UKC

Always thought Stanley (general), Irwin saws, Marples chisels, Bosch / Makita power tools were good.

However....recently, Stanley look a bit sketchy (saws esp) & Bosch maybe... Forge steel, I'm quite impressed with.

What tools brands (and for what) are worth buying to last? don't have to be expensive - most impressed with an irwin jack saw that cost £8!
Cheers!

In reply to thin bob: i'm a builder, in general i buy makita for power tools! can't fault them- good tools, powerfull, long lasting and excellent after service even after warranty finished. cheap tools are a false economy i think, buy a makita and it'll last for ever! look harder and you'll find jack saws for a fiver

If you're buying for hobby use then you could do worse than Axminster.

Great service from them as well

In reply to thin bob:
I don't know if it is still true but you used to be able to get hold of virtually any part of a bosch product as a spare so you could repair them yourself. My dad has a collection of Bosch tools that are getting towards "Triggers Broom" status.

In reply to thin bob: I'm no expert (understatement) but some of the top-end Draper stuff seems good - think they have different ranges at different levels of quality. British family-owned company too if that makes any difference.

In reply to thin bob:
Cheers chaps.
Any more recommendations for hand tools?

In reply to thin bob: what kind of hand tools?

In reply to Steve John B: I have a Draper biscuit joiner but it's not that good - difficult to keep the rail perfectly perpendicular, and tightening the bolts tends to move them a few degrees out so often not perfectly 90 degree cuts. Which is pretty key for biscuit joining in my book.

b

In reply to thin bob:

My tool box looks like Stanley's back catalogue!

My Grandad was a carpenter - wheelwright - by trade, so I have some of his old tools. They're of an era of craftmanship when tools were built to last and I like to think of him when I'm using them.

Wasn't impressed with a lot of tools I've seen in places like B&Q and Wickes - they just look like they're made of cheese and I've had a couple of tools break quite easily.

In reply to Reach>Talent:
>" I don't know if it is still true but you used to be able to get hold of virtually any part of a bosch product as a spare so you could repair them yourself"

This does appear to be true, I bought some saddle clamps for a Bosch sander recently and the dealer (based in Boston lincs) had access to pretty much anything for a Bosch tool.

Not all cheap stuff is crap, I bought a "titan" (screwfix own brand) powerdrill recently because I needed something cheap and it has a 2 year guarantee. So far, 8 months in, It's been great, and it only cost £36.

In reply to thin bob: Hand tool wise there are still a few chisel makers running out of Sheffield, Sorby I think. For smoothing planes, you either get lucky in a car boot sale finding a pre 60's Stanley or you have to go (what I think) is expensive. Lie Neilson or Veritas planes are sublime pieces of engineering to look at and in the hand. There are cheaper quality tools available from Workshop Heaven, which appear to be specifying high quality build and irons from China.

Depends what you want to be honest.

Mark

In reply to thin bob: sad to say that once reputable brands (record, stanley, marples etc) are virtual parodies of their former selves-to many buy-outs by cost cutting suits to maintain quality. Unless you're prepared to pay top dollar for the good stuff (lie neilsen, clifton, veritas) then second hand gear from ebay is the way to go. Another tip regarding saws-get Japanese style saws-cheaper and better than western equivalents-all you need is a rip saw and a crosscut to handle all situations.

In reply to thin bob: Festool are the dogs dangly bits, and their track saws doubly so!

In reply to LastBoyScout:
As tha yout' sey...I feel ya. My grandad was a carpenter & he had a lot of Stanley...just ain't the same, but I scored a combination square (with the scriber) for £2 at a boot sale. Certainly saved me nicking one off me dad

In reply to Mark Morris:
Ta, will check them.

In reply to Removed Userena sharples:
Chhers, me duck
A japanese pull saw is already on the list!

In reply to ollieollie:

what I want to do is introduce people to working with wood, so I'm thinking oldskool spokeshaves (or whatever the 'greenwood' equivalent is), chisels, rough shapers & planes, hammers, adzes (?), braces & bits even....
Some cordless stuff, but also traditional tools/techniques.

I suppose i'm looking at 'bodging', but with a potential commercial/job slant. What tools do people use on site?

In reply to LastBoyScout:

>

'fatMax = fat b*stard!!??
I saw a Stanley marking gauge...plastic!! Pah!

In reply to cuppatea:

these people?
http://www.axminster.co.uk/about-axminster-artlabout/

In reply to thin bob:
The very same

In reply to thin bob: japanese dotsuki-me saw for fine cabinet work but veritas cross cut saws are as good and last longer and I still like an upright handle. Stanley planes are still good and to be honest you're only as good as your ablity to hone a very good sharp edge so quality sharpening equipment makes a huge difference to chisels. Avoid Lie Neilsen its the arcteryx of the the tool world, very nice but not justified unless you have more oney than sense.
The Axminster catalogue is tool porn!

In reply to thin bob:

www.ukworkshop.co.uk

has a busy for sale section and lots of friendly Norms who are good for advice

In reply to Reach>Talent:


Aaaagh, I knew about Trigger's Broom and George Washington's axe, yet still your post prompted me to read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ship_of_Theseus

Now my brain hurts!

In reply to Blue Straggler:

this bit is brilliant!:

"Plutarch thus questions whether the ship would remain the same if it were entirely replaced, piece by piece. Centuries later, the philosopher Thomas Hobbes introduced a further puzzle, wondering: what would happen if the original planks were gathered up after they were replaced, and used to build a second ship.[3] Which ship, if either, is the original Ship of Theseus?

Another early variation involves a scenario in which Socrates and Plato exchange the parts of their carriages piece by piece until, finally, Socrates's carriage is made up of all the parts of Plato's original carriage and vice versa. The question is presented if or when they exchanged their carriages."

In reply to yer maw: lie neilsen is about as good as it gets-cannot afford, or justify aerteryx gear so don't know how much better than standard stuff it is, but unlike hill gear a lie nielsen plane.chisel etc. will last several lifetimes. Good point about sharpening though-that really is a no-brainer-a 4000+ grit Japanese waterstone is the way to go.

In reply to thin bob:

I use a bunch of Kobe tools at work so I got myself a Kobe rotary tool and at £36ish from Cromwell Engineering Supplies (they let me off a £5er for not being able to lay their hands on it aftr confirming they had it in. I had to wait one more day! Big deal), it's fantastic. They're not top notch professional but for a budget they are industrial standard at DIY prices.

Here's what I bought for home use and it's great: http://www.cromwell.co.uk/index.php?q=0&p=viewproduct&i=KBE2792200K