lots of tools at aldi

[weldequip]

Quick calculation... top brand 115mm grinder, around <£50
El cheapo directo DIY store model:<£10 with "3 Year Warranty". El cheapo fecks up in middle of job... job stops, hairs pulled from (already thinning) head of hair. Off to El cheapo store (3 quid in petrol) who swap it for another no questions... back to job. It's now raining or fading light, sooo, job finished till the next day.
Off you go again day after... El cheapo grinder fecks up again... job's stopped, no hair left, another 3 quid in petrol!
Quality power tools have never been so cheap!, why bother with the sh*te?
weldequip

 

[Wozzaaah]

Have to agree with you on that one Weldequip but would also add that if you use a certain item a lot it's worth buying a good one and also a cheap one just as a backup .
I think i'm currently on grinder number 6 or 7 in about 13 years, hopefully the Hitachi one I've got now should last a while but.........my next door neighbour has a metabo one which has outlasted ALL mine and he'd had it for years before I knew him!
Puts things into perspective really, eh?

 

[JimM]

You also need to factor in what you use the tools for. You guys that do this for a living need tools that won't let you down and therefore it's worth paying extra. For us diy-ers reliabilty isn't such a major factor, and if I can get 2 cheap tools for the price of one decent one then that can be the better option. Having said that, there are cases where the cheap tool is so cheap that it's worthless, my crappy Clarke pillar drill springs to mind

 

[weldequip]

For us diy-ers reliabilty isn't such a major factor, and if I can get 2 cheap tools for the price of one decent one then that can be the better option.

You are missing my point Jim. Surely the hassle of cheap tools failing in the middle of the job warrants the cost of spending a bit more initially, to prevent that? We are talking sub 50 quid here, not a hundred & fifty quid... which top notch tools used to cost, and what some people spend on a pair of jeans or shoes! (not me incidently... If I can still get in em I wear em! ).
weldequip

 

[English Steve]

I'm with Weldequip on this one. Most of my stuff is DIY but with the odd paying job thrown in, but, I live in a small village in the middle of nowhere. My nearest DIY store or tool stockist is over 20 miles away so if a tool packs up it costs me half a day at least plus the best part of 2 galls of petrol.
I have been caught in the past so now I only buy quality. If I have to wait to be able to afford it, fine - if it's needed for a paying job, it gets included in the price.

Steve

 

[JimM]

Fair enough guys, although for me personally it still makes more sense to have multiple cheap grinders.

The biggest hassle I find with grinders is the faff changing from a cutting disc to grinding disk to wire brush etc It's much easier to swap between grinders with the appropriate fitting already installed. Should one go tits up then I'm not left stranded as I just use one of the others but have to swap discs.

Agree £50 isn't much for a power tool but when I can get 4 for the same price and have the extra versatility there's no contest. Maybe I'm just lucky that I've only had one grinder give up the ghost, but as I've said mine is DIY use so they don't get pushed overly hard. My Screwfix sourced ones have been great, dropped a few times, gotten wet in the rain and still going strong.

I'm not knocking anyone for buying a more expensive (and hopefully better built and more reliable tool) but it's horses for courses and what suits one person not necessarily suits everyone else.

Cheers

Jim

 

[mart]

Quick calculation... top brand 115mm grinder, around <£50
El cheapo directo DIY store model:<£10 with "3 Year Warranty". El cheapo fecks up in middle of job... job stops, hairs pulled from (already thinning) head of hair. Off to El cheapo store (3 quid in petrol) who swap it for another no questions... back to job. It's now raining or fading light, sooo, job finished till the next day.
Off you go again day after... El cheapo grinder fecks up again... job's stopped, no hair left, another 3 quid in petrol!
Quality power tools have never been so cheap!, why bother with the sh*te?
weldequip

Valid points that you make there Steve. Clearly you have “been there” and have the T shirt (although by your own admission it is a bit tight on you now). It is obvious that the Aldi stuff at that price is unlikely to last for too long. Is it ALWAYS so obvious what is going to let us down? It never occurred to me that the Bosch grinder (with the blue case) was only DIY grade. I cannot fault the green case bosch as I mentioned .

Has anyone bought quality named products and been disappointed?-I feel sure there will be “*****s in the armour” of SOME of these. Anyone?

 

[storm monkey]

Is your Bosch a blue case? The green cases are DIY grade and i mine burnt out after a short time. The blue case ones (that i have now) are much better quality. Argos etc probably sell the green DIY ones.

Nope, its a green DIY one, and its been faultless. It isn't highly used, but has done me proud.

My toolbox is a mix of things. I prefer to buy decent stuff, Bosch (green is fine though), Makita, Dewault etc, but have a few of the cheaper stuff. My B&Q performance mitre saw has been faultless, and has been used regularly for about 6 years. The B&Q Perf Pro circular saw is a beast, and very well put together, but then again the cheapo sander was useless.

It's kind of pot luck with very cheap tools. They are made by numerous different companies, and re-badged, so quality varies greatly. I suspect that the current B&Q pro circular saw would be less reliable than my 5 year old one.

Phil

 

[jazzbob]

I agree with buying good tools, however I am a student and work on my own car (rally project) so for me a £12 grinder is a good option because I am unlikely to be using it for anything more than cleaning up metal and very occasionally light cutting. Also, even if it breaks there would be no urgency to replace it.

 

[rtbcomp]

Also various tools etc in Lidl from next Monday

http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20080317.index.ar11

Just been there and bought the battery charger for a tenner! It's a Tronic T4X.

I run my blast room electrics on 12v the idea was that I'd charge the battery on Economy 7 using a timeswitch. Unfortunately when you switch the charger on you then have to press a button to select the charging mode, so it won't work with a timeswitch.

 

[^neo^]

Quick calculation... top brand 115mm grinder, around <£50
El cheapo directo DIY store model:<£10 with "3 Year Warranty". El cheapo fecks up in middle of job... job stops, hairs pulled from (already thinning) head of hair. Off to El cheapo store (3 quid in petrol) who swap it for another no questions... back to job. It's now raining or fading light, sooo, job finished till the next day.
Off you go again day after... El cheapo grinder fecks up again... job's stopped, no hair left, another 3 quid in petrol!
Quality power tools have never been so cheap!, why bother with the sh*te?
weldequip

I only use bosch professional grinders now.
As for the cheapo ones, if it comes with a spare set of brushes, you know it's gonna be crap!

 

[Justme]

Just been there and bought the battery charger for a tenner! It's a Tronic T4X.

I run my blast room electrics on 12v the idea was that I'd charge the battery on Economy 7 using a timeswitch. Unfortunately when you switch the charger on you then have to press a button to select the charging mode, so it won't work with a timeswitch.

Use a relay to "press" the switch.

Justme

 

[rtbcomp]

I need to press it twice, could use a washing machine timer I suppose, or a cam to press it mechanically - I see a Heath Robinson thread developing!

In reality it will probably have to be switched on for 14 hours to put back what i use in a day, so if I switch it on when I finish work it will still be charging after the cheap period has finished.