On Wed, 3 Mar 2004 14:06:40 -0000, "IMM" wrote:


"Andy Hall" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 3 Mar 2004 12:30:36 -0000, "IMM" wrote:




But is it worth spending £40 on a repair on 5 years old tool costing
£6-70?
I would rather buy a new one, and the quality, performance, etc will
probably be better then.

Probably not. Generally, Makita spares for the typical consumables
are not that expensive and repair oneself is easy enough. I think
that £20-30 worth of spares for a £150 tool is worthwhile. In
practice, though, with Makita stuff the longevity and robustness is
such that repair is not a big issue anyway.

It is a big issue when used for what it is intended; heavy every day
professional use. When for DIY they should last, but the price then
become
unacceptable for light use.


This all depends on your view of things.

Some people view DIY mainly as a means of saving money. If that is
the main criterion which overrides ease of use and reliability of
tools, quality of result and cost of ownership and usage is very
light, then it may make sense to buy a cheap tool if it can produce
work to a standard acceptable to the user.

What makes you think DIY tools are poor quality? When used for their
intended use they are as reliable as any pro tool.

I am talking about the quality of work and ease of use as well as
reliability in the sense of work/not work.



I take a rather different view which is that I do DIY jobs because I
like doing them and because I can, in many cases do a better job than
a professional.

If someone likes expensive items then fine by me. Commons sense and
business logic dictates to buy the tools that suit the job an usage.


Exactly.

Especially in the field of motorised tools like drills and routers, a
good quality motor with proper control, power and decent bearings and
mechanics makes a huge difference in terms of use and quality of work
to one that is produced to a low price point.

If high precision is required for either DIY or pro then you buy
accordingly.

I like to be able to do a good job and to do so comfortably and
efficiently.



I have found that more often than not, if I buy cheap tools, they are
either not robust, poor in use, don't do accurate work or fail.

No one is advocating cheap tools. It is a matter of getting the right tools
for the job and usage. You appear to think that only the most expensive pro
tool is of good quality and reliability, which of course is nonsense.

I haven't said that at all. I have simply said that when measured
against the criteria that I have, it is very clear to me that I can
get a level of quality and reliability from branded tools at the
medium and high end that I can't from low end private label stuff.





..andy

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