What are Dremels for?

[Huge]

A Prince Albert.

Also see "amphalong".

[Andy Hall]

You know that and I know that, but does the hapless punter buying these products? It still doesn't account for cases where things break or tools get dropped or dinged in use.

At the least, it should be made clear when buying that there are no spare parts and no service. That would be representing the product honestly.

.andy

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[Andy Hall]

Absolutely.

On a significant tool purchase, I always look up the major spare parts costs.

What is there to assess? They're cheap, they're junk, there's no support and you toss them.

for a rented flat?

For a washing machine for a rented flat where people may not take care of the item anyway then it may well make sense.

For a quality power tool to produce good quality work in the hands of someone who will take care of it the equation is completely different.

Good for him, but it is not related to cheap throwaway power tools.

.andy

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[geoff]

In message , PoP writes

So you're not going to get yourself am Albert for Xmas or post the pix on a website?

[Set Square]

Maybe I'm unusual in expecting my tools to last 15-20 years at the very least?!

[Mary Fisher]

I'm told that womanhood is similarly adorned ...

Mary

[Andy Hall]

Not at all; but it is not likely to be achievable with DIY shed private label products.

.andy

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[Andy Hall]

This reminds me of a short but amusing parody of Lord of the Rings as a Windows Media video clip that has been circulating on the internet.

Google for "lotrtruestory.wmv"

.andy

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[geoff]

In message , Mary Fisher writes

You'll be telling us next that you've got no intimate photos to share with us

[PoP]

It depends.

I bought a DeWalt radial arm saw 25 years ago, and it is still going strong with zero defects in all those years of use. I feel I have got good value from that purchase. If it had lasted just 3 years I'd be narked.

But I have replaced my electric drill a couple of times over the same sort of period. And I don't feel that I have had poor service from the drills.

Horses for courses.

PoP

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[PoP]

Pheep! Ref! We've wandered out of uk.d-i-y again! ;)

PoP

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[usenet]

For me it depends on the type of tool.

Some (many?) hand tools can last just about for ever, especially with light DIY use - such things as spanners, squares, planes etc.

Some other hand tools inevitably wear out - screwdrivers (especially cross point ones), files, etc.

Similarly with power tools, some I would expect to last a (very) long time - e.g. pillar drills, table saws, etc. On the other hand I do regard cordless drills and such as expendable. Apart from anything else (at least at the moment) technology improves at such a rate that it's worth buying a new one every so often to see how much better it is than a five year old one.

[usenet]

That is very close to what I have just said in another post in this thread, one has different expectations of different types of tools.

[IMM]

But you paid top bucks for that, and it is now outdated to what is available.

[Dave Plowman]

I've still got my very first B&D drill - bought from Shoppertunities in the early '60s. It's had one gearbox repair, and a complete overhaul at the B&D factory in the '70s. After that it was kept in a drill stand for 'accurate' work, as I'd got a hammer drill for general stuff by then.

[Huge]

Damn, you beat me. I also still have my very first B&D drill. It was an Xmas present from my parents in 1975. These days it's the standby/spare.

[Dave Plowman]

Please explain how a radial arm saw can be 'outdated'? Or perhaps you think that anything without a 'laser guide' is not worth buying?

[Bob Eager]

I still have my very first hand drill (a Stanley). Bought as part of a toolkit for my 14th birthday in 1964.

[Steve]

Not really: I don't think there ARE any decent RAS available to the DIY market anymore. Sure DeWalt make some, but they are more pro-scale machines. Nyself, I prefer a table saw and an SCMS, but I liked the DeWalt RAS.

Steve

[Dave Plowman]

I've got several power tools which are now standbys. In some ways, it would be nice if they'd failed so could be chucked out. ;-)

My oldest 'tool set' is a hex drive Britool socket set bought as an 17th birthday present. Don't use it much as there's no metric sockets.