I got bored with some money burning a hole in my pocket so ordered one of these. I've always struggled to notch tubes accurately or even very well and Colin Furze always makes it look easy on his Youtube videos so I thought I'd give this a try. Colin does an excellent demo this the tool on his workshoptools tour video.
The tool was ordered from Stakesys, (Definitely more money than sense at the moment) and it arrived within 24 hours by DHL so top service there. This thing is not cheap so I thought it was worth showing what it is like so you just don't have to rely on the usual advertising guff and stock photos. I've just put the tool together tonight, I had "The second jab" yesterday so feeling a bit run down today. Will give it a go later in the week.
This is all the parts laid out. The instructions are very comprehensive and not in Chinglish. The manual can be found here.
This the angle finder/slider. A little bit of light flash rust showing. No big deal as these things are probably sat in the boxes for months or years till sold. The markings aren't great to look at, not great for older eyes or dark sheds. I will have to get some paint to highlight them and bring them out. The number "1" on the ten degree mark looks a bit odd. At first I thought it had been stamped upside down but I think the markings are actually machined. It does look a bit strange, the number 4 is a bit poor as well.
The swivel plate shows a bit of corrosion in both holes too. Nicely finished othewise.
Milled edge of the frame. Nice threads too. Markings are much more distinct as well.
USA Koyo bearings in the bearing block. The shafts turns very smooth within it. The bearings were nicely greased as well.
Yes! I do indicate, bro.
Checked, and less than one thou run out. I hope this means lovely accurate notches and long lived holesaws.
This is it all put together. You can see a bit of paint missing around one of the mounting holes on the frame. I presume the part was held down there when they put the paint finish on.
Finally, this is the T handle at the back. It is a very basic affair and will mark up the back of the frame every time I use it. I might make a brass end for it. It will probably still mark the paint regardless.
Thoughts so far. Apart from the crap T handle, the only problems seem to be cosmetic. I hope the clamp is strong enough, It could be a weak point but they have been making this for quite a while so I guess it is going to be OK. To my mind, it doesn't clamp over a particularly large area. There's only a one year guarantee on this which seems a bit mean but everything looks simple enough to replace. I suppose it is a pro/semi pro tool and the manufacturer can expect them to lead hard lives. The bearing carrier is impressive and the general build quality seems nice, strong and accurate. Will let you know how I get on.
The tool was ordered from Stakesys, (Definitely more money than sense at the moment) and it arrived within 24 hours by DHL so top service there. This thing is not cheap so I thought it was worth showing what it is like so you just don't have to rely on the usual advertising guff and stock photos. I've just put the tool together tonight, I had "The second jab" yesterday so feeling a bit run down today. Will give it a go later in the week.
This is all the parts laid out. The instructions are very comprehensive and not in Chinglish. The manual can be found here.
This the angle finder/slider. A little bit of light flash rust showing. No big deal as these things are probably sat in the boxes for months or years till sold. The markings aren't great to look at, not great for older eyes or dark sheds. I will have to get some paint to highlight them and bring them out. The number "1" on the ten degree mark looks a bit odd. At first I thought it had been stamped upside down but I think the markings are actually machined. It does look a bit strange, the number 4 is a bit poor as well.
The swivel plate shows a bit of corrosion in both holes too. Nicely finished othewise.
Milled edge of the frame. Nice threads too. Markings are much more distinct as well.
USA Koyo bearings in the bearing block. The shafts turns very smooth within it. The bearings were nicely greased as well.
Yes! I do indicate, bro.
Checked, and less than one thou run out. I hope this means lovely accurate notches and long lived holesaws.
This is it all put together. You can see a bit of paint missing around one of the mounting holes on the frame. I presume the part was held down there when they put the paint finish on.
Finally, this is the T handle at the back. It is a very basic affair and will mark up the back of the frame every time I use it. I might make a brass end for it. It will probably still mark the paint regardless.
Thoughts so far. Apart from the crap T handle, the only problems seem to be cosmetic. I hope the clamp is strong enough, It could be a weak point but they have been making this for quite a while so I guess it is going to be OK. To my mind, it doesn't clamp over a particularly large area. There's only a one year guarantee on this which seems a bit mean but everything looks simple enough to replace. I suppose it is a pro/semi pro tool and the manufacturer can expect them to lead hard lives. The bearing carrier is impressive and the general build quality seems nice, strong and accurate. Will let you know how I get on.