Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

LeeUK said:
What's the best cordless drill/driver to buy? Sick of requiring a drill for a basic task only to find it struggles.
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The DeWalt DCD805

Combined with standard 5ah standard or PowerStack batteries.

Don't be fooled in to thinking it is low power by it's small size, it actually outperforms the larger DCD996. Only the DCD999 is more powerful.

You can get it for about £100 from some suppliers. However, that's not including a case batteries and a charger. If you want a kit then it's £270 including two 5ah PowerStack batteries and a charger. That's a good deal. The PowerStack are high current, very long life.

You can also get it with an impact driver for £379. Not such a good deal but at least it's all in one case.

You can do it a little cheaper if you shop around. There is no need to get the 5ah PowerStack, you could manage with 2ah. You can get two of those for £120 including a 2A charger.

Impact drivers are a personal thing. I don't like them. They are pro First Fix only, meaning they are very powerful and fast but completely lack subtlety and precision. I normally us a standard drill for driving, and only use an impact driver for stubborn screws.

Oh, and watch out on eBay. There are tons of fake 805's on there. Go to a reputable tool store.
 
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SpellowHouse said:
The DeWalt DCD805

Combined with standard 5ah standard or PowerStack batteries.

Don't be fooled in to thinking it is low power by it's small size, it actually outperforms the larger DCD996. Only the DCD999 is more powerful.

You can get it for about £100 from some suppliers. However, that's not including a case batteries and a charger. If you want a kit then it's £270 including two 5ah PowerStack batteries and a charger. That's a good deal. The PowerStack are high current, very long life.

You can also get it with an impact driver for £379. Not such a good deal but at least it's all in one case.

You can do it a little cheaper if you shop around. There is no need to get the 5ah PowerStack, you could manage with 2ah. You can get two of those for £120 including a 2A charger.

Impact drivers are a personal thing. I don't like them. They are pro First Fix only, meaning they are very powerful and fast but completely lack subtlety and precision. I normally us a standard drill for driving, and only use an impact driver for stubborn screws.

Oh, and watch out on eBay. There are tons of fake 805's on there. Go to a reputable tool store.
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I would second this recommendation. I use my Dewalt Drill and the Impact driver with 2ah batteries and they are plenty, kit i bought had 3 so always a spare that can be charging.

I mainly use the impact driver with an socket adapter for decking screws and the like, or for Torx headed screws, I find it has a tendency to chew up other types and do need to be careful if the wood is a bit soft or it'll drive all the way through and out the other side, doing nothing more than creating a hole in it.

FFX are often good on price, Screwfix also tend to have the kids on sale.

Only caveat, would be if you have other tools already, or others you plan to buy, as you can get easily tied into a battery system.
 
Rexxar said:
... and do need to be careful if the wood is a bit soft or it'll drive all the way through and out the other side, doing nothing more than creating a hole in it....
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:cry: I think we have all done that :cry:

And looked in horror at the huge length of wood we just ruined. :cry:

FFX went bust :(

I used to get lots of stuff from them. Their warehouse is now an ITS. Having said that, as far as I know ITS is a good company.

I recently bought from PowerToolMate and they seem to be very good. I was impressed by their service. They are on ebay too.
 
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SpellowHouse said:
:cry: I think we have all done that :cry:

And looked in horror at the huge length of wood we just ruined. :cry:

FFX went bust :(

I used to get lots of stuff from them. Their warehouse is now an ITS. Having said that, as far as I know ITS is a good company.

I recently bought from PowerToolMate and they seem to be very good. I was impressed by their service. They are on ebay too.

PwerToolWorld UK are doing a crazy deal on 2Ah PowerStack at the moment. £90 for two plus a charger.
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I've used PowerToolWorld a few times now, got my circular saw from there along with my SDS.
I have a 2ah powerstack battery and it's plenty for the normal drill and impact driver. I have a couple of the standard smaller 2ah batteries, 1 2ah powerstack battery and a 5ah battery and that does me for all my dewalt tools. Just buy the yellow fast charger and you'll never be hanging around for batteries. I've been tempted by some of the flexvolt batteries as they seem to be coming down in price a little.
 
SpellowHouse said:
:cry: I think we have all done that :cry:

And looked in horror at the huge length of wood we just ruined. :cry:

FFX went bust :(

I used to get lots of stuff from them. Their warehouse is now an ITS. Having said that, as far as I know ITS is a good company.

I recently bought from PowerToolMate and they seem to be very good. I was impressed by their service. They are on ebay too.

PwerToolWorld UK are doing a crazy deal on 2Ah PowerStack at the moment. £90 for two plus a charger.
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Had no idea they went bust! They were often one of the best for pricing. That's a shame. I'm fairly locked in to Dewalt now which tbh, i'm a bit annoyed about, but for DIY it'll do the job.

On another note, Does anyone rate the Titan pressure washers?
 
SpellowHouse said:
FFX went bust :(
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I can't say I am surprised. I posted in the thread a few months back to avoid them as they expect you to wait 10 days for them to despatch certain tools, but didn't make it clear in the listing. They had the delivery as 24 hour courier, but don't mention that they would take 10 days to despatch it. Then it took 3 days and 3 emails for them to finaly reply and give me a refund. I'm sure they lost a lot of trade as people rely on tools for their livelyhood and can't be waiting 10 days and no comms. Ended up going with Abby Power on ebay and got fantastic service as usual.
 
Mark A said:
I can't say I am surprised. I posted in the thread a few months back to avoid them as they expect you to wait 10 days for them to despatch certain tools, but didn't make it clear in the listing. They had the delivery as 24 hour courier, but don't mention that they would take 10 days to despatch it. Then it took 3 days and 3 emails for them to finaly reply and give me a refund. I'm sure they lost a lot of trade as people rely on tools for their livelyhood and can't be waiting 10 days and no comms. Ended up going with Abby Power on ebay and got fantastic service as usual.
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I have had good stuff from Abbey Power too, albeit they don't have very good reviews. They are a "breaker" as I call them, in that they buy large kits and break them up, selling all the bits for more than the total kit. But they are a good source of unusual items.
 
Does any one have any experience with the Dewalt SDS drills, specifically the DCH133 and DCH273? On the occasion I've had to drill into brick, my current combi has struggled and I'm going to have a need to drill a few more holes soon when I run some cables. It's not something I'm going to use extensively, but it's definitely something that would be handy to have. The 133 is about £60 cheaper but bigger, however, if the 273 is massively better it's worth spending the money on.
 
I’ve got the 273, I think, certainly that style anyway and not the little 133.

It’s a beast of a tool, I’ve not used the 133 so I can’t comment, I expect it to be lighter and easier to handle for lighter work but it will not have the grunt of the 273.
 
Watching some videos it actually seems like the 133 has slightly more power, but no vibration damping so isn't as nice to use. As it will probably last me most of my life with the use it gets, I might as well get the 273.
 
Street said:
Watching some videos it actually seems like the 133 has slightly more power, but no vibration damping so isn't as nice to use. As it will probably last me most of my life with the use it gets, I might as well get the 273.
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I've got the 133 - paid £99 for it bare from ITS last June.

More than enough grunt for me. It's seen a load of use chiselling out mortar on our patio (at least where it hadn't already blown out). I used it for mounting some timber batons in the garage. I was drilling away, felt the effort/pressure ease and then go back on...

A week or so later I went in the tool store (the other side of the wall) and realised I'd gone through both skins and out the other side :rolleyes: :D
 
Robert said:
Are dremel still a go to for that type of multi tool or anything better?
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Probably yes but I use mine vary rarely these days so I wouldn’t spend a load of cash on a cordless one unless you expect to use it regularly.

Edit: the other big tool brands don’t seem do have anything similar so its Dremel or off brand
 
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Robert said:
Are dremel still a go to for that type of multi tool or anything better?
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If you're serious you can get a Foredom tool. It's what dentists use - overhead motor, flexible shaft hanging down and foot pedal operation. Arguably not as convenient as a handheld Dremel but solidly built and you can use it all day.
 
LuckyBenski said:
If you're serious you can get a Foredom tool. It's what dentists use - overhead motor, flexible shaft hanging down and foot pedal operation. Arguably not as convenient as a handheld Dremel but solidly built and you can use it all day.
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Can also do some dentistry in the evening and weekends
 
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