Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...

[Carbon Sasquatch]

9xxNick said:

Pat H said:

I keep looking at those Knipex 86 03 250 adjustable spanners.

But at the end of the day, can they do anything beyond the decent sets of spanners and sockets that I already have?

These are amazingly useful tools for anything where you need to apply force to hold something still (or rotate it for that matter) without damaging its surface finish. They are also handly for manipulating metal in situations where it's been wrinkled or bent out of true but you can't easily get it into a vice. I use them much more than I would have anticipated.

I reach for mine in preference to a fixed spanner most of the time now.

Unlike a regular adjustable, they don’t work loose & you can open & close the handle allowing you to use them kind of like a ratchet spanner.

I thought it was an extravagance, but I love mine now

[Olas]

psi310398 said:

Don't doctors call these speculums?

So where exactly did you put that bolt?

A speculum is like a reversed pair of tweezers - normally closed but can be used to hold ‘holes’ wide open.

An inspection mirror on a telescopic stock is not at all like a speculum.

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Could be used together though

[guindilias]

To look riiiiiight up yer ringpiece...

[LeadFarmer]

guindilias said:

To look riiiiiight up yer ringpiece...

Someone else's, or your own?

[guindilias]

Either, really - I'm sure a carefully arranged set of shaving mirrors could be employed if you felt the need to gaze beyond your chocolate star - kick your own back doors in, I suppose.

[Doofus]

guindilias said:

Either, really - I'm sure a carefully arranged set of shaving mirrors could be employed if you felt the need to gaze beyond your chocolate star - kick your own back doors in, I suppose.

Somebody has evidently given this a lot of thought...

[skwdenyer]

Carbon Sasquatch said:

skwdenyer said:

On a limited budget for Makita stuff, I’d tend to buy a brand new brushless drill (the better ones are a lot better than the cheapies), a charger, decent brand new batteries and a second hand impact driver, but that’s because I think the better drills are worth the extra for my use cases...

Interesting - I’d have said exactly the opposite

My impact driver is the most used / abused tool I have so I wouldn’t touch a 2nd hand one.

My combo drill hardly ever gets touched - the impact driver is great with paddle bits through joists and for any masonry I use my SDS which is way better. The only thing my combo drill is used for is drilling occasionally drilling into into metal.

I used to say the opposite But for me when I actually need a cordless drill to do some drilling I need it to be up to the task.

A sub-par cordless drill is just a waste of hope;)

My impact driver is also my most-used tool. But I was imagining what I’d do if I couldn’t justify spending money on the best of both.

I’ll confess it is also nice to drive screws without needing ear defenders...

I do have several corded SDS, a fantastic cordless Hilti SDS, a plethora of Makita kit, etc. But when I started out on the current grand refurbishment project I was very strapped and relied on B&Q own brand impact drivers! So I’ve ridden both sides of the curve, as it were.

And, of course, I don’t remotely pretend that my views or situation apply to anyone else!

[Bill]

I've had a 10.8v impact driver for a while, but only just got an 18v one and I'm very pleased so far. Jobs that were time consuming and ones that need a load of awkward counter bracing (mower blades today) are done in seconds.

[Steve_W]

This is a dangerous (for the wallet!) thread.

I've found myself looking at impact wrenches now.

Found a DeWalt DCF894 kit, with 2 5.0AH batteries, charger, and box for £380 here if it helps anyone go shopping: https://www.mytoolshed.co.uk/dewalt-dcf894p2-18v-1...

[darreni]

Steve_W said:

This is a dangerous (for the wallet!) thread.

I've found myself looking at impact wrenches now.

Found a DeWalt DCF894 kit, with 2 5.0AH batteries, charger, and box for £380 here if it helps anyone go shopping: https://www.mytoolshed.co.uk/dewalt-dcf894p2-18v-1...

I found the dewalt stuff was cheaper to buy as individual parts - i bought the 899 for £140 & the charger for £20 both from amazon & bought the 4ah battery for £40 locally.

[bobski1]

skwdenyer said:

As a significant user of Makita kit, note that there are a lot of different models & a lot of different twinpacks as a result. Some are much better value than others.

Frequently Screwfix etc are not at all the best value. So shopping around can yield big benefits.

Also don’t dismiss second hand tools, especially for less-often-used items. A second hand impact driver might not last as long as a new one in daily use, but for infrequent jobs could be just fine.

On a limited budget for Makita stuff, I’d tend to buy a brand new brushless drill (the better ones are a lot better than the cheapies), a charger, decent brand new batteries and a second hand impact driver, but that’s because I think the better drills are worth the extra for my use cases...

Use is a mix of fairly heavy DIY (full house renovation underway) plus so partial commercial use so ideally need something which will last.

One thing which is frustrating me is all the different sets from the same manufacturers

Got my eye on this one at the moment

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dck2060d2t-sfgb-...

[Dont like rolls]

That is a great deal !

[Bill]

A bit more money, but much bigger batteries: https://www.powertoolworld.co.uk/makita-dlx2131tj-...

[cml24]

I don't own an impact driver, so I'm curious what the advantage is over a cordless drill?

I've only just bothered to buy a cordless drill (small 10.8v Bosch pro one) and have found it great and drilling and driving screws.

I have an air powered impact gun for the car, and in my head I'm I aging trying to drive s read in with that but I think I'm missing the point!

[Bill]

cml24 said:

I have an air powered impact gun for the car, and in my head I'm I aging trying to drive s read in with that but I think I'm missing the point!

So are we!

[Quags]

darreni said:

Watchman said:

And today the "other" anvil turned up so I could compare.

Thoughts: The hog ring makes it harder to push a socket on but easier to remove. The detent pin is the opposite but only just - complaints I've read about having to need to push something thin through the socket hole to release it from the detent pin are unfounded IMO. Perhaps people just need to lube the pin from time to time but this new one works just fine - I can remove the socket with little fuss.

Haven't decided whether to swap the anvils over or leave as-is yet. I'll keep both for when I fancy a change.

Cool, I’ve just bought the hog ring version to change the cv joints on the wife’s a class & a full suspension replacement on my CSL. I’ve not used mine yet, so would be interested to hear how you are getting on with yours.

I've just bought the hog ring one too, need to refresh the suspension on my S2000 and some very rusty 205 gti suspension. As mentioned it's a beast even on 1.5 batteries. Can't quite justify the money for a 5 yet, but it will happen.

Effortlessly took off the wheel nuts. I have the smaller dewalt one too, and a drill. Oh and a multitool.

[Jambo85]

cml24 said:

I don't own an impact driver, so I'm curious what the advantage is over a cordless drill?

I’d have said the same a month ago but when I burned out my cheapo cordless drill just before Christmas knowing I had a lot of holes to drill and cables to run over the holidays I went to Screwfix and got the drill + driver set which was on offer at the time without thinking much - Makita stuff.

I’m now wondering if I will ever bother buying a cordless drill again!

Fast with loads of torque, hammery action and somehow less prone to camming out of screw heads.

[gazzarose]

cml24 said:

I don't own an impact driver, so I'm curious what the advantage is over a cordless drill?

I've only just bothered to buy a cordless drill (small 10.8v Bosch pro one) and have found it great and drilling and driving screws.

I have an air powered impact gun for the car, and in my head I'm I aging trying to drive s read in with that but I think I'm missing the point!

It depends on what size screws your driving I've found. 1 1/2" drywall and 2"8s are fine for drill drivers, but I found trying to drive in 4"10s, whilst fine for power, was always a risk of a bit slipping and then it's all a bit knackered, especially if it doesn't go in in one go, and needs a second go. Impact drivers on the other hand seem quite tolerent of a slightly warn bit and will drive quite big screws and arms reach whilst balancing on a ladder without having to put loads of pressure on the head to keep the bit engaged. But you are missing the obvious advantage, you get to have the ugga dugga noise even if your just putting a picture up, much more manly that a whiny little drill driver lol.

[Teddy Lop]

cml24 said:

I don't own an impact driver, so I'm curious what the advantage is over a cordless drill?

I've only just bothered to buy a cordless drill (small 10.8v Bosch pro one) and have found it great and drilling and driving screws.

I have an air powered impact gun for the car, and in my head I'm I aging trying to drive s read in with that but I think I'm missing the point!

try one they're great, much more control - I'm not sure the exact mechanicals but they kind of hammer rather than merely turn which makes it much easier to control at high torque, so less cam out and its easier to remove burred/cruddy screws with a light trigger taptaptaptap which losens them gently rather than destroys with high torque cam out.

A tool my cousin kept telling me I needed but I didn't see the point till I got one cos it was in a multipack anyway and now I wouldn't be without...