www.ultimatehandyman.co.uk

I have always bought cheaper brands like Rolson and Blackspur and have not had much problems with them. I know I am not a tradesperson and I use my tools for the odd stuff around the house, but my main beef with brands like Bosch and Dewalt is that they are sometimes up to three times more expensive than the cheaper brands. While this might be useful for someone who uses tools all the time but for DIYers I think its a waste of money to buy spanners or screwdrivers at thrice the price of the cheaper brands. I can understand the importance of using quality power tools as the motor can fail, but a measuring tape???

If more people protest with their wallet the major brands will have a rethink of their pricing

i guess you pay for quality.

as an example. i once got to a job on a saturday morning at a friends house. got my tools out and thought ahh sh*t left my tape measure in my tool pouch.

as it happened theres a tool shop next to her house.

i popped in and the only tape measure they had was a rolson.

cost me £5

it got binned within a month as the paint wore off the blade after the first few uses.

a decent tape measure (stanley etc) should cost approx 10 to 15 quid.

i guess with power tools thats why theres all the different makes. bosch dewalt and makita for the pros.

other perhaps lesser brands for the diy market.

i can get away with using 240 gear as i do mainly work on houses.

if i was to use say a b & q brand tool or a challenge extreme tool or one of the other cheapo brands they would break fairly quickly. yet i have for example an elu (dewalt) power plane. used many many times. it finally broke a few months back. sent it away for new bearings and its good as new. cost £20 to get it repaired.

ahhh ELU tools those were fantastic pieces of kit!

I appreciate that cheaper tools wont last that long but still coughing up 3 times the amount for something I use once in a month and often not really intensively is a bit .. well let's say its not the best way to spend my hard earned cash. If I was a tradesman, yes I will buy quality tools but to fix a coat hanger??? hmm not sure. My Lucas drill costed me £8.50 but an equivalent Bosch drill the last time I saw it was over £40. I have had the drill for 2 years almost now.

ryobi tools 80 % the quality off the big boys toys at 40% cost

Sorry, Can't agree I'm afraid, the only ryobi tool I ever had was a plane and my dewalt would have it for breakfast. Ok the ryobi had its uses, mainly because it was nice and light so perfect for shooting doors but for anything else it was unpredictable

Colour Republic wrote:Sorry, Can't agree I'm afraid, the only ryobi tool I ever had was a plane and my dewalt would have it for breakfast. Ok the ryobi had its uses, mainly because it was nice and light so perfect for shooting doors but for anything else it was unpredictable

I find the best thing for shooting doors is a 12 bore, or does this mean something else in 'chippy'terms


John

EJJ150847 wrote:

Colour Republic wrote:Sorry, Can't agree I'm afraid, the only ryobi tool I ever had was a plane and my dewalt would have it for breakfast. Ok the ryobi had its uses, mainly because it was nice and light so perfect for shooting doors but for anything else it was unpredictable

I find the best thing for shooting doors is a 12 bore, or does this mean something else in 'chippy'terms


John

Try one of these.....not cheap though.......

I have some ryobi kit and its ok tbh. Now I dont flog it day in day out in my job but its good for the money. I do have the lithium batteries though as the nicads are weak.

I always buy the best quality tools that I can afford.

I never go mad and buy them, unless I can pick them up cheap on ebay etc.

My mate calls me a power tool snob. I'll go and spend £150 on a powertool and £20 on a shirt. My mate will spend £150 on a shirt and £20 on a power tool.

I have never borrowed on of his shirts, but he has borrowed my powertools

Some of the cheaper makes of tools are not fit for purpose and should not even be on sale!

Colour Republic wrote:Sorry, Can't agree I'm afraid, the only ryobi tool I ever had was a plane and my dewalt would have it for breakfast. Ok the ryobi had its uses, mainly because it was nice and light so perfect for shooting doors but for anything else it was unpredictable

hardly a comprehensive comparison lol

the point i am making for the average diyer or person starting out with little money ryobi will do virtualy every thing you want heavy jobs may be beyond there capability but they are few and far between for a diyer or newbi starting out with little money

big-all wrote:

Colour Republic wrote:Sorry, Can't agree I'm afraid, the only ryobi tool I ever had was a plane and my dewalt would have it for breakfast. Ok the ryobi had its uses, mainly because it was nice and light so perfect for shooting doors but for anything else it was unpredictable

hardly a comprihensive comparison lol

the point i am making for the average diyer or person starting out with little money ryobi will do virtualy every thing you want heavy jobs may be beyond there capability but they are few and far between for a diyer or newbi starting out with little money

with that I can't argue

I did a job a while ago, 3 other blokes there helping out. All keen DIYers with the latest B&D drills... all thought they had a decent drill, until they used mine. Every one commented on its weight, torque, quality... and how it went on and on on one battery.
You really do get what you pay for with tools.
Not everyone needs top of the range tools.
Not eveyone realises the difference between a £20 powertool and a £200 tool.
The cheap brand exist beceause there is a market from people like yourself. Its finding the balance between the useage it will get, and the purchase cost.

Hitachi ;)

northwales4u wrote:

Hitch wrote:I did a job a while ago, 3 other blokes there helping out. All keen DIYers with the latest B&D drills... all thought they had a decent drill, until they used mine.

Go one - what do you use then - would be funny if you said Ryobi and a bit dodgy if you saud Dewalt

i think dewalt have been given a realy unfair pasting
all manufacturers have the odd model that dosnt perform well because off design flaws wrong choice off material or lapses in quality standards
these are often caused by trying new production methods new suppliers or new tecniques
the sign off a good name is learning mistakes quickly not repeating the same mistake within a life time or another mistake within 10 years keeping your core buisness satisfied with good after sales and re-assurance
a reputation is hard won and easy to ruin

i have heard people moaning about all makes except festool or fein
do you think its worth paying 40 to 60 percent more for your tools to save an average 5% extra down time thats assuming you tool poor with no other tool or option to do the same job
most people have a second tool that can easily cover the main tool all be it at a slower pace sometimes