Home DIY

Just don't expect it to do anything to concrete. I showed my Bosch (2.2kg, 1.7J) to a post footing and I might have well been using a toothbrush. My neighbour took pity and slung his Milwaukee (11kg, 20J) over the fence and half an hour later I had a nice pile of rubble.

The smaller one is plenty for drilling into any substrate though.

I think on the off chance I need to do that I'll either rent a big daddy one, or buy another if it's a longer project.

I've also just thought one my neighbour on the other side may well have one. Although an SDS is great, they are big and I can't see it getting much use overall as my combi handles brick pretty well now I've realised I need to use higher torque and sharp bits. But who knows, maybe it'll see more use if it's in the shed.

I've realised I need to use higher torque and sharp bits

I got some straight shank dewalt bits recently that have 3 flats ground into the shank - they’re great in my combi drill for plugs.
I had to drill a concrete lintel though recently and didn’t take my SDS to the job.
Got there in the end but each hole began to feel like a Guantanamo stress position torture.

@hugo7 for the wooden sill, I (as a rank amateur) would go for some kind of hand saw (whatever you have, or a cheap flush cut) and get in as close as you can. Then a belt sander to flatten it off/bring it in closer and finish with hand sanding using a block as @Airhead says. Will take a while, but it's currently the weather for it.

You're welcome to borrow my belt sander if you're willing to make the trip down here again. I've moved, but only a mile away from where you grabbed the timber.

"grabbed the timber" fnar

Also have a 5kg SDS+ for lends.

You only need the big scissor ones for bigger rivets.
Although they’re fun to use.
Lever pliers type work fine on small rivets but are less satisfying and the additional effort can leave you with kinda crooked rivets.
(My only real experience was replacing panels etc on a series 2 Land Rover - so much fun)

You're welcome to borrow my belt sander

I think this is a good solution.
I don’t know if a hand saw will get any closer than a circular.
I’d be tempted if I were short on tools to make cross cuts with a tenon saw to as close as possible to the frame then knock off with a chisel- keeping an eye out for the grain wanting to take your hewing past the cuts (if that makes sense?) then finish with the belter.

IME (v painful) cycling with a big belt sander and other hand tools in a shoulder bag is a BAD IDEA. Especially if you need to stop suddenly.
But I guess all the kids have proper racks and ting nowadays.

I think this is a good solution.

Even at a not very course grit (relatively speaking) I am always surprised at how fast it will remove wood. So I think the closeness of the cut would be less important. You could do the whole thing with the belt, given enough belts, but it's usually better to cut a lump off than turn it to sawdust. "Nothing removes material faster than a saw", that sort of thing, was my thinking.

I wondered about the perpendicular cuts then knock out (like tenons/lap joints, right?), but then I wonder how much run through you'd get with the saw given the concrete sill being in the way.

What about stitch drilling a line of vertical holes through the wooden sill close to the wall, would mean for less material to then cut through with the saw. And then belt sand to smooth out the half holes left by cutting off.

"Nothing removes material faster than a saw"

An axe? 🤪

Personally I would start knocking the wood off with a wide chisel watching carefully which way the grain wants to break off, making cross chop cuts (like cutting a hinge mortise or whatever) but this does require a 50mm v sharp chisel.

What about stitch drilling a line of vertical holes

Definitely an option - a solution from the pre multi tool days

The mortar under the wooden cill can probably be raked out and replaced to get a good weather seal.

An axe?

There's the other phrase, "if all you have is a hammer, then everything looks like a nail", or something.

Oddly, I don't yet own an axe......

I heard that phrase in Arrival, didn’t know it before.
It’s a good one.

I've got a box of slightly random DIY stuff/shed clutter to clear out. Includes a bunch of cabinet hinges, carriage bolts, stainless tubes, plumbing fittings, mitre box and hand saws. Anyone fancy taking it all off my hands? Pickup from SW London.

I have the Titan one. Through my limited use it seems pretty good, came with a spare pair of brushes and an SDS to straight shank adapter which is useful. It is very substantial though

My thinking was that I'll use my combi drill for most stuff so the weight of the SDS will only be an occasional thing where it's required.

"Nothing removes material faster than a saw"

An axe? 🤪

Chainsaw, surely.

[Edit] Scratch that - Stump remover.

But with a chainsaw, you can remove a whole tree in seconds. Even a stump remover would be slower....

Installing string shelving onto plasterboard walls, attachhed is photo of the screws and plugs they supply

1. should i use explicit plasterboard plugs instead of the ones provided? the instructions say you can use these on plasterboard
   
2. the screws are too long, drilling hole for the plug to fit into, the screws go all the way through put hit brick behind
   2a. do i need shorter screws with matching head shapes to the provided ones?
   2b. do i need to drill the brick behind and use the provided ones?
   
   

1 Attachment

Two part wood filler. How do you clean that bastard stuff off? White spirit wouldn't even touch it. Ended up attacking the filling knives with the RO sander, and that was after making sure to scrape as much off as possible before it cured.

I’m sure there are chemicals that will dissolve it - but not anything you want to be around.

Scrape as much off as you can then remove hardened stuff mechanically.

There’s a sweet spot when the 2-part has hardened but not cured and it sometimes comes off in one slightly rubbery piece.
Quite satisfying.

Once you’ve sanded metal tools you’ve provided a perfect key to which subsequent filler will adhere.
It’s a bummer.

Ha! Funny, I was just looking at the swirls and thinking exactly that! Lucky they're the cheap euro ones from Toolstation. but not cheap enough for single use so I'll probably just keep one set for the wood filler and just keep sanding those.

These should expand / contort when screwing in, the secure to the back of the plasterboard. Emphasis on ‘should’.

In my experience, they are flimsy at best and fail at worst.

If you’re installing shelving (assuming you’re putting heavy things on them) I would go with hollow wall anchors (don’t forget to buy a setting tool…).

If these are external walls or internal supporting walls, you’ll lively have dot and dab which means the space between the plasterboard and brick / breeze block will be small. You should drill into the brick to accommodate the tail of the anchor.

Alternatively you could also fix through the PB to the brick, use big plugs and a 6mm screw
The head shape is probably just cosmetic

Its our terrace house party wall, that i believe is actually studs onto the brick wall between the houses.

Fair enough - same result. Anchors will be more than enough to secure the shelving

I have the Titan and can't complain. Good for destruction jobs, I ended up buying a cordless 2kg for smaller jobs.

Fixing skirting. What's the best adhesive? Sure I read something here about some kind of foam.