Your best and worst power tool purchases

[Distinterior]

The Festool DF500 Domino machine has got to be high up there on the list for me. The accuracy, speed and repeatability make it worth every penny. I also really like my TS 55 & 75 track saws for the same reasons as I listed above.

Without doubt, my worst power tool purchase that stands out a mile was a Titan pillar drill from Screwfix. I bought it in a rush, thinking it can't be too bad. How wrong could I have been?.......It's poorly made, it rattles, vibrates, chuck run out is sloppy at best, its noisy, 2 or 3 bits have fallen off it, etc, etc.....!!!!!! I know it was only about £80, but its no better than junk. I'd feel bad about giving it to someone free of charge in case they held it against me..

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Best - a now defunct Bosch jigsaw and a Stihl chainsaw. Worst by a mile a DeWalt 7 1/4" circular saw.

 

[g7g7g7g7]

On the topic of Estwing hammers they are great if you can get an old one, their new ones don't feel half as good. If you want a high quality framing hammer made in the U.S. today I'd recommend looking at Vaughan instead, bit more pricey but really worth the investment.

 

[Paul200]

Hello,

My favorite ever would be a Bosch GOF 1300 ace. router. Ergonomics were brilliant, it could do delicate work because it wasn't too heavy and it was powerful enough to do most things and run sizable 1/2 in shank bits, and it lasted ages. Would still be going strong now if I hadn't forgot I had a guide bush in the base one day, put it down on the bench and it fell off the other side onto concrete. I recently got a second hand replacement in mint condition, after searching for ages, I liked it so much.

Ugly has to be Triton routers, flipping terrible to use hand held, they look funny and orange is not a good look for power tools. But mounted in a router table (where you can't see it) it is blooming brilliant.

Mike.

Totally agree about the GOF 1300ACE Mike. Mine was my first router - I've had others since but none come close to this versatile little tool. I'd be lost without it!

Paul

 

[Woodchips2]

..OK its not a "power tool", but seeing as its my thread I must mention the "joint genie", ...simply an awesome piece of kit....expensive for what it is..but an absolute Godsend to people like me (..ie with no jointing skills).....makes doweling a pleasure...

+1

A quality bit of engineering.

Regards Keith

 

[RossJarvis]

Don't know how I forgot to mention another worst power tool, Bosch GHO 26-82 planer, only remembered as I had to use it again today, it only clogged up 3 times out of 12 simple passes down a door frame edge. quite good for this tool actually:roll: .

 

[Woodchips2]

Worst power tool was a Makita 41/2" angle grinder that cooked the bearings after less than an hour's use and Makita are not apparently aware of Sale of Goods Act (hammer)

Regards Keith

 

[skeetstar]

Best .. a 45 year old Wolf two speed electric drill.
Crude by modern standards of functionality and design, but it is a proper piece of engineering. Put a long bit in the chuck and turn the motor and the tip of the drill never wavers.

Ive had Black and Decker, Makita, Bosch and a couple of Festools, but none of them are as precise as the Wolf.

I had an ancient low end Bosch jigsaw that ran and ran for 20 years despite all kinds of abuse.

Maybe older power tools are just better than modern ones.

 

[craigybaby]

Has anyone ever had a problem with an Estwing hammer or a Stabila level? Just curious.

Yes i once boxed in my Estwing hammer when we converted a old Mill in Halifax,poor thing will still be there now all alone behind a stud wall :lol: :lol:

 

[Mark A]

I'm happy with most of the tools I've bought, though there are some I regret.

Probably my sorriest tool purchase was an Axminster AT2801DP drill press back in 2014. From the start there's been visible runout on the spindle, but soon after taking delivery our house sold and it has been in storage until quite literally a fortnight ago. Three months out of warranty and it's had probably less than an hour's use. £359.94 wasted

I agree with RossJarvis regarding the Bosch GHO 26-82. Mine clogs continuously, even when connected to a vacuum.

Mark


Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

 

[HeliGav]

Worst tool I had was a Axminster bandsaw £800 down the drain.....bearing blade guide poorest I've used near impossible to get an accurate cut time after time, started to rust around the door hinges (something that as never happened to any of my other tools, always well looked after), just generally really poor quality for the price. ended up salvaging the motor and cast table and the rest went on the side of the road for the scrap metal man........

Best tool is makita drill/driver as its had that much abuse and no matter how hard i try to break it so I can buy it new one it won't die lol worth its weight in gold......also dewalt table saw accurate cut every time. both top tools.

 

[Fergal]

Best

Clarke horizontal metal cutting bandsaw (ebay, £90). Fantastic thing, like having an assistant to chop up metal for you. Needed a bit of fettling, but great once done.
Dewalt 13 inch bandsaw (80's vintage, Free!). Favourite woodworking power tool.
Lidl track saw (£60). Brilliant.
Dewalt 10.8V combi + impact drills (£100). Had loads of use, surprisingly powerful for their size.
Aldi multi-purpose circular saw (£30). Will cut wood, metal, plastic etc. Not particularly large or powerful, but very useful.
Ryobi angle grinder (car boot, £10). Great little grinder.
CoTech thicknesser (£150). Surprisingly good for the money, although very loud.
Freeman air nailer + pinner (£70).
B&D mouse sander (car boot, £3). Great little sander.

Does the job
Titan P/T. Loud, flimsy, but better than doing it by hand.
Axminster medium size pillar drill (ebay, £125). Ok but table not square. A bit underpowered for metalworking,
Elektra Beckum mitre saw (gumtree, £50). Quiet induction motor and good build quality, but no brake. Fiddly to get it to cut square.
Nutool belt/dsc sander (ebay £40). Gets a lot of use. Bit noisy but works well.
Aldi 8 inch table saw. Quiet induction motor, but flimsy. Cuts ok though once fettled.
B&D detail sander (car boot, £5)
Bosch RO sander (car boot, £5)
Unbranded belt sander (car boot, £4)
B&D sabre saw (car boot, £1). Only really used for gardening.

Rubbish
Aldi bandsaw (not the recent one, ebay £20). Flimsy rubbish, never cuts straight.
Aldi buzzbox AC arc welder (£20). A more skilled welder than me might be able to get results from this thing in the five minutes before it shuts down.

 

[owen]

Worst for me is a makita core drill, did a couple of hours drilling with it, burnt the motor out, sent it back and they said user error and wouldnt fix or replace it. Even though the previous Makita (same model doing the same job) had lasted about 6 years! How the pineapple it can be user error I don't know. But there you go, I'll never buy Makita again.

 

[Beau]

Worst for me is a makita core drill, did a couple of hours drilling with it, burnt the motor out, sent it back and they said user error and wouldnt fix or replace it. Even though the previous Makita (same model doing the same job) had lasted about 6 years! How the pineapple it can be user error I don't know. But there you go, I'll never buy Makita again.

You gave up on it?

Got a Makita Supermac SDS and it's done some work in it's time. Lent it to a friend and came back with a burnt out motor. Turns out the fan had come lose and was not keeping it cool while he drilled a large hole with a core drill. Asked for a price on a new motor and was pleasantly surprised as it was around a £100 for a £300 drill. This was some years ago and it's still going strong.

Shame Makita were unhelpful but I would not give up on a brand from one bad experience. There are always duff machines out there whatever the brand.

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

Best .. a 45 year old Wolf two speed electric drill.
Crude by modern standards of functionality and design, but it is a proper piece of engineering. Put a long bit in the chuck and turn the motor and the tip of the drill never wavers

I agree with you there. I inherited my dad's Wolf circular saw when he passed away suddenly in 1980. He was a builder and all of his tools were worked hard. In the last 37 years it has been used and abused, dropped, immersed in water and apart from replacing the flex, it's never missed a beat =D>

Other tools I consider good purchases are my Titan SDS/chisel drill which has great performance for the cost, and a Makita combi drill and impact driver set which B&Q had up for £80 (their mistake), so I grabbed it :wink:

The worst has got to be a B&Q electric planer which I bought a few years ago, and when you used it, it would automatically adjust the depth of the cut! It was a vicious little thing :shock:

Obi Wan

 

[John Brown]

Best: Inca bandsaw(£50), Hitachi M12 router(£120), Makita 4 inch belt sander(£can't remember), EB KGT500 flip saw(£120). All from eBay.

Worst(by far..) Ryobi pendulum action jigsaw(new, £can't remember, but not worth 50p). Absolutely refuses to cut straight or vertical. Total carp.

 

[Lonsdale73]

The Good

Festool Domino DF500: now even an incompetent like me can produce something that looks half decent
Festool Rotex RO150: And I can achieve a nice finish too; this makes the previously arduous chore of sanding almost a joy
Festool CXS: Versatile, powerful, easy to handle all day long and batteries run and run

The Not So Good

Titan Thicknesser: Great for producing wedged shaped timber and noisy as hell
Silverline Bench Drill: Cheaply made, lacks 'oomph', usually gets there in the end
Jigsaws: I've had Bosch, B&D, Ryobi and none of them great

The Wouldn't Buy Again

Charnwood W616: In fairness, I probably bought the wrong machine for my needs and - with lots of help and guidance from forum regulars - I got better at using it. However, if I was starting again, I'd look at spending a bit more on another model.

The Downright Ugly
Sanders: Every single one I ever owned or tried prior to discovering the Rotex
Premier Mitre Saw: Couldn't cut accurately at 90 degrees let alone mitres
B&D Cordless Screwdriver: Not just cordless but gutless to.
Circular saws: Again, had models from B&D, Evolution(?) and MacAllister. B&D had a habit of blade spinning off, Evolution had some nice features including plunge but blade retaining bolt sheared off. Had no expectations of the MacAllister, it was a 'just in case' purchase that - thankfully - was never needed.

 

[Stevebod]

a year or two ago I purchased a Katsu palm router from E-bay because it was "cheap", (£30), then threw it in a draw and forgot about....

now repairing my rotten conservatory and finding this little tool invaluable....

 

[Phil Pascoe]

You put it in a raffle?

 

[Stevebod]

..yes but luckily I won it back....