Black Friday

[Nikolaj33]

Hi,

I am just starting out in woodworking. I have been looking into some tools that I will need to start. I was thinking that maybe I should wait with any major tool purchases since the black friday is just around the corner. Until than I can have plenty of fun trying to sharpen some cheap chisels.

At the moment I haven't even got the basics really, not even a cordless drill. So my question is, how is black friday in general for tools? Can any nice discounts be expected from Axminster, Screwfix etc? Or if its not worth the wait, should I just buy the essentials straight away?

Thanks

 

[Jamied]

There's a few deals on black Friday, but I would say try some of the trade shows, Harrogate woodworking show coming up next month. I always obtain good deals there.
Sure there will shows near you if that's to far.

 

[Sideways]

FFX (folkstone fixings) are worth watching at sale time. Maybe not a beginners tool (only because it's a big investment) but they have sold the well regarded festool ts55 tracksaw at a good price the last couple of years.

 

[Nikolaj33]

Thanks, I will check it out. Do you remember how much did they sell it for?

 

[Fergal]

Screwfix usually have Black Friday deals on cordless drills. I got a good deal on a Dewalt combi+impact driver a couple of years ago. Amazon also usually have deals on tools, although numbers are limited and you need to be quick.

 

[Fergal]

If you're just starting out, you need to decide what kind of woodwork you want to do. This will determine what tools you need. If it's DIY-type stuff, a basic set of tools will probably do. If you want to make furniture, that will require a different set of tools etc.

I'd say a decent cordless drill (preferably two) is essential as it's so useful for many tasks. Having two saves time as you can use one to drill holes and the other to drive screws without having to change bits. Buy a well known brand rather than a supermarket special as they tend to be better quality, also look for tools that are part of a system that uses common batteries.

 

[Sideways]

Thanks, I will check it out. Do you remember how much did they sell it for?

It was a couple of years back so not exactly - I think it may have been £360 to £370 for the 240V saw in systainer, inc. VAT, tracks extra.
I've since bought 1400 and 800mm tracks for it.

Thing is that it's very hard to get a clean second hand one cheap and part of the value in festool is the solid 3 year warranty which I assume isn't transferrable if you buy a used one.

 

[Sideways]

There was a thread a couple or three months back about what tools are most useful for someone starting out. May be worth looking back through the site for it...

 

[Nikolaj33]

I have a bit of an idea what tools I want to get. I think I will want to work primarily with hand tools. (I am not sure whether there are usually decent black Friday discounts for hand tools).
I definitely need a decent combi drill, maybe in combination with impact driver if a good deal comes along. I might get a circular saw as well, but that's not a priority.

What sorts of discounts can be expected for combi drills, for example? 50%, 25%???

I am asking because it looks like that decent offers for drills come about all the time, so I am not sure whether there is much point in waiting. Especially cause my house is really waiting on some projects. For example just yesterday there was DeWalt DCD996 with two 5ah batteries for £249 and same drill with impact driver for 284£.

 

[PlacidCasual]

Check out some of your local independent tools stores and see if they have any days when they get the reps in.

My local store had a rep day last Saturday and on the day discounts on a combi drill and driver set was £305 for their normal list price of £385 compared to a Screwfix list price equivalent of £400. Also got 10% off list price on some record power gear on the equivalent rep day too.