chasing, get a spare to swap in whilst one is drying. In spite of doing loads of chasing, the post-motor filter has not even the slightest staining so no dust is getting through to the Dyson's exhaust.

30mm is widest standard oval trunking size, but it's not very widely available. 25mm is normally used for 2 X 2.5mm T&E for ring circuits.

Mine doesn't have a laser, and I haven't needed one. Actually I would be somewhat concerned at risk of reflecting it into my eyes. A chaser is already quite a dangerous tool and not one which needs additional useless things to worry about added to it. Can you take it off or turn it off?

That's what I do.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.