Confession. I have a Parkside problem!

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Pallet Fancier

Established Member
Joined
3 Jan 2021
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Location
Cheshire
Hello. I'm the founding member of Parkside Tools Anonymous ;) The PTA currently has only one member, me, and to be honest that's probably enough because I think I've got more than enough tools for the next five members, combined!

I've been collecting from the middle aisle for the past three years. I'm poor and have jobs to do, so really it's been a brilliant option to expand my power tool kit beyond the few items I've inherited or come by, second hand. I got a combi drill for £20! And I've hammered it (pun intended, the hammer function is solid) and it's still going strong. My only worry is whether I'm benefiting from some kind of slave labour in a sweat shop in China...

The cordless tools (all 20v) include:
Combi drill
Jig saw
Recip saw
Angle grinder
Pole saw
Jet wash
5 x 2.0 Ah batteries
2 x 4.0 Ah batteries

The jigsaw is also very good, so far. I have not been gentle whilst murdering pallets. It has not missed a beat. The recip saw is light years ahead of the nasty cheap mains one I had on which the safety stopped working. Feels good to hold, as well. A lot of these tools have a good form factor. The angle grinder efficiently destroyed an old greenhouse. The pole saw cut through 6 inches of tree branch about 2 metres above my head, several times, and I did not die. The batteries all have good life.

And the prices are just ridiculous. I couldn't afford half of this, otherwise. Again, slavery? Either that or the power tool industry, at large, are just gouging rip-off merchants who are pocketing 90% profit on every purchase... on balance, slavery is probably more likely :(

Mains power tools:
Track saw
Multi tool
Rotary tool
Router
Detail sander
Hedge trimmer
Mitre saw

Plus assorted collections of bits and other accessories. That adds up to 13 in total, and I have a nagging feeling I've forgotten something!

The rotary tool is cool and comes with good accessories. Track saw and multi tool are still being broken in. The hedge trimmer is waiting for Spring. (No, not a spring, the season, when hedges start growing again!) The router has only been played with so far, but I will be using it to make the veranda project look pretty, because all of that will be on full display. No hiding the crimes on that one!

The sander, however, is naff. I have a silverline detail sander which is just better. I think this is common with Parkside branded tools - the sanders are just bad. Other people have told me they think the same. I looked at the belt sander in the shop with a view to mounting it on a bench, but just didn't like the look of it. Looked like a cheap plastic toy. Fragile. Obviously, a lot of these tools come from different manufacturers, so maybe the sander builder is not as good as the drill builder?

And while the 12v drill was tempting, because it might fit into places the big 20v one will not, I generally don't like the look of the 12v tool range. If I was a model maker, I might think differently, but not for human-scale jobs.

Only one or two of these were bought on impulse. I watched the newsletter for what I had decided I wanted, and checked out whatever reviews I could find (not many that are useful) and only got them if I thought I'd use them. The exception to this rule was the cordless jet wash which was impulse, and only because I'd already got a 4.0 Ah battery a few weeks earlier. But I have used it to wash hard to reach places in the garden, like the mouldy back of the shed, and to rinse the car after washing, and blast the grime out from between panels. It's not essential, but convenient.

And the mitre saw... that was impulse, but I had planned to get one for a couple of big garden projects (new shed, veranda for back of house). It was the last one in the shop back in October and, with brexit looming and uncertainty over imports, I wondered if I'd ever seen one for that money, again, so took a punt. Have yet to use it in anger.

Overall, they're all pretty solid, reliable DIY and occassional heavy use tools. When I read about other people slagging off Parkside stuff for breaking after a few minutes, I really do wonder what these guys are getting up to. Either that, or these tools are made in batches in different locations and some parts of Europe routinely get crappy tools from the crappier manufacturers/assemblers, while others, like my local, get better made stuff. It's a mystery. But I can't complain.

Well, I can! I want the impact driver. It's the one glaring hole in the collection (alongside maybe a nail gun for stapling membrane to the new shed frame, when I build it). But the impact driver! So many people have told me to get one. Twice I've tried, and every time I turn up on "impact driver day" they're all gone! Muppets walking out with half a dozen in their trolley, and few hours later you can find dozens of Parkside impact drivers which retail for £25 up on ebay for anything between £45 to £90! What the hell? Do these guys think they're going to become instant millionaires off the back of reselling Lidl tools? Lidl only do all this as a loss leading item anyway, to get more warm bodies into the stores. But seriously, I'm getting annoyed by these impact driver hoarders and their dreams of a quick profit.

Because of this, I'm considering getting an impact driver from another brand, even though that means buying specific batteries for it. The annoying thing is, for the money that would cost for one item, I could probably buy half the tools listed, above!

Anyway, time I passed the talking stick on to someone else. But before I do, I'd like to remind everyone that membership of the PTA is free and open to anyone! Even if you haven't bought a tool, yet, and just drool over the pictures! (y)
 
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The average salary in Guangdong province (where the major manufacturing hubs are) is £11k a year. It costs pennies to ship stuff here. Materials are cheap, factories churn stuff out at phenomenal rates meaning huge economies of scale.

I doubt Lidl and Aldi are using the middle aisle as a loss leader. Will people resell them? Of course, that's what businesses do too, Lidl and Aldi could charge more but they're more concerned with turning stock into cash so reduce profit margins to the point where they are probably assured they'll sell out.

They'll come from multiple factories, probably by tender so cheapest wins. You're saving on QC, quality of every component, time taken to make them, packaging. Remember that the value chain means that the slightest increase at the start gets multiplied over and over until it reaches the end consumer.

As other threads on here mention, you are supporting a country with a chronic human rights record, but also one that will likely be the global hegemon in our lifetime.

I have no problem buying Chinese made stuff, but also I'm using a forum that's run by Americans and they think that allowing civilians to walk round with semi-automatic weapons is just cool and are fine with seeing non-whites as second class citizens. Gun down a school full of kids when you're white or detonate an SUV in a city centre? Oh you're mentally ill, a complex individual. Kill someone when you're Muslim? Terrorist.

Pay your money, make your choice.
 
I have a 20v pruning saw, so wouldn't rule out picking up the odd item, on the basis of if it's no good take it back the next day, point being they (lidl) seem to be pushing the 12v line more than the 20v. in general I'm not a huge parkside fan.

I have a dewalt impact driver (and a dewalt drill) and for the most part I think I'd have more use for a second combi drill than an impact driver
 
Snip ....
Well, I can! I want the impact driver. It's the one glaring hole in the collection (alongside maybe a nail gun for stapling membrane to the new shed frame, when I build it). But the impact driver! So many people have told me to get one. Twice I've tried, and every time I turn up on "impact driver day" they're all gone! Muppets walking out with half a dozen in their trolley, and few hours later you can find dozens of Parkside impact drivers which retail for £25 up on ebay for anything between £45 to £90! What the hell? Do these guys think they're going to become instant millionaires off the back of reselling Lidl tools? Lidl only do all this as a loss leading item anyway, to get more warm bodies into the stores. But seriously, I'm getting annoyed by these impact driver hoarders and their dreams of a quick profit.

Because of this, I'm considering getting an impact driver from another brand, even though that means buying specific batteries for it. The annoying thing is, for the money that would cost for one item, I could probably buy half the tools listed, above!
.....Snip

My advice would be to hold out for the impact driver.
Why spoil such a collection through impatience ?
You might try getting to the store even earlier on Impact Driver Days.
Take a tent....
 
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Lidl seem to typically rebadge brand-name tools, mostly. The Lidl mitre saw I have is a rebadged Scheppach (it even says 'Scheppach' on the label plate). Tracksaw is also Scheppach. Somewhere on this forum, someone was saying Parkside 20v range are from the Einhell factory.

So if you're funding Chinese labour, so are those major brands!

Impact driver is great, I wouldn't be without mine.
 
I have a few Parkside tools myself and have been very pleased with them. They are mostly used for DIY rather than paying work. If tools at those price points didn't exist my life would certainly have been a lot tougher as I wouldn't have been able to justify higher costs for infrequently used tools.

Best purchase has definitely been the track saw, fantastic bit of kit especially when run on a festool track.
 
buy the air brad nailer/stapler......really as good a the "proper" make ones.....
I had a Bostich that the retailer could never fix.....in the end just threw it away.....never again.....
but if I'd been in the US the factory would have replaced it.....I'm sure......
My little oilless compressor was bought from Aldi over 20 years ago.....I was on the way home form Cornwal...impluse buy....
still going strong.....I'd say Lidil's comp with the hose recoil kit was a good buy at Just Over a £100......

My batt drills and impact drivers are Hitachi......when they are done will get replaced with Milwauki Fuels.....but a lot of money....
often wondered how long the Parkside offerings would last but to tight to find out.....hahaha....
Enjoy ur tools and the jobs u are going to do.....Nothing wrong with Parkside....
 
"Hello everyone. My name is TN, and I haven't bought a Parkside tool for 3 months now. Every day, in every way, I get better and better. "

Every time I go to Lidl, they tempt and entice me with their track saw, but if refuse to bend. I will not give in. I have no need. (I must be mad!)

I just had a brand new chainsaw chain start cutting in circles - hugely annoying and bordering on dangerous. My neighbour lent me his Parkside chainsaw sharpener/grinder, and what a revelation! Instantly fixed the problem, and super - sharp to boot. Possibly sharper than the factory grind (I may be imagining that). I am going to get one of these little things at the earliest opportunity, to go with all the other Parkside tat I have collected.

Perhaps the acronym should be PITA: Parkside Illicit Tools Anonymous?

"Once you go green, you never feel clean".
 
I like the fact that they are a source of cheap cells to replace the rubbish in my Dewalt batteries

I did not type rubbish
 
Best purchase has definitely been the track saw, fantastic bit of kit especially when run on a festool track.

After watching a Peter Millard video I got a Triton 48T blade to replace the stock one, and fitted that before trimming the track rubber to make sure the kerf was correct. This was definitely worth doing. One area you tend to find that economies have been made is in the stock blade that comes with the tool, although I found that my Worx mini circular saw was an exception to this. The blades that came with that are excellent. Got a 48 and a 64 tooth!
 
My advice would be to hold out for the impact driver.
Why spoil such a collection through impatience ?
You might try getting to the store even earlier on Impact Driver Days.
Take a tent....

Oh God! If I start camping outside the shop, I think my family might have to initiate an "intervention". I'll be packed off to some rural retreat in a converted mansion where they take away your outdoor clothes and you wander around in a dressing gown, are encouraged to do oil paintings in the Japanese garden, and are given a little plastic cup of pills twice a day...
 
T.N.
I bought one of those style chain sharpers years ago...must have sharpend 100'ds of chains now.......
excellent bit o kit.....still on the same disc...did buy a spare tho.....
my trouble is the cheese pie with flaky pastry......get's me everytime......
I've noticed as you walk in the store, the pies just look at u and say take me home.......hahaha....
 
After watching a Peter Millard video I got a Triton 48T blade to replace the stock one, and fitted that before trimming the track rubber to make sure the kerf was correct. This was definitely worth doing. One area you tend to find that economies have been made is in the stock blade that comes with the tool, although I found that my Worx mini circular saw was an exception to this. The blades that came with that are excellent. Got a 48 and a 64 tooth!

The parkside blade isn't bad, certainly good enough for non-veneer products. The annoying thing is how wide it is. I use my parkside blade on the parkside tracks. I have a Trend 48T bade (standard kerf width) that I use only the festool track.
I also have a couple of cheapy titan thin kerf blades that I use for rough cutting chipboard. They don't come close to the rubber strip but that doesn't matter as they are for breaking down goods only.
 
"Hello everyone. My name is TN, and I haven't bought a Parkside tool for 3 months now. Every day, in every way, I get better and better. "

Every time I go to Lidl, they tempt and entice me with their track saw, but if refuse to bend. I will not give in. I have no need. (I must be mad!)

"Once you go green, you never feel clean".

Hey, TN, you inspired me to add a signature ;)
 
I have a few Parkside tools, including the track saw, and I really rate them. Much better value for money than the big store budget ranges, I reckon. Partly they genuinely seem to be a bit better quality, but mainly it's the guarantee, which I can attest is very much worth having. I've only ever had a couple of things go wrong, but in both cases Lidl came good on the guarantee without any hassle whatsoever. One wasn't actually Parkside, it was a Florabest rotavator, but still going through Lidl for the claim. They sent me replacements for a stripped gear more than two years after I'd bought the item. Doubly impressed that they would send individual spare parts rather than just telling me to send the whole thing to landfill, unlike both of the big brands I've contacted about similar issues.

Weird that a place in which it's so unrelentingly horrible to shop should do so well on the after sales customer service!
 

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