Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

Just bought a Bosch blue 10.8v drill/driver and multitool. Loving them so far. You can get the drill for £71 inc charger and the new 2.0Ah battery from ffx.co.uk at the moment. Lots of power from such a little thing. Appears to be very well made too.
 
BurningHorizons said:
Just bought a Bosch blue 10.8v drill/driver and multitool. Loving them so far. You can get the drill for £71 inc charger and the new 2.0Ah battery from ffx.co.uk at the moment. Lots of power from such a little thing. Appears to be very well made too.
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Bosch also do the GRO10.8V-LIN, basically a rotary tool like a Dremel, available naked around £75 or less or as a kit.
 
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Nightglow said:
It's naked.

Just the bare unit, no battery or charger.

Bosch green range.

http://www.axminster.co.uk/bosch-pm...ounder-10-8v?gclid=CLn9qJm93rwCFUnjwgod7TYABg

Need to do your research, about it, as I have used their cordless green diy range, one negative point,some people complain cordless battery lasts about 20-30 minutes, sometimes less depending what your cutting.

The mains version is far superior.

But, things change when you move up to Bosch Blue trade tools, the Bosch GOP18VECLi 18V is brilliant, use same battery as their drills, it's not cheap, again you can buy it naked, search you can find good deals.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bosch-GOP...018B0001-/161168679055?_trksid=p2054897.l4276


There is also another Bosch cordless multitool, the GOP 10.8VLI 10.8v Li-Ion, it's a lower spec model.
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Folkestone Fixings have the Bosch GOP250CEC2 for £104.94 post free.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bosch-GOP...d-8-Accs-/390713912447?_trksid=p2054897.l4276
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Thanks for your post, I see why it was so much cheaper now.

I got to say I tend to strongly favour cordless tools and quick change systems like SDS.

In light of that, when it comes to shopping for a cordless sander my choice seems to come down to that Bosch green line one (where hopefully I can use my existing 18V battery) and the blue line GOP 18 V-EC Professional multi-tool. There is no 18V green line multi-cutter equivalent (well at least not that I can find).

While the GOP does look like an excellent multi-cutter, in terms of sanding capability its motor specs seem similar to the green line sander but it's less functional than it (no dust extractor). It's also heavier and would cost me up to 6 times as much as I'd definitely need a new battery and would want a case also. That's not to say I'm unwilling to spend more; it's just that it has to make sense to do so.

Can someone explain the difference between Bosch's green and blue line of products? I'm finding in general, that the green line has similar or same core (i.e. motor) specs as the blue line and occasional extra features also - all the while they are cheaper too. I would assume the blue line is more robust but I've had no complaints in that area when it comes to my existing green line cordless dirll. To be fair though I'm just an occasional DIYer and my usage will never get near that of a tradesman.

I see that the blue line has 4.0Ah batteries now but they come at the cost of nearly twice the weight of the 2.0Ah ones which tbh are already at the limit of what I find comfortable to hold one-handed on a cordless drill. They probably make more sense for 2-handed tools or where you're not in awkward positions.
 
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The Green range is for diy users, lighter use, most tools come with two year warranty,very good tools for the money, whereas the Blue range is trade, tools have 3 year warranty, & rated for heavier use.
 
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So an 18V cordless something or other from the green line is going to be just as powerful as the equivalent 18v power tool from the blue line?
 
Business Man said:
How does the Makita multi cutter stack up to the Bosch GOP250CE model ?
Does anyone stick to the same brands when buying power tools or do you have a mixture ?

I've always been told the Makita range is regarded as the best and then Bosch blue, now DeWalt seem to be popular
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All the top brands produce decent tools, there is no best brand really. I doubt the people saying a certain brand of tool is the best have used every other equivalent tool from the other brands. Most people buy into a battery system and then stick with that brand as they can then just buy the naked tools to use the same battery. I use Dewalts 18v system, but have also used (along with workmates) Makita, Milwaukee and Bosch over the years. All performed great and lasted years and years.


As for multitools, the Dewalt is worth a look. It has a few innovations that sold it for me. Quick release blade change is useful, so you can adjust the blade position in seconds and not have to search for the allen key (which is guaranteed to get lost).

It has a work light, which is a first for these tools I think. Not a massive issue, but they are a god send when working in dark spaces, like inside a kitchen cabinet etc.

The dual position grip is also a nice addition. I find these tools a bit uncomfortable to hold after a while, so having a different type of grip at the back to change hand positions is great.

The main selling point for me was the variable speed trigger. Gives so much more control than a non variable with separate speed settings. It might not be for everyone though, some will prefer the sliding switch.

I went for the wired version, but the cordless one uses a brushless motor, which means it should last twice as long as a standard motor. Not sure if any other brand uses a brushless motor in their multitools yet.


If it was a choice between the Bosch and Makita wired, then I'd go for the Bosch as it's cheaper and the Makita just looks to be a direct copy with no innovative features added. If going for cordless then i'd go for whichever battery system you want to invest in, or already have a battery for.
 
I bought this 2 weeks ago and it came in very useful when my shed roof blew off.


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Nightglow said:
Looks good, nice holdall, how do you find it when using it.
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I have four other drills which range from a £30 cordless B&D to an SDS £300 corded Kress but this looks like it will do 99% of the jobs I will need it for.
When my shed roof blew off I couldn't have done the job efficiently with any of my other 4 because of cables or not being powerful enough.
This easily drove in 3" screws x at least 120 with still plenty of power left.
It also felt good in my hands and didn't get heavy.
 
Just a note about the BHP453 and the BHP458 Makitas, the latter is so much the better drill, it will put a 25mm auger into oak without fuss & the hammer action is actually quite good with a decent bit.

The 453 isn't really up to much apart from light (pilot or wood) drilling & screw driving.
 
Some excellent info on here, I think I'm going to go for the Makita BHP458.

I noticed this on Hotuk deals website:

Makita cordless drill £123.74 or in store £98.99 (take in an old tool for 20 % off) @ Wickes >> http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/makita-cordless-drill-123-74-store-98-99-take-an-old-tool-for-20-off-wickes-1853276

http://www.wickes.co.uk/makita-18v-combi-drill+30ah-li-ion-batt/invt/104014/

Type: Combi Hammer Drill
Manufacturer Code: BHP453RFX3
Voltage: 18V
No Load Speed: High: 0 - 13000pm, Low: 0 - 400rpm
Max. in Wood: 36mm
Max. in Masonry: 13mm
Max. in Steel: 13mm
Chuck Size: 13mm
Max. Torque: 42Nm
Blows Per Minute: High: 0 - 19,500bpm, Low: 0 - 6000bpm
Battery Type: Li-Ion
Battery Size: 3.0Ah
Weight: 1.7Kg
Guarantee: 3 Years Warranty
Includes: Combi Hammer Drill, Carry Case, 1 x 3.0 Ah Li-Ion Battery, 1 x Fast Charger & 34 Piece Accessory Set
Colour: Blue
Brand: Makita

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Wickes have got a 20% promotion on see below.

Wickes said:
Hand in any of your old tools at Wickes, and Workaid will see that they're refurbished and passed on to disadvantaged people at their vocational training programmes in Africa and the UK.

And as a thank you for helping us to change lives, we'll give you 20% off any new tools by Wickes, Makita, Bosch and many more big name brands in store.

Link >> http://www.wickes.co.uk/shopping-at-wickes/trade-aid/pcat/tradeaid/?home-page-promo=RT3
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Some useful info here >> http://www.its.co.uk/blog/buying-guides/what-makita-drill-to-buy/

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I think Makita and Dewalt should colour code their drills to differentiate between the light and heavy duty, like Bosch do. I bet loads of people have bought the 453, thinking it's a heavy duty machine because it's a Makita.

The 458 looks good. The high torque comes at the expense of a low 400rpm speed, but the drill speed is a useful 2000rpm. A 3 speed gearbox with a 600rpm speed for fast driving would have made it perfect.
 
You need to be careful with Makita, some of the light duty drills use a different battery to the heavy duty drill.
You need to make sure it's the LXT range of cordless tools your buying, as the batteries from the LXT will fit over 70 other Makita LXT tools.

Agree with mark, Makita need to change the colour of their light duty drills to stop the confusion.

http://www.makitatools.com/en-us/Modules/Tools/LithiumIonLineUp.aspx

And they now bought out a 4 amp 18v LXT battery now.

http://www.makitauk.com/lithium-ion-40ah.html
 
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Screwfix one is more powerful Max. torque 66Nm, compared to Max Torque: 60 Nm for the other, might be a typo though.

Had a good read, can't find any other difference.
 
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