Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

Psycho Sonny · 2 Jun 2019 at 12:51

I just seen they do a 600w wired version which is cheaper.

I'll likely go for that. I dont mind wired as it's cheaper, more powerful, do t need to worry about charging and batteries dying due to no regular usage.

Plus got a 30m outdoor extension which will cover all usage.

Hedge · 2 Jun 2019 at 13:45

I'm tempted to order one myself as I have a few trees to tackle.

I'm sure they were available on ebay from Worx for £50 a few month back

Mark A · 2 Jun 2019 at 18:41

jl10000 said:
Ashley Iles manufacture excellent tools and are worth waiting for.

Beware of second hand chisels unless you can see them in person, I have quite a few I bought at least 10 years ago, it seems nowadays the market is over inflated and buoyed by shiny tat. It may have a makers mark (my favourite is Ward) but that doesn't account for years of abuse.

Thanks for that, I think I will get a set of their bevel edge chisels when they are ever in stock. In the mean time I might get a set of the Narex or even the super cheap Aldi chisels as it's always good to have some chisels you don't mind whacking with a mallet.

I have always just used bevel edge chisels for doing mortises, but I might get a 12mm mortise chisel as well and see if it's any better.

tntcoder · 4 Jun 2019 at 20:05

Would this drill be a good choice for putting some CAT6 through a 28cm wall made of reconstituted stone? Or any better recommendations under £100?

Also what sort of drill bits would I want, do 30cm ones exist?

Pho · 4 Jun 2019 at 21:31

tntcoder said:
Would this drill be a good choice for putting some CAT6 through a 28cm wall made of reconstituted stone? Or any better recommendations under £100?

Also what sort of drill bits would I want, do 30cm ones exist?

You probably want an SDS drill to go through that. An SDS drill eats through stone walls, a hammer drill will do it but will take much longer.

You can get 1 metre SDS drill bits for about £18 off Screwfix, so not that expensive!

Lakeland · 4 Jun 2019 at 22:34

Ended up getting a £25 Silverline air nail gun off eBay and it’s fantastic. Almost as much fun as an angle grinder and that’s saying something!

Mark A · 4 Jun 2019 at 22:48

tntcoder said:
Would this drill be a good choice for putting some CAT6 through a 28cm wall made of reconstituted stone? Or any better recommendations under £100?

Also what sort of drill bits would I want, do 30cm ones exist?

Thats well over priced for what it is. The green Bosch tools are the DIY versions and for around £90-£100 you can get the blue Bosch SDS, which will be far better. Plus SDS drills usually have hammer mode, which is great for removing bathroom tiles etc.

Or if it's just for that one job then just go for the cheapest SDS drill you can find. Titan drills from Screwfix will get the job done. But if you plan to use it for other jobs in future you can't go far wrong with any of the top brands really. I think Dewalt and Makita also have offerings in the sub £100 SDS category.

tntcoder · 4 Jun 2019 at 22:52

Mark A said:
Thats well over priced for what it is. The green Bosch tools are the DIY versions and for around £90-£100 you can get the blue Bosch SDS, which will be far better. Plus SDS drills usually have hammer mode, which is great for removing bathroom tiles etc.

Or if it's just for that one job then just go for the cheapest SDS drill you can find. Titan drills from Screwfix will get the job done. But if you plan to use it for other jobs in future you can't go far wrong with any of the top brands really. I think Dewalt and Makita also have offerings in the sub £100 SDS category.

Cool thanks, would the blue £100 "Bosch Professional GBH 2-26 Corded 240 V Rotary Hammer Drill with SDS Plus" be suitable and drive a 1m sds bit suitably?

bremen1874 · 4 Jun 2019 at 22:59

Yes. It's basically the SDS I've had for years which has handled everything I've needed it to.

Don't buy drill bits longer than you need. 400mm should be plenty long enough for drilling a wall.

NickK · 5 Jun 2019 at 07:47

tntcoder said:
Cool thanks, would the blue £100 "Bosch Professional GBH 2-26 Corded 240 V Rotary Hammer Drill with SDS Plus" be suitable and drive a 1m sds bit suitably?

I have the 880W corded blue SDS 2Kg class bosch drill - got for my birthday. Used it for coring 150mm the kitchen extractor, 100mm for the bathroom extractor, and drilling 3 cm diameter foot long holes through solid concrete (armoured power cable).

For SDS - check any drill has a safety clutch (it should have) and 3 mode switch (drill, drill hammer and non-rotating hammer used for chisel).

edit: always forget it's actually 880W not 750

tntcoder · 5 Jun 2019 at 07:59

Thanks will go with one of those

I did read that when using an SDS for cable drilling it's easy to get huge chunks of brick taken out on the exit hole. Any tips for avoiding that, or is it just a case of going slowly at it will be fine?

NickK · 5 Jun 2019 at 08:36

tntcoder said:
Thanks will go with one of those I did read that when using an SDS for cable drilling it's easy to get huge chunks of brick taken out on the exit hole. Any tips for avoiding that, or is it just a case of going slowly at it will be fine?

SDS most of the depth but in the last inch switch to rotation only. Try on a brick first. Also applying too much pressure, you can ease off and let the drill bit do the work.

Most drills have a joule rating (ie hammer power). Mine is 3.2J and that will knock the backs out of bricks and is about the max I would suggest for DIY with normal house bricks. The blue drills normally have a J rating in the technical specs.

Looking at the version you've listed "With an 830 W motor, producing 2.7 joules of impact energy" so perfect.. also has a safety clutch and the drill rotation is reversible (the red bit at the top of the handle next to the cooling vent).

Mine is the big brother of this - the one with the metal grey top of the gearbox that cools the gearbox on longer drilling sessions.

Martynt74 · 5 Jun 2019 at 10:57

tntcoder said:
Thanks will go with one of those I did read that when using an SDS for cable drilling it's easy to get huge chunks of brick taken out on the exit hole. Any tips for avoiding that, or is it just a case of going slowly at it will be fine?

Other option is to buy 2 drill bits. One being a lot smaller than what you need, going all the way through with that as a pilot hole and then drilling in from the outside. I've never had any issues with blowout though by just taking it easy.

Martynt74 · 5 Jun 2019 at 11:00

On a separate note. Is there a technique for using an SDS for chasing cables? The only time i've tried it i made a real mess and didn't get a nice even flat channel. Whereas i've seen some pictures of perfect neat square channels created using an SDS chisel.

Am also considering buying the 18v Dewalt SDS. I need to chip off some render and want to avoid damaging the bricks underneath. I have one of the 6kg Titan ones and it's a bit heavy to be accurate.

NickK · 5 Jun 2019 at 11:41

Marvt74 said:
On a separate note. Is there a technique for using an SDS for chasing cables? The only time i've tried it i made a real mess and didn't get a nice even flat channel. Whereas i've seen some pictures of perfect neat square channels created using an SDS chisel.

The guys that did our kitchen used manual chisels and refused to use my drill for it. Block rather than brick and they plastered and repainted the entire wall anyway.

Hedge · 5 Jun 2019 at 12:33

Marvt74 said:
On a separate note. Is there a technique for using an SDS for chasing cables? The only time i've tried it i made a real mess and didn't get a nice even flat channel. Whereas i've seen some pictures of perfect neat square channels created using an SDS chisel.

Am also considering buying the 18v Dewalt SDS. I need to chip off some render and want to avoid damaging the bricks underneath. I have one of the 6kg Titan ones and it's a bit heavy to be accurate.

My favourite technique for chasing smallish channels (like sockets from floor up) is to just drill lots of holes either side of the channel and then chisel it out by hand. They come out pretty perfect.

Martynt74 · 5 Jun 2019 at 13:14

Might give that a go, it's for a channel for projector cables so needs to go around 7ft up one wall, then need to feed cables through the ceiling and then back down the other wall so it does work out to be quite a lot (around 15ft of brick channeling)

This looks ace though!

Mark A · 5 Jun 2019 at 18:42

That does look good, but the reviews confirmed what I thought when I saw it, that it wont last long. It should do the job if your brick is soft.

Grr, I missed out on some really cheap Record 6" clamps and ultra cheap old combination square and some Marples chisels in the last week on ebay from getting bored in the last 15 minutes of the auction and forgetting about it lol. I really need to look into one of them auction sniper apps.

The clamps went for £11 for 2 with £2.50 delivery :eek:

, doubt i'll ever get them for that price again. The combination square went for like £2 odd, really gutted about that one.

The combination square was a really old Ficher cast iron/steel jobbie and looked to be really chunky. All the modern ones are made out of really thin alloy and go out of square if you drop them or knock them even slightly.

Sin_Chase · 5 Jun 2019 at 21:44

Marvt74 said:
On a separate note. Is there a technique for using an SDS for chasing cables? The only time i've tried it i made a real mess and didn't get a nice even flat channel. Whereas i've seen some pictures of perfect neat square channels created using an SDS chisel.

Am also considering buying the 18v Dewalt SDS. I need to chip off some render and want to avoid damaging the bricks underneath. I have one of the 6kg Titan ones and it's a bit heavy to be accurate.

You cut the out the extremities with a concrete disc on a grinder. Makes a LOAD of dust but it's quick, easy and you get neat channels.

Martynt74 · 5 Jun 2019 at 21:45

Hoping to avoid that as it’s in the front room full of furnishings!