Home DIY

Ha, an engineering friend has a spare that I’m going to collect, I suspect the eBay ones will take a while to get here!

Have a few that need desoldering from an old sky or virgin tv box ;)

You can get "Sharpies" that are made by the likes of Konig that are intended for patching up dents in furniture etc that would be perfect for this.

On the subject of tools, I bought my Makita Li Ion gear tail end of 2008 and it’s still going strong. Got a drill, jigsaw, grinder, circular saw, lamp and the crap vacuum cleaner. 4 batteries and it’s all had a busy life but I do look after it. Makita vs DeWalt has always been the same. DeWalt for rough jobs and demolition, Makita for more precision jobs like carpentry and metalwork.

Just watch out for the Screwfix versions of any of those tools - they’re often a slightly shitter version so they can put them in their deals.

Although counter to that, most people I know would take Dewalt over makita for chopsaws and tablesaws.

I have a DeWalt chopsaw and a Makita circular saw, am I doing it right?

In my opinion, yes.

I have a big Bosch chopsaw. But would buy Dewalt if I did it again. Although if I do replace it, I’ll buy a small Bosch I like the look of. Fuck knows. As long as you don’t buy super cheap, most tools will be absolutely fine. And realistically, most DIY market tools will be fine for DIY. But shit tools are shit. And using nice tools is nice. But money doesn’t grow on trees, and you can do 90% of anything with a hammer, a saw and a paintbrush if you don’t give a shit. Lol.

The 12" Makita chop saw is pony, this is possibly why. Never tried their table saw mind you.

I have a lengthy diatribe on the subject of tools that I keep half writing but never get round to posting. The main point is find what works for you and enjoy using it.

Out of curiosity why would you replace it with the DeWalt? I love my 12" Bosch chop saw to bits and would never replace it.

I also carry a small metabo one in the van day to day so I've got a chop saw to hand and like that also, but it took a lot of work to dial in when I first got it. Much more so than my big Bosch.

Just watch out for the Screwfix versions of any of those tools - they’re often a slightly shitter version so they can put them in their deals.

Someone agrees with me.

But shit tools are shit.

Ah like the drill that doesn't drill straight but chuck wobbles so you can't drill a straight hole. I have a tesco hammer drill like that. But can't throw it away....

Perfect.

I couldn't find a pine one by Konig in a single pen in the UK, but I've bought one from Liberon which has three different pine shades and I'll give it a go.

As ever, big thanks for your advice - I've done a huge amount of stuff on the house that I am very proud of that I'd never have got started with if it wasn't for your post about floor sanding way back when.

Because I bought a stupid Bosch saw. Pic related. I got it cheap, and it’s not awful, but I understand why it was cheap. It’s also massive, and just has a few niggling features.
The Dewalt saws seem laid out a bit better, but in reality I’ll be buying a small saw to take around on jobs before I ever consider replacing the big one.

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I know, which is a shame as the old ones were pretty decent.

My word how long do you spend cleaning your tools when you're meant to be working?😉

They’re both old photos from when they were new. That being said, I have to work very clean because of the environment I work in. Can’t deal with dirty tools any more! One of the main reasons I never became a builder.

A few simple 2x4 projects. Mostly for mini_com but the garden bench is to replace the even more agricultural one I've had for a few years. Have a new sander coming to help with the finishing touches.

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Knock a matchstick into the hole and start again

Used to do this, then used to put 9mm round softwood stick in, glue and rescrew.

Now I buy hardwood golf tees, glue, cut off the top and rescrew.

Love these.

hardwood golf tees

Sssssshhhhhhhh! Some trade secrets are too good to give away!

Very breezy two seater!
Pre-covid dimensions tho...

Yeah, at 4ft wide it's a chair rather than a bench to be honest

Post tidy up shot. Picnic table has a sand tray under the top, in case that wasn't obvious.

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Not all builders leave a trail of dust and mess in their wake but I get your point. When I'm working in a lived in house the first thing through the door is my dust extractor, closely followed by the zip wall which is then erected, followed by dust sheets. Only then do I start bringing in tools. Doing it this way gets clients on side before work commences