Your best and worst power tool purchases

[Stevebod]

Hi, I am relatively "new" to woodworking / DIY and have been buying tools as and when I need them. Just wondering what power tools you like, and which ones you find not so good. (I understand it depends on the type of work you are doing, but for me mainly for general DIY'ing / household repairs / garden furniture type stuff...)

For me THE GOOD:-
Band saw..... very regular use - recent purchase (Aldi cheapie) - incredibly versatile...not sure how I have lived without one, and will get a "better" one when / if this one packs up
Mitre saw (Metabo)....regular use - and now have a saw stand.
Disc sander.....very regular use - Record 300mm - great for getting things "square an flat" and helps compensate for my lack of ability. (I did consider a combo disc/belt sander, but glad I opted for a "bigger" disc sander)
"Sonic" / oscillating saw / sander......very occasional use - Worx - Sometimes nothing else will do, an incredibly useful tool
Power file ........ regular use - recent purchase (Silverline cheapie), a little under-powered but very useful
Bench drill press .....occasional use - Charnwood......OK, I thought I could not live without one, but not used that much and wish I had gone for a Record instead

The Ugly
Router...occasional use - 2nd hand - really need to get a decent router table to get the best out of this
Planner....very very occasional use - 2nd hand, probably because I am not very skilled and have difficulty getting a straight/square edge


The Bad:-
Mini circular saw....occasional use - Worx - would use it more if it did what it was supposed to do, but this Worx mini disc disc saw is a real let down and is not fit for purpose, (wont cut straight or any significant depth. (Wife would not trust me with a "proper" circular saw but wish I had not bothered with this one)

Wants:-
Planer thicknesser - have seen them on you tube...looks like the next tool on my wish list, (probably only get a cheapie).

I would love more tools, but I am rapidly running out of both shed space and wife tolerance..!!

 

[g7g7g7g7]

I recommend the Titan Planer Thicknesser from Screwfix if you are in a pinch even though it's very much cheap tat. Limited adjustability, noisy as all hell, atrocious fences and you've got about a 50/50 chance of getting a dud on arrival if the tables are buckled BUT it has ploughed through many many board ft of hardwood for me and done a better job than the much larger and more expensive albeit badly adjusted industrial machine that I was using at college.

 

[graduate_owner]

After reading loads of comments on cheap tools, I decided the way to go was the second hand route, at least for machinery. I have bought (all pre-owned) a Myford ML8 lathe, a Graduate bowl lathe and a Viceroy lathe. The Myford still gets occasional use but is really redundant now. My bandsaw is a Startrite 351, and I also have an old Elu ( my first bandsaw). My table saw is a Scheppach TS2500 with sliding table.

I have bought some new kit but it is all of inferior quality when compared to the used stuff. I have an Axminster floor standing pillar drill which was reduced from £300 to £200. It is reasonable but I am sure would get 0/10 if compared to a Meddings etc. I have a SIP sliding mitre saw, but again it's only OK. Basically I would have preferred to get quality used kit instead, but there was nothing around at the time.

K

 

[Homers double]

My best tool purchase is my Track saw how I ever managed before is beyond me
The worst being a makita LS 1216 scms, I purchased it brand new for the first cut roof I did on my own, it would not cut true in any way shape or form, I took it back to the tool shop after a brief argument and then in shop demo, it was swapped for a kapex 120 which is my second best purchase.
The way to avoid wife intolerance is to simply not tell her, my mrs would probably divorce me if she found out 1/2 of what I've got.

 

[memzey]

Very difficult to answer the "best" part of this question as it very much depends on what you make and what you are doing at the time. For what it's worth I got my bandsaw, dimension saw and planer thicknesser in that order and they each gave a step change to my woodworking. I would find it hard to prioritise them as they each help so much.

The "worst" part is much easier- a performance pro cordless driver I got a few years back. Utterly useless with no variable speed trigger and rubbish batteries. Made all the worse when I could have picked up a decent green Bosch for about £10 more but didn't know any better at the time. Whenever I used my FIL's Makita I would drool with envy and ended up buying one myself. In fact that may be my best power tool as it certainly gets used all the time and never lets me down.

 

[lurker]

Electric hand planers are the work of the devil, I doubt anyone gets a satisfactory finish from one.

Biggest surprise for me has been the cheapo screw fix Titan sds drill which I have abused beyond all reason and it just soaks it up.

 

[Bodgers]

Good:
Festool Domino DF500
Metabo SXE400 80mm ROS
Rexon drill press
Dewalt 10.8v drill/driver and impact set
Dewalt Tracksaw
ECE block plane
Lidl chisels
Scheppach Basa 3.0 Bandsaw
Silverline Heavy duty f-clamps (surprisingly)
Makita rt700 router
Ice Bear dozuki
Wixey angle gauge

Good enough:
Axminster TS200 Tablesaw
Dewalt 210mm mitre saw
Makita Angle grinder

Not good enough:
Axminster HBS250N Bandsaw

Bad:
Titan planer thicknesser (don't bother!)
Makita lb1200f Bandsaw
Triton Duo dowel jointer


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[Stevebod]

Hi all and thanks for your feedback. I note a lot of very bad reviews for the cheaper planner thicknesser....shame really as I really fancied one and can't really justify (afford) a more expensive one..may try 2nd hand....also please that I am not alone in being "planner incompetent"....I also realise I could probably do with a saw table...again same problem as with planner?...(ie cheapies are no0t really up to it..?)

 

[Selwyn]

I have a Worx mini saw and find it great. Its not trying to be a bigger circular saw but for what it does its great

 

[Phil Pascoe]

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

 

[MikeJhn]

Yes I can't find my Estwing hammer, best thing I ever lost.

Mike

 

[Beau]

For powertool the best has to be my Elu routers 177E and 96E. Both 25 years old and going strong.

Worst would be a cheap angle grinder that lasted about 10 mins before burning out. By design always thought reciprocating sanders were pretty pointless and not much quicker than a cork pad with abrasive and some elbow grease but cumbersome and noisy to boot.

Ugly would be a cheapo sabre saw. The crudest tool ever but does come in handy at times.

 

[Richard S]

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

Estwing hammer, classic leather handled type, had it for years but never use it, just can't get on with it, feels all wrong in my hand, don't like the balance. In fairness it's unfair to call it a fault just because it doesn't suit me but highlights the issue that sometimes the tool may not be so much poor as the ergonomics just don't work for a particular individual.

 

[ColeyS1]

The new 83s range of rsj type stabila levels aren't what they use to be. I've had 2 new ones and both have had one dial that doesn't read the same as the other end.

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[Phil Pascoe]

Mine's perfect. I paid £15 second hand in 1988.

 

[woodbrains]

Hello,

Are they putting motors on Stabila levels and Estwing hammers the days? Possibly, I do remember having a Black and Decker tape measure that had a motor on it!!! ( It was a present from someone who didn't know better)

My worst power tool was an Axminster own brand biscuit jointer. I don't think they do them anymore, but the slot it cut was so out of parallel to the surface of the wood I couldn't join anything that wasn't solid so it could be planed level. Completely defeated the purpose. I said after that I would never buy a cheap power tool and have never been unhappy since.

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.

 

[RossJarvis]

Best is possibly my Makita DHP481 drill, an absolute beast that goes on and on and it's had very hard abuse.

Worst, definitely Makita LS0815FL mitre saw, I hate it with a vengeance, not only is it poorly designed it's also poorly made. If they actually put a little extra effort in it could actually be very good. The biggest and easiest fixed problem is making a straight and square fence, but no they couldn't even do that.

 

[powertools]

My best ever purchases were my Kity combination machine ,Inca bandsaw and Dewalt radial arm saw all purchased in the 1980's and at the time were very expensive but to this day still work faultlessly and give me emence pleasure.
Sadly i now have to accept that i no longer need tools that will last 35 years so i now tend to buy cheaper items and i would say that i have been impressed with all items i have purchased from Lidl and the Titan concrete breaker from screwfix is amazing.
Worst purchase has to be a Lamborghini belt sander that caught fire in my hands but to be fair the Lamborghini drill and impact driver were excellent until the battery expired after 8 years.

 

[Stevebod]

..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...

 

[ColeyS1]

Other than normal everyday power tools, cordless drills, electric planer,router etc, I'd have to saw a cordless dremel. On the rare occasion it does get used, it saves hours of work doing things other tools can't.

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