What Did You Buy Today?

[SouthernChap]

most of the Makita I see are now made in china. very disappointing. I have had 5 of the 18V Makita batteries of various amp hours for at least 5 years. use them frequently and they have held up fantastic.

Consumer grade Makita (just like Milwakee and DeWalt) tools are made in China. They're mostly fine for standard DIY use (as long as you don't buy the cheapest models).

If you're not really a DIY user but in actual fact an 'enthusiast' or a tradesperson with one customer; you (say running a farm) then they probably won't do.

Both Makita and Milwakee do a 'contractors' line which are probably still resilient enough for the latter group and trade.

Personally, I've given up on the brand name consumer power tools. When one of my power tools is getting long in the tooth and looks like it's going to the recycling centre soon, I watch out for a 'Parkside' equivalent to turn up in 'The Middle of Lidl' and buy that.

My mid 2003 cordless 18v Makita drill/driver was getting a little rattly and making some unpleasant sounds a few months ago and so I bought a 20v Parkside fella from Lidl for £25! Has a 3 year warranty (and Parkside are renowned for their no-quibble warranty support) and to my surprise, a steel bodied chuck. I've used it a fair bit and it hasn't missed a beat. When it dies (and I expect it to do so well before the 21 years of my old Makita), I'll either get it replaced under warranty or, if it looks like it'll make it past 3 years, I'll buy a new one, stick it in the cupboard and it can come out to play when the first one dies.

If I needed a power tool that I could absolutely rely on to last a proper time, I think I'd be looking at Festool.

 

[GrifterGuru]

Consumer grade Makita (just like Milwakee and DeWalt) tools are made in China. They're mostly fine for standard DIY use (as long as you don't buy the cheapest models).

If you're not really a DIY user but in actual fact an 'enthusiast' or a tradesperson with one customer; you (say running a farm) then they probably won't do.

Both Makita and Milwakee do a 'contractors' line which are probably still resilient enough for the latter group and trade.

Personally, I've given up on the brand name consumer power tools. When one of my power tools is getting long in the tooth and looks like it's going to the recycling centre soon, I watch out for a 'Parkside' equivalent to turn up in 'The Middle of Lidl' and buy that.

My mid 2003 cordless 18v Makita drill/driver was getting a little rattly and making some unpleasant sounds a few months ago and so I bought a 20v Parkside fella from Lidl for £25! Has a 3 year warranty (and Parkside are renowned for their no-quibble warranty support) and to my surprise, a steel bodied chuck. I've used it a fair bit and it hasn't missed a beat. When it dies (and I expect it to do so well before the 21 years of my old Makita), I'll either get it replaced under warranty or, if it looks like it'll make it past 3 years, I'll buy a new one, stick it in the cupboard and it can come out to play when the first one dies.

If I needed a power tool that I could absolutely rely on to last a proper time, I think I'd be looking at Festool.

Have you never considered Bosch Pro tools? Those blue bodied beasties soldier on and are infinitely rebuildable, within reason. Never used anything else, never will use anything else, other than my two "Challenge" drills which are a 25KG SDS & a 1/2" Hammer drill for "dirty" work, both are Argos re-branded Makita tools from a few years back, bought because I needed them to do jobs quickly before I could sort out some Bosch Pro counterparts. Only thing the hammer drill has ever needed is a new set of brushes and new bearings. Not a bad return for the years of service I have had out of them.

That said, I rebuilt my Bosch Green pistol grip cordless with a new casing and gearbox not long ago for a quarter the cost of a replacement Bosch cordless drill.

 

[SouthernChap]

Have you never considered Bosch Pro tools? Those blue bodied beasties soldier on and are infinitely rebuildable, within reason. Never used anything else, never will use anything else than my two "Challenge" drills (A Heavy SDS & A 1/2" Hammer drill for "dirty" work), which are home branded Makita tools from a few years back, bought because I needed them to do jobs quickly before I could sort out some Bosch Pro counterparts.

That said, I rebuilt my Bosch Green pistol grip cordless with a new casing and gearbox not long ago for a quarter the cost of a replacement Bosch cordless drill.

Nah, I'd not pay over £200 for a cordless drill/driver. I just wouldn't use it enough to justify it really.

If I did have the need for something with more durability, I'd pay the extra couple of hundred on top for Festool.

I just don't trust any of the well known brands and Festool have yet to show any sign of diluting their product range.

 

[GrifterGuru]

Nah, I'd not pay over £200 for a cordless drill/driver. I just wouldn't use it enough to justify it really.

If I did have the need for something with more durability, I'd pay the extra couple of hundred on top for Festool.

I just don't trust any of the well known brands and Festool have yet to show any sign of diluting their product range.

Heard of a few issues from a friend who uses Festool at work, said he wouldn't give em house room, not as good as Bosch and worse than DeWalt or Makita. Then there is the over inflated price point.

Just one of many such things I have heard about Festool, though I will not judge the tools until I have used anything of that brand.

 

[Mauzinette]

Heard of a few issues from a friend who uses Festool at work, said he wouldn't give em house room, not as good as Bosch and worse than DeWalt or Makita.

This sums up my friends' experiences on Festo as well. The reason why they don’t switch from Festo, is that Festool has such a wide range of specialty products for woodworking.

If you want to buy overpriced tools that will have problems, buy Hilti instead. Their SLA at least guarantees you a replacement the next working day

 

[SouthernChap]

Heard of a few issues from a friend who uses Festool at work, said he wouldn't give em house room, not as good as Bosch and worse than DeWalt or Makita. Then there is the over inflated price point.

Just one of many such things I have heard about Festool, though I will not judge the tools until I have used anything of that brand.

This sums up my friends' experiences on Festo as well. The reason why they don’t switch from Festo, is that Festool has such a wide range of specialty products for woodworking.

If you want to buy overpriced tools that will have problems, buy Hilti instead. Their SLA at least guarantees you a replacement the next working day

Really? When I lived in TW (about 5 years back), the chap in the flat below me was a chippie and he swore by (rather than at) Festool. My son-in-law ('common law') is a builder and the firm he works for uses Festool too. That said, he doesn't pay for those power tools and his boss is always buying them new kit and vans. Maybe the Festool kit breaking is why he's always got shiny new kit?

Well, if I ever do need something durable, sounds like Festool is out. To be fair, the reason I went with Makita 20 years, was a couple of far too short-lived Bosch consumer grade power tools. Maybe the Bosch trades lines would be worth a look if I ever decide to get spendy on DIY tools.

 

[Mauzinette]

Maybe the Bosch trades lines would be worth a look if I ever decide to get spendy on DIY tools.

Blue Bosch is nice. I would’ve gone with these, but the ergonomics just weren’t for me. Ended up with Milwaukee instead.

Milwaukee makes some really good power tools, but there is a lot of appalling crap in the catalog too. Having to replace a jobsite radio three times to get one that is working properly, unbelievable. Getting 80 lumens out of a M18 LED Torch with a fresh 6 Ah battery, once again, unbelievable

If my local Milwaukee sales guy wasn’t such a nice and understanding fellow, I’d tell him to shove the aforementioned tools in his Pipeline

 

[GrifterGuru]

Really? When I lived in TW (about 5 years back), the chap in the flat below me was a chippie and he swore by (rather than at) Festool. My son-in-law ('common law') is a builder and the firm he works for uses Festool too. That said, he doesn't pay for those power tools and his boss is always buying them new kit and vans. Maybe the Festool kit breaking is why he's always got shiny new kit?

Well, if I ever do need something durable, sounds like Festool is out. To be fair, the reason I went with Makita 20 years, was a couple of far too short-lived Bosch consumer grade power tools. Maybe the Bosch trades lines would be worth a look if I ever decide to get spendy on DIY tools.

The Bosch Pro tools are decent, although the high costs ones put at the top of trhe line really need not exist as the "mid range" pro line tools are excellent.

 

[GrifterGuru]

Blue Bosch is nice. I would’ve gone with these, but the ergonomics just weren’t for me. Ended up with Milwaukee instead.

Milwaukee makes some really good power tools, but there is a lot of appalling crap in the catalog too. Having to replace a jobsite radio three times to get one that is working properly, unbelievable. Getting 80 lumens out of a M18 LED Torch with a fresh 6 Ah battery, once again, unbelievable

If my local Milwaukee sales guy wasn’t such a nice and understanding fellow, I’d tell him to shove the aforementioned tools in his Pipeline

Bosch Pro = Bosch Blue.

Bosch Consumer Grade = Bosch Green

Never had a problem with either, though there was that one Bosch Green hammer drill my late step father burnt out a week after purchase. I suspect that was more to do with not running it in and running it for extended periods than anything else.

 

[Mauzinette]

To steer the the discussion back on topic, today I bought the following:



A Tajima JUST caulking gun, a 9mm Tajima cutter and a tube of Sika silicone.