Home DIY

Coach bolts.

I need a Plasterer, North London based, any recommendations?

Security screws?

This. You'll probably need a square section file to expand some holes for the heads, I have one I used for this very task you can borrow if you want?

I just epoxied the heads of the screws in my pre-fab shed. Not easily reversible but I'm fine with that.

Plus, I've had the joy twice now of handing a smug guest a screwdriver when they looked at the shed and said anyone could just take the door off.

Ta all. Coach bolts not really feasible as on the frame side the hinge is screwed in to a stud which is 120mm deep, and the holes will only accept probably a 6mm diameter bolt diameter.

Think I'll try these security screws @Dammit linked and replace a couple of the screws from each hinge with those.

After 10 hours of sanding I have made some progress on the table. 4 hours by hand before realising that the current top layer is tough as nails and I want getting anywhere. Bought a cheap orbital sander and cracked on. The extension piece is varnished with danish oil and looks great. Rest of top is sanded and awaiting varnishing and still have legs to do next weekend. Cannot wait to finish it - taken way longer than expected!

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Been gifted a Makita Ni-Cd cordless drill with a fairly tired set of batteries. Does any kind of Li-ion battery adapter exist?

Picture?
You might be lucky. The older blue Ni-Cad era tools take the modern Li-ion rechargeable battery packs. Makita might have retained the same docking system as they moved to Li-ion.

Is there a What Saw Should I Get thread?

Feel like I want an electric saw and not sure what or why. What are the different purposes of say a reciprocating Vs a mitre Vs a chop Vs a plunge Vs a circular Vs jigsaw etc.

Apart from sproadically using my dad's bandsaw, I've basically only ever used my set of pull saws (with admittedly 'rustic' results). Feel I want to up my game as my wrist has clearly taken too much teenage abuse and I'm fed up of looking at pissed joints.

Has to be baby blue.

Depends what you are doing... There are often ways to use a saw in a way it isn't designed to be used, and you can get away with it, but could be done much easier or with better accuracy using another.

Adding table saw to your list. This is just what I use them for, I'm sure there are lots of other uses for each I haven't listed:

Table saw - Great for sheet goods. Long rip cuts. Making repeated cuts. Cutting dados, bevels.
Mitre - Cross cuts of timber. Can cut mitres. Sliding variety extends capacity to 300mm+. If you are doing skirting, picture rail, you want one of these.
Chop - Same as mitre saw but no angled cuts. Not worth it IMO
Circular - Rough straight cuts of sheet goods. Can be made more accurate if you bother with ripping guides. Also can use to cross cut timber if you are standing on the roof and cant be bothered to come down and use your Mitre saw. If you are going to do some framing you probably want one of these.
Plunge - My favourite. like a circular saw but with a guide rail that lets you do highly accurate cuts in sheet goods. Great if you want to make cabinets. I find a way to use mine for everything.
Jigsaw - Good for cutting shapes. Since the blade is thin it has a tendancy to deflect and so following the line is difficult / impossible if there are any knots in your wood.
Reciprocating - Not sure about these, don't have one

If I was going to own just one saw out of all of those, it would probably be a circular saw, followed by a mitre saw. Although will admit that since I got a plunge saw I pretty much don't use my circular saw anymore.

Thanks for all the detail - very useful.
Think a plunge and/or mitre sounds right for my needs. Probably the latter first for what I'm after. Reading about single vs double bevel. Think I'd have to be very lazy/doing an awful lot of work to require a double bevel.

Can I ask what the deal is with power? Why would I want a 240v over a 110v - same cost etc:

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dws773-gb-216mm-single-bevel-sliding-compound-mitre-saw-240v/9008j

vs

https://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-dws773-lx-216mm-single-bevel-sliding-compound-mitre-saw-110v/9289j

If the modern li-ion packs do fit I'd highly recommend one of these Powergiant replacements which are way cheaper than Makita original batteries and also higher capacity - I reckon they're better than the originals:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MY0F1A8/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_1

If you want to become a professional, to work on site you would be required to use 110v equipment, (and would need a 110v transformer too)

For home use though just stick with 240v.

Have a look at the 255mm evolution. More power, bigger capacity and 50 quid cheaper. I have one and it's brilliant.

240v over a 110v

Unless you work on a building site, there's little point having 110v, which is a safety feature redundancy in a home setting where you have RCDs protecting you.

Also, you'd need a transformer to use it.

And they go walkabout far more than 240v tools.

What cutting g are you planning on doing?

Aha, thanks @TW and @Hovis

Just want it for general choppery (wasn't he in robot wazz?). Moving next week and will be taking little to no furniture to make said move easier/cheaper. Planning on putting up some shelves, new skirting, potentially a rough kitchen table and also a workbench etc in the short term. In the long term I'd like something I can get choppy with while I fit out a studio/office but as I haven't found a space I like yet that's less of a priority.

robot wazz

Plunge saw + mitre saw. You can do almost anything with that combo.

I need to patch up a bit of my garage roof (some form of asbestos I assume). Can I just lay some corrugated bitumen/PVC sheet on the affected areas? What can I use to fix the sheets down without having to drill into the asbestos?...

Anyone have any tips for flattening out a plastering job so I can installed skirting board? They plastered down practically to the floor and the bottom edge is raised and lumpy vs the rest of the walls so my skirting can't sit square. I started chiselling away at it but it will take forever at the rate I'm going at.

Rebate in the skirting?

I’ve had to do that more often than I’d like - I just mark the top of the skirting, and using a 100mm bolster, twat it all off up to 25mm below the line.
As quickly as possible too just to get it over with.
If it means the skirting sits too deep into the wall then I get busy with the instastik

@dbr Nice idea! But unfortunately my router is currently being lent out, and I don't have access to a table saw so can't really do that I don't think

@Dugtheslug Yeah I guess that's what I'll have to do. I think I have a bolster lurking somewhere, although my memory of it is it's about 60mm wide. How does instastick work, it expands behind the skirting and grabs it? I was planning on gluing little wooden blocks of correct thickness in a few places and gluing / screwing to those.

Cut the bottom of the plaster off (assuming it's boarded) then dot & dab the skirting (assuming it's something easy like MDF)?

Or screw a furring strip / batten into the wall at the bottom, and attach the skirting to that?

Chuck in some trunking while you're there...