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Anderzander

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On 2/3/2021 at 9:05 AM, L19MUD said:

Following on from that I have now found one that does Rivnuts up to m6. With the torque setting on the cordless drill set to the right setting I would imagine this would produce easily repeatable rivnut sets! Downside is the overall length of the tool and drill

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rivet-Nut-Drill-Adapter-Kit-Rivet-Nut-Drill-Attachment-M3-M4-M5-M6-mandrels/203222591465?hash=item2f5102a7e9:g:iHQAAOSweXhf0yWA

 

image.png.dc80fe6a58a31bb4c08f1989477f1429.png

 

That could be used with an angled attachment if space is tight.

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https://www.mccormicktools.co.uk/tools/hand-tools/socketry/ratchet-wrenches/sealey-ratchet-wrench-flexi-head-extra-long-600mm-1-2sq-drive-ak6698.html

I originally bought this tool to undo tight bolts in a small 45 degree opening as a breaker bar had limited positions and didn't work. Since them I'm always using it! It undoes tight bolts, but I still us a proper breaker bar for the really tight stuff as it does state on the packaging not to used as a breaker bar! and it's sealey premier so has a lifetime guarantee. I think I payed £32 as the flexi head was on offer at the time!

Edited by steve200TDi
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5 hours ago, rusty_wingnut said:

The cheap impact Makita copy nut runner was mentioned earlier, I'm still using mine and it's been great. So i treated myself to the copy grinder as well which seems to get good reviews. 

I did see the copy grinder, interesting......i may purchase one myself!

Steve

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36 minutes ago, steve200TDi said:

I did see the copy grinder, interesting......i may purchase one myself!

Steve

The fake Makita tools are interesting - the 125 mm grinder for example is £42 vs £155 for the genuine item. I wonder how they compare to use power wise/battery consumption and also longevity of the tool

What I will say with Makita is that the 3 year warranty is absolutely excellent. The gearbox/clutch went in my cordless drill (the biggest one they do) at 2 years and 8 months which I suspect was as a result of the hard life it has had drilling up to 25mm holes in steel! I submitted the return on a monday, they send a label to print and sent DPD to collect it all free of charge, DPD collected it on Tuesday and then on Thursday DPD delivered it back having been cleaned up and with a complete new gearbox/clutch/chuck fitted. Absolutely no quibbles and seriously fast.

Well worth the extra in my opinion if you use the tool a lot and rely on it. 

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Only slightly off-topic I think...

I recently broke a Draper 1/2" breaker bar. It's around 600mm / 24" long and I snapped it at the knuckle without any extender pipe on it. I was trying to undo the crank bolt on the Honda CR-V that is mentioned elsewhere in a thread. Got in a good position, braced and pulled very hard. Then BANG.

I had no idea where it had been bought but was in the last six years or so and I approached Draper direct with an email. They asked me to return it at my cost, with the broken bits, to their 'workshop' and they would inspect it. A week or so later they emailed to say that they will replace it - although I have had to wait a further three weeks for one to be available. It's coming next week. So not a bad aftermarket guarantee honoured, in fact I don't know if they advertise a lifetime guarantee or not.

In the meantime I bought a replacement from Halfords and it is a better design at the knuckle. The Draper bar splits at the end to wrap around the socket adapter whereas the Halfords one remains as one piece and it's the adapter that  wraps around the bar.

A 3/4" bar would be better but I have a decent old skool tommy bar for that size and a nice scaffold pole.

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I've got a 3/4 drive Draper socket set I bought second hand, the ratchet was broken, I emailed Draper to enquire about getting a replacement part to repair it. I had a very nice email telling me that unfortunately the required part was out of stock but they would send me one once they had them inAbout a month later it turned up in the post free of charge. Excellent service, I sent a return email thanking them. Halfords have altered the design of their breaker bars I had to get a replacement from them and the new one is a better design but it doesn't fit into my case now so I had to remould the case with a heat gun to get it to shut.

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Wow - that’s a result.

I have a Teng impact driver and one by one I’ve broken each of the bits ... I keep thinking I should find out how to take it in somewhere to test the guarantee... only thing is I don’t have a relationship (or even know) any Teng stockists that aren’t online.

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I have spent the last 25 years building up a huge collection of tools, I have a double width Snap On top and bottom cabinet rammed full of the usual Snap On / Britool etc. And you know what - I hardly ever use any of it nowadays. Last year I put together a reasonably priced small toolkit that I could leave in the back of my 90 comprising of a set of Sealey Premier spanners (I would normally run a mile from Sealey stuff but these are excellent), a Bahco 3/8 socket set, set of six Wera screwdrivers and a few odds and bobs, and 95% of the time that is all I ever use.

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about a year ago I broke a 3/4 silver line breaker bar. No surprise there you say!

 

i photographed the obvious casting defect and emailed silver line, they said pay the postage and we’ll send you a new one no quibble. Which they did.

 

cant complain at that :) I only emailed them as a punt :)

Edited by qwakers
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3 hours ago, qwakers said:

about a year ago I broke a 3/4 silver line breaker bar. No surprise there you say!

 

i photographed the obvious casting defect and emailed silver line, they said pay the postage and we’ll send you a new one no quibble. Which they did.

 

cant complain at that :) I only emailed them as a punt :)

Im sure you were not doing anything naughty with it 😁

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On 2/2/2021 at 9:51 PM, steve200TDi said:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-emt300-qc-300w-electric-multi-tool-220-240v/622fx

It comes in a case which I like, the  reviews are good and it has a quick change function which a lot do have now.

I have an older model erbauer multitool and it was one of the best tools I bought, I've used it for cutting a fair amount, but used the detail sander head a lot (so much the hook and loop started to give up around the edges, but you can buy new sanding heads).
And it is still going strong.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Right the copy grinder is good, but just like the Makita one it murders batteries. I can flatten my 5Ah in 15mins using a flap wheel - but having said that it's worth it for not having to run a cable to the drive. I've found in the workshop using a flap wheel in the cordless and having a cutting disc in the corded one is the best setup - meaning with an ordinary 2 plug socket I don't need to either keep changing discs/flap wheel or unplugging one tool.

 

 

The nut runner is still working, and I'm using it 5 days a week now - will do a whole day with two batteries. 

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33 minutes ago, rusty_wingnut said:

Right the copy grinder is good, but just like the Makita one it murders batteries. I can flatten my 5Ah in 15mins using a flap wheel - but having said that it's worth it for not having to run a cable to the drive. I've found in the workshop using a flap wheel in the cordless and having a cutting disc in the corded one is the best setup - meaning with an ordinary 2 plug socket I don't need to either keep changing discs/flap wheel or unplugging one tool.

 

 

The nut runner is still working, and I'm using it 5 days a week now - will do a whole day with two batteries. 

A  grinder is one of not so many power tools that are used for a longer duration, and under fairly heavy load. I use my cordless ones for 'quick' jobs such as a small cutting a modest sized piece of sheet steel, then deburr with the other grinder. Big de-rusting jobs with the cheek poker are best left to mains powered versions.

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I use Bosch Pro tools and have owned just about every cordless tool they do.  

The grinders are fine for longtime use, i've not had a heat issue with them even cutting/chasing concrete with the chase adapter.

 The only issue i've had with one was the trigger, but Bosch are renowned for trigger failures in their drills, jigsaw and grinders ( cordless )

The battery will run flat before the tool has an issue with heavy use however if i know i'm doing any real heavy work with it, i'll use the plug in unless power isn't an option or i'm being lazy

 

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54 minutes ago, Anderzander said:

I know this is the ‘cheap tools’ thread / but how do good brand cordless grinders stand up to that heavy load prolonged use situation ?  What would you get from a Milwaukee cordless for example ? 

I've got a DeWalt Brushless 18V grinder. I actually can't remember when I last used the corded one and couldn't tell you where it is. I reckon a single 5ah battery lasts me about 1.5hrs 'normal grinder use. job the other weekend was a 1.4m cut in 3mm mild. The key with 1mm cutting disks is to let them spin and not push them hard. Makes the disk last longer but battery too. With flap disc or soft pad on it pressure on it makes a big difference to battery life. Little bit less pressure makes a huge difference, and if you need to remove loads of metal stick a lower grit count on. I have 3x 5ah batteries (and two chargers), and a solid day of abusing it is the only time I'd run out of batteries before the others have recharged. 

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I have various Milwaukee cordless tools ie; grinder, impact gun drill etc and seven 5AH batteries like everything else battery life is entirely dependent upon abuse, my gear gets worked hard and I do get good life out of a battery charge, I used to have a Makita cordless grinder, compared to my Milwaukee I find it very disappointing, I hasten to add that is only my opinion, we have the Bosch cordless grinder at work and again I'm less than impressed regards Stephen

Edit

Should mention that my cordless lxt Makita drill was superb and the Bosch high torque impact wrench is also superb regards Stephen

Edited by Stellaghost
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The $ inch Makita one eats batteries if you use it on a wire brush/flap wheel but I have 4 5AH batteries and the fast charger so can easily keep up with that. It has had 4 years of heavy use cleaning rusty bits of Land Rover and has been great. I killed my cheap Parkside 9 inch grinder the other day and decided to buy the 9 inch brushless Makita which takes 2, 18V batteries. Only used it for a few cuts but it seems to have just as much power as the 30 year old Blue draper  corded version my old man has.

 

Time will tell I guess. I expect constant use would use batteries very quickly on the 9 inch

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/2/2021 at 9:51 PM, steve200TDi said:

It maybe just because I've grown up with old vices (my Dad uses his Dad's vice, which I used when I was at home!), but I wouldn't dream of buying a brand new vice! The old ones are the best and you can pick up some bargains! I have a massive Parkinsons vice, which is massive!

I use a lot of Sealey ratchets and sockets etc. My first set I got when I started my apprenticeship and 17 years later, I'm still using them, These and any new items I buy I make sure they have the lifetime guarantee, so you have no problem in exchanging anything if it brakes. 

I'm in the market for a multi tool and am in the same predicament. I don't really want to buy super cheap, but I don't want to spend £200, I want something in the middle which is decent and will last. So far I'm looking at an Erbauer:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-emt300-qc-300w-electric-multi-tool-220-240v/622fx

It comes in a case which I like, the  reviews are good and it has a quick change function which a lot do have now.

I have the Makita 18V batteries and had looked at the Makita multi tool, but I don't know if the extra money is worth it. I envisage that this tool wont get used regularly so a lower priced unit mat suit!

Does anybody have any recommendations?

Steve

Just to update this, I ended up going for the Erbauer Multi tool. It comes in a case, it has quick change blades and a light. It also has a decent length 4m power cable and it did it's first job of cutting a section of skirting board out faultlessly!

Steve

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14 minutes ago, ianmayco68 said:

image.thumb.jpg.47c3131b9ef3fee3b9505c63501f1bd1.jpg

cheap and cheerful, off the market earned its couple of quid when I dropped the rod out of the slave cylinder in the bell housing whilst changing the clutch, have 3 in the toolbox now.

That looks exactly like mine! Number of times it’s saved my bacon fishing the socket or fastener out of somewhere stupid :D 

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Yep, fantastic little things, could do with being a little stronger imho.

Quick tool hack - have a few pound coin sized neodymium magnets around to stick to your screwdriver/any tool you can think of, to make a magnetic version stringer than any magnetic bit holder.... They can stay in place while you use it, and not get in the way. When finished, just remove it and store it on the side of your toolbox.

Tool will remain slightly magnetised, but never found that to be a problem.

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