Andrew Gabriel wrote:
Fired up by enthusiasm and my recommendations from this group,
[ Andrew's friend ] went off to Argos or Aldi

Must've been Argos, Aldi ran out after a couple of days!

and bought a cheap SDS drill.
This weekend, he showed me the stiches in his chin, from the
moment he discovered it didn't have a safety clutch in it
(which my Metabo certainly does have). Fortunately I believe
no serious damage done.

Stitches in his *chin*? How...? No, I don't really want to know...
I hope he doesn't have any other power tools, or a cooker, or
a powered lawnmower, or drive a car, or..... the only drill I've
had with a clutch in it is a De Walt cordless drill, which can
drive in screws too.

There's no substitute for experience, unless it is a course
in how to use hand tools safely, followed by experience. I'm
surprised that more practical courses aren't offered more
widely, and that otherwise sane people (sans experience) go
out and buy tools that can easily do serious harm. What do
I know, though - "I always wanted to be a lion tamer". No
wonder DIY is a major cause of accidents in the home!


J.B.