In article , Adrian Simpson writes
Thanks for the various follow ups. Plenty to think on there. I must admit that Argos wasn't somewhere that I would have thought of as a likely place for such tools.
Adrian
On Mon, 3 Nov 2003 13:14:18 -0000, "stuart noble"
I think it's the use you know you are going to get from it that decides the price in my point. I have a full house to strip and refurbish from top to bottom plus the gardens and drive so the extra spent on a bigger brand tool makes sense in the longterm.
I bought a cheap chop saw from Screwfix which no longer cuts straight
- spindles bent on motor I think will be sent back when I get time. I bought a 18V cordless Bosch drill three years ago and it's as good as the day I bought it, same with the jigsaw and orbital sander and believe me I've hammered the crap out of them. :-)
On the other hand had I moved into a less shoddy house I'd have perhaps managed without the SDS knowing it wouldn't be used enough to warrant the price.
Mark S.
I take it you live in a modern house where the hardest material used in construction is the timber? This house is random stone and I mean that both in the construction method and the stone used. Some is nice relatively soft(*) sandstone and limestone but there is the odd lump of granite.
(*) Still makes a ordinary hammer drill think even with a 5 or 6mm hole. The SDS, brrrrwwp hole done.
Maybe but less tiring than swinging a lump hammer.
I am also tempted by this router. I would like a 1/2" jobbie for the occasional DIY use, I already have a 1/4" one but sometimes it's not 'meaty' enough! Anybody had any experience with JCB tools or is it just rebadged Far Eastern stuff?
TIA
John
Odd. Mine works just fine. Could have been a bad batch. Each one you took back getting replaced by an identically faulty model.
Again, no sign of this on mine.
Christian.
FWIW I bought a cheap hefty B&Q generic type for £30, which went through walls with no problem at all. Right through, several times, leaving impressive conical exit wounds. Mostly my stupidity in trying to use long frame fixings in single-thickness walls, shattering the untypical-for-Cambridge soft red bricks as the bit got near the other side. But it's not particularly subtle - you have to push the bit back into the springy chuck until the hammer can reach it, and then it just blasts through. So just got the Bosch at Argos, down to £85 + £5 voucher (new ranges of both green & blue Bosch reaching shops now). Is it "discretion" or "variable speed control" which is the better part of valour? Al
Who is behind the JCB brand, apart from the obvious? Anyone know if they are any good?
Also, I must be missing something because I have never felt the need to buy a router. Is there some job that they get used for that I am overlooking, perhaps?
Rob
I agree that you must have had a bad one. True that the rotostop is not the best but I have had extremely good experience with NuTool.
It is also interesting that they give a 2 year guarantee when brands costing several times the NuTool price only offer 12 months.
Rob
Alba/Goodmans handle it, but the trademark is JCB's.
Average stuff from what I've seen, but the pricing is better than average at the moment.
Depends on what your into....
Niel, at work.
This thread came up in time for me to decide what SDS drill to get. I looked at the Argos site and their drill is rated at 1000w and was £29.99. Placed an order online which was reserved at my local store (easier for me than delivery). I picked it up late this afternoon.
Impressions? Its big and its heavy. But for £30?
I'm about to start putting in new electric boxs for TV, telephone and networking. I'm adding some lights to the walls and I may just get rid of the horrible tiles in the kitchen.
So if it helps out on all those tasks then it'll be a bargin. If it breaks with two years I'll take it back.
Did I mention it's heavy?
Big Tim wrote
Heavy isn't it?
I asked in an earlier thread as I found it so powerful that it tended to take a hefty chunk out of the surface, so I'll pass on the hints and add what worked for me.
Drill the first 5mm with a normal hammer drill.
Then use the SDS, at right angles and making firm contact with the wall.
If you're drilling all the way through, it will make a hefty exit hole too, so best to finish off with a standard hammer drill too.
Yeah, 7.9kg! Just bought one of these too - it still said £35 in the catalogue so I was pleased to see it at £30 on the till! Focus had what appeared to be the same Challenge model at £50. I also have a Makita, which is *very* nice, but bought this one as I have some heavy dismantling to do which I didn't want to chance with the Mak. Thoughts:
It has two little selectors for hammer on/off and rotate on/off. Wierd, but also dangerous - the switch (near the front of the machine) which stops the rotation has several times spontaneously clicked back into rotation mode, right in the middle of chiselling. Not so bad with a pointy chisel, but a right wrist-wrencher with a flat chisel of any sort. AFAICT is has no clutch - the Mak does, which helps when you get stuck down a hole.
The first one (I'm on number two at the moment) "exploded" after about
2 hours on the job - no more than 45 or 50 minutes real use. The chuck fell apart, and a vital part of it went missing in all the debris so that tools no longer clicked into place. Of course, Argos swapped it with no questions, but it was a round-trip to the shop I shouldn't have had to make. I check this one every ten minutes or so.The lead is too short! I'm dismantling a chimney breast and I have to have an extension lead up the ladder with me in order to reach the three or four courses of bricks nearest the ceiling.
It takes a lot of pressure for the hammer action to "kick in". Not sure why, but it makes chiselling a longer job than need be.
Other than that, well worth £30 IMO. Ok, it doesn't reverse and is single speed, but 1000W can be very useful. I bought it as a disposable to get rid of this chimney for me, and even if I'm on number 4 or 5 by the time I've finished, I reckon I'll have saved a fair bit of wear-and-tear on my Makita. Oh, and I'll have built a fair set of biceps too :-)
Hwyl!
M.
Usage tips noted
My local Argos is 15 mins tops from my house, so swapping them (if needed) is't much of a problem.
I noticed that as well while I was checking the drill and contents out.
My thought as well. It also sounds like I'll save on the Gym subs as well :-) so it's even more of a bargain.
Now, what shall I use to practice on tomorrow...
Why not just use the SDS drill with the hammer action switched off to finish - and/or start? I do this with mine to get a more accurate start, and at very low speed.
Thats fine , if they have stock... By the time you've returned a broken one 3 or 4 times they might be out of stock. Check the stock level machine next time your passing... B-)
With hammer off I found it useless, much easier to use my other drill which at least has *some* hammer action. I tended to start off each hole with my hammer drill (9 shelves, 3 brackets each, 3 holes per bracket = 81 holes to drill one morning), then put away my old drill and get the SDS out to "finish them off". Loads of fun, took no time.
Good point.
However I can always use the web-site to check stock levels before leaving the house.
To an extent it is a case of until you have one, you don't spot all the opportunities to use it... a bit like why does a dog lick his balls? Because he can! ;-)
I think the biggest single use I put my routers to is edge finishing - e.g. adding rounded over edges on shelves etc. After that comes jointing and channeling.
Reduced to £85 now on their web site. I think one for my shopping list.
-Duncan
It's always best to drill a small pilot hole first, then you can go most of the way through, and finish off from outside.
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