Hmm tools...

Treated myself to one of these cordless screwdrivers today from the Screwfix counter in Tunbridge Wells: Yes I know, could have got it cheaper on the web, but couldn't wait...

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impressed that for something that is so small and light it seems to have some reasonable grunt.

It made kitchen disassembly today very pleasant and much easier to do single handed.

The Fein proved a lifesaver too when taking out a corner cupboard by the sink as I need to leave the sink in for now for coffee and cleaning up. So I had to make some fairly awkward cuts in the worktop. Jigsaw with a broken off blade did the long stretch more quickly, and the Fein did the impossibly difficult bit at the back.

Looking at the water pipes I need to cut off and disconnect soon, looks like a Fein job too as there's not enough room to swing even a compact pipe cutter on some of them... Definitely no room for a hacksaw either.

This is what I like about doing a big job - no quandry about buying fancy tools. I'd never justify all these nice things for the odd spot of DIY.

I remember the old days when my father would curse, and get the hammer and chisel out and spend 2 days doing something like this that I can sort in less than an hour with the right equipment :) How did people survive?

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S
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It's the "Only =A379.99" that sticks in my craw. 9 years ago I bought out of Safeways a Bosch box that contained a battery drill driver, a torch and a cycle tyre compressor with two 9.6v batteries and a fast charger for =A340. And all is still going wonderfully.

A pox on all your fancy L-Ion batteries, 24v systems, etc; mine is light, reliable, works hard ....and no doubt will die tomorrow !!

Rob

Reply to
robgraham

I bought one of the little Bosch Li-ion Ixo models just after they came out, three or four years ago. It doesn't have the grunt for *really* stiff screws, but it's still been a lifesaver!

Cost me £24.99, and must have been the earliest model. Battery died after 4 months, so I took it back to B&Q. They replaced it with the current model, £29.99 with an improved stand, a selection of bits and a clearly improved battery. The only gripe I have it that it gets rather warm while charging, and the two charging contacts on the handle are a bit too warm for comfort if using straight away.

Reply to
Bob Eager

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> Very impressed that for something that is so small and light it seems

Blue Bosch - you aint gonna go wrong with that.

I have to be a bit careful about that, all to easy for me to fall into the "I need one for the business" trap. I sometimes have to give myself a good talking to!

I am lucky though, in that I do now have a lot of good quality kit which I could never justify for DIY use, but when doing stuff for myself it makes life so easy.

I am of the opinion that the right tools for the job are worth having. Especially for business use. If something saves me time & aggro its worth it because I'm more efficient.

My dad used to say "good tools don't cost you money, they save you money".

Reply to
The Medway Handyman

I've still got my father's rawlplug jumpimg tool for No. 8 screws. Took some considerable time (½hour?) per hole in the brick the house was constructed with. More like 2 seconds with my SDS.

Reply to
<me9

I've got my father's rawlplug cold chisels he used to put 1/2" and 3/4" pipework through the brick walls when he installed heating in 1959(?). I last used them probably about 8 years ago -- I had an SDS drill, but not a big enough bit. Gave up and bought a bigger bit.

Reply to
Andrew Gabriel

robgraham coughed up some electrons that declared:

It is a "blue". I try not to buy cheap for things that are going to get a lot of use, as this will. Same with my drill (also blue Bosch). Jigsaw sees occasional use and that's a green Bosch, along with my planer. Single use stuff comes from ALDI specials or the hire shop ;->

My first (only) cordless drill was 20 quid from a Texas (remember them) closing down sale. That lasted 5 years before I abused it to having a pronounced wobble in the shaft, then another 5 years being good enough as a screwdriver and rough drill until the battery died.

Reply to
Tim S

The Medway Handyman coughed up some electrons that declared:

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>>> Very impressed that for something that is so small and light it seems

It is easy to get carried away. I got a laser level because there was a good one on ebay, though with all the tiling and cubboard hanging, I can see it will make things go a lot quicker. But when I look at my spreadsheet, the budget for tools (budgeted entirely against the house renovation) is a comparatively small number when I consider how much it would cost to pay someone to do the job to the way I want it.

That's my opinion. If I don't do something much, I make do, if I've got a year or two of solid use for it, I'll try to go for something that actually works.

I've been cheap too many times and mostly regretted it. Just end up spending again to replace it.

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

Yup, IIRC I acquired a few decent ones as part of my loft conversion.

By not having to work with Ikea/MFI/Flatpack of your choice furniture that glibly expects you to wind in 1000 screws during assembly! ;-)

Reply to
John Rumm

snipped-for-privacy@privacy.net coughed up some electrons that declared:

I remember those I think - aren't they like a drift or a round chisel, with a cross cut shank, and banged into the wall to make the hole?

I remember sinking a backbox with my father. A double in the side of a chimney breast, with a club hammer and chisel and a power drill. Took a day (HARD bricks). I'll be upset if I can't manage at least 10-15 in a day with an SDS and sinking cutter, though that remains to be tried!

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

Bob Eager coughed up some electrons that declared:

I was toying with the Ixo as B&Q had some on clearout a while back. But the one I got in the end was a similar model to the one they use at work and they love it, so that kind of swayed me. Having the torque limiter was a major consideration.

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

John Rumm coughed up some electrons that declared:

Of course, MFI would only supply 993 of the required screws and you wouldn't notice until the end. And they'd be the really critical ones missing. And they wouldn't just send you a few in the post - oh no - had to disassemble it and take the whole lot back to the shop.

At least Ikea have a load of grab bins on the way out full of spare cams and screws (well, Croydon does anyway)

On an unrelated note, MFI in Tunbridge Wells has just gone to push the daisies up.

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

Sore point! Last week I built a 32 sq mtr deck & my Mak autofeed was in for repair [1], 1100 screws (& 240 coach bolts) put in with impact drivers :-(

[1] long story, not yet resolved.
Reply to
The Medway Handyman

I think I was told the whole lot has!

Reply to
John Rumm

I can do one in about 5 - 10 mins with ordinary chisels in the SDS... If the wall is hard then I usually use a 20mm flat chisel to cut round the periphery, and then a 40m flat one to chop out the waste working first from the middle toward the ends, before levelling the middle bit. (I have found its quite easy to develop a technique for planing down the back of the chase with the wider chisel - allowing it to skip across the surface removing a shaving of brick, rather than cutting deep.

Not tried one of the sinking tools. I understand they are best with softer walls.

Reply to
John Rumm

Must admit I have never regretted buying any of my decent tools, but there are a few mid range ones I wish I had bought better versions of.

Reply to
John Rumm

But, Tim - was that 'cheap' to save money, or 'cheap' because it was the first time you had a requirement for that tool and didn't know if the use was going to be on-going ?

I'm long past my house renovation days - it was still in the 'hammer and chisel era', relative to the availability of power tools now - but there is an argument that applies across the board that says it is better value to buy at low cost to find the uses of an iteml and replace with good quality later. And extending that further, some items are better value at the lower end of the market - my chop saw from Aldi/Lidls has had almost 3 years of continuous use for constructional work and I wouldn't hesitate to go back and get another at =A325, rather than a named one at anything up to =A3200.

Rob

Reply to
robgraham

robgraham coughed up some electrons that declared:

Both Rob. Unfortunately in most of the few cases I've experienced, it's meant the tool was sufficiently crap to not do the job very well at all leading to the nashing of teeth. The Texas drill was the exception in that it did perform perfectly well and it couldn't be blamed for me abusing it to death.

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

I've done this in the past - buy a cheap version of a power tool to see how much use it gets and then replace it with a better one. But these days there's less difference between decent cheapies - like those sold by Lidl

- and the better makes. Certainly not the same as changing my basic B&D jigsaw for a pendulum Bosch one.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Its a lot easier if you drill the corners first and a couple of holes in the center so you know when its level.

Reply to
dennis

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