Tool Reviews

[The Medway Handyman]

Hi

The idea has probably come up before, but could we have a 'tool review' FAQ?

I have bought some great kit & some complete crap. Be useful to have a reference?

[meow2222]

Sounds a good idea. I can foresee problems though.

NT

[John Rumm]

Sounds like a good idea to me....

I would be happy to dish the dirt on some of my past purchases. (in fact thinking about it, I have posted some "mini review" posts in the past that could be retrieved and dusted down.

Not sure if a review counts as a FAQ as such though, since it is a more personal op-ed piece rather than a peer reviewed set of standard answers.

There is also no reason why a given tool can't have multiple reviews - that can be very handy especially if you know the reviewer by reputation in advance.

[EricP]

It' wouldn't work since this is a DIY group and not a trade/professional one where expectations are limited and a common mindset in use.

For example a £10 angle grinder is fine for doing a job on a car, but a pro would consider a £250 one about adequate.

The *discussion* about it would run to 300 posts and rage for weeks. No conclusion would be reached, with the Makita/De Walts in one fortress and the chinese clone people in the other.

Nice idea though.

[John Rumm]

Hence why a review does not really want a "discussion" at all. It really comes down to "I have one of these, and this is what I think of it, and this is why".

What perhaps *ought* to be in a FAQ is some guidance for what basic information should be included in the review to enable the reader to better judge where the review is pitched. Perhaps one of the things that ought to be stated is the level of use made of the tool, the level of expectation of the user, and an indication of how familiar they are with other examples of the same sort of tool.

In fact I think I will go start another thread on this ;-)

[Peter Lynch]

Good idea. Why don't you kick it off by telling us what you've got?

[Guy King]

The message from Peter Lynch contains these words:

I don't like my Clarke 150TE MIG welder half as much as the 130 I had before. The wire feed isn't as reliable and the current settings are still as daftly laid out. Doesn't overheat so often though.

My Ferm biscuit jointer is smashing - I can't see what else it could do or what better by paying more.

Ferm power plane's heavy, which is probably a good thing, but not well balance - which isn't.

I've lost the mitre slide for my Rexon table saw. Bother. Other than that it's very good, with a nice wide table and plenty of power. As with most machines the top guard is crap and gets in the way. I'm /so/ tempted to rip it off and fling it.

[The Medway Handyman]

Electric nailers were my query since I've gone through four in as many months.

[Andy Hall]

Take a look at a Lamello one and you will find out....

Make a better guard?

Check the slot dimensions for the mitre guide. You may find that a generic guide like an Incra will fit (although it might cost almost as much as the saw :-( )