Power Tools & General Tools Recommendations & Advice

Best sds drill under 200ish? Prefer cordless tools but not dead set on it as I won't get to much use out off it. Would needs bits to go with it and something without a **** carry case
Makita do some 1joule energy ones but not sure how low that is. It's for drilling into concrete and brick. I could do it just about with my 18v cordless drill with hammer action but I'd be there for 10 minutes drilling. Right pain
 
What make is your current 18v drill? Makita, Bosch and Dewalt all make decent battery SDS drills and should be able to get the bare tool for around that budget with room left for drill bits. I know Dewalt do a decent 2.6j SDS with battery, charger and case for around £174 (might find it cheaper) if you don't have a battery system already.

https://www.toolstoreuk.co.uk/dewal...ess-sds-hammer-drill-with-1x4ah-battery/p1359

I think this is what I'll be going for as a bare tool as I already have Dewalt batteries. Only thing that puts me off a bit is the length of it.
 
Mark A said:
What make is your current 18v drill? Makita, Bosch and Dewalt all make decent battery SDS drills and should be able to get the bare tool for around that budget with room left for drill bits. I know Dewalt do a decent 2.6j SDS with battery, charger and case for around £174 (might find it cheaper) if you don't have a battery system already.

https://www.toolstoreuk.co.uk/dewal...ess-sds-hammer-drill-with-1x4ah-battery/p1359

I think this is what I'll be going for as a bare tool as I already have Dewalt batteries. Only thing that puts me off a bit is the length of it.
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Its a site one I got years ago. That one you linked is quite cheap
NickK said:
Just go for a corded SDS, 2kg class, 750W and sub 3J hammer.
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Yeh that was on of my other thoughts. Only brand I want to avoid is titan as there stuff so far is pretty rubbish or at least for me it has been
 
I bought the DHR202Z as the rest of my kit is Makita and I only needed it for chasing out walls (masonry). It is surprisingly powerful, also used it the other week to remove a tonne of floor tiles.
 
Kol said:
I bought the DHR202Z as the rest of my kit is Makita and I only needed it for chasing out walls (masonry). It is surprisingly powerful, also used it the other week to remove a tonne of floor tiles.
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I have the DeWalt DCH253, which is around the same power (2.1j vs 1.9j, so negligible difference) and agree - it's usefully more powerful than my Combi.

For me, cordless is definitely more convenient, but I imagine you'd get a better corded SDS than cordless for a given budget.

This looks like a good buy as it includes 2 batteries https://www.toolstoreuk.co.uk/dewalt-dch243d2-18v-sds-hammer-drill-with-2x2ah-batteries/p2723 or https://www.wickes.co.uk/DEWALT-DCH243D2-GB-18V-2-0Ah-XR-Li-ion-SDS+-Cordless-Hammer-Drill/p/168589

Though I'm not sure how it differs from the DCH253, as it seems suspiciously cheaper!
 
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The thing is if you have a drill already (ie most battery ones have some hammer) then most SDS is either going to be odd jobs of 5 minutes or less .. or .. you're going to hammering the crap out of it for extended periods (excuse the pun).

So the former - may as well go with a corded cheaper one (unless you have batteries and get a bare drill) to keep price down. In the later the corded means you're able to keep going. In the end there's only so many holes you can put in around the house!

Just make sure the SDS has a safety clutch and able 3 modes (rotate, rotate hammer and non-rotate hammer chisel). The chisel is good for hard tiles with a tile bit - but so is a hammer on a tile bit too :) If you're coring or using longer drill bits then the safety clutch is a must (also helps if it can reverse rotation direction).
 
Hi guys, wonder if you can help.. I have a cheapish GardenLine petrol strimmer, that I bought about 5-6years ago from aidi. There's nothing wrong with the actual strimmer, its just the spool for the strimmer line is totally rubbish

I wanted some thickish line so it wouldn't break every 5secs, but not too think so it wouldnt bog down the engine too much, I found this stuff, the thickest stuff without having to have a commercial strimmer https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oregon-Duo...X4YSNT3PEKH&psc=1&refRID=53YP2Q3ZAX4YSNT3PEKH (2.4mm)

I have used thinner in the past but with the same results, the line doesnt come out by its self, and/or it comes out without bumping it on the ground.. I have been fighting with this stupid thing all afternoon trying to get the line to come out as it should, but I give up.. So without having to buy a expensive strimmer (stihl or simlar) can I buy a half decent stimmer line head that works correctly
 
Anyone know about old handsaws? I have never really given a second thought to how wasteful modern hard point saws are. I must have used and then thrown loads over the years, when I could have probably had one or two re-sharpenable saws instead. So looking at getting a 6 TPI and 10 TPI saws, but have no idea whats good out there.

I'm thinking Sandvik might be a good bet as their hard point saws were decent, so i'm assuming their old re-sharpenable saws were also good.

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Heres my current collection of Tenon and dovetail saws after originally just looking at a dovetail saw lol. The Tenon saw at the bottom was a great price on ebay at £45 delivered and seems almost new. Think they are £100 or so brand new.
 
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NickK said:
The thing is if you have a drill already (ie most battery ones have some hammer) then most SDS is either going to be odd jobs of 5 minutes or less .. or .. you're going to hammering the crap out of it for extended periods (excuse the pun).

So the former - may as well go with a corded cheaper one (unless you have batteries and get a bare drill) to keep price down. In the later the corded means you're able to keep going. In the end there's only so many holes you can put in around the house!

Just make sure the SDS has a safety clutch and able 3 modes (rotate, rotate hammer and non-rotate hammer chisel). The chisel is good for hard tiles with a tile bit - but so is a hammer on a tile bit too :) If you're coring or using longer drill bits then the safety clutch is a must (also helps if it can reverse rotation direction).
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I chucked my old drill in the bin in frustration so i now just a 10 or 12v makita drill with no hammer action. alright for going into softwood but thats about it.
 
always4lora said:
I chucked my old drill in the bin in frustration so i now just a 10 or 12v makita drill with no hammer action. alright for going into softwood but thats about it.
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For house/jobs I use a 18v battery hammer/screwdriver drill. Does everything from mixing paint, wire brushing, drilling to screwing (it’s torque selector is very useful to not strip heads or snap screws).
It’s able todo most but not a master of all (impact driver or smaller screwdriver for example).

SDS i have (2kg class) is a specialist - puts holes in concrete with foot+ long 2cm drill bits, coring walls 150mm wide and chisels hard bonded tiles off like a demon (although I found a 4lb hammer and a tile chisel works with less dust. It’s nicer to use for the big stuff but bulkier in size than the one hand battery drill.
Max speed is 900rpm but can put out stupid torque if used for screwing or bolts - but again not as good as a impact driver/wrench.
At 3.2J it has a tendency to blow the backs of softer house bricks out. Hence 2-3J range is going to be good. 2kg class is light enough/easy to control up a ladder too.

In fact they have mine: https://www.toolstation.com/bosch-gbh-2-28-850w-2kg-3-function-sds-plus-hammer-drill/p45598

Note that is SDS Chuck - a £7 sds to normal but adaptor can be used (not for hammer it lasts <30 seconds from experience).

Makita corded at just over 100 too (out of stock :/) just check with corded it’s 240V or 230V not 110V which is used heavily in the trade on generators.

However for SDS - you’ll find it lacking for combo drill activities that don’t involve drills :)
 
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I have 2 drills...... A expensive small bosch 10.8v battery drill with hammer, that gets quiet a lot of use around the house and outside. Then I have a cheap aldi sds drills for the odd times I want to drill concrete and real hard stuff.

This is the day to day drill I have, its nice and small, but it has stacks of power for its size. I have upgraded the battery from a 1.5ah to a 3ah and I since then, it has never ran flat on me doing any jobs.. Plus its lovely and light so you can swing it about the place.

https://shop.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/product/cordless-combi-gsb-12v-15--9200100040626

Then I use this as my screwdriver, as you can see its nice and small again, but has stacks of power
https://shop.bosch-professional.com...ewdriver-gsr-12v-20-hx--100040739--06019D4102
 
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always4lora said:
I could do with a combi drill as well, I don't need the torch in this set but it looks good price wise : https://www.toolstation.com/milwauk...ill-sds-hammer-drill-m12-led-torch-kit/p68517
Ive not used milwaukee tools before. According to the site the sds drill is worth about as much as the whole set so getting the combi and torch pretty much free?
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That’s probably going todo 99.999% of what you want - 5Ah batteries too.

Milwaukee are a known brand (US mostly) only thing is check it has a safety clutch on the sds as it’s not listed on the features.

Edit - yes it has clutch according to the Milwaukee site.
 
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Phil2008 said:
I have 2 drills...... A expensive small bosch 10.8v battery drill with hammer, that gets quiet a lot of use around the house and outside. Then I have a cheap aldi sds drills for the odd times I want to drill concrete and real hard stuff.

This is the day to day drill I have, its nice and small, but it has stacks of power for its size. I have upgraded the battery from a 1.5ah to a 3ah and I since then, it has never ran flat on me doing any jobs.. Plus its lovely and light so you can swing it about the place.

https://shop.bosch-professional.com/gb/en/product/cordless-combi-gsb-12v-15--9200100040626

Then I use this as my screwdriver, as you can see its nice and small again, but has stacks of power
https://shop.bosch-professional.com...ewdriver-gsr-12v-20-hx--100040739--06019D4102
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I am a big fan of the 12v gear from Bosch. I have the combi drill for 90% of my household drilling. I have the matching impact driver as well - hugely recommended (and only about £50 bare! Bargain!).

Just added the 12v brushless multi tool and the 12v circ saw. Haven't played with the multi tool yet, but the circ saw is a revelation. Cutting sheet goods accurately using a Bosch FSN rain, it's as close to a track saw as I am going to get but is obviously so much smaller and lighter. I built a cupboard for an odd space and it was so useful. Highly recommended.
 
With being disabled and only being able to use 1 hand properly, the bosch 10.8v/12v range is ideal for me, as the tools are small and lightweight.

I might get this next to go with my 10.8/12v range collection, as it may come in real handy.........

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Guitarcarfanatic said:
Just added the 12v brushless multi tool and the 12v circ saw. Haven't played with the multi tool yet, but the circ saw is a revelation. Cutting sheet goods accurately using a Bosch FSN rain, it's as close to a track saw as I am going to get but is obviously so much smaller and lighter. I built a cupboard for an odd space and it was so useful. Highly recommended.
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I was going to get the blue 10.8v circular saw, but it hasn't a very good cutting depth, so I went for the green 18v circular saw in the end with the larger cutting depth.
 
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