Recent content by Mark A

I've been tasked with fitting some fancy ceiling lights, but as they have 3-way switching it's going to be a tight fit inside the rose. If a ferrule was crimped onto the end of the stranded wires it would make the job easier. I've also read solder shouldn't be used as it can become loose. Or...

Hi, What are the little copper or brass things sometimes crimped on the end of standed cables? I've searched online but can only find bootlace ferrules, so they must be called something else. Picture below of what I'm after. Cheers, Mark

I'm using the grinder to sand back to bare wood before tidying up with random orbit sander. My belt sander would be easier but it's too long and awkward for this. The cowl is ok. On a flat surface it does collect a good percentage of the dust, but I'm currently sanding 2x2 balusters so the...

I recommend a variable speed angle grinder as it makes for a safer and more versatile tool. It means jobs like sanding and flap discing (new word!) can be done without the risk of burning the wood or overheating metal. Also when cutting thin materials I find full speed is not necessary. I'm...

We went there again last July. 53°C/127°F was the official day temperature, and over 40°C at midnight. It was a bit too warm for long hikes, but shorter walks were manageable.

Does the fix involve inserting a length of 3x2 between the rails and prising them into alignment? I didn't fancy doing that to a brand new almost £600 tool. My saw wasn't from the first batch they produced so Makita were aware of the issue and continued production despite there being...

I bought the 10" Makita LS1019 (the one with rails positioned at the front of the saw) but had to return it due to an misalignment issue with the motor assembly/sliding rails. I then bought the big Bosch with the robot arms, but that had exactly the same fault. I returned it under warranty...

I have the Makita DUR 364 (takes 2x 18v batteries). I can't compare it to the competition because I haven't used them, but for me the Makita was the obvious choice as I already have other tools which use the same batteries. On the low speed setting 4 batteries (2 pairs) can strim about 500...

We've bought hundreds of hedging plants from a local supplier here on Gower called Coeden Fach. Very good prices, but not sure how they could get the plants to Leeds.

Our driveway and front garden last night: At its highest the water just about touched the corner of the house. More crucially, the water was a few inches below the level of my workshop.

Our local tips banned trailers years ago, and only allow vans and pickups to certain sites 12 times a year. The nearest tip in the next county had no such limits on vans and trailers, so tradesman, house clearance companies, and travellers with tipper-loads of rubble and green waste would dump...

We have a 2013 Vauxhall Vivaro, bought new (pre-registered for a massive discount) and it's been faultless. Apart from tyres and brakes, nothing has needed to be done to it. For three years it pulled an 8x5 trailer, often loaded right up to the van's 2 tonne max tow weight, and never missed a...

While reading your post I laughed to myself, wondering if your brickies were Welsh... and they were! It appears "tradesmen" (I use that term very loosely) are no different 50 miles down the M4 from you. I've been renovating our house part time for the past four years. I've done much of it...

Thanks for the advice so far chaps. Yesterday afternoon I called two local camera shops - one stock Sony WX models and the other the Panasonic TZ70. The latter has good online reviews, but I'll continue researching all the cameras you've all recommended. Sunnybob - we're off to south western...

Hi chaps, I need a camera which must be: compact rechargable (not AA batteries) takes either a standard SD card or Micro SD card decent lens costs up to £200 good warrantry not too complicated I would also consider second hand. Any suggestions? I'm not a photographer so SLR cameras with a...