Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...

[GeneralBanter]

GeneralBanter said:

Anyone recommend a pneumatic pop riveter ideally under £60?

Any takers?

[Arnold Cunningham]

I have this and it's decent: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234220369377

[R6tty]

I drill holes every day for a living. By the time a combi drill has made its hole, it will have taken so long the drill will have rattled around and made it too big. I have a Makita 18v SDS. It's wonderful. But as it's part of my work, I can justify it. But this thread isn't about justification.....

[OutInTheShed]

GeneralBanter said:

GeneralBanter said:

Anyone recommend a pneumatic pop riveter ideally under £60?

Any takers?

Not air, but a mate of mine has a Li-Ion one which I could recommend.
Unfortunately I can't recall the make and he's out of the country somewhere.

[guitarcarfanatic]

I fancy an M12 SDS - they often drop to £100 bare and are such a useful little size for domestic stuff where it's not worth grabbing the corded.

[NextSlidePlease]

guitarcarfanatic said:

I fancy an M12 SDS - they often drop to £100 bare and are such a useful little size for domestic stuff where it's not worth grabbing the corded.

Stop it, I am slowly gathering various M12 tools on the back of very loose man maths and general tool frivolity. I have the M18 already, but the M12 is a nice little bit of kit by the looks of it.

[Muncher]

Arnold Cunningham said:

Is an SDS drill really such a massive upgrade for drilling in to cement, concrete etc? I always thought it was maybe a 10-20% improvement, and for the infrequency of needing to do it, hard to justify. But if it turns drilling holes for rawbolts in concrete into an easy job, I can see myself making a "wise purchase" soon enough.

An ordinary hammer drill is fine for light duty drilling into cement and soft brick but an SDS drill absolutely blows it away for drilling anything harder, larger diameter holes or drilling multiple holes. For me the best bit is the fact you can user the hammer action with no rotation to turn it into a very effective chisel.

It’s a night and day difference, not a marginal increase in performance. My SDS drill with the right drill but will put a 20mm diameter hole, 250mm deep through reinforced concrete in less than 10 seconds.

[98elise]

Muncher said:

Arnold Cunningham said:

Is an SDS drill really such a massive upgrade for drilling in to cement, concrete etc? I always thought it was maybe a 10-20% improvement, and for the infrequency of needing to do it, hard to justify. But if it turns drilling holes for rawbolts in concrete into an easy job, I can see myself making a "wise purchase" soon enough.

An ordinary hammer drill is fine for light duty drilling into cement and soft brick but an SDS drill absolutely blows it away for drilling anything harder, larger diameter holes or drilling multiple holes. For me the best bit is the fact you can user the hammer action with no rotation to turn it into a very effective chisel.

It’s a night and day difference, not a marginal increase in performance. My SDS drill with the right drill but will put a 20mm diameter hole, 250mm deep through reinforced concrete in less than 10 seconds.

If
This. The first time I used an SDS drill I was amazed by the difference . Its such a huge step up in capability, for very little money.

Edited by 98elise on Friday 17th March 09:45

[Grumps.]

Love my sds and is my go to for anything that needs a hole.

[pquinn]

I got a Bosch GBH 2-28 F SDS partially because it had a high impact energy compared to a lot of others, and partially because you can swap the chuck and use any normal bit with it if you feel like it. Removable chuck is a lot easier to clean too.

It's a long unit but that generally isn't a problem.

Also got the dust extractor add-on because it was bundled at the time.

[EggsBenedict]

Arnold Cunningham said:

I have this and it's decent: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/234220369377

Looks identical to the machine mart one I have, also decent.

[loudlashadjuster]

Arnold Cunningham said:

Is an SDS drill really such a massive upgrade for drilling in to cement, concrete etc? I always thought it was maybe a 10-20% improvement, and for the infrequency of needing to do it, hard to justify. But if it turns drilling holes for rawbolts in concrete into an easy job, I can see myself making a "wise purchase" soon enough.

Another vote in the 'hell yes' column.

When I moved abroad and into a house made of pretty much solid concrete I couldn't understand why my LXT combi wasn't able to drill even 6 or 8mm holes without taking ages. I stuggled on with it when I was fitting lights etc. to that house, but it was a real chore. Genuinely thought the hammer action might have broken, it was that bad.

When I moved again to another new house, I made sure I bought an SDS and it makes it so much easier it feels like drilling into plasterboard in comparison. Really. Seconds per hole, and even bigger stuff doesn't faze it.

[Arnold Cunningham]

EggsBenedict said:

Looks identical to the machine mart one I have, also decent.

It's actually not. My old was was a MM one, this one has a slightly different, I think better, bit to catch the rivet stubs in.
But yeah, MM or US Pro. 95% the same and both fine.

[TriumphStag3.0V8]

M11rph said:

More room for new tools.

Decent roller cab. Same as the US Pro and SGS offerings but currently discounted at Homebase. £550 delivered.
https://www.homebase.co.uk/ultimate-56in-10-drawer...

I've just unpacked mine and it's significantly sturdier than the cheapest offerings. Comes well packed and fully assembled bar the handles, 10mm socket required

Snap! Although the shop was a bit bemused when they asked me when I wanted it delivered and I said "I'll take it now", "Do you have a van?", "No"

[Jules Sunley]

TriumphStag3.0V8 said:

Snap! Although the shop was a bit bemused when they asked me when I wanted it delivered and I said "I'll take it now", "Do you have a van?", "No"

Very jealous of real life Tonka truck. Good work

[beambeam1]

Wow, you lot weren't kidding about the SDS drills. Needed the services of one that my brother has access to and my experience was similar to what everyone else has described. "They will go through bone like butter..." he laughed as we set about creating some rather rustic weepholes in the garden retaining wall.

[jimmyjimjim]

TriumphStag3.0V8 said:

M11rph said:

More room for new tools.

Decent roller cab. Same as the US Pro and SGS offerings but currently discounted at Homebase. £550 delivered.
https://www.homebase.co.uk/ultimate-56in-10-drawer...

I've just unpacked mine and it's significantly sturdier than the cheapest offerings. Comes well packed and fully assembled bar the handles, 10mm socket required

Snap! Although the shop was a bit bemused when they asked me when I wanted it delivered and I said "I'll take it now", "Do you have a van?", "No"

I've found it makes an enormous difference having a place to store tools; I'm getting a lot more done just because I know I can find everything I need without wasting a hour.

Any idea what thickness the material is? They're big on that as a measure of quality in the US.

[DBPHiL]

In regard to the SDS drills, if you only want one and you're buying new then get one with the extra 'Hammer Only' function on it, so you can use it for chiseling too.
I have both (2way rotary only & 3way inc. hammer)

[Dannbodge]

Any recomendations for a sliding mitre saw?

Won't be used loads so don't want to spend tonnes, maybe £150 max?

Mainly used for flooring, skirting and then some general cutting work.

[imck]

Dannbodge said:

Any recomendations for a sliding mitre saw?

Won't be used loads so don't want to spend tonnes, maybe £150 max?

Mainly used for flooring, skirting and then some general cutting work.

I bought an Evolution from Screwfix for the same thing. Very happy with it.
This is the one I got.
https://www.screwfix.com/p/evolution-r185sms-185mm...

They have models with larger cutting capacity around your budget