Machine Mart

kellys_eye · Post by **kellys_eye** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:07 am

Not a place I'd normally think of for tools (despite their large presence) but what's the opinion on the stuff they sell?

Sealey, Draper, Teng etc - if you had to chose, what would you pick?

Similarly for their other stuff - do they retail reasonably quality stuff all round or are there makes to avoid?

I'm also looking at their dual fuel (petrol/LPG) gensets. Any one had experience of them?

etaf · Post by **etaf** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:21 am

i have purchased a few hand tools from them in the past as they have a large shop near us in Portsmouth.
Not been since covid , but had popped in a few times before - Quality looks fine , and they sell a lot of clark brand

Rorschach · Post by **Rorschach** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:31 am

FIL has a fair few tools from there. Not the cheapest and not the highest quality but reasonable value for what they are and of course you pay a premium to have a B&M store to actually visit.

fin · Post by **fin** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:40 am

there is a one in deepest darkest sunderland. had to be very brave and go there a while back for spare parts for my dewalt nail gun

bourbon · Post by **bourbon** » Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:57 am

Machine Mart is owned by John Clark, Hence the branding. I use them for : belt sander belts, Mig welder, Cutting discs and other small consumables. I bought an anvil once. It was made of cheese. That went back and money refunded other than that, It's good for a browse

kellys_eye · Post by **kellys_eye** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 3:56 pm

fin wrote: ↑Thu Apr 01, 2021 11:40 am there is a one in deepest darkest sunderland. had to be very brave and go there a while back for spare parts for my dewalt nail gun

Wow, is that one still there! Given the area I thought it would have been ram raided a few (dozen ) times by now.....

Anyhow..... if not MM, where else is a good place for a wide selection of stuff? I doubt there are any high street versions (other than the usual screwfix/toolstation) so where would be the next place to go for a selection in as wide a range of stuff as MM has?

etaf · Post by **etaf** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 4:17 pm

i tend to look online at FFX & D&M Tools - next day delivery
Finding tool shops these days can be quite difficult, we had a great local hardware store , locally got taken over by travis perkins, and then closed down
you could buy things individually then ... not sure if they exist any more - we have a house clearance shop near us and thats full of tools - and 2nd hand tools can be really high quality - purchased quite a few bits from them.
We have a store in chichester goodrows, last time i went in had a reasonable selection

you may need to do a search - tool shops and your location and see what comes up -

EDIT - I did not add that embedded link to ebay - the forum software did !!!!!@

moderator2 · Post by **moderator2** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 4:35 pm

etaf, Report noted, Forum software does that with certain key words.

dewaltdisney · Post by **dewaltdisney** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 4:39 pm

I usually do a thorough research on the internet starting with the best well-known sources down to the most genuine looking 'at a price' suppliers that look solid. If it is a pricey thing I will check out reviews and YouTube videos to get a feel about the item before proceeding. I do not feel I have made many mistakes over time. I think I went into MM once to get a Sealey jump pack for someone who asked me to get one when passing. Despite me saying they could get it cheaper they were insistent on me going to MM by some misguided loyalty. I thought it was all a bit pricey in there and I was not impressed. I have bought a few things new off eBay, only cheap stuff in the main, but I always feel it might be a duffer and I expect to go wrong.

DWD

kellys_eye · Post by **kellys_eye** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 8:43 pm

Getting tools second hand is always my first aim - but it's been a long time since I could access either shops or boot sales that might have them and who knows how much longer that's going on for! I'm only mildly enthused by MM by the simple fact it's the ONLY place (I know of) within 80 miles of me (it's in Glasgow) but they do at least have a wide range and I like to 'see' what I'm paying for unless I'm familiar with the tool I want and the manufacturer if I'm familiar with them.

Of course we all do internet purchases and I'm no different but the older I get the more hands-on I want to be and I'm going for quality-first (for the first time in my life!)

Dunno about others but I'm as agitated as **** to get out and do normal things like window-shop tools and sh1t.