Hello There! I was interested was is your opinion regarding portable devices used for repairs and for small fix or DIY projects, I am talking about portable screwdrivers and soldering irons, maybe other type of portable devices you know. I would like to know your opinion, is worth using them or its just a useless waist of time, can those portable things be used for a bigger projects, or should I buy a portable screwdriver from BOSCH that looks like its a PRO stuff
- Thread starter Isabellah
- Start date
MatthewC
Member
- Messages
- 1,764
- Location
- Central/South England
Hi Isabellah
My advice in doing any major project is to buy the best quality hand tools you can afford at the start of the project. A good cordless drill/screwdriver is essential - my Bosch came with two batteries which is so useful as you never run out. I did have a cheap drill/screwdriver to start with but it was heavy and not really up to it, so I wished I'd had the Bosch to start with. I do also have an old mains drill which has more power for drilling into stone or brick.
The next most useful thing I have is a B&D Workmate - I keep on meaning to get a new one but the one I have is really old and still does the job. I did buy a cement mixer at the start and sold it two years later to my builder; it was very useful for knocking up lime mortar and plaster and I did loads of little jobs using it. I also wish I had bought my own 9" angle grinder as I hired one many times.
The other tools you may want are really down to what you intend doing yourself. If you do any carpentry then a decent cross cut saw with a table would be a valuable investment (something else I wish I'd bought); if relevant, check that the 45 deg cut will go through a 2" thick bit of wood (mine doesn't quite which is really annoying). I also have a 4.5" angle grinder but 5" is a better choice; I have done a lot with mine and only cut myself once!
Best of luck
Matthew
My advice in doing any major project is to buy the best quality hand tools you can afford at the start of the project. A good cordless drill/screwdriver is essential - my Bosch came with two batteries which is so useful as you never run out. I did have a cheap drill/screwdriver to start with but it was heavy and not really up to it, so I wished I'd had the Bosch to start with. I do also have an old mains drill which has more power for drilling into stone or brick.
The next most useful thing I have is a B&D Workmate - I keep on meaning to get a new one but the one I have is really old and still does the job. I did buy a cement mixer at the start and sold it two years later to my builder; it was very useful for knocking up lime mortar and plaster and I did loads of little jobs using it. I also wish I had bought my own 9" angle grinder as I hired one many times.
The other tools you may want are really down to what you intend doing yourself. If you do any carpentry then a decent cross cut saw with a table would be a valuable investment (something else I wish I'd bought); if relevant, check that the 45 deg cut will go through a 2" thick bit of wood (mine doesn't quite which is really annoying). I also have a 4.5" angle grinder but 5" is a better choice; I have done a lot with mine and only cut myself once!
Best of luck
Matthew
worms
Member
- Messages
- 1,995
- Location
- ultima Thule
Yes, battery tools are now a much more viable option than they used to be, but battery packs are expensive. While I hate the concept of getting sucked into one particular brand, if you are starting to acquire tools it might be worth choosing a brand and sticking with it, so that you can share batteries across the range. Although I have a mix of Bosch and De Walt, all my battery ones are De Walt. You can sometimes pick up the twin pack of De Walt impact driver and hammer drill for a good price, with two batteries and charger, which forms a good starter pack for later additions.
Agree! But you have to be sure that one brand will have a wide range of tools able to cover all your needs, even if De walt has a portable screwdrivers those are not all the time good, you have less power then a Bosch screwdriver tool, both remote, and you can't be sure Bosch tools like remote dremel are good enough to be used on a daily basis (Spoiler! those aren't good at all, you'll have to charge them every 20 minutes and the speed is not enough to work with hard metals, more than that a known problem of Bosch dremel's is the change speed mechanism, it will brake after 2 weeks of daily use)! It would be just nice if all of them will have the same battery rack so you could use different batteries
YES for sure .... but with some remarks.
I wouldn't be without my 1/4 hex impact driver (screwdriver), I also have a lot of other cordless tools which I rely on a lot.
My caveat would be generally once you go down one brand its an expensive switch due to the batteries. You therefore need to give consideration to the range of tools that you may want early on. I made the mistake a number of years ago and went with Ingersoll rand as they made some killer 1/2 impact guns. Great tool but they only did a few others.
I now use Ryobi one cordless, the very basic / entry level tools are not that great but the higher spec / brushless ones seem better. They also do a massive range or different tools which was a big plus to me.
I don't think Ryobi are at the Dewalt / Makita quality level (and definitely not Fesstool) but for me they have an okay balance of cost vs quality and get the job done with the knowledge that I have not bought the best and that it might break.
p.s. Not sure on a portable battery soldering iron as heat takes a lot of energy and that is not easy for cordless. If you want a portable soldering option I'd go gas powered.
Cheers,
Richard B.
I wouldn't be without my 1/4 hex impact driver (screwdriver), I also have a lot of other cordless tools which I rely on a lot.
My caveat would be generally once you go down one brand its an expensive switch due to the batteries. You therefore need to give consideration to the range of tools that you may want early on. I made the mistake a number of years ago and went with Ingersoll rand as they made some killer 1/2 impact guns. Great tool but they only did a few others.
I now use Ryobi one cordless, the very basic / entry level tools are not that great but the higher spec / brushless ones seem better. They also do a massive range or different tools which was a big plus to me.
I don't think Ryobi are at the Dewalt / Makita quality level (and definitely not Fesstool) but for me they have an okay balance of cost vs quality and get the job done with the knowledge that I have not bought the best and that it might break.
p.s. Not sure on a portable battery soldering iron as heat takes a lot of energy and that is not easy for cordless. If you want a portable soldering option I'd go gas powered.
Cheers,
Richard B.
Gothichome
Member
- Messages
- 441
Well, I can only add an oscillating saw, since buying one I have’t picked up a hand saw for small jobs. I bought a corded unit it gets in tighter places than the battery powered units.
Ron
Ron
Gothichome said:
I love my one of these (actually my second after a bunch of original oak resulted in blue smoke escaping from my first). They are another very usefull tool and will do jobs no other tool can, however, after my bit driver / screwdriver I would struggle to pick my second favorite cordless tool as I like them all so much.
Cheers,
Richard B.
Feltwell
Member
- Messages
- 6,377
- Location
- Shropshire, England
One *big* advantage of going for a branded name that Trades use is the batteries will be available pretty much for ever - I use Makita LXT, even if Makita ever stop producing the batteries then there are plenty of after market options.
Once you've got the initial tool + battery + charger purchase out of the way, buying "bare" tools afterwards (no battery, no charger) is not too expensive.
Cheap Ni-Cad cordless tools are rubbish, the battery will die long before the tool does.
Makita is not the ultimate quality some folks think it is, but I've got a large collection of their LXT 18v tools now and about 5 batteries and I'm still happy with the choice I made, they are plenty good enough for me.
Once you've got the initial tool + battery + charger purchase out of the way, buying "bare" tools afterwards (no battery, no charger) is not too expensive.
Cheap Ni-Cad cordless tools are rubbish, the battery will die long before the tool does.
Makita is not the ultimate quality some folks think it is, but I've got a large collection of their LXT 18v tools now and about 5 batteries and I'm still happy with the choice I made, they are plenty good enough for me.
Interesting, I had always been a Makita man as their performance was generally equal or better than deWalt but at a lower price, those times are long gone now, the introduction of the Makita “red” range (previous years designs made under license in China) showed that, so am slowly transitioning over to dewalt now.
One big exception is my Bosch corded SDS which was been utterly abused for the last 7 years and still works brilliantly
One big exception is my Bosch corded SDS which was been utterly abused for the last 7 years and still works brilliantly
Feltwell
Member
- Messages
- 6,377
- Location
- Shropshire, England
Dewalt are owned by Black & Decker, have been for many years, but they seemed to change their way over the last 20 years and go downmarket. I had someone working here who had gone with Dewalt cordless and was regretting it, and I could see why - they weren't great.
There's Makita and there's Makita. The LXT 18v stuff is good, their lesser ranges less so. They generally offer the LXT tools are both brushed or brushless, the brushless commanding a hefty premium that unless you're using them all day every day I don't believe is worth it.
It's true for most of the mainstream manufacturers - Bosch varies from cheap'n'cheerful, aimed squarely at the budget DIY market, to some very good tools indeed.
There's a few brands like Festool and Trend that seem to stick to the higher quality end of the market, but everyone else seems to want to embrace the full spectrum.
One I had to laugh at, when I worked for a major DIY retailer some 20-odd years ago in their head office, was JCB. At one point they would licence their name out to any old tat - honestly, the cheapest, nastiest products you can think of had JCB willingly emblazoned across them. Eventually they got a grip and stopped prostituting their name out to any old rubbish! They'd seen what had happened with Caterpillar and clothing and thought it was easy money I suspect.
There's Makita and there's Makita. The LXT 18v stuff is good, their lesser ranges less so. They generally offer the LXT tools are both brushed or brushless, the brushless commanding a hefty premium that unless you're using them all day every day I don't believe is worth it.
It's true for most of the mainstream manufacturers - Bosch varies from cheap'n'cheerful, aimed squarely at the budget DIY market, to some very good tools indeed.
There's a few brands like Festool and Trend that seem to stick to the higher quality end of the market, but everyone else seems to want to embrace the full spectrum.
One I had to laugh at, when I worked for a major DIY retailer some 20-odd years ago in their head office, was JCB. At one point they would licence their name out to any old tat - honestly, the cheapest, nastiest products you can think of had JCB willingly emblazoned across them. Eventually they got a grip and stopped prostituting their name out to any old rubbish! They'd seen what had happened with Caterpillar and clothing and thought it was easy money I suspect.
88v8
Member
- Messages
- 3,129
- Location
- Glorious Gloucs
This small Bosch IXO is very good as a screwdriver, surprisingly powerful and with the angle drive it will get into small spaces.Isabellah said:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255338803687?hash=item3b7360f1e7:g:A4wAAOSwXz9h5d6o
This is the earlier version I have that came with an offset and angle drive.
Buy it...
I also have a lot of Ryobi One battery tools - drill, saw, multitool, impact driver - which are OK, not top class but fine for DIY, and have lasted me more than ten years.
Ivor
LadyArowana
Member
- Messages
- 3,704
Feltwell said:
His Lordship has some JCB socks. That’s the closest he is allowed to machinery of any description.
DJH
Member
- Messages
- 1,532
- Location
- Co Tipperary Ireland
Nice one Lady A...I was told not long ago not to lift anything heavy. Pity I wasn't told that about 50 years ago...
At least I don't have to fetch herselfs handbag nowadays. Far too heavy for me dear.
At least I don't have to fetch herselfs handbag nowadays. Far too heavy for me dear.
LadyArowana
Member
- Messages
- 3,704
DJH said:Nice one Lady A...I was told not long ago not to lift anything heavy. Pity I wasn't told that about 50 years ago...
At least I don't have to fetch herselfs handbag nowadays. Far too heavy for me dear.
Ah, she is obviously a woman of substance. Can probably be relied upon to produce any emergency supplies necessary from the recesses of her portmanteau
philpjuk100
Member
- Messages
- 1,145
- Location
- newark nottinghamshire
I know it is not general wisdom but when I bought a battery drill and saw for use on my boat (mains tools are banned by the marina) I chose Bosch. I did bring them home for the occasional job but found it annoying when the batteries ran out halfway through the job and reverted to corded tools. The battery recharging intervals became more frequent and the cost of new bosch batteries was frightening so I bought a replacement cheap rechargeable drill from Asda (£19) half the price of a Bosch battery, It did the job ok, but did not feel as nice. The battery lasted about as long as the Bosch one and I was prepared to dispose of it and buy another Asda one but found that inside the battery there were ordinary cells "C" type, I found some on eBay with solder tags on which were 5 Amp-hour. A set was just a little cheaper than a new Asda drill. These give longer periods between charges but take longer to charge and still work well after about two years. The Bosch battery was probably made from common cells as well but it was disposed of on the wife's "buy new depose of the old" scheme (how does this explain the wardrobe full of shoes?) Batteries probably have an easier life in regular use
Feltwell
Member
- Messages
- 6,377
- Location
- Shropshire, England
Phil, if you invest in decent 18v cordless tools with Lithium-Ion batteries, honestly you'll never look back. Cheap, low powered 9.6 or 12v cordless and the 18v stuff are just worlds apart.
The Makita's I've got are nearly as powerful as corded - the only tool I ever have to revert to corded on now is the SDS drill. I've got a cordless Makita LXT SDS drill and that is fine with ordinary drill bits, but unsurprisingly when using diamond core bits, the power of the corded drill is required - on the larger bits at least.
Asking a cordless tool to put a 5" core drill through a wall is a bit much! :lol: I had to drill 3 holes recently with this for soil pipes - my elderly corded SDS drill struggled, the clutch kept slipping, I thought it might finish it off but no, it lives to fight another day.
The 3ah Li-ion batteries recharge from flat in about 20 minutes - 4 and 5ah take a bit longer of course - but you don't even have to fully recharge them, though I still prefer to. I keep multiple batteries on the go but on the occasions I've ran out, with a 20 minute recharge time then a cup of tea break takes care of it.
The Makita's I've got are nearly as powerful as corded - the only tool I ever have to revert to corded on now is the SDS drill. I've got a cordless Makita LXT SDS drill and that is fine with ordinary drill bits, but unsurprisingly when using diamond core bits, the power of the corded drill is required - on the larger bits at least.
Asking a cordless tool to put a 5" core drill through a wall is a bit much! :lol: I had to drill 3 holes recently with this for soil pipes - my elderly corded SDS drill struggled, the clutch kept slipping, I thought it might finish it off but no, it lives to fight another day.
The 3ah Li-ion batteries recharge from flat in about 20 minutes - 4 and 5ah take a bit longer of course - but you don't even have to fully recharge them, though I still prefer to. I keep multiple batteries on the go but on the occasions I've ran out, with a 20 minute recharge time then a cup of tea break takes care of it.
philpjuk100
Member
- Messages
- 1,145
- Location
- newark nottinghamshire
Many thanks for that. For use at home, I have an SDS drill for the big stuff and a smaller hammer drill (both mains) cannot remember what make they are I have had them for years and seem to remember the SDS came from "cash converters" I have a huge 13A extension that reaches anywhere on the property (my son lent me that about ten years ago and I hope he has forgotten about it!) I only need a battery drill in the marina and it is usually just to put a 3/8" hole through 1/4" thick fiberglass for a cable or with a hole saw for a bigger hole for a pipe. I lent it to a boater further along the pontoon to drill a hole to secure a fire extinguisher and he drilled a hole through his hull below the waterline! I will consider a Makita when it comes to a replacement but I think that lack of use is what kills the batteries. I forget to charge it so when I need it the batteries are flat.
Feltwell
Member
- Messages
- 6,377
- Location
- Shropshire, England
philpjuk100 said:
:lol: Now that beats hitting a cable in the wall for stupidity any day!
If that's all your doing with it and you're happy with corded at home ( I find them a pain and couldn't go back!) then even the cheap brand low powered drills will be fine of course, but if you go for Li-ion battery then you'll find it keeps the charge a lot better than the old ni-cad type. They do self-discharge in the end but it takes quite a while.
philpjuk100
Member
- Messages
- 1,145
- Location
- newark nottinghamshire
Feltwell said:
I was proud of my actions that day, I heard a lot of bad language coming from his boat so went to investigate. His boat batteries were ashore on charge so his bilge pump did not work, the water was coming in fast. I fastened two ratchet straps from his handrail to the pontoon and pulled the boat into a list so the hole was now above the water. I leaned over the side and countersank the hole, fitted a countersunk bolt in it with plenty of Araldite on it. It ended up well below the surface so he could finish it with some white resin. He watched me do all this but did I get any thanks? no, he said "look you have bent my handrail"
Feltwell
Member
- Messages
- 6,377
- Location
- Shropshire, England
philpjuk100 said:
:roll: :roll: Should have left him there with his finger in the hole, like the Little Dutch Boy!
I live not far from a primary school, we have lots of parents parking in the street to drop kids off. One of the mums, with a car full of kids, had a flat battery on her car the other day, it wouldn't start - so I brought my car out with some jump leads and jump started it for her. I didn't get a word of thanks. Rather puts you off being nice to people!