Power Tools

balds60

Bank holidays mean DIY in our house
Can anyone recommend the best site for advice on power tools? Are cordless power tools any good or do they only last 5 minutes?
Dont know where to start. I need a power drill and a jigsaw ideally.
Grateful for any help/advice.

LandyAndy

I have an Hitachi cordless drill which I've had for some years. It has three battery packs so can be used for some time. It's very robust though heavier than a corded drill.

weekendwarrior

There are some articles here on powertools- http://www.diyuniverse.com/tools

Screwfix often have some good bargains-

http://www.screwfix.com/

Tallymanjohn

Modern cordless drills are excellent - even the hammer-action ones (for masonry) are as good as many corded drills but you pay for quality & longevity - my Bosch cordless drill is 15 years old & still going strong after a lot of heavy use. I've found that one of the greatest advantages of cordless drills is their ability to start slowly for accurate screwing. Go for decent, known brands like Bosch, Makita, Hitachi, Dewalt, avoid the 'own brands' (I think B&Qs is Performance Pro or something similar). Also, buy the best drill bits & screwdriver bits you can - cheaper ones do not last - don't be too tempted by these big cheap sets, you really only need a few regular size bits. A spare battery is a must - they always go flat just when you need them, but a decent brand will last a good length of time before needing recharging - incidentally, if you need replacement batteries (mine were replaced after 10 years) then EBay is the best place.

As far as jigsaws are concerned, they probably won't get as much use as a drill so you can go for one with features you want like a 'steering wheel' (for want of a better description) rather than paying for the most expensive, & corded are probably a better bet (allow for a decent workbanch as well - it's very difficult to cut a piece of wood that's not firmly clamped in some way). Also, note that jigsaws are great for small, fiddly cuts, but if you're cutting a lot of longer pieces or thicker wood then a circular saw is a better bet, or even a bench saw - both give much straighter cuts.

vaio

screwfix have a 18V dewalt for £100 offer at the moment

leveller2911

Im a joiner and I am openminded with power tools, but I have to say you wont beat Makita, I use to use Dewalt but in my opinion they have taken their eye off the ball and have concentrated more on work wear and holsters rather than quality tools.

With cordlesses don't worry too much about voltage its the "amp hours" that are more important, if your doing DIY it isn't as important if your not using the tools regularly.Always go for lithium ion batteries, they can be "topped up " on the charger which you can't do with "ni cads" or "Nickle metal hidride" as they get a memory which means they will just boost but not hold a full charge...Makita are quality and will last for years, hitachi are ok, better than DEwalt (just my opinion:D)

most important: if cordlesses must get Lithium Ion......try www. dm-tools.co.uk good prices , excellant service.(no I dont work for them.lol)

totalsolutions

Yes fine goes, where are no mains in reach and safer too. Very powerful and expensive for the best. Used DeWalt here.

lynfs

this site is a good starting point http://www.cordlesspowertools.org.uk

latecomer

I've got the MIL's 24v Bosch one at the moment and its great apart from it being very heavy. I've been doing a fair bit of high up work and its too heavy for more than a couple of minutes work. Perhaps if you have arms like a gorilla you would be ok but I dont fall into that category

Clive_Woody

I got an SDS drill from Screwfix end of last year and have been very impressed. While my Bosch corded drill struggled drilling into massonry, not my SDS. I also used my SDS with the chisel attachement to demolish my brick fireplace, a job it did with great ease.

I can't remember the brand, but it was cheap but got good reviews in the comments section of Screwfix website and even if it died after one job it was cheaper than hiring a professional bit of kit for the day.

ic

I had an 18V Black and Decker with two Ni-Cad batteries (£25 at Argos - a pricing mistake, should have been £100). It served me well over the first three years in my house - but in the end the batteries stopped holding a charge and the chuck stopped holding the bits! I've replaced it with an 18V Erbaurer from Screwfix with two Li-On batteries (£105 clearance recently). They last at least twice as long as the B&D's batteries used to, and the locking chuck and electronic brake are great. Don't scrimp on a drill, but also don't go mad either!

I've got a 24V Aldi drill too, although very powerful, its battery only lasts for a few holes - handy if you're not drilling all day. But then that only cost me £30.