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New tools
Well, the storm made me get off my bum and start fixing the roof again in earnest. So I deserve some new tools! The little Makita impact driver is pretty stunning for its size but it struggles sometimes driving 75mm screws through those hardwood battens....
I see Bosch have this new (ish) impact driver that doubles as an impact wrench....
Comments
Impact drivers make it so much easier than trying to drive ina screw with a normal cordless drill .
We just had our roof ,gutters & downpipes chamged .
I got one! And a free bonus angle grinder - that will come in handy for trimming the gutters.
(OK OK it wasn't actually free :-P )
I've decided I love Bosch. So far at least, they haven't resorted to cheaping out and making crap, but they don't have festool type of prices either. It may well depend on the specific tool but the Makita 10.8V recip saw is dangerous IMHO.
Once again, I've learned that you should just pay the price for good quality the first time, it's cheaper that way...
Amen
Never mind the quality, feel de vidth
My roof is very wide. Metres in fact.
New tool is a little harder to control than old tool. I think it goes too fast.
Then jog it
Er... OK I'll try. Two hands seems to be the best solution so far. Maybe I'm just a bit limp-wristed.
We've been having that conversation whilst your back was turned...
...and you were wearing those silly headphones.
Well I'm getting the hang of the impact driver. But now it's going to start raining again so the tarps are back up... X-( For the next few days I think playing with the new angle grinder for cutting up tiles would be a good thing.
Does anyone know if anyone makes a cordless router? Just for flush trimming and roundovers, that kind of thing.
Why are you using a routor on a roof ?
http://www.bunnings.com.au/ryobi-one-18v-cordless-trim-router-skin-only_p6210452
http://www.toolhq.com.au/p-752-dewalt-dc550b-18v-cordless-router-cut-out-nano-new-bare-tool-dc550.aspx
Hah hah :-P I'm not but I am making a little speaker and it's raining and it's sooo much easier to take a little cordless tool down to the shed than drag an extension cord from the house.
Graham that Ryobi looks like what I was thinking of. Darn it I used to have some of those batteries. I will look at one in Bunnos.
I don't really need it. That DeWalt is a mystery, what do you do with it, there's no base - ?
The DeWalt is not for timber. It's for cutting holes in 'drywall'. Gyprock to you and me...
If you already have a cordless Dremel then you can get a trimmer attachment for it...
The DREMEL drywall bit; "it's a beaut Clarke"
Ah... got it.
Hey if anyone is looking for a really great cordless drill, I ran across this....
http://www.festool.com.au/epages/tooltechnic.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/tooltechnic/Products/767467/SubProducts/767467
They still have them - I know because I'm getting one. Doesn't appear to be available online, so call Festool or your drug/tool dealer. This is the same (almost, see below) as what I already have without the interchangeable chuck. They used to sell for $450. Now $249! The reason for the low price is because Festool owns Protool and they have decided to discontinue the "Protool" branding. Or something like that. When these are gone you will have to pay ~$700 to get a QuadDrive drill. (OK, with an interchangeable chuck and larger batteries, these are 1.5 Ah but drills don't chew through batteries like saws do...)
Why is it "really great"? Most cordless drills have max RPM around 1600-1800 RPM. These are 3800, with four-speed selector. This drill made me not even worry about getting an electric drill (except for the hammer drill). It really is three notches above the Panasonic I had before. If you must have a hammer function, there is this one, which is what I have in the interchangeable chuck version except for mine being without the light:
http://www.festool.com.au/epages/tooltechnic.sf/en_AU/?ObjectPath=/Shops/tooltechnic/Products/767468/SubProducts/767468
(Where it says "impact drill", that must be the European term, it's not an impact driver, it's a hammer drill. The only downside AFAIK of this version vs the straight drill version is that there's a small amount of fore and aft play due to the hammer mechanism. Maybe it's slightly heavier. Personally I have never used the hammer function in mine, it seems a bit redundant, I might think different if I lived in a brick/concrete house.)
Sorry if I sound like an ad, but I'm telling you to get one
PS. Here's the email from Festool when I enquired about availability:
Festool make very good tools
We abused the crap out of them on building sites for years.
You can't kill 'em with a stick.
Good to know actually. I've handled one of these and they are rather good. But I still haven't killed my old Makita...and even at that price can't justify replacing it. Besides if I want a hammer drill then I've a corded one that is strong enough to spin me like a top.
On another related note...my local tool shop just upgraded itself to a Total Tools outlet. That's been nice!