Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...

[Mr Pointy]

V8mate said:

Trustmeimadoctor said:

pistonheadforum said:

-Etekcity Lasergrip 1080 Non-contact Digital Laser IR Infrared Thermometer, -50°C ~ 550°C ( -58°F~1022°F ), Yellow/Black

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01AT9TM3M

£15 or so and how it works still boggles the mind!

-Leica laser distance measuring tool (just cos it's Leica and feels special!)

-Pipe/stud/electrical detector - a must before getting the drill out

Does the pipe detector pick up plastic rad pipes?

The replacement model is even cheaper!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Non-contact-Thermometer-5...

They're brilliant. When it turned up I measured the oven temperature to check on my pizza & the fridge to make sure the milk wasn't going to go off. One day I'll get round to balancing the central heating which is what I bought it for.

[MJNewton]

Mr Pointy said:

One day I'll get round to balancing the central heating which is what I bought it for.

When you do it's worth putting black insulation tape on the point you're measuring as that'll standardise the measurements across all the radiators and also has virtually bang on the emissivity that the probe is calibrated for. Also hold it right up close - the lasers on these things are more of a gimmick and suffer from parralax errors at close range (and at far range are pretty pointless given they measure across the area of a cone, not a single point).

[Watchman]

My lucky day. I was speaking with the maintenance guys about some work I need them to look into, and mentioned my requirement for a new hacksaw. As luck would have it, their new DeWalt (same as the Stanley one) is too heavy for them so they gave it to me. Chap is going to order an Irwin (his preferred brand).

It is heavy but It's a nice piece of kit - feels very robust and tensions the blade with significant force (I read somewhere over 100Kg).

Pictured with my new Wera screwdrivers.

[HairyMaclary]

My Makita 18v Impact Driver.

Oh and my Matika work light, combi drill, hedge trimmer, sander... Great that the battery works on all the Makita stuff.

I need a site radio next

[Watchman]

Now, unless I spot something else on this thread, I am left requiring only a folding utility knife. I don't like the slide-receding type because the button is always somewhere where I accidentally engage it while cutting with the knife.

Must take standard "Stanley" blades, fold and lock - preferably in both the open and closed positions, and have a quick release blade mech that isn't easily released by accident.

And as noted above, absolutely must not have a sliding-receding blade mech.

I think I've found the right one in the Irwin FK100 but I'm unsure about the catch above the blade - what it does and whether I'll accidentally engage it.

On the plus side, the reviews suggest it holds the blade well and isn't cheaply constructed.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FRKHT7K/ref=cm_sw_r...

[B17NNS]

Watchman said:

I am left requiring only a folding utility knife.

The Bessey is a thing of beauty

https://www.transtools.co.uk/hand-tools/utility-an...

|https://thumbsnap.com/abYLgOpi[/url]

Stanley is decent too.

https://www.axminster.co.uk/stanley-folding-pocket...

Edited by B17NNS on Monday 15th April 21:26

[Ynox]

I've got that Bessy one (although mine is a Bluepoint one - looks like they make them for Snap on).

It's pretty decent, although I actually prefer using my Stanley one - https://www.screwfix.com/p/stanley-fatmax-retracta... (I find it's quicker to change the blade). Yep, I know it's retractable.

My most used tool lately is my shop vac. I bought a Titan one last year when I started renovating my house. It's had the st kicked out of it and keeps going. Otherwise my Bosch random orbital sander has been a great bit of kit too. Had to replace the pad but it's taken a kicking sanding a lot of plaster (when connected up to the shop vac it's pretty much dustless). https://www.bosch-do-it.com/gb/en/diy/tools/pex-22... - I wanted it to die so I could buy a pro range one, but it just keeps on working. Definitely a good bit of kit for the money.

Edited by Ynox on Monday 15th April 21:45

[Watchman]

Thanks again for the suggestions. I have the chance to check out the Stanley one over the weekend (someone I know has one) so I'll see if suits me.

Has anyone else gone mad for Tstak toolboxes? I started with a DeWalt drill. It came in a Tstak box and I wondered what the obvious clamps were for. Soon after wondering that, my wallet wished I hadn't gone Googling.

Soon I had the Stanley "trolley" which is a box on wheels with a telescopic handle, 3x large DeWalt boxes (all compatible), and a DeWalt bits & bobs case. Here:





And now I want several drawer units to suit.

Edited by Watchman on Tuesday 16th April 23:05

[B17NNS]

Tstack is a nice medium duty system. For ‘it fell out of the van at speed but it’s absolutely fine’, Toughsystem is hard to beat.

The drawer units on both are flawed. Poke, prod and play to see if they’re for you before ordering.

Gus from Couple a’ Tools has a nice collection

https://youtu.be/DMvQvhKrM3Y

Edited by B17NNS on Wednesday 17th April 00:05

[SVS]

Yabu said:

knipex pliers wrench, great little tool

+1 for a Knipex pliers wrench as utterly brilliant. Pliers and spanner in a single tool, but the sum’s greater than the parts. Probably the most versatile tool I’ve ever used

[Watchman]

B17NNS said:

Tstack is a nice medium duty system. For ‘it fell out of the van at speed but it’s absolutely fine’, Toughsystem is hard to beat.

The drawer units on both are flawed. Poke, prod and play to see if they’re for you before ordering.

Gus from Couple a’ Tools has a nice collection

https://youtu.be/DMvQvhKrM3Y

Edited by B17NNS on Wednesday 17th April 00:05

I saw various comments bemoaning the lack of rigidity on the lower of the double drawer set which is a shame. I am sort of hoping the manufacturer will listen an issue an updated one because that would suit me.

The single deep drawer seems to be OK in that regard and might serve my purpose of being able to get at the tools without unstacking.

Tough system looks amazing but is more than I need.

Can't get my head around the radios for either. The tech is hardly groundbreaking yet they're £200. I'm not a trades-person and I don't attend site everyday, so I'm not the target audience I suppose.

[V8mate]

B17NNS said:

Tstack is a nice medium duty system. For ‘it fell out of the van at speed but it’s absolutely fine’, Toughsystem is hard to beat.

The drawer units on both are flawed. Poke, prod and play to see if they’re for you before ordering.

Gus from Couple a’ Tools has a nice collection

https://youtu.be/DMvQvhKrM3Y

Hope he parks that somewhere safe - a 'No tools stored overnight' sticker aint gonna cut it

[dickymint]

V8mate said:

B17NNS said:

Tstack is a nice medium duty system. For ‘it fell out of the van at speed but it’s absolutely fine’, Toughsystem is hard to beat.

The drawer units on both are flawed. Poke, prod and play to see if they’re for you before ordering.

Gus from Couple a’ Tools has a nice collection

https://youtu.be/DMvQvhKrM3Y

Hope he parks that somewhere safe - a 'No tools stored overnight' sticker aint gonna cut it

Well so far nobody's nicked my lunch

[dickymint]

Watchman said:

Now, unless I spot something else on this thread, I am left requiring only a folding utility knife. I don't like the slide-receding type because the button is always somewhere where I accidentally engage it while cutting with the knife.

Must take standard "Stanley" blades, fold and lock - preferably in both the open and closed positions, and have a quick release blade mech that isn't easily released by accident.

And as noted above, absolutely must not have a sliding-receding blade mech.

I think I've found the right one in the Irwin FK100 but I'm unsure about the catch above the blade - what it does and whether I'll accidentally engage it.

On the plus side, the reviews suggest it holds the blade well and isn't cheaply constructed.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00FRKHT7K/ref=cm_sw_r...

Wait!! before you splash your cash take a look at my weapon of choice - love the way you just flick it open..............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9bf5WxVnBE

Had mine over two years and love it. This is the new version with a 45* lock so i'm buying another

[V8mate]

dickymint said:

Wait!! before you splash your cash take a look at my weapon of choice - love the way you just flick it open..............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9bf5WxVnBE

Had mine over two years and love it. This is the new version with a 45* lock so i'm buying another

What's the consensus on Milwaukee tools? I'd never heard of them until a year ago, and now they're everywhere.

[Watchman]

That looks great. Are they available over here?.. wait... checking myself.

[Watchman]

YES..!! Ordered from Powertoolmate.co.uk

Thanks for the tip. That's exactly what I was after.

[AC43]

I'm planting another tree in my garden later today.

Whenever I dig a hole for another root ball ( I must have dug in 20-30 plants already) I almost always find large sections of old buried patio and/or loads of very tough roots.

I've been using a sledgehammer to break up the concrete which becomes very difficult once the holes are more than, say, 2 feet deep due to the angle of attack. And the roots are really tough to cut through and remove.

Last week I mentioned this to the FIL who pointed out that I should actually be using a breaker bar on the concrete as it's far easier. While I was looking for one yesterday I also found a root chopper to go with it.

Hoping my hole-digging is about to get a lot easier......

[Doofus]

This is my folding utility knife. It has two locking blades, and as you can see, it's had a lot of use. Sadly, they don't make them any longer, so a couple of months ago, I had to take this one to bits and replace the nylon washers inside to keep it running.

[illmonkey]

Probably a bit basic for some of you. We had a sparky on site and he said the best tool he had was this
:


It's just a cable cutter, but I got one and it's above any other I've had. And if you've bored, the handle does a 360, so you can practice your gun spin.