"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 04 Dec 2003 21:03:43 GMT, (OldScrawn) wrote:
Sorry I never meant to start a flame war.
It's OK, you didn't.
Not so many years back, you could
only get the slightly more specialist power tools like angle grinders,
jigsaws,
routers from the "advertised" names.
One reason is because the major brand manufacturers invested in the
R&D to develop them and in some areas patented the ideas.
These days you can get more exotic stuff
like biscuit cutters, planers, belt sanders that seem to be (mostly) fine
for
the DIY market at a fraction of the price.
It really depends on what you are looking for. Generally DIY grade
tools are intended for lowish usage rates and depending on the type of
tool, may not have the accuracy, ergonomics or performance of a higher
grade product. The motor controls in cordless tools are a good
example of this - the better products like Makita have much better
trigger control than the cheapies.
Also, when buying tools there is more to the equation than the initial
price tag. The important factor is really the cost over a period of
time. It may be interesting in some ways to have a low price
product with a three year warranty. However, if you value your time
and need to return it three times during that period, you will have
probably blown away any cost saving. Let's say you would bring in a
tradesperson to so a job for you. Daily rates are in the £120 - £150
area. By DIYing, you save this cost. If a product needs to be
returned then I reckon about 1/3 to 1/2 a day to do it - anything up
to £75. For many power tools this makes the difference between
something poor to average and something pretty good, so I tend to view
buying just on the price tag as a false economy.
Since when have DIYers costed their time? Many are time rich, cash poor.
It just struck me that the angle
drill is a: occasionally quite useful and b: not much more complex to
make than
a standard hammer drill. So why isn't anyone selling a "cheepy"?
Because the volume isn't there.
It soon will be. Every 6 months or so a new battery angle drill comes onto
the market, with Ryobi the latest with am excellent deal. the only point so
far is that you can't buy the angle drills separately. Maybe just an
initial launch promotion. At £114 it is worth getting just for the angle
drill alone and throwing away the 14.4 v drill/driver, when looking the
price of the competition. Kitchen fitters are now adopting angle
drill/drivers now, becoming a "must have" tool, like their sliding mitre
saws.
But thanks for all the response! I've always managed joists with a
standard
mains drill and a spade bit (sometimes in an extension). Now I really
can't
decide if I must have a mains angle drill for this, or whether I need a
"big
name" battery drill, or whether I should wait for a Ferm!
You can always cut down a spade bit if you need to get into a tighter
space with one, but there are also short augers on the market which
work more easily.
I've bought several Makita battery drills and all have performed
faultlessly.
The only fault with them is the price. Well for occasional DIY anyhow.
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