# What DIY equipment have you bought lately?



## gavroche (31 Mar 2018)

Just come back from Lidle where my wife sent me to get some Golden Syrup and came back with a cordless jigsaw for £39.99 as well, 20 V lithium-ion battery. Already have 3 jigsaws but all with cord so they may become redundant or just spares.


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## Oxo (31 Mar 2018)

Did you go back for the Golden Syrup?


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## Tin Pot (31 Mar 2018)

I’m on the market for a scarifier and a garden shredder...B&q or Homebase probably

Oh and a functional wooden wheelbarrow if I can find one


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## TVC (31 Mar 2018)

Frog tape, no idea why I've never used it before.


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## gavroche (31 Mar 2018)

Oxo said:


> Did you go. back for the Golden Syrup?


Got that as well.


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## wisdom (31 Mar 2018)

A grout squeege .
my good lady has volunteered me tiling tomorrow


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## Slick (31 Mar 2018)

A round tuit would be handy.


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## Mrs M (31 Mar 2018)

Post mix concrete to “plant” our new washing rotary dryer (whirley) and a spirit level to make sure it was even.
Worked out fine, not a bad job 
Happy days


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## vickster (31 Mar 2018)

DIY?


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## winjim (31 Mar 2018)

A sledgehammer. Hopefully come Easter Monday I'll be twatting stuff with it. In completely unrelated news, I do have a plasterboard wall that's in need of a bit of filler.


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## Piemaster (31 Mar 2018)

Mrs M said:


> Post mix concrete to “plant” our new washing rotary dryer (whirley) and a spirit level to make sure it was even.
> Worked out fine, not a bad job
> Happy days


I used an old car alloy wheel (it had been curbed and had a fair old wobble on it) filled with concrete, with a hole in centre for the dryer. Result - the worlds first Alfa Romeo portable(ish) washing line.


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## screenman (31 Mar 2018)

Hardly a week goes past without me adding to my tool collection.


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## slowmotion (31 Mar 2018)

A whole load of ultra-cheap router bits from Toolstation. Surprisingly good for the price. Also a couple of budget packs of long series HSS drill bits. They are not particularly straight but they're perfectly OK for drilling deep holes in timber. Small diameter long series bits tend to get broken quite easily so I don't see the point in buying high spec ones for site work.


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## gbb (31 Mar 2018)

Not tools but decorating our DILs kitchen diner today so Wickes for some more matt white for the ceiling. Mine was running low, guess what, I didn't need the new stuff, just just managed with mine.
2 cans of Leyland yellow silk. Only needed one. It's possibly some of the best paint I've ever used and well priced at £9.99 for 2.5 ltr at our local QD Store.

9 inch roller set from Wickes after mine finally gave way after years of service. £5 for a tray and 2 good rollers, not those puny thin things.

A piece of plasterboard for another day to patch the wall where the boiler was. Her landlord is a t0sser and has made some horrendous quality attempts at keeping costs down. He fitted a new boiler upstairs and has failed to repair the wall where the old one was. Mind, the house has seen some abuse from more than him...youngsters partying etc...very poor attempts at previous decorating, no idea at all. Walls are in a terrible state even after I've painted them, wouldn't do for me but....what can you do ?


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## keithmac (31 Mar 2018)

I bought one of these a while ago from Lidl, wasn't expecting much from it but it's been an absolute godsend for all sorts of jobs!.

Haven't treated it with much care but it's handled everything I've thrown at it.

Very handy indeed!.


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## raleighnut (1 Apr 2018)

I don't do DIY, I might do some work to a professional standard on our house but these days I'm more likely to be 'Project Managing' and employing sub-contractors to do the actual work.


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## Dave7 (1 Apr 2018)

Best DIY thingy Ive recently hired is a decorator. He has done 2 rooms and will shortly be doing the 3rd.
Meanwhile I have enjoyed the golf and footy on TV  (smug smile)


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## Sharky (2 Apr 2018)

winjim said:


> A sledgehammer. Hopefully come Easter Monday I'll be twatting stuff with it. In completely unrelated news, I do have a plasterboard wall that's in need of a bit of filler.


So, what's the plan for today?


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## winjim (2 Apr 2018)

Sharky said:


> So, what's the plan for today?


Just built a snowman. Might upset the two year old a bit if I went and twatted it with a sledgehammer.


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## roadrash (2 Apr 2018)

^^^^if you twatted the two year old or the snowman^^^^^^


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## Profpointy (2 Apr 2018)

This :

Had their fantastic track saw for a while and this smaller Kapex mitre saw seemed almost a bargain compared to the large Kapex saw at a grand. Not fired it up yet


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## MontyVeda (2 Apr 2018)

a tape measure... longer and fatter then the rest.


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## winjim (2 Apr 2018)

roadrash said:


> ^^^^if you twatted the two year old or the snowman^^^^^^


I suspect either, but I'd need to run it past her mother.


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## MontyVeda (2 Apr 2018)

[QUOTE 5200880, member: 259"]It looks like a proper Man Tool! But what is it?[/QUOTE]
it's one of those multi use thingamajigs... obviously!


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## keithmac (2 Apr 2018)

[QUOTE 5200880, member: 259"]It looks like a proper Man Tool! But what is it?[/QUOTE]

It's actally called a multi-tool iirc, you get different blades depending on what you're cutting (or scraping).

The blades only move a couple of mm but at high speed, you can cut wood etc in very hard to reach places where a saw would be impractical.

Used it again yesterday when finishing the loft.


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## keithmac (2 Apr 2018)

Think this is my favourite tool of all, always ready to go out of the box, fair few years old now but still going strong!.


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## raleighnut (2 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> Think this is my favourite tool of all, always ready to go out of the box, fair few years old now but still going strong!.
> 
> View attachment 402681


Never liked Black 'n' Decker, I'm a Bosch 'blue' fan.


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## keithmac (2 Apr 2018)

I had a Bosch before this one, nice drill but the batteries let it down unfortunately.


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## Profpointy (2 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> It's actally called a multi-tool iirc, you get different blades depending on what you're cutting (or scraping).
> 
> The blades only move a couple of mm but at high speed, you can cut wood etc in very hard to reach places where a saw would be impractical.
> 
> ...



Those multi/oscillating tools are very very useful. Mine's a Fein and it doubles up as an excellent detail sander as well as the sawing. Often novelty gadgets are useless but these are great.


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## raleighnut (2 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> I had a Bosch before this one, nice drill but the batteries let it down unfortunately.


Yeah, one of mine has died, mind you the drill is 15yrs old (1 of 3 I bought, the other 2 got nicked along with a couple of grand of other kit stolen in a break-in where I was working)


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## keithmac (2 Apr 2018)

The Feins are the professionals recommendation, good choice!.


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## Profpointy (2 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> The Feins are the professionals recommendation, good choice!.



Despite liking Festool the festool one is a rebadged Fein and not worth the absurd price premium for the very minor differences. The cheaper Fein multicut seems a better buy than their dearer supercut, itself a hundred quid less than the Festool. I have tended to buy festool in recent years, but this one was a bit of a piss take so went for the fein


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## SpokeyDokey (2 Apr 2018)

Does this count?

The guys that installed our new water supply left a tidy wheelbarrow and one traffic cone behind when they left.

I did let them know but they said it wasn't worth their time (4 hour round trip) to collect them.


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## Tin Pot (4 Apr 2018)

So glad I bought the garden shredder - £84 + power consumption demolished mountain #1 of shite in my garden finally


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## Heltor Chasca (4 Apr 2018)

I have had to be for years. Invaluable. AND orange.


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## postman (5 Apr 2018)

Bigger coffee mug.


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## Tail End Charlie (5 Apr 2018)

I knew I shouldn't click on this thread. @keithmac @Profpointy I didn't really know what one of those oscillating cutters was, now I've just got to get one. I do a lot of diy and seem to have missed that tool. Threads like this always cost me a fortune.


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## Tail End Charlie (5 Apr 2018)

To add, my latest purchase has been a second hand Stihl brushcutter. Nice heavy duty one. Just been out using it and it's great.


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## Profpointy (5 Apr 2018)

Tail End Charlie said:


> I knew I shouldn't click on this thread. @keithmac @Profpointy I didn't really know what one of those oscillating cutters was, now I've just got to get one. I do a lot of diy and seem to have missed that tool. Threads like this always cost me a fortune.



I'm the same with CD review on Radio 3 saturday. Hear a few obscure composers and end up spending 50 quid !

Recently bought a laser level after seeing our kitchen fitter use one. Bloody good buy and has genuinely saved me lots of hassle and time fitting shelves and so forth. Well worth the £100 my Bosch blue one cost.


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## wonderloaf (5 Apr 2018)

Just bought one of these to finish off the sealant after re-furbishing our bathroom. In the past I've tried all the different methods ... wet finger, teaspoon, various commercial products but this is by far the easiest to use and gives an excellent finish. If you're embarking on a bathroom/kitchen refurb you need one of these!


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## Hugh Manatee (5 Apr 2018)

Yesterday I got:

A 4mm chisel.
A file and handle.
An optical centre punch.


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## Drago (5 Apr 2018)

A pack of sandpaper. Various grades.


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## Joey Shabadoo (5 Apr 2018)

Today I got this chap from Lidl -





One of those multi-purpose measuring jobs. Measures distance, finds studs (beeps every time I pick it up) and has a laser level.

The cats approve of the laser level


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## wonderloaf (5 Apr 2018)

Drago said:


> A pack of sandpaper. Various grades.


Taking up cricket then?


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## slowmotion (5 Apr 2018)

Three cargo slings for my electric loft hoist, a one metre one and two twice the length. Materials handling is going to get positively industrial round here in the next ten days.


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## keithmac (6 Apr 2018)

Borrowed one of these from Father In Law on Wednesday.

Made easy work of fitting a 64mm door latch, 18mm hole first then squared it out in 5 mins!.

I did the other 7 by hand with a chisel years ago, what a ball ache!.


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## roadrash (6 Apr 2018)

These.......unfortunately..


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## Joey Shabadoo (7 Apr 2018)

The perils of doing an exhibition of power tools 

Just bought this bad boy, the best jigsaw I've ever seen.


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## keithmac (18 Apr 2018)

I've got 40 10 foot fence posts coming .

To cheer me up and hopefully make the job more bearable I've ordered one of these, should arrive tomorrow hopefully .






That and a crate of lager should kick things off..


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## Cheddar George (19 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> I've got 40 10 foot fence posts coming .
> 
> To cheer me up and hopefully make the job more bearable I've ordered one of these, should arrive tomorrow hopefully .
> 
> ...



40 posts ! Did you get the contract for the Mexican border.


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## Cheddar George (19 Apr 2018)

This week i received my new battery for the ride on mower, and more importantly a trickle charge for next winter.


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## Profpointy (19 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> I've got 40 10 foot fence posts coming .
> 
> To cheer me up and hopefully make the job more bearable I've ordered one of these, should arrive tomorrow hopefully .
> 
> ...



I have no conceivable need for one of those, but now I want one !


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## MontyVeda (19 Apr 2018)

My next project involves cutting a number of mortises with my trusty little router. I've been playing with templates recently, and looking online there's a number of ways to cut mortises and this appears to be the simplest...






...but the instructions stressed how important it is to line up the pin holes and the cutter perfectly, otherwise the mortise won't be centred. However, the base of my router has four screws holding the base-plate in place, two of which are already centred to the cutter... one pack of 150 m4 machine screws from the pound shop and two of these strap buttons that i had knocking about...






...which just happen to have 4mm holes, and I've got my self centering router guide without the need for any cutting, measuring, drilling or head scratching, for less than tuppence.


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## slowmotion (19 Apr 2018)

Cheddar George said:


> 40 posts ! Did you get the contract for the Mexican border.


Payment will be in pesos presumably?


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## keithmac (19 Apr 2018)

[QUOTE 5218589, member: 259"]Those things are great fun until you try it when the gound's really hard. [/QUOTE]

I'm going to try and get it all done before the garden dries up fully!.

It's in the kitchen now waiting for me to put it together..

Going to get some decent quailty 2 stroke oil from work tomorrow for the premix petrol.


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## palinurus (19 Apr 2018)

A sealant smoothing tool from Wilco. Not as good as a wet finger.


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## screenman (19 Apr 2018)

Profpointy said:


> I have no conceivable need for one of those, but now I want one !



Not that interesting, in fact they are boring.


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## screenman (19 Apr 2018)

Profpointy said:


> I have no conceivable need for one of those, but now I want one !



Not that interesting, in fact they are boring.


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## screenman (19 Apr 2018)

[QUOTE 5218589, member: 259"]Those things are great fun until you try it when the gound's really hard. [/QUOTE]

Or you hit a tree root


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## keithmac (19 Apr 2018)

Yep, it's either going to be the best thing since slices bread or a disaster!.

Time will tell, I'll post a few action shots!.


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## Andy_R (19 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> I've got 40 10 foot fence posts coming .
> 
> To cheer me up and hopefully make the job more bearable I've ordered one of these, should arrive tomorrow hopefully .
> 
> ...


DIY power tools and lager...that doesn't auger well.....


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## graham56 (20 Apr 2018)




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## slowwww (20 Apr 2018)

graham56 said:


> View attachment 405098
> View attachment 405099


Love a plunge saw. Can't imagine how I got by before I bought mine


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## Joey Shabadoo (20 Apr 2018)

Talking of plunge saws, the trade show I was doing last week had this guy doing the demonstrations. Very, very good at it and there were quite a few joiners bought his products.


View: https://youtu.be/-ssR59iPJYo


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## Profpointy (20 Apr 2018)

Diogenes The Sarcastic said:


> Talking of plunge saws, the trade show I was doing last week had this guy doing the demonstrations. Very, very good at it and there were quite a few joiners bought his products.
> 
> 
> View: https://youtu.be/-ssR59iPJYo




I've got the Festool equivalent and it's a fantastic bit of kit. The idea is the really clever thing, so although I think Festool thought it up, I dare say any lookey-likey one from a pukka brand would be good. Festool are nice though, and I see Mafell is even more buttock-clenchingly costly than Festool - which is really saying something !


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## Joey Shabadoo (20 Apr 2018)

I've just come out of a technology demo centre where I spotted this -






Now that's a man toy!


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## Profpointy (23 Apr 2018)

MontyVeda said:


> My next project involves cutting a number of mortises with my trusty little router. I've been playing with templates recently, and looking online there's a number of ways to cut mortises and this appears to be the simplest...
> 
> View attachment 404990
> 
> ...




When I looked at that earlier in the week I couldn't figure out how pins that far apart could possibly centre on the stock, but I totally get it now. Saves the complexity of needing an adjustment. The expense of commercial jigs before you can actually do much is what put me off a router, but that is really quite clever


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## slowmotion (23 Apr 2018)

A metre length of M10 studding, and some 2.5mm thick M10 penny washers. The attempt to lift a 70kg cabinet into the loft using lifting slings with the electric hoist was ultimately successful, but pretty hairy. Plan B using rigid clamping rods will be attempted tomorrow.

How can it possibly fail...?.


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## Drago (23 Apr 2018)

Ryobi cordless impact wrench.


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## classic33 (23 Apr 2018)

"slowmotion said:


> A metre length of M10 studding, and some 2.5mm thick M10 penny washers. The attempt to lift a 70kg cabinet into the loft using lifting slings with the electric hoist was ultimately successful, but pretty hairy. Plan B using rigid clamping rods will be attempted tomorrow.
> 
> How can it possibly fail...?.


The ones where they clamp under load are better.


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## bruce1530 (23 Apr 2018)

wonderloaf said:


> Just bought one of these to finish off the sealant after re-furbishing our bathroom. In the past I've tried all the different methods ... wet finger, teaspoon, various commercial products but this is by far the easiest to use and gives an excellent finish. If you're embarking on a bathroom/kitchen refurb you need one of these!
> 
> View attachment 403054



The corner of a credit card also works pretty well....


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## MikeG (23 Apr 2018)

Diogenes The Sarcastic said:


> I've just come out of a technology demo centre where I spotted this -
> 
> View attachment 405107
> 
> ...




Depth of cut?


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## Joey Shabadoo (23 Apr 2018)

MikeG said:


> Depth of cut?



200mm I think - not quite enough to cut the CLT he was working on.


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## classic33 (23 Apr 2018)

MikeG said:


> Depth of cut?


From the look, 2 & 1/2 inches


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## Joey Shabadoo (23 Apr 2018)

http://www.thesawcentre.co.uk/power...mm-portable-circular-carpentry-saw-240v-p9235

185mm. Over £3k though!


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## MikeG (23 Apr 2018)

Well if I did oak framing for a living a 185mm depth of cut would by a godsend. I guess I'd be looking to buy second hand, though, and you'd probably need to be built like Popeye to lift it.


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## slowmotion (24 Apr 2018)

Eleven quid's worth of fun.

Possibly.


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## slowmotion (24 Apr 2018)

classic33 said:


> The ones where they clamp under load are better.


It's going to be clamped everywhere, believe me. Seeing the cabinet almost pitching off the slings turned my tripes to water....


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## Heltor Chasca (24 Apr 2018)

Diogenes The Sarcastic said:


> I've just come out of a technology demo centre where I spotted this -
> 
> View attachment 405107
> 
> ...



I’ve got Makita’s 2nd biggest circular saw which does a 100mm cut. When I bought it I was doing some green oak and was deliberating about getting the biggest one. The salesman wasn’t convinced I was up to it but was impressed by my Viking courage and appearance to match. But sadly he was certain I would need to be more Obelisk than Asterix to handle one of those. I went with the smaller one. I have used it a lot on new sleepers for dozens of raised beds for clients. Very nice they are too.

It is still a beast but much safer than small ones as you need two hands to navigate it and it has a soft start. I have a mate whose dad has chopped off two fingers with a little saw. In two separate incidents. Twit.


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## MontyVeda (24 Apr 2018)

Profpointy said:


> When I looked at that earlier in the week I couldn't figure out how pins that far apart could possibly centre on the stock, but I totally get it now. Saves the complexity of needing an adjustment. *The expense of commercial jigs before you can actually do much is what put me off a router*, but that is really quite clever


The router is incredibly versatile without jigs... all it really needs is a fence to run against. Buy a guide bush for under a tenner, you can do so much more. It's by far the most used power tool i have... don't let the cost of commercial jigs put you off because you probably won't need them.

[edit] ...you don't need a 'big' router either. Mine's a weeny 550w which for occasional DIY is perfect.


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## Profpointy (24 Apr 2018)

MontyVeda said:


> The router is incredibly versatile without jigs... all it really needs is a fence to run against. Buy a guide bush for under a tenner, you can do so much more. It's by far the most used power tool i have... don't let the cost of commercial jigs put you off because you probably won't need them.
> 
> [edit] ...you don't need a 'big' router either. Mine's a weeny 550w which for occasional DIY is perfect.



Thanks - that's useful pragmatic info from a real person so to speak - rather than "routers are marvelous" or whatever from a router book. Already have some Festool guid rails for my saw so router would work with them.

That said, I can dados with the track saw quite easily, so still not quite sure if I'd get enough use from the router. Mm, maybe re-read my books a bit


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## MontyVeda (24 Apr 2018)

Profpointy said:


> Thanks - that's useful pragmatic info from a real person so to speak - rather than "routers are marvelous" or whatever from a router book. Already have some Festool guid rails for my saw so router would work with them.
> 
> That said, I can dados with the track saw quite easily, so still not quite sure if I'd get enough use from the router. Mm, maybe re-read my books a bit


I find the books can be quite overwhelming and over-complicate things. Some of the jigs I've seen for cutting mortises are over engineered to the Nth degree, take ages to make, minutes to mount and are not at all versatile... mounting the pins directly into the base works perfectly for anything from an inch to four inch wide. ...and don't ask about the 'easy set' dovetail jig, there's nothing easy about it!


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## raleighnut (24 Apr 2018)

MontyVeda said:


> I find the books can be quite overwhelming and over-complicate things. Some of the jigs I've seen for cutting mortises are over engineered to the Nth degree, take ages to make, minutes to mount and are not at all versatile... mounting the pins directly into the base works perfectly for anything from an inch to four inch wide. ...and don't ask about the 'easy set' dovetail jig, there's nothing easy about it!


Yep these are much easier to 'set'


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## wonderloaf (24 Apr 2018)

bruce1530 said:


> The corner of a credit card also works pretty well....


Can't see how the hard plastic of the card seals against the surfaces ... for £1.99 I'm sticking to this option (no pun intended).


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## swee'pea99 (24 Apr 2018)

Never had a heat gun before. Boy it works good! Easy peasy, and stripped a window frame in about 20 minutes.


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## Joey Shabadoo (26 Apr 2018)

A dirty great drill bit -






To put up a CCTV camera


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## Profpointy (26 Apr 2018)

Diogenes The Sarcastic said:


> A dirty great drill bit -
> 
> View attachment 406106
> 
> ...



'kinell - how big a bolt does it need ? It's hardly a cinemascope Arriflex is it ?


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## Profpointy (26 Apr 2018)

Diogenes The Sarcastic said:


> I've just come out of a technology demo centre where I spotted this -
> 
> View attachment 405107
> 
> ...



One of my work colleagues mentioned he'd bought a bandsaw over the weekend. I had this image of a small or medium sized thing for making dolls' houses and what not. Turned out it was a thing driven off a tractor pto to turn tree trunks into planks. He nearly cut his arm off with it on another occasion when he accidentally nudged the power feed lever - it just grazed the back of his arm and he got away with it, but on his own in the forest that would not have ended well


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## Joey Shabadoo (26 Apr 2018)

Profpointy said:


> 'kinell - how big a bolt does it need ? It's hardly a cinemascope Arriflex is it ?



That's for the hole through the wall for the cabling.


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## dodgy (26 Apr 2018)

I'm looking for a workbench for my garage, probably wooden. say 5 or 6 ft wide. Any recommendations?


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## bruce1530 (26 Apr 2018)

dodgy said:


> I'm looking for a workbench for my garage, probably wooden. say 5 or 6 ft wide. Any recommendations?


Find a school that is being demolished....


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## dodgy (26 Apr 2018)

Interesting idea, but a very long shot. Happy to buy one from a shop/online.


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## screenman (26 Apr 2018)

2 x 240v staple guns £3 each
2 x pack of 5 assorted files £3 a pack.

Very handy having a Lidl bargain basement shop, people were buying 40 staple guns at a time.


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## Joey Shabadoo (26 Apr 2018)

£3 is incredible but *this* is a staple gun -


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## screenman (26 Apr 2018)

Diogenes The Sarcastic said:


> £3 is incredible but *this* is a staple gun -
> 
> View attachment 406134



I have an air powered nail gun and a Tackwise one, but at £3 I could not leave them there, currently on EBay at £16.95.


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## Joey Shabadoo (26 Apr 2018)

screenman said:


> I have an air powered nail gun and a Tackwise one, but at £3 I could not leave them there, currently on EBay at £16.95.



Which is where those buying 40 at a time were headed no doubt. Tacwise are good tools.


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## screenman (26 Apr 2018)

Diogenes The Sarcastic said:


> Which is where those buying 40 at a time were headed no doubt. Tacwise are good tools.



They certainly were, that and car boot sales, cannot knock people for wanting to make a few bob, most must be shift working that are in there full grilled each week.


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## slowmotion (27 Apr 2018)

dodgy said:


> Interesting idea, but a very long shot. Happy to buy one from a shop/online.


Make one out of some wood stave kitchen worktop material. Beech or something harder. These people have good stuff....
http://www.worktop-express.co.uk/in...worktops&sid=u130h7g28zd4a6m8o89p913u72qcz629


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## raleighnut (27 Apr 2018)

Profpointy said:


> One of my work colleagues mentioned he'd bought a bandsaw over the weekend. I had this image of a small or medium sized thing for making dolls' houses and what not. Turned out it was a thing driven off a tractor pto to turn tree trunks into planks. He nearly cut his arm off with it on another occasion when he accidentally nudged the power feed lever - it just grazed the back of his arm and he got away with it, but on his own in the forest that would not have ended well


My ex was a teacher at an 'all girl' school, she was the 'head of textile technology' (needlework teacher) one day a guy who was the 'head of hard material technology' (woodwork/metalwork teacher) was cutting out some plywood shapes on a benchtop bandsaw watched by 20 or so girls and had just explained how dangerous the saw was when he slipped and cut off 3 finger ends. Apparently the girls were very good about it, stopping the bleeding with the first aid kit and putting him in the 'recovery position' after he'd fainted then fetching the school nurse to take him to A&E.


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## slowmotion (27 Apr 2018)

A 3.8 metre telescopic ladder to get into the loft. It might also be useful for other reckless mischief. Time will tell.


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## Nigel-YZ1 (28 Apr 2018)

A set of screwdrivers and allen keys.


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## keithmac (28 Apr 2018)

Got the big guns out now .


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## alicat (28 Apr 2018)

What's that? Should I be alarmed if I see someone carrying one?


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## slowmotion (28 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> Got the big guns out now .
> 
> View attachment 406398


Quite a few people use reciprocating saws instead of chainsaws for medium-duty tree pruning. I can see why having used a chainsaw up a ladder once.


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## Heltor Chasca (28 Apr 2018)

raleighnut said:


> My ex was a teacher at an 'all girl' school, she was the 'head of textile technology' (needlework teacher) one day a guy who was the 'head of hard material technology' (woodwork/metalwork teacher) was cutting out some plywood shapes on a benchtop bandsaw watched by 20 or so girls and had just explained how dangerous the saw was when he slipped and cut off 3 finger ends. Apparently the girls were very good about it, stopping the bleeding with the first aid kit and putting him in the 'recovery position' after he'd fainted then fetching the school nurse to take him to A&E.



Grim. I did some tree-work for a guy who had lost his arm right up to the shoulder. He was working up at the local wood mill and still on his machine at tea break. One of his workmates playfully shoved him resulting in his horrific accident. He did get a decent payout. Enough to secure a little house. And now he is a manager at a large supermarket. Most people would sign on, so its testament to his good character.


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## keithmac (28 Apr 2018)

keithmac said:


> Got the big guns out now .
> 
> View attachment 406398



It's less frightening than using a circular saw but still requires respect!.


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## keithmac (28 Apr 2018)

Heltor Chasca said:


> Grim. I did some tree-work for a guy who had lost his arm right up to the shoulder. He was working up at the local wood mill and still on his machine at tea break. One of his workmates playfully shoved him resulting in his horrific accident. He did get a decent payout. Enough to secure a little house. And now he is a manager at a large supermarket. Most people would sign on, so its testament to his good character.



We had a customer at work who was out on his own, in a field with a potato harvester on the back of his tractor.

A big stone got stuck in the back and instead of shutting it down (takes a while to restart) he got out and kicked it free like he did countless times before.

Unfortunately this time his foot got caught in it and the machine pulled him in, not very pretty..

Apparently it took 3 hours to get him out, they had to take the machine to pieces while he was still conscious.

Really sad turn of events as he had just put on a new set of boots, he said if he'd worn his old pair he'd easily have slipped them off before it got hold of his foot/ leg.

Sobering really how a few bad decisions can have life changing consequences..


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## MontyVeda (29 Apr 2018)

dodgy said:


> I'm looking for a workbench for my garage, probably wooden. say 5 or 6 ft wide. Any recommendations?


I'm building my own... the ones online look a bit on the weedy* side and they're not cheap either. Already got a small bench vice and have been looking for a bigger (8") one (they're not cheap either)... but looking into dog holes and holdfasts which means i might not need the big vice after all.

*They'd be fine if fastened to a wall, but not so sure if they're free standing.


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## irw (29 Apr 2018)

slowmotion said:


> A metre length of M10 studding, and some 2.5mm thick M10 penny washers. The attempt to lift a 70kg cabinet into the loft using lifting slings with the electric hoist was ultimately successful, but pretty hairy. Plan B using rigid clamping rods will be attempted tomorrow.
> 
> How can it possibly fail...?.



Do you have a video camera set up ready to capture the moment you press the ‘up’ button and end up in the basement due to all this heavy stuff in your loft??!


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## slowmotion (29 Apr 2018)

irw said:


> Do you have a video camera set up ready to capture the moment you press the ‘up’ button and end up in the basement due to all this heavy stuff in your loft??!


Oh ye of little faith! Five of the twelve sets of storage drawer units, and their contents, are up there already, about 400kg. When the whole lot is up there with the rest of my stuff, there will be a total of about 2 tonnes. No worries at all.

Have fun searching nervously in the dark for your plastic Christmas tree.

BTW, I'll post a piccie of one of the bikes being stashed shortly. It should just about fit through the loft hatch. The hoist moves a bit faster than I would like but its brisk pace is quite exciting.


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## MontyVeda (29 Apr 2018)

A digital angle level from Aldi for a tenner.






Doubt I'll ever use the digital angle feature, but been needing a new spirit level since the bubbles disappeared from my old one.


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## MontyVeda (5 Mar 2020)

Not bought, but inherited my Dad's Bosch jigsaw... it's a million times better than my own £10 one. 

BTW... the digital angle feature on that spirit level did come in handy when making my curtain pole out of plumbing


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## Joey Shabadoo (5 Mar 2020)

MontyVeda said:


> A digital angle level from Aldi for a tenner.
> View attachment 406505
> 
> 
> Doubt I'll ever use the digital angle feature, but been needing a new spirit level since the bubbles disappeared from my old one.



I always buy Stanley spirit levels. Lifetime bubble guarantees. They send new ones out on an overnight delivery if you keep the original receipt.


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## derrick (5 Mar 2020)

Recently bought one of these, https://www.diy.com/departments/jcb...store_code}&ds_rl=1272379&gclsrc=ds&gclsrc=ds

So much better than a handsaw.


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## MontyVeda (5 Mar 2020)

derrick said:


> Recently bought one of these, https://www.diy.com/departments/jcb-2000w-240v-254mm-sliding-mitre-saw-jcb-ms254s/5055803339197_BQ.prd?storeId={store_code}&ds_rl=1272379&gclsrc=ds&gclsrc=ds
> 
> So much better than a handsaw.


People give me funny looks when i say "I actually enjoy using a handsaw." ...I do! I also prefer my proper plane to my electric one.


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## MontyVeda (5 Mar 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> I always buy Stanley spirit levels. Lifetime bubble guarantees. They send new ones out on an overnight delivery if you keep the original receipt.


Thanks... I'll bear that in mind. 

The only saw I'll buy is the stanley jetcut/fatmax or whatever they call them next time i buy one... but the one I've got I've had for 20 years and unless i strike a nail, it'll last me another 20 years.


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## derrick (5 Mar 2020)

MontyVeda said:


> People give me funny looks when i say "I actually enjoy using a handsaw." ...I do! I also prefer my proper plane to my electric one.


Give me electrickery every time. Every angle spot on with that saw. And so quick. Am doing a loft conversion at the moment. Cutting 6x2 by hand.🤔


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## MichaelW2 (5 Mar 2020)

My last tool purchase was a Ryobi drill. My first battery tool. I had one battery failure and Ryobi replaced under warranty and there is an internet tip of reviving dead batteries.
My Aldi multitool ( like the Parkside one above) died and I probably need another. Surprisingly useful.


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## Andy_R (5 Mar 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> I always buy Stanley spirit levels. Lifetime bubble guarantees. They send new ones out on an overnight delivery if you keep the original receipt.


They send you a new bubble? How innovative....does it come wrapped in (wait for it...) bubble wrap?


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## Salad Dodger (5 Mar 2020)

I have recently bought a Logmatic log splitter. Kind of like a big slide hammer, that drives a steel wedge through a large log to split it into more manageable pieces for our log stove.
It is about as much effort as using an axe to split logs, but feels a lot safer....


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