A few months ago I was looking for a 165mm mains circular saw & ended up
with a Macalister from B&Q for £45. Spec looked good for the money.

Less than 3 months old, relatively little use & it started playing up.

Cross cutting a 2 x 4 & it started to fight back badly, could only just hang
on to it.

Appears that the bearing on the shaft had gone, causing the blade to wobble
like a dado head.

It went back for a full refund this morning. I've ordered a Makita 5604R.

I should know better by now. Last time I buy any kind of B&Q power tool.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

wrote:
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

I'm amused by your comment ( no reflection on TMH). Provided that you
control an impact driver properly, it is useful. Do not be prissy with
it. Ensure that you put significant pressure on it before striking it.

clot wrote:
wrote:
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

I'm amused by your comment ( no reflection on TMH). Provided that you
control an impact driver properly, it is useful. Do not be prissy with
it. Ensure that you put significant pressure on it before striking it.

We are talking electric impact drivers
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...43 8&ts=74156


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

The Medway Handyman wrote:
clot wrote:
wrote:
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

I'm amused by your comment ( no reflection on TMH). Provided that you
control an impact driver properly, it is useful. Do not be prissy
with it. Ensure that you put significant pressure on it before
striking it.

We are talking electric impact drivers
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...43 8&ts=74156


I wondered if someone would come back with that comment. It is still
critical to ensure that you put enough pressure on the appliance whether
manual or otherwise powered. If you do not put pressure on it then you
have a small useless bowl!

"clot" wrote in message
...
The Medway Handyman wrote:
clot wrote:
wrote:
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you
finally
tried an impact driver.

I'm amused by your comment ( no reflection on TMH). Provided that
you
control an impact driver properly, it is useful. Do not be prissy
with it. Ensure that you put significant pressure on it before
striking it.

We are talking electric impact drivers
http://www.screwfix.com/app/sfd/cat/...43 8&ts=74156


I wondered if someone would come back with that comment. It is still
critical to ensure that you put enough pressure on the appliance
whether manual or otherwise powered. If you do not put pressure on
it then you have a small useless bowl!

Indeed, having spent more years than I care to remember using power
impact wrenches it's very noticeable how the amount of pressure
applied to the tool has an effect on how effective the impact wrench
is - it's also extremely funny to watch an inexperienced person see
the tool jump off the fixing when they forget to hold the tool down
upon pressing the trigger!

wrote:
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

Yes, agreed. It was actually the Makita jigsaw, reinforced by the Makita
impact driver. I won't buy anything but Makita from now on, it's just so
good and 'does exactly what is says on the tin'.

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every day. It's
not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

The Medway Handyman wrote:
wrote:
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

Yes, agreed. It was actually the Makita jigsaw, reinforced by the Makita
impact driver. I won't buy anything but Makita from now on, it's just so
good and 'does exactly what is says on the tin'.

Its certainly a safe way to know you will get something that is at a
minimum "good" and will last (and I have never been disappointed with
any of my Makita kit), but don't discount the other quality brands since
each will have tools that come out as "best of breed".

For example, the Makita portable planar thicknesser is a very good
machine, but I think my DeWalt DW733 has the edge on it in a number of
small but important details. The big 9" Hitachi circular saws are very
nice, as are Trend and Freud routers etc.

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every day. It's
not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.

I think the jigsaw test is an ideal way to convince anyone who doubts
the value of decent tools. The Makita in particular is just *so* much
better than most peoples experience of a jigsaw as to be really quite
surprising even if you are expecting it to be lots better.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
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|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Jun 29, 2:29 am, John Rumm wrote:

I think the jigsaw test is an ideal way to convince anyone who doubts
the value of decent tools. The Makita in particular is just *so* much
better than most peoples experience of a jigsaw as to be really quite
surprising even if you are expecting it to be lots better.

I was even more suprised when I bought some *GOOD* blades for my
fairly modest jigsaw,
saved me spending £80 odd on a Makita etc ))

I expect most peoples experiences are of crap blades in a cheap
jigsaw...

cheers,
Pete.

On 2007-06-29 16:28:05 +0100, Pete C said:

On Jun 29, 2:29 am, John Rumm wrote:

I think the jigsaw test is an ideal way to convince anyone who doubts
the value of decent tools. The Makita in particular is just *so* much
better than most peoples experience of a jigsaw as to be really quite
surprising even if you are expecting it to be lots better.

I was even more suprised when I bought some *GOOD* blades for my
fairly modest jigsaw,
saved me spending £80 odd on a Makita etc ))

I expect most peoples experiences are of crap blades in a cheap
jigsaw...

cheers,
Pete.

Good blades certainly do help, expecially in jig saws and circular saws.


However, in the case of a jig saw, the quality and engineering of the
blade holding mechanisms etc. are key to the ability of the saw to
maintain the stability of the cut.

There is a world of difference between the sub £50 jigsaw and the £100
products of Bosch, Makita et al.

John Rumm wrote:

Its certainly a safe way to know you will get something that is at a
minimum "good" and will last (and I have never been disappointed with
any of my Makita kit), but don't discount the other quality brands
since each will have tools that come out as "best of breed".

Thats exactly it John. I can't be arsed to look at every make & with a
165mm circukar saw there aren't that many about anyway. I know if I buy
Makita - based on the router, jigsaw, drill driver, impact driver I already
have, it's going to do what is says on the tin.

I think the jigsaw test is an ideal way to convince anyone who doubts
the value of decent tools. The Makita in particular is just *so* much
better than most peoples experience of a jigsaw as to be really quite
surprising even if you are expecting it to be lots better.

Agreed 100%. I smile every time I use it, worlds apart from other jigsaws.


--
Dave
The Medway Handyman
www.medwayhandyman.co.uk
01634 717930
07850 597257

On Jun 29, 11:41 am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

I won't buy anything but Makita from now on, it's just so
good and 'does exactly what is says on the tin'.

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every day. It's
not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.

I will never buy a Makita product.
This recall notice is a lie. A user in New Zealand lost an eye when
his sander pad broke apart, and Makita didn't want to compensate him
until forced to by public opinion..
Losing an eye is NOT a "minor injury".

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml03/03091.html

In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC), Makita U.S.A. Inc., of La Mirada, Calif., is voluntarily
recalling about 350,000 electric orbit sanders. The pads on the
sanders can break apart during use and strike the operator, posing an
injury hazard to consumers.

Makita U.S.A. Inc. has received 13 reports of pads coming apart,
including three minor injuries that resulted from pieces of the pad
striking consumers.

On 2007-06-29 07:58:33 +0100, Matty F said:

On Jun 29, 11:41 am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

I won't buy anything but Makita from now on, it's just so
good and 'does exactly what is says on the tin'.

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every day. It's
not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.

I will never buy a Makita product.
This recall notice is a lie. A user in New Zealand lost an eye when
his sander pad broke apart, and Makita didn't want to compensate him
until forced to by public opinion..
Losing an eye is NOT a "minor injury".

Presumably the user was using eye protection as recommended in the
instruction manual?

Matty F wrote:

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every day. It's
not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.

I will never buy a Makita product.

Your loss I guess.

This recall notice is a lie. A user in New Zealand lost an eye when
his sander pad broke apart, and Makita didn't want to compensate him
until forced to by public opinion..
Losing an eye is NOT a "minor injury".

You need to read it a little more carefully. It says "Makita U.S.A. Inc.
has received 13 reports of pads coming apart, including three minor
injuries". It seems unlikely that a New Zealand user would have
reported a problem to Makita USA. So it is probably true, that they have
only had minor injuries reported, and that the recall is voluntary in
the USA.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
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| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
Matty F wrote:

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every day.
It's
not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.

I will never buy a Makita product.

Your loss I guess.

Yes. Loss of an eye.

A user in New Zealand lost an eye when
his sander pad broke apart, and Makita didn't want to compensate him
until forced to by public opinion..
Losing an eye is NOT a "minor injury".

Have you got a link to the original report on that?

On Jun 29, 8:57 pm, " wrote:
A user in New Zealand lost an eye when
his sander pad broke apart, and Makita didn't want to compensate him
until forced to by public opinion..
Losing an eye is NOT a "minor injury".

Have you got a link to the original report on that?

Newspaper reports have now vanished from their archives.
I note that the eye-losing accident occurred many months after the
recall was announced in the US on March 7 2003. In NZ we cannot claim
against manufacturers for such accidents, so it is not considered so
necessary to publicise recalls. But that would have saved the guy's
eye.

Here's a Usenet discussion with all the points that are sure to be
made:
http://groups.google.co.nz/group/nz....ddfbcd60fbcea0

On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 23:58:33 -0700, Matty F
wrote:

On Jun 29, 11:41 am, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

I won't buy anything but Makita from now on, it's just so
good and 'does exactly what is says on the tin'.

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every day. It's
not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.

I will never buy a Makita product.
This recall notice is a lie. A user in New Zealand lost an eye when
his sander pad broke apart, and Makita didn't want to compensate him
until forced to by public opinion..
Losing an eye is NOT a "minor injury".

Did his eye shield fail as well?

On 29 Jun, 00:41, "The Medway Handyman"
wrote:

Yes, agreed. It was actually the Makita jigsaw, reinforced by the Makita
impact driver. I won't buy anything but Makita from now on, it's just so
good and 'does exactly what is says on the tin'.

I use a mix of Makita and Hitachi big circular saws. Haven't bust the
Makitas yet, I'm forever having to dismantle almost all of the
Hitachis to bend the damned splitters straight again.

I used to like Skil, until they went rubbish a couple of years ago.

I use a mix of Makita and Hitachi big circular saws. Haven't bust the
Makitas yet, I'm forever having to dismantle almost all of the
Hitachis to bend the damned splitters straight again.

I used to like Skil, until they went rubbish a couple of years ago.

You say splitter rather than riving knife - are you talking about Skil
in the US market?

My experience of Skil has been ok. I used to have a 10 year old
compact 160mm Skil CC I used for panels, and bought a Skil Orca about
2 years ago (same product with updates still available).

The older one had a nicer cast aluminium base plate, but otherwise
very similar build quality.

The Orca certainly hasn't been treated gently - lots of deep ripping
in green oak.

If I was spending my money again, I might scrape together the (quite a
bit of) extra cash required for festool or maffel - for those jobs
where really high quality accurate cuts are required but the job is
fixed or too big or too awkward for a tablesaw.

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in
message ...
snip

You just don't realise the difference until you use the kit every
day. It's not just the longevity, its the way they do the job.


Isn't that the point here, whilst all groups benefit from having
semi-pro and fully pro people from the trades, what is often forgotten
by those same people is that they might in a month use a tool more
than an average DIYer does in a year - IOW if the DIYer is going to
build their own house than the expense of buying pro tools makes sense
how ever you look at it but for someone who just does the odd DIY job
around it doesn't, the price certainly reflects the build quality but
not always the accuracy during the tools designed life span (which
will be measured in operating hours).

:Jerry: wrote:

Isn't that the point here, whilst all groups benefit from having
semi-pro and fully pro people from the trades, what is often forgotten
by those same people is that they might in a month use a tool more
than an average DIYer does in a year - IOW if the DIYer is going to
build their own house than the expense of buying pro tools makes sense
how ever you look at it but for someone who just does the odd DIY job
around it doesn't, the price certainly reflects the build quality but
not always the accuracy during the tools designed life span (which
will be measured in operating hours).

This would be true if "DIYers" as a class only wanted something that
will get the job done as cheaply as possible and don't care what the
quality of the results or the experience of use are like. While in some
cases this may be true, in many it is not.



--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
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|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

"John Rumm" wrote in message
...
:Jerry: wrote:

Isn't that the point here, whilst all groups benefit from having
semi-pro and fully pro people from the trades, what is often
forgotten by those same people is that they might in a month use a
tool more than an average DIYer does in a year - IOW if the DIYer
is going to build their own house than the expense of buying pro
tools makes sense how ever you look at it but for someone who just
does the odd DIY job around it doesn't, the price certainly
reflects the build quality but not always the accuracy during the
tools designed life span (which will be measured in operating
hours).

This would be true if "DIYers" as a class only wanted something that
will get the job done as cheaply as possible and don't care what the
quality of the results or the experience of use are like. While in
some cases this may be true, in many it is not.


With respect, in this day and age of people knowing the cost of
everything but the value of nothing, I would suggest that your comment
is a*se about t*t - you have the words 'some' and 'many' transcribed!

"The Medway Handyman" wrote in message
...
wrote:
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

Yes, agreed. It was actually the Makita jigsaw, reinforced by the Makita
impact driver. I won't buy anything but Makita from now on, it's just so
good and 'does exactly what is says on the tin'.

Have you got a good van vault or similar?
I have the vault and an alarm and also CCTV when at home to protect the van
and it's contents.

Adam

wrote in message
ups.com...
It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

I know of no cheap budget Impact Drivers.

It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

I know of no cheap budget Impact Drivers.

True. And I will be quite curious to see if they make the same splash
in the diy market when they do.

I was referring to Dave trying a professional tool brand and finding
it worthwhile to pay the extra. I thought that was an impact driver,
but as he pointed out it was actually a Mak jigsaw.

On 2007-06-30 10:18:54 +0100, " said:


It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

I know of no cheap budget Impact Drivers.

True. And I will be quite curious to see if they make the same splash
in the diy market when they do.

They already are in the DIY market. Screwfix have a Makita 12v one
for £139 and an unbranded one for £100.



I was referring to Dave trying a professional tool brand and finding
it worthwhile to pay the extra. I thought that was an impact driver,
but as he pointed out it was actually a Mak jigsaw.

"Andy Hall" wrote in message
...
On 2007-06-30 10:18:54 +0100, " said:


It's interesting to see over the months how you've come round to
buying pro tools. I think your road to Damascus was when you finally
tried an impact driver.

I know of no cheap budget Impact Drivers.

True. And I will be quite curious to see if they make the same splash
in the diy market when they do.

They already are in the DIY market. Screwfix have a Makita 12v one for
£139

I would not call £139 in the DIY price range.

and an unbranded one for £100.

It is the Sparky. Sparky are a big pro brand in Germany and Eastern
Europe - very common there. Just because you have never heard of it does
not mean it is "unbranded". There again I would not call £100 in the DIY
range for a drill.