Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

Pho · 10 Jul 2019 at 11:54

Fireskull said:
Yeah good price for what you get! Picked one up myself last night, need a chest to store all the cordless tools.

b0rn2sk8 said:
I have one of those chests, seems decent quality for the price.

Is the chest the same as this one? The Screwfix site makes it hard to picture how much you can fit in it, looks pretty roomy from the video here.

https://www.stanleytools.com/en-us/...boxes/mobile/essential-mobile-chest/stst33031

Fireskull · 10 Jul 2019 at 14:25

Look identical but.... the clasps on the one from screwfix is metal.

233 · 11 Jul 2019 at 12:27

getting more and more into my diy and looking for a decent impact driver, fence building ahoy

looking for something quite versatile and around £100-£150 including a battery or 2

any suggestions?

sovietspybob · 11 Jul 2019 at 12:32

I've got the Ryobi one and it's been really good. I'm sure some people will come along and tell you it's useless and made of cheese because it doesn't say Makita on the side but for home DIY stuff i can't fault it.

MassiveJim · 11 Jul 2019 at 13:18

Do you have any other cordless tools ?
I would buy whatever you already have so that you can switch batteries between equipment.
failing that if buying in to a new "eco system" i would choose one of the below

Dewalt
Makita (which I own)
Bosch blue

My makita drill/driver was £150 with a charger, I chose one with metal gears and it has taken a fair bit of abuse.
My impact driver i don't really know much about, a contracter left it behind at my brothers work and when no one claimed it after 6 months he gave it to me.
it fell off the top of a 6ft ladder, through my loft hatch on to a tiled bathroom floor (so probably 12 - 15 feet total) and still works perfectly.

Martynt74 · 11 Jul 2019 at 13:47

MassiveJim said:
Do you have any other cordless tools ?
I would buy whatever you already have so that you can switch batteries between equipment.
failing that if buying in to a new "eco system" i would choose one of the below

I'd echo that. Ryobi would be alright but the cost of their batteries/chargers are prohibitively expensive which make a high barrier to entry cost, if you don't already own their other tools.

It's quite rare to get an impact driver with included batters etc. They're usually sold as a bare tool to go alongside whichever drill you have. However Erbauer do one for £110 if you don't have any other tools/batteries. Or one for £80 with 2 batteries if you don't mind an old obsolete ecosystem.

Also consider checking out Facebook groups, there's often some great bargains on there.

Hedge · 11 Jul 2019 at 22:14

233 said:
getting more and more into my diy and looking for a decent impact driver, fence building ahoy

looking for something quite versatile and around £100-£150 including a battery or 2

any suggestions?

I'd be going for dewalt. Ffx often have good deals on ebay and toolstation have had decent deals too.

I bought a dewalt combi drill with 2x 4ah batteries for £150 then bought an impact driver from amazon for 70.

Mark A · 12 Jul 2019 at 17:03

I bought a new sewing machine (well, new to me) as I want to do some upholstery work soon and my Mum needs hers back. I know nothing about sewing machines so just went for the same make as hers, but a newer model. It's crazy how far build quality has dropped over time. Hers is all cast and milled metal parts inside and the one I bought have pressed steel and plastic gears

. The one at the back weighs 15kg and the new one weighs 8kg... It's not even that new, I can't find a date, but I think it must be from the 70s-80s and hers must be 50s-60s. The new ones these days have plastic shells and almost all plastic and electronics inside.

Yeah new machines weigh around 6kg, so that will be the last bit of metal inside removed and a plastic shell

. I really hate how things are made to be disposable these days and anything that is built to last costs a fortune.

Pho · 14 Jul 2019 at 16:11

Fireskull said:
Look identical but.... the clasps on the one from screwfix is metal.

Cheers, picked one up the other day. Doesn't feel like the sturdiest thing in the world but does the job.

Shame there were only two trays rather than a tray for each box, unless I got unlucky?

NoobCannon · 14 Jul 2019 at 19:57

Well the “i need more tools” bug caught me again today and ordered an dewalt impact driver for a price i couldn't refuse, they are really cheap on amazon at the moment for the body only version (i believe its last gen) have been on the lookout for an impact driver for a while now, have loads of batteries hanging around

DeWalt 18V XR Lithium-Ion Body Only Impact Driver https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D3GWL96/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nR3kDb6M84CDZ

Hedge · 14 Jul 2019 at 22:48

NoobCannon said:
Well the “i need more tools” bug caught me again today and ordered an dewalt impact driver for a price i couldn't refuse, they are really cheap on amazon at the moment for the body only version (i believe its last gen) have been on the lookout for an impact driver for a while now, have loads of batteries hanging around

DeWalt 18V XR Lithium-Ion Body Only Impact Driver https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00D3GWL96/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nR3kDb6M84CDZ

They are indeed cheap. I bought the 887 for £77.99 a few weeks ago. Ffx tools on ebay with a 20% discount right now are cheap too.

Mark A · 15 Jul 2019 at 00:02

Is it just me or have FFX upped their prices to ofset the 20% code? Just looked at a few items and they end up at the normal price once you take off the 20% code.

Carbon Copied · 15 Jul 2019 at 14:01

Mark A said:
Is it just me or have FFX upped their prices to ofset the 20% code? Just looked at a few items and they end up at the normal price once you take off the 20% code.

Think they have on a couple of pieces but theres still some that bring it under - Flexvolt batteries marginally lighter on the wallet than the cheapest (non pre-owned ones); picked up one and a DCS577 circular saw and thought the damage to be be not too bad.

Psycho Sonny · 15 Jul 2019 at 14:31

Mark A said:
I bought a new sewing machine (well, new to me) as I want to do some upholstery work soon and my Mum needs hers back. I know nothing about sewing machines so just went for the same make as hers, but a newer model. It's crazy how far build quality has dropped over time. Hers is all cast and milled metal parts inside and the one I bought have pressed steel and plastic gears . The one at the back weighs 15kg and the new one weighs 8kg... It's not even that new, I can't find a date, but I think it must be from the 70s-80s and hers must be 50s-60s. The new ones these days have plastic shells and almost all plastic and electronics inside.

Yeah new machines weigh around 6kg, so that will be the last bit of metal inside removed and a plastic shell . I really hate how things are made to be disposable these days and anything that is built to last costs a fortune.

wife had an old school overlocker but have been decades old probably nearly a century. all metal. thing weighed 50kg's and was a right pain to get into the attic then back down when we sold it for more than we paid for it. it wasn't the weight but the thing was so heavy to 1 side and the size of a table. ideally required 3-4 people and was a struggle as a 2 man job both times. we told the new buy to bring someone strong with them. well she wasn't impressed with her bf's prowess.

bloodiedathame · 15 Jul 2019 at 14:38

Do any strimmer, hedge trimmer, pruner/chainsaw multitools exist that are cordless. I was hoping that Ryobi might do a ONE+ combi but no such luck. I had a Titan petrol one for a while but that ran so hot that I think it seized.

Something like this perhaps? https://www.blackanddecker.co.uk/pr...v-cordless-seasonmaster-multitool/bcask8967d2

rhysduck · 16 Jul 2019 at 09:07

Bosch PSB 1800 drill on Amazon for £50 with 2x 1.5ah batteries... any good for £50?

NoobCannon · 16 Jul 2019 at 11:19

rhysduck said:
Bosch PSB 1800 drill on Amazon for £50 with 2x 1.5ah batteries... any good for £50?

Depends what you want. As others have said in regards to other tools it depends if you have any other brands with battery's already, its often cheaper and indeed easier to stay with one brand as they share batteries and chargers etc et.

Beerbaron · 16 Jul 2019 at 11:36

I've been meaning to get an impact driver for sometime as got various DIY jobs waiting. Looking at getting this:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...-li-ion-xr-brushless-cordless-twin-pack/682fk

NoobCannon · 16 Jul 2019 at 11:55

Beerbaron said:
I've been meaning to get an impact driver for sometime as got various DIY jobs waiting. Looking at getting this:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-d...-li-ion-xr-brushless-cordless-twin-pack/682fk

Do you gave any dewalt batterys etc already? Can save a fortune buying the bare tool

Beerbaron · 16 Jul 2019 at 14:08

No, most of my other tools are corded. I have one Bosch battery drill but that is knackered.