Toolbox…..how bigs yours!?

[Phill Fenton]

As my wife keeps telling me – it’s not the size or power that matters – what you need is a good hammer action (oh gawd 😕 me and my big mouth – I’ve said too much again 😳 )

[Fat Bob]

Hi Martin

The type of drill you require is a Rotary or Percusion hammer drill .

Yes the battery versions are expensive but as you saw for yourself this type of tool is the best.

If you want second best or in some cases the best option then consider the same make power version which will cost you in the region of £175 but then you will always have to be somewere to plug it in or bye a small generator to take with you about £200 (make sure its power out put is enough) this will then also drive things like an angle grinder or jigsaw lights and a whole host of things that are useful when your fitting a sign in the middle of nowhere.

Forget ordinary Hammer drills

[Robert Lambie]

I use the large dewalt cordless drill mate.. Only for walls. If you find you are doing lots of work like this then ide advise to do the same..

Power drills are great but I now only use ours for drilling metals and acrylic.

We use Bosch cordless for doing the screwing with toughened tips..

So each gun for its own task.. Yes each one themselves could do all three jobs. But the walls tend to kill the small cordless drills and the electric ones “I feel” don’t cut into the wall quick enough or have allot of vibration when doing so.
Vice-versa the large dewalt is just too big and bulky to use for the more intricate work. So… each tool for each job. They last for ages if used like this and properly. 🙄 😉

I, like you, used to buy from the diy store but things like the tips of the screw bits in a cordless would burn out or thread with five minutes.. Little bit of false economy really.

If buying a cordless bosh or something drill. Get a 14v or higher.. Others are garbage. And also, be careful when buying combo kits. We just bought a new cordless bosh with cordless bosh jigsaw.. Its a brill move and very handy. Problem is, the jigsaw doesn’t last long on the batteries.. Even though 14v so again, even though a 14v cordless Bosch is good the same power on the jigsaw is not. You can buy replacement batteries for these things but that’s another kettle of fish…

Having said all this I geuss this may not answer your question, but hope it helps when making a purchase decision in future.

[Steve Broughton]

Martin it really depends on the amount of time you will be using the tools versus the amount you can afford, obviously, try Wickes professional range not bad stuff and not too expensive, a mate who came round to see me a few weeks ago is a chippie showing off his new £700 Dewalt chop saw and was taking the piss out of my £100 wickes special, ah then he was round a few days later asking to borrow mine as his pride and joy had been nicked out of his van, :).
Horses for courses mate, go to your local tool merchants they often have deals on, better than the B&Q’s etc. or try Screwfix they’re prices aren’t too bad.

[Neil Kelly]

Hi Martin
We have a similar set up as Robert we have a 24 V Bosh And a 14 V Dewalt screw Guns. if you are gong to install on a regular basis then I think thats the best kit, for years we used mains drills but as the work load increased we were burning out drills in less than 6 months and then theres all the hastle with leads and generators if your in the middle of know were, A good long term investment.

Protect your investment though we have had are vans broken into twice and its the small power tools there after our policy know is no tools left on van and i insist the vans are emptied every night even if there outside the fitters house.

Ps they make thoes little DIY jobs at home a lot less of a chor as well

[Fat Bob]

Well well

I din’t realise that you girls used those little boch things Iwas just explaining to martin how he could get a choice at a price. as for leads dangling all over the place well at least your jigsaw does not run out of power 😆 and as for burning out a power drill you must have been buying diy stuff and after all the only tool to have for walls / concrete etc
is the Hilti 36v with optional belt pack for those of you who are a bit weak in the Wrist and cant hold it up its only £565.+ 😆 😛 😆 😛 😆

[Lee Attewell]

In the hope of not sounding too dumb, don’t you guys have tool hire shops over there? If you only need it occasionally, and you need a specialist tool why not hire one for the day?

If it’s a dumb question…I’ll crawl back under my rock 😀 😀 😀

[Henry Barker]

How many of you have come across Festo german powertools with 3 year guarantee?

We have used Bosch blue pro series for several years but recently changed everything to Festo, its not so much the voltage but the battery capacity, our bosch’s where 1.7ah against a Festo at the same voltage 3ah alot more staying power if your screwing all day 🙂

They have a great “rail” system for circular saws too, we have a vertical panelsaw but find the Festo track system is dead handy for cutting sheets of mdf, acrylic etc etc.

have a look at http://www.festool.com/com/index.html over here alot of good pro carpenters suppliers, have them.

[Martin C]

Thanks all, I guess I kind of knew this would be a bit like buying a Camera!

Do you need zoom, how much zoom etc., etc.,

I’m going to take a trip to the local Tool shop and also check out day hire prices.

If I hadn’t been lent the Bosch drill I’d never have managed it with conventional tools so I need to do something whether it’s for a single job or regular use.

Cheers……

[Martin Pearson]

You could start by hiring if its only occassional use at the moment Martin and when this kind of work becomes more regular look at buying. It would also give you a chance to try out different models and find whats best for you.