Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

I have had keyless chucks for over 25 yrs - The first a 9v Bosch supplied by work (excellent drill but you cant get batteries anymore) and now three Stanley drills.

I have keyless on two of my drills -One drill is hammer and the other a drill/driver slightly smaller than hammer drill - The chucks are different - the hammer drill seeming to be well made.

I used a big masonry drill for the test and put the bit in the chuck and tightened it by hand till got to the point of resistance the gave it a bit more till it clicked - turned back one click and then pressed trigger -release press-release and after a few goes the drill bit was lose - tightened it up again till the click then tried harder and on the hammer drill I heard three faint clicks where as the drill/driver only did it once -started it up with loads of on offs and drill was still solid in chuck.
So my test suggests you hear first click then carry on.

I do confess I have always been a spinner -hold the chuck then press button so drill spins the chuck up tight - Obviously it was wrong. - And in all those years I never noticed the click.:o
 
I have 3 layers to my garden which were landscaped by previous owners.

I have below surface level decking you walk steps down onto. This actually is rather nice and I have a bench built with bricks with a wooden surface and brick walls surrounding 2 sides and fences on the other 2. It feels like a vip area of sorts.

Then I have the ground level which is 95% block paving or stones with 5% grass.

I then have 2 raised beds which are full of soil and grass top in circular shapes with the frame made of mortar and large boulders and stones of varying types. A bit like a roman wall.

The grass doesn't grow particularly well on these two beds due to the plethora of trees the previous owners planted and also neighboring trees. It's also raised up and wasted space. It takes up roughly a quarter of the garden if not a third.

I want to basically smash the walls up dig up all the soil and whatever is underneath. I can't get a commercial digger round the back to do this so will need to be done by hand.

I'd then like to make a concrete base for a log cabin and place that where these 2 raised beds were at ground level.

I'm guessing I'm going to have to dig down roughly 3 feet from the top of the raised beds if not more. I'd also like to introduce French drains in the surrounding areas to deal with excess water flow from the concrete and cabin roof.

My plan is to chop down 7 trees. As the first step.

Then start digging. I'm thinking shovels and pick axes and a sledge hammer for the wall. Wheel barrows to carry the crap off into rubble bags and into a skip.

Or do you reckon there is people out there who need turf and soil who will basically do this for me on gumtree for free?

Will people break up the wall for hardcore? And take it away?

Also what other tools for this initial phases do you anticipate a need for?

The concrete base and French drain will be straight forward once everything is levelled off. It's getting it to that stage which requires a lot of man power and hard work. Which I have plenty of time for now.
 
Could bag it up and post up on free cycle as hardcore. Same with sand.

Alternative is a grab lorry or see if a housing developer wishes to take it as topsoil.
 
Lads, can I get a recommendation or two for a circular saw please? I believe cordless has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years, so I'd be happy going with battery operated, as it won't need to go for 8 hours a day or anything. However, I would like something beefy enough to be able to cut the likes of solid wood counter-tops as well as the usually ripping of sheet materials etc. And despite being a righty, I prefer having the blade on the left of the unit.

Also, can I get a recommendation for router bit brands? I'd rather pay for 2-3 good bits now, rather than buy a huge kit where the individual quality isn't the best!
 
Random Guy Esq. said:
Lads, can I get a recommendation or two for a circular saw please? I believe cordless has come on in leaps and bounds in the past few years, so I'd be happy going with battery operated, as it won't need to go for 8 hours a day or anything. However, I would like something beefy enough to be able to cut the likes of solid wood counter-tops as well as the usually ripping of sheet materials etc. And despite being a righty, I prefer having the blade on the left of the unit.

Also, can I get a recommendation for router bit brands? I'd rather pay for 2-3 good bits now, rather than buy a huge kit where the individual quality isn't the best!
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Id get a track saw. Brand would depend on budget but having a track saw makes so many jobs way better.
 
For something like a circular saw I’d get a corded one. For the amount you use it vs the increased cost it makes little sense to go cordless.

All the big brands are unsurprisingly very similar (dewalt Makita etc), but others like evolution offer good value. There are loads of roundups on youtube.

I think what the above person is referring to is a plunge saw. They are more flexible than a circular saw, but you also need to use them with a track and they cost a lot more too. Again all the big brands are fine again but some of the cheaper brands are pretty cheap and you can run into incompatibility issues with the tracks between certain brands, best to stick with the same brand saw and track. Again there are loads of roundups on YouTube.
 
As above go for a corded track/plunge saw. Very handy for long straight cuts plus being corded it will have the power to cut through some really think timber, I've used mine on railway sleepers.
 
Hedge said:
Id get a track saw. Brand would depend on budget but having a track saw makes so many jobs way better.
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b0rn2sk8 said:
For something like a circular saw I’d get a corded one. For the amount you use it vs the increased cost it makes little sense to go cordless.

All the big brands are unsurprisingly very similar (dewalt Makita etc), but others like evolution offer good value. There are loads of roundups on youtube.

I think what the above person is referring to is a plunge saw. They are more flexible than a circular saw, but you also need to use them with a track and they cost a lot more too. Again all the big brands are fine again but some of the cheaper brands are pretty cheap and you can run into incompatibility issues with the tracks between certain brands, best to stick with the same brand saw and track. Again there are loads of roundups on YouTube.
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GSXRMovistar said:
As above go for a corded track/plunge saw. Very handy for long straight cuts plus being corded it will have the power to cut through some really think timber, I've used mine on railway sleepers.
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Thanks all.

Ah, if there's a big difference in price, I'd go for a corded unit alright. I did have a look at track/plunge saws and liked the look of them for long cuts, but wondered if they'd be a bit of a faff for smaller cross cuts and the like? So I was actually thinking of going for a circular saw and also something like this separate rail/track to give me a bit of versatility, as well as ability to cut long straight edges. Also seems that the combo (even with a good brand of circular saw) would be cheaper than a dedicated plunge saw. The track is apparently compatible with a few of the big brands, as well as their own saws. Thoughts?
 
If you don’t already have batteries and a charger for other power tools I’d definitely follow advice and get a corded saw.

You can get the cheap non rail saw and make your own too, there are plenty videos on YouTube showing you how. If it’s just for odd jobs that’s what I’d do.
 
I made my own track for the circular saws i have, mine are just a corded ryobi saw was like 65 quid i think at the time and it does the job for me as it doesnt get much use. I also do have a cheaper cordless circular saw which only cost me 35 quid plus batteries which i already had, its from aldi actually and it runs be battery in parallel and is 40V for the price its amazing it will cut through just as much as the corded ryobi. i tend to use it more as its just easier to manouver
 
Guys, from my other thread where I am going to build an outdoor work potting/work bench for my Bonsai trees, I think to help my back I might get a Black & Decker Workmate. Is the cheapest one good enough for this job?

Thread - https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/threads/how-to-make-an-outdoor-work-bench.18886625/

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Black+Decker-WM536-XJ-Workmate/p/142277

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Cutting wood by hand is for people with way too much time on their hands. Get the mitre saw over one of those. Evolution do a proper stand for the saw if you want to go all out.
 
ik9000 said:
anyone ever used a wall chaser and able to give me some pointers. Have borrowed a friends and need to use it this weekend.
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when the electrician did a cable conduit in a wall - I asked him and he said using a chisel and hammer is less mess and damage for just an inch wide by less than an inch depth for about 3m in block.
 
b0rn2sk8 said:
Cutting wood by hand is for people with way too much time on their hands. Get the mitre saw over one of those. Evolution do a proper stand for the saw if you want to go all out.
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Yeah but the workbench will be useful for other things, and paired with a jigsaw (below), should be plenty for Raymond's needs. Even then, it won't hurt to learn to saw with a handsaw, if you're taking on a huge project or are a pro then obviously the power tools are worth it, but for the bonsai tree potting bench, the hand sawing required is not exactly the end of the world.

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Bosch-PST-...KajNn7bHg_0PYFBHexUaAtNMEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

The mitre saw seems a bit overkill
 
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