Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)



--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

If you want to sink a hole for electrical back boxes, a back box sinker.

http://www.armeg.com/electrical-box-sinker-tools.asp

Colin Bignell

On Mar 1, 11:38*am, (Windmill)
wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)


Drill four holes at the corners first.
Then angle grinder to link holes up.
You could cut some additional slots across the centre too.
Then hammer and chisel or a light electric breaker.
Much easier to do when the slot has been cut.

On 01/03/2013 18:01, harry wrote:
On Mar 1, 11:38 am, (Windmill)
wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)


Drill four holes at the corners first.
Then angle grinder to link holes up.
You could cut some additional slots across the centre too.
Then hammer and chisel or a light electric breaker.
Much easier to do when the slot has been cut.


I've done the angle grinder approach too. Only trouble is its quite
dusty.....

I have 14 boxes to sink tomorrow across two rooms... breathing mask galore.

I've already marked up the room walls.

I'll use an angle grinder to cut a pair of parallel grooves from socket
to ceiling. then use an SDS chisel to chase out the plaster between the
two grooves.

As for box sinking, I SDS drill the corners, then use an angle grinder
to do slots in the four sides. then SDS chisel it out.

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

--
€¢DarWin|
_/ _/

On Friday 01 March 2013 19:42 Steve Firth wrote in uk.d-i-y:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.


I use a regular SDS drill with an 8-10mm bit in, with tape wrapped round at
the required depth.

Mark box outline, drill round that and as many holes in between as possible,
which takes not-a-lot-of-effort with an SDS.

Switch to SDS chisel and join the holes. Big advantage is you get a fairly
even back to the hole and the dust is the heavy type (though the chisel can
throw grit about). Less messy than any angle grinder or box sinker.

Box sinkers work well on celcon blocks and the like and are crap on brick.
--
Tim Watts Personal Blog: http://squiddy.blog.dionic.net/

http://www.sensorly.com/ Crowd mapping of 2G/3G/4G mobile signal coverage

Reading this on the web? See:
http://wiki.diyfaq.org.uk/index.php?title=Usenet

On 01/03/2013 20:33, Tim Watts wrote:
On Friday 01 March 2013 19:42 Steve Firth wrote in uk.d-i-y:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.


I use a regular SDS drill with an 8-10mm bit in, with tape wrapped round at
the required depth.

Mark box outline, drill round that and as many holes in between as possible,
which takes not-a-lot-of-effort with an SDS.

Switch to SDS chisel and join the holes. Big advantage is you get a fairly
even back to the hole and the dust is the heavy type (though the chisel can
throw grit about). Less messy than any angle grinder or box sinker.

Box sinkers work well on celcon blocks and the like and are crap on brick.

Yup if doing an electrical back box holes in hard brick I find a
combination of a 20mm SDS chisel for sinking a line round the perimeter,
and then a 40mm one for chopping out the waste and planing down the back
to get it roughly smooth and flat.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On 02/03/2013 18:04, Steve Firth wrote:
Windmill wrote:
Steve Firth writes:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

Don't think the SDS chisels which (I now remember) came with my drill
have diamond-shaped teeth, but maybe what's there will serve.

Are there no shops where you live?

For reference this is the sort of chisel that I mean:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Powe.../sd2781/p39281

Thank you for the description.

You're welcome.




I have done 14 double gang rectangular recesses today with an SDS chisel.

Seven were in a downstairs room that had breeze block walls and
plastered walls.

I had that chiseled out and the cable drop chases in 1 hour.

the other seven were in a upstairs room that has dry lining plasterboard
on celcon blockwork.

I used a fein multimaster to cut 7 plasterboard rectangles and then SDS
chiseled the blockwork for the back boxes. Another hour....

So that's 14 double gang boxes sunk into the walls and 7 cable drops
chiseled out of the plastering.....

And not a grazed knuckle or a lump hammered thumb/finger in sight....

SDS chisels ROCKS....

Although I dressed the back of the rectangles as best as I could, I used
"Sticks like 5h1t" to act as a filler between the bricks and the metal
boxes, so with three rawlplugs and three screws, the back boxes will not
wobble and can be set to the right depth relative to the plasterwork.

Stephen

Windmill wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)



Multi tool with carbide cutter.

On 01/03/2013 18:33, Stephen H wrote:
On 01/03/2013 18:01, harry wrote:
On Mar 1, 11:38 am, (Windmill)
wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)


Drill four holes at the corners first.
Then angle grinder to link holes up.
You could cut some additional slots across the centre too.
Then hammer and chisel or a light electric breaker.
Much easier to do when the slot has been cut.


I've done the angle grinder approach too. Only trouble is its quite
dusty.....

I have 14 boxes to sink tomorrow across two rooms... breathing mask galore.

I've already marked up the room walls.

I'll use an angle grinder to cut a pair of parallel grooves from socket
to ceiling. then use an SDS chisel to chase out the plaster between the
two grooves.

As for box sinking, I SDS drill the corners, then use an angle grinder
to do slots in the four sides. then SDS chisel it out.

For box sinking inside, skip the AG and do it all with the SDS - far
less dust (unless you have a proper wall chasing AG with collection)

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

harry writes:

On Mar 1, 11:38=A0am, (Windmill)
wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)


Drill four holes at the corners first.
Then angle grinder to link holes up.
You could cut some additional slots across the centre too.
Then hammer and chisel or a light electric breaker.
Much easier to do when the slot has been cut.

Might be difficult to get the angle grinder close enough to the
corners, but it's certainly an improvement on chisel alone.
I suppose I'll need to experiment.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

John Rumm writes:

On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

Thanks; I do have a large, clunky, cheap SDS drill bought for the sole
purpose of drilling through almost a metre of masonry, but had
forgotten that it also came with chisel bits.
Hopefully that will be better than hand chiselling.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

Nightjar writes:

On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

If you want to sink a hole for electrical back boxes, a back box sinker.

http://www.armeg.com/electrical-box-sinker-tools.asp

Probably too expensive for a single use, but useful to know that there
are such things, just in case the world changes (again).

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

Steve Firth writes:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

Don't think the SDS chisels which (I now remember) came with my drill
have diamond-shaped teeth, but maybe what's there will serve.

Thank you for the description.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

Tim Watts writes:

On Friday 01 March 2013 19:42 Steve Firth wrote in uk.d-i-y:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.


I use a regular SDS drill with an 8-10mm bit in, with tape wrapped round at
the required depth.

Mark box outline, drill round that and as many holes in between as possible,
which takes not-a-lot-of-effort with an SDS.

Switch to SDS chisel and join the holes. Big advantage is you get a fairly
even back to the hole and the dust is the heavy type (though the chisel can
throw grit about). Less messy than any angle grinder or box sinker.

I only need to do this at long intervals, and after a year or two tend
to forget how difficult it is with just masonry drill followed by
hammer and chisel.

Maybe with an SDS chisel I'll be quicker/better.

Box sinkers work well on celcon blocks and the like and are crap on brick.

Crap totally, or just slow? I've noticed that 100 year old bricks can
have some very hard areas, plus some parts that are relatively soft.


--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

F Murtz writes:

Windmill wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)



Multi tool with carbide cutter.


Hadn't thought of that before.

I bought a cheap one from LIDL intending to use it on wood, but maybe
it included a blade for masonry.
ISTR someone recently posted the name of a place which sold blades for
various models; I'll need to check the prices.

Are there any pictures showing how one might use the tool for this
purpose?


--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

Windmill wrote:
F Murtz writes:

Windmill wrote:
Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)



Multi tool with carbide cutter.


Hadn't thought of that before.

I bought a cheap one from LIDL intending to use it on wood, but maybe
it included a blade for masonry.
ISTR someone recently posted the name of a place which sold blades for
various models; I'll need to check the prices.

Are there any pictures showing how one might use the tool for this
purpose?




Don't know of any pictures But these things are not violent like angle
grinders so just point it at the wall and press gently,if you find the
right blade.(experiment with it)

lid (Windmill) Wrote in message:
like and are crap on brick.

Crap totally, or just slow? I've noticed that 100 year old bricks can
have some very hard areas, plus some parts that are relatively soft.


Very slow and makes an incredible amou t of dust

----Android NewsGroup Reader----
http://www.piaohong.tk/newsgroup

Windmill wrote:
Steve Firth writes:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

Don't think the SDS chisels which (I now remember) came with my drill
have diamond-shaped teeth, but maybe what's there will serve.

Are there no shops where you live?

For reference this is the sort of chisel that I mean:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Powe.../sd2781/p39281

Thank you for the description.

You're welcome.


--
€¢DarWin|
_/ _/

"Windmill" wrote in message ...

F Murtz writes:

Windmill wrote:
Multi tool with carbide cutter.


I bought a cheap one from LIDL intending to use it on wood, but maybe
it included a blade for masonry.
ISTR someone recently posted the name of a place which sold blades for
various models; I'll need to check the prices.

This site was linked before -
http://www.saxtonblades.co.uk/index.php?cPath=29

On 02/03/2013 10:46, Windmill wrote:
Steve Firth writes:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

Don't think the SDS chisels which (I now remember) came with my drill
have diamond-shaped teeth, but maybe what's there will serve.

Thank you for the description.

Armeg do one as a "brick removing chisel" - its slim enough to take out
the mortar course round a brick.


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

Steve Firth writes:

Are there no shops where you live?

More a matter of not buying anything unless it'll be used a lot, or is
essential.
There was a little DIY tool place with two branches, but they closed
one and their prices went up.
There are one or two larger outfits in out-of-the-way places, but again
they tend to be expensive.
I suppose LIDL regard their tools (when they have any) as loss leaders.

For reference this is the sort of chisel that I mean:

http://www.toolstation.com/shop/Powe.../sd2781/p39281

Noted; I'll look into it.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

"Ferretygubbins" writes:



"Windmill" wrote in message ...

F Murtz writes:

Windmill wrote:
Multi tool with carbide cutter.


I bought a cheap one from LIDL intending to use it on wood, but maybe
it included a blade for masonry.
ISTR someone recently posted the name of a place which sold blades for
various models; I'll need to check the prices.

This site was linked before -
http://www.saxtonblades.co.uk/index.php?cPath=29


Thank you; that saved me from having to hunt through a lot of old posts.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

John Rumm writes:

On 02/03/2013 10:46, Windmill wrote:
Steve Firth writes:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

Don't think the SDS chisels which (I now remember) came with my drill
have diamond-shaped teeth, but maybe what's there will serve.

Thank you for the description.

Armeg do one as a "brick removing chisel" - its slim enough to take out
the mortar course round a brick.

I've noted that.
Most of these chisels and blades seem to be more expensive than the
tools I have, but maybe EBay can help.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost

I use a regular SDS drill with an 8-10mm bit in, with tape wrapped round at
the required depth.

Mark box outline, drill round that and as many holes in between as possible,
which takes not-a-lot-of-effort with an SDS.

Switch to SDS chisel and join the holes. Big advantage is you get a fairly
even back to the hole and the dust is the heavy type (though the chisel can
throw grit about). Less messy than any angle grinder or box sinker.


+1 to that: Did a few the other day and had forgotten how much easier
and more successful that is than the old cold chisel approach.

On 03/03/2013 10:05, Windmill wrote:
John Rumm writes:

On 02/03/2013 10:46, Windmill wrote:
Steve Firth writes:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

Don't think the SDS chisels which (I now remember) came with my drill
have diamond-shaped teeth, but maybe what's there will serve.

Thank you for the description.

Armeg do one as a "brick removing chisel" - its slim enough to take out
the mortar course round a brick.

I've noted that.
Most of these chisels and blades seem to be more expensive than the
tools I have, but maybe EBay can help.

For most normal SDS chisels, you can resharpen them with a lick on a
bench grinder, so its not that important that they be top quality. The
brick remover usually relies on hardened teeth, and so might be worth
going for a better one. (or one that takes a scutch comb on the end)


--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/

On Sat, 2 Mar 2013 10:58:43 GMT, lid
(Windmill) wrote:

ISTR someone recently posted the name of a place which sold blades for
various models; I'll need to check the prices.

I've bought blades for my Lidl multi tool from ebay in the past (but
never used it on masonry). Let us know how you get on.

On Sat, 02 Mar 2013 02:18:11 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

(unless you have a proper wall chasing AG with collection)

On the subject of proper wall chasers:

I bought the aldi "circular saw body" one which is ok until you need
to get into a corner. To be fair it will do 99.5% of what I need it to
do but I have often wondered about upgrading to an "angle grinder
body" one, like the Sparky.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/sparky-fk3...ser-240v/80879

Machine mart used to sell them cheaper than Screwfix but stopped
stocking them but after the recent thread about poor service at MM,
perhaps that's not a bad thing.

Last time I looked, SF only had one review by a pro electrician
complaining the noise sounded like it was on its last legs and claimed
it was uncomfortable to hold, all of which put me off buying it. I see
there is now a second, more positive review, and £20 off.

Does anyone here own one and what do you think?

(Sorry to hijack the thread)

On 08/03/2013 11:48, Fred wrote:
On Sat, 02 Mar 2013 02:18:11 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:

(unless you have a proper wall chasing AG with collection)

On the subject of proper wall chasers:

I bought the aldi "circular saw body" one which is ok until you need
to get into a corner. To be fair it will do 99.5% of what I need it to
do but I have often wondered about upgrading to an "angle grinder
body" one, like the Sparky.
http://www.screwfix.com/p/sparky-fk3...ser-240v/80879

Machine mart used to sell them cheaper than Screwfix but stopped
stocking them but after the recent thread about poor service at MM,
perhaps that's not a bad thing.

Last time I looked, SF only had one review by a pro electrician
complaining the noise sounded like it was on its last legs and claimed
it was uncomfortable to hold, all of which put me off buying it. I see
there is now a second, more positive review, and £20 off.

Does anyone here own one and what do you think?

Yup, that is the one I have...

Motor on mine sounds fine (not surprisingly perhaps, rather like an
angle grinder). The switch if fine, and power plenty adequate.

The handling is similar to bag pipes! But it does a good job - dust
control (with an adequate vacuum) is very good (the outlet rotates as
well so you can position it as required). You can use it with one disc
or two. Changing the width of chase requires taking a disc off and
juggling the supplied spacers.

Its fairly sturdy, but I would avoid dropping it from a height or
stepping on it - the side walls of the casting are not massive)

No idea what it is like, but:

http://www.lawson-his.co.uk/draperto...product=134517

does look like it has better ergonomics...

--
Cheers,

John.

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John Rumm writes:

On 03/03/2013 10:05, Windmill wrote:
John Rumm writes:

On 02/03/2013 10:46, Windmill wrote:
Steve Firth writes:

John Rumm wrote:
On 01/03/2013 11:38, Windmill wrote:

Is there any way to do this, other than the use of masonry drills to
make holes, followed by much work with mallet and chisel? (Which
usually gives a result that's less than perfect.)

Angle grinder and finish off with a chisel in an SDS drill...

An alternative is to use an SDS mortar chisel. Although designed for
removal of mortar they can be used to cut accurate rectangular holes in
brickwork with less dust than an angle grinder.

Mark the outline of the box on the wall then use the mortar chisel to cut
around the mark. The chisel has a number of diamond shaped teeth and it
will cut very quickly and accurately. Cut as you would with an angle
grinder within the outline and knock out the big lumps. You can then
accurately sculpt with the mortar chisel and also dress the hole to have a
flat back to the rectangle.

Don't think the SDS chisels which (I now remember) came with my drill
have diamond-shaped teeth, but maybe what's there will serve.

Thank you for the description.

Armeg do one as a "brick removing chisel" - its slim enough to take out
the mortar course round a brick.

I've noted that.
Most of these chisels and blades seem to be more expensive than the
tools I have, but maybe EBay can help.

For most normal SDS chisels, you can resharpen them with a lick on a
bench grinder, so its not that important that they be top quality. The
brick remover usually relies on hardened teeth, and so might be worth
going for a better one. (or one that takes a scutch comb on the end)

In the event, the smaller chisel which came with the drill managed to
do the job. Not neatly; light pressure hardly made an indentation in
the brick, and when I increased the pressure the chisel suddenly
started to cut through the brick like a knife through butter, forcing
me to very quickly pull back.
Maybe the wider chisel would have cut more slowly, making depth
control easier, but I didn't think of that until later.
But I was lucky for once: the end result was that the back of the hole
was acceptably flat.

So thanks to all for the advice.

--
Windmill, Use t m i l l
J.R.R. Tolkien:- @ O n e t e l . c o m
All that is gold does not glister / Not all who wander are lost