Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...
Discussion
Bodo said:
Sheepshanks said:
This, I think:
Looks good! I actually found it diffcult to find parallel vice grips with smooth jaws. Is the grip force going through the adjuster wheel?Bodo said:
Looks good! I actually found it diffcult to find parallel vice grips with smooth jaws. Is the grip force going through the adjuster wheel?
That's the one, and it's fantastic. No more messing with adjustables that come loose, or destroying bolt heads with mole grips. if you can't get an impact driver onto it, this will shift it. Just nip it up tight, then squeeze the mole grip arm -it's not going anywhere. I dismantled an entire speedboat and outboard with one, and despite having plenty of salt water corroded nuts and bolts, it didn't round off a single head.
I keep mislaying mine, have bought 4 so far.
Now going to buy another one.
untakenname said:
Decent Allen keys, well worth the premium
https://www-de.wera.de/en/great-tools/hex-plus/
Anything by Wera should have been bought a long time ago. Just look at the reviews for anything Wera on Amazon -5 stars virtually all the way, I got this recently - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bit-Check-Ratsche-SB-piec... ,https://www-de.wera.de/en/great-tools/hex-plus/
About the size of a box of cigs. Don't need some of the bits it comes with? Take them out and replace them with what you use most often.
If Wera had a "Snap-On" selling model where they came round every week in a van and show you new stuff, I would be very heavily In debt.
MellowshipSlinky said:
Mirka sander and dust extractor.
Can’t believed it took me so long to buy one..!
I bought the air driven version. Took a bit of mental persuasion to buy, but what a piece of kit. No horrible vibration or weight that you get with an electrical sander.Can’t believed it took me so long to buy one..!
Have it hooked up to an old vacuum cleaner and the lack of dust when sanding inside is amazing.
Sheepshanks said:
Bodo said:
frisbee said:
sparkythecat said:
CAPP0 said:
Lots of things but a recent one was an adjustable spanner with a mole-grip clamp on it - it's excellent, no more slipping off the nut or bolt head..
I'm struggling to picture this. Got a link?
I’m very much in the camp of “buy the right tool for the job”, having learnt that lesson many times over the years, but as a direct contradiction of that statement
I’ve found this really useful. 
The Wagner XVLP paint spraying kit. A massive time-saver and, for me, a much, much better result than painting manually.
I'm renovating a house and garden and have many tens of square meters of walls and ceilings to do. I also have a bad back.
It is an absolute godsend and the finishes in emulsion, eggshell and exterior are excellent, even with the poncy paints - Little Greene, Fired Earth etc. It's also very easy to clean and maintain.
In the past, if hand or roller painting, I'd have prevaricated a long time before getting started on any painting.
I spend considerably more time masking things in a room than I do spraying it. I can apply a coat to the four walls of a double bedroom in about fifteen to twenty minutes. I can then apply another coat in a couple of hours.
I'm renovating a house and garden and have many tens of square meters of walls and ceilings to do. I also have a bad back.
It is an absolute godsend and the finishes in emulsion, eggshell and exterior are excellent, even with the poncy paints - Little Greene, Fired Earth etc. It's also very easy to clean and maintain.
In the past, if hand or roller painting, I'd have prevaricated a long time before getting started on any painting.
I spend considerably more time masking things in a room than I do spraying it. I can apply a coat to the four walls of a double bedroom in about fifteen to twenty minutes. I can then apply another coat in a couple of hours.
psi310398 said:
The Wagner XVLP paint spraying kit. A massive time-saver and, for me, a much, much better result than painting manually.
I'm renovating a house and garden and have many tens of square meters of walls and ceilings to do. I also have a bad back.
It is an absolute godsend and the finishes in emulsion, eggshell and exterior are excellent, even with the poncy paints - Little Greene, Fired Earth etc. It's also very easy to clean and maintain.
In the past, if hand or roller painting, I'd have prevaricated a long time before getting started on any painting.
I spend considerably more time masking things in a room than I do spraying it. I can apply a coat to the four walls of a double bedroom in about fifteen to twenty minutes. I can then apply another coat in a couple of hours.
Been looking at one of these as planning on painting the outside of the house next year. Interested to know how much over spray you get with the unit. I'm renovating a house and garden and have many tens of square meters of walls and ceilings to do. I also have a bad back.
It is an absolute godsend and the finishes in emulsion, eggshell and exterior are excellent, even with the poncy paints - Little Greene, Fired Earth etc. It's also very easy to clean and maintain.
In the past, if hand or roller painting, I'd have prevaricated a long time before getting started on any painting.
I spend considerably more time masking things in a room than I do spraying it. I can apply a coat to the four walls of a double bedroom in about fifteen to twenty minutes. I can then apply another coat in a couple of hours.
moustachebandit said:
Been looking at one of these as planning on painting the outside of the house next year. Interested to know how much over spray you get with the unit.
It depends, natch, on technique! On normal emulsion (watered down 10%) if sprayed about a foot from the wall and with regard for edges, normal masking will be sufficient. I'd probably want to water down Weathershield at 15% in the first instance.
The spray fan can be set vertical or horizontal and fine adjusted easily. I normally need only a couple of test sprays to set it right.
With windows and doors, I tend to mask the whole thing off with anti-bleed automotive painters blue tape and several layers of paper.
At ceiling and skirting joins, I normally use a long thin piece of ply to protect the edge.
Oh, I forgot this...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Baylola-powerful-electric...
Can’t believe I’ve been mixing mortar by hand for years when this was only only £120! More time for drinking coffee and less back ache.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Baylola-powerful-electric...
Can’t believe I’ve been mixing mortar by hand for years when this was only only £120! More time for drinking coffee and less back ache.
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