Ludicrous DIY at Lidl

[R D S]

Which, the blurred one on the left?

DIY by the looks of it.

[ARW]

I have never shopped at Lidl.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

You should have a look. Their tools are generally of a very decent quality

- and more so at the price. I use side cutters a fair bit, and do have expensive ones. But it's nice to have cheaper ones too which wouldn't matter it they got trashed etc. And the Lidl ones stand up well to being abused like that.

Of course there are those around who don't actually ever use tools, but just like to look at the brand name. ;-)

[tabbypurr]

Aldi are good for diy now and then, but pro use?

NT

[ARW]

Sorry but there is only one side cutter for me:-) And that is Knipex.

It's like an extention to my hand.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Don't know Aldi stuff well. No local one, so referring to Lidl.

I'm not a pro sparks, so you'd nee an answer from one. But I do use side cutters a lot.

As well as doing what they need to, they should be comfortable for the individual to use. Which will vary from person to person.

They need jaws of sufficient hardness to not only cut well and stay sharp, but withstand abuse. Many will expect to perhaps pull out nails with them and so on - rather than just cut copper wire. Use them to bash out knockouts in steel boxes. And so on. And, of course, more chance of getting lost on a 'job' than at home.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

It's what you get used to, I suppose. Somewhere over 20 quid for VDE ones. How long do they last you?

[dennis]

Until he loses them, cuts a live cable or shoves them up an apprentice.

[ARW]

About 1 year.

[ARW]

sideways

[Kalico]

Most advertising is aimed at women these days. Real men are in short supply, it seems, or at least don't make the buying decisions any longer.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

They've had some abuse, then? ;-)

[Dave W]

True, but I think that bomb-blast advert would scare off women.

[ARW]

I did try a multi cutter from Aldi. Still going strong after 3 years (but TBH no where near as good to use as the Fein). However, most of my power tools are 110V because of site rules and I am not sure the cordless ones could handle my work.

However I will have a look. Of course I usually shop for most things at Aldi as the cat will only eat Aldi cat food and I pass 2 Aldis on the way home from Donny.

[Andy Burns]

Of the various tools I have that use the same 18V/3Ah batteries, the multitool throws out the most heat and drains the batteries quickest e.g. on a continuous run such as removing coving (why did I use so much adhesive 25 years ago?) The recip saw is a close second - suppose they're both converting rotation into oscillation.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Same here, although a Lidl one. Nothing beats the Fein, though. Just wanted a cheaper source of blades for rough work. I've got an Aldi cordless multi-tool too.

But I'd not argue that Lidl power tools are as good as Makita, etc. Just excellent value for money for DIY use.

I'm trying to remember what the Lidl VDE set - side cutters, pliers and wire strippers cost. Under a tenner, IIRC. Have a set in the car toolkit - where the side cutters get used for things like split pins. And they seem to survive that well.