Hi AllThought I'd mention the really useful tools I've acquired over the last year. Not the gadgets you still can't help wasting money on :-), but stuff that gets used regularly and makes the job easier;Stubby 12 in 1 screwdriver. Kamasa & Draper sell them, a stubby screwdriver with 6 double ended bits in the handle. Pozi, Phillips, Hex & Flat.Post Hole Digger from Wickes. Brilliantly simple & effective.Taptool Universal Spanner also from Wickes. Fits almost everything & great for reluctant stopcocks etc.Wickes wire strippers. Best I've come across, strips insulation & cuts cable. less that a £5.Duo Tricut saws from Toolstation 45275. Never used anything so sharp.Decking Installation tool from Toolstation 74517. I've built 5 decks this year (06) and its been a real boon.LED Headlamp torch from Argos. So useful when grovelling about under sinks etc. Does make you look a pratt mind.One Strike Filler. Wonderful stuff!Irwin Cordless Multi Purpose Drill Bits. Really do work!Irwin Carpenters Gloves. Worn so much I need a new pair.Bonsai Claw Bar 10" from Screwfix. So useful.Best power tool has to be the Makita Jigsaw, followed closely by the Wickes SDS.

Seconded. Misleadingly they're in the Screwfix catalogue under their ownbrand name and without a picture, in sets of 2 sets of sizes, not the oneon the other side of the page with the picture and the Irwin logo.I picked up a reciprocating saw (Ryobi, £30 clearance from B&Q) which hasproved its worth cutting everything from logs to 2" steel pipe.

What a Tool!

Harry Bloomfield 19 years ago

Its a 12/24/32 + a couple of flashing red LED's, all selectable via a single push button switch. It has a bracket for use as a cycle headlight, and another to use it as a head light.

It is rather cheap looking, unlike my 8 LED ones, but it certainly does the job. It also doesn't protrude out from my head as far as the 8 LED's ones. It's main case is silver, circular, with black brackets and head band. It was around £6.50 (£2 cheaper than my 8 LED jobs) and I got it from a small local DIY tool shop.

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John Stumbles 19 years ago

A few years ago I got one from Screwfix on clearance and it has an amazingly thin but strong[1] blade. Brilliant for starting to lift floorboards etc. Never seen one like it since: the ones they have in their current range are significantly thicker and clumsier.

[1] i.e. I haven't broken it yet :-)

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HLAH 19 years ago

Sounds like the one we got off Ebay to mount on the kid's pushchair. Very good and bright. I was thinking of getting another to use as a headtorch. Was it Blackspur branded?

I am going to see if the unused bracket could be modded to replace the one that broke on the Luxeon Star headlamp from Ebay, if I can find the bloody thing. This seems to be the problem with cheap Chinese electronic gear, certainly torches anyway, the electronic/electrical components work fine but the cases/mounts are made of rubbish brittle plastic and break.

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Harry Bloomfield 19 years ago

HLAH wrote on 04/01/2007 :

I threw the packet away, but probably it was Blackspur.

It is very bright indeed, probably around 18watts worth of light, buy as you suggest quite brittle.

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Stephen Dawson 19 years ago

Sorry, review a day late.

Today we have bashed, cut and pryed. The Fubar is a formidable additional to my asernal of tools. Helped used no end today install a 400mm sq 4 core armoured cable. Many admiring glances from others on site. A good all round tool that will have lots of uses for me.

Regards

Steve

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Doctor Drivel 19 years ago

Bahco slip joint pliers, ones with the button to move ratchet, expensive but fit well and save the price in skinned knuckles and rounded fasteners.

Adam

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