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best and worst tools bought in 2012

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S

Spud

At this tims of year I start thinking about my plans for next year and look back on the good and bad bits of the last 12 months
Some of the tools I bought this year have worked out to be great and some not so good and are hardly used
1.7inch grinder cup wheel and a bosch 9inch dust collection cowel for grinding out high spots in floors ,this was an excellent buy but was let down by the fact I didnt buy the correct vacuum dust collector but if you are thinking of investing in a good surface prep tool they do work very well and very quickly :thumbsup:
2.wickes wet and dry 1400w vacumm was very good value and works well for domestic use but didnt have the capacity for use with the concrete plane:thumbsdown:
3.rubi Nd 200 wet cutter 110v bought from gumtree with a new transformer for £80 another great buy and a very handy machine would i pay £400 plus for a brand new one probably not but I do use this handy little wet cutter nearly every day now :thumbsup:
4.refina 2m and 2,5m aluminium box straight edges on Jonny C recommendation were probably one of my best purchases this year they have really come in handy:thumbsup:
5.Henry hoover after buying the wickes hoover and being disappointed I was given a used Henry F.O.C which is a great little hoover perfect for domestic use but still wasnt what I needed for the concrete plane:thumbsup:
6. Stanley fatmax xl 1200mm level ,great buy and no argument just as good if not better than stabila :thumbsup:
7.rubi 10mm 45degree notched trowel ,used twice notches broken off :thumbsdown:
8.schneegans wobble notch trowel good coverage well made stainless steel trowel pricey from Diatech but good quality :thumbsup:
9.porcelain blades from Apex Grange fitted on the my wet saws and 41/2 grinders good value great cutting :thumbsup: will be rebuying when worn out
10. Last big purchase of the year was a Bosch Gas 50 vacuum cleaner which is a big piece of kit but should mean dust free grinding and polishing next year I havent used it enough to give it a rating
11.tile mate pro levelling wedges :thumbsdown:
 
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beanz

TF
3
1,003
Berkshire
Best tool this year is probably my hitachi 18V impact driver. Time will tell on battery life, but performance so far equals an 18V makita, and blows a way the 18V dewalt (recent model anyway.. I used an older dewalt that was as good as a makita).. Great value for money all round.
Worst tool of the year... Has to be the Rubi ND180BL. Terrible quality, poor design, and waaaay over priced!
 
K

kaharrison9

Best buy and i was sceptical if possible they could be of any real use is the PLS FT90 floor laser.

I took a punt on it with only been able to research it on the net and not able to see one in action.

Very powerful laser and also a true crossed line laser with 4 beams rather than the 2 laser beam 90 degrees others tend to be.

Possibly worst buy though not so much the product more me was a £400 tablet to mainly show customers my work,prepping,bullnose,etc.

Just not had time to get it up and running and go back to earlier jobs and photo completed bathrooms.
 
B

Bubblecraft

Best buy and i was sceptical if possible they could be of any real use is the PLS FT90 floor laser.

I took a punt on it with only been able to research it on the net and not able to see one in action.

Very powerful laser and also a true crossed line laser with 4 beams rather than the 2 laser beam 90 degrees others tend to be.

Possibly worst buy though not so much the product more me was a £400 tablet to mainly show customers my work,prepping,bullnose,etc.

Just not had time to get it up and running and go back to earlier jobs and photo completed bathrooms.

What tablet did you get cause you could probably use it for so much more than a portfolio
 
A

AMtek

Stabila lax50 - excellent
Makita bga 452 18v grinder - excellent
Makita bhp452 drill driver - excellent
Makita bss611 circular saw - excellent
Bosch pst550 jigsaw - excellent
Stanley TRE550 pin gun - average
Vitres 10 3450 bridge saw - very good
Transit SWB semi-high top - Possibly the best thing i have ever bought
Worx SDS drill (bought from argos because i didn't have mine with me) - Pretty poor

Don't think i've invested in anything that turned out to be a lemon (apart from a member of staff)
 
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D

Deleted member 1779

Best tool for 2012 is my LED headlamp

Fed up working on dark building sites with no power

564676_10151160679202014_71508877_n.jpg


It runs on a CREE LED light and can last half a day on constant use when put into low mode (Half light) which is good enough
for bathroom work.

And with spare batteries its good value.

Went for low luminums (300) and a long life at at £9.99 with a bit of PP its cheap. Spare battery too !!

Bought from Ebay


If we are doing work on construction sites it fits over the hard hat. If we are working on commercial or domestic then just pop on the head.
 
T

The Legend; Phil Hobson RIP

My best buy was my Transit van, off ebay but I think I got a good deal. Worst buy was a spiked roller from Topps (thought it might help with slc) absolute waste of time and money, I can do better with a good trowel and a feather edge.

As 2013 is my 46th year in this industry, I am thinking of writing a book, I thought a good title might be "The tools I have worked with":lol: (for the guys I have worked with, this is a joke):thumbsup:
 
I

Ian

My best buy was my Transit van, off ebay but I think I got a good deal. Worst buy was a spiked roller from Topps (thought it might help with slc) absolute waste of time and money, I can do better with a good trowel and a feather edge.

As 2013 is my 46th year in this industry, I am thinking of writing a book, I thought a good title might be "The tools I have worked with":lol: (for the guys I have worked with, this is a joke):thumbsup:

I bought one of those rollers Phil, did all the spikes fall off after about 2 jobs like mine? :lol:
 
B

BoldreChris

Best tools this year...

Mercedes Vito 120 (another Ebay buy), finally enough space to put the whole toolkit into, false floor so I can get 8x4 sheets inside ! (had a couple of nasty moments with plasterboard on the roofrack of the old Disco !)

Dewalt 10.8V mini screwdriver and impact driver. Just brilliant micro tools. Perfect for kitchen fitting and the impact driver is amazing.

And the worst...

Snakevision camera on a flexi. OK you can stick it down a 10mm hole and have a look inside otherwise closed voids but I can't make anything out on the screen - LEDs in the end are too weak to illuminate the target. Shame, it could be brilliant but isn't.

Hoping the Sigma 3DM will be the best of 2013.

Happy New Year, all.
 
C

charlie1

Bosch GBH4-32DFR hammer drill, 9/10
Dw24000, 8/10
makita angle grinder 9/10
sigma 3c 9/10
sigma 3e 6/10.... hardly used otherwise its great machine
small sigma 9/10
dewalt battery drill /8/10
dewalt jigsaw 9/10
45 degree trowel 0/10
white chalk 10/10
fiat scudo 8/10
snickers kevlar ripstop trousers 4/10.... no good for hopping up and down on baths, no flexibility.
120mm core from TT 9/10
electric mitre saw 8/10 ... very happy with this
pin rake 8/10... love this.
B&Q 1800 level 7/10, i use as straight edge though.
Diamond pad from diatech 9/10 ... love this
Electric polisher 8/10
trapeze stainless mirror trowels 8/10

... jees, been busy this year lol
 
B

Bubblecraft

Bosch GBH4-32DFR hammer drill, 9/10
Dw24000, 8/10
makita angle grinder 9/10
sigma 3c 9/10
sigma 3e 6/10.... hardly used otherwise its great machine
small sigma 9/10
dewalt battery drill /8/10
dewalt jigsaw 9/10
45 degree trowel 0/10
white chalk 10/10
fiat scudo 8/10
snickers kevlar ripstop trousers 4/10.... no good for hopping up and down on baths, no flexibility.
120mm core from TT 9/10
electric mitre saw 8/10 ... very happy with this
pin rake 8/10... love this.
B&Q 1800 level 7/10, i use as straight edge though.
Diamond pad from diatech 9/10 ... love this
Electric polisher 8/10
trapeze stainless mirror trowels 8/10

... jees, been busy this year lol

Did you just go through capital expenditure or AIA? Lol
 
C

charlie1

im not sure what kind it was but was in bnq and there was one set up with mock tile display, the guy done a small demo with it.... truley awfull lol, i just wanted to see it working for a laugh really, it was chipping the tiles and everything, i pointed this out t the guy doing the demo, he said ye, you wont see this when you re grout lol... really!! apart from that, it would take you about 3 weeks to regrout a bathroom with it (if it lasted)
 

judge

TF
Arms
351
1,078
Bosch GBH4-32DFR hammer drill, 9/10
Dw24000, 8/10
makita angle grinder 9/10
sigma 3c 9/10
sigma 3e 6/10.... hardly used otherwise its great machine
small sigma 9/10
dewalt battery drill /8/10
dewalt jigsaw 9/10
45 degree trowel 0/10
white chalk 10/10
fiat scudo 8/10
snickers kevlar ripstop trousers 4/10.... no good for hopping up and down on baths, no flexibility.
120mm core from TT 9/10
electric mitre saw 8/10 ... very happy with this
pin rake 8/10... love this.
B&Q 1800 level 7/10, i use as straight edge though.
Diamond pad from diatech 9/10 ... love this
Electric polisher 8/10
trapeze stainless mirror trowels 8/10

... jees, been busy this year lol
Been an expensive year you mean :yikes:
Out of interest charlie what did you think of the dw 2400 ??
 

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