Home DIY

The only one I've ever needed is an air powered Makita trim nailer for tiny pins. Works very well tacking mdf to pine or edge banding on shelf edges. Air tools all benefit from lighter weight and a compressor is a useful addition to the tool bank.

I suppose a lot depends on how big the nails are that you want to drive. I found it's easy to hit a larger nail with a hammer, it's only the tiny trim pins you need to have disappear into the finish and they are near impossible to hammer in without damaging the surface.

Thanks @bq @Airhead @hugo7 on the multitool front.

Tasks I have to do:
Cut out a built in cupboard / skirting to take it back to an alcove (to put a fridge in there and box it up).
Remove tiled splashback and prep it for a sheet of something (tbd)
Quick trims on the back of new units to fit existing pipework etc.
Probably other things.

Multitool is more useful on the removal/prep than the building. The Fein is an effective sander as well though.

Not to put you off buying one, they are essential for a professional but they pay for themselves over a longer time by getting problem jobs done quickly.

Unless you have very tough (i.e. expensive) blades they will eat blades if you end up chewing through a hardened screw in a piece of wood. Blades consumption can end up being expensive if you're not careful.

Many times though, even if it costs in time and blades, if there's a thing that needs cutting in a difficult spot things might well have been much worse without one. I do use mine for cutting floorboards, a depth stop is handy in this case. Just in case a plumber has notched the central heating pipes.

Also handy for removing the grout between tiles if you need to lift a single tile.

It'll be for bits and pieces around the house. So a compressor is out. When I get my shed/workshop, I may consider a compressor. I'm really only thinking initially for trim pins for fitting architrave, beading etc. then for random bits of small wordwork for fun. I did the architrave in my office with the Tacwise, and as it not putting them in flush, meant I need to go over them with a hammer and punch which to me defeats the purpose of having the tool in the first place.

if there's a thing that needs cutting in a difficult spot things might well have been much worse without one.

Also good for safe pumpkin carving and Christmas tree trunk narrowing.

A Tool for all Seasons.

I couldn't recommend anything but the air one I have for that purpose. It's been brilliant and even when it's someone with less experience operating it I can leave them for hours using it without any problem. There might be some equally good electric ones around though. Rutlands have a battery powered one on sale occasionally.

I have used some decent electric staplers but they do seem to misfire more often. One thing I find with the electric ones is you need to apply a lot of pressure to the head to keep it firmly on the surface of the material when you press the trigger. Like leaning on it. The pins on the other hand are tiny so they don't provide so much resistance.

Must be popular, it's sold out at the moment.

https://www.rutlands.com/sp+nailing-nailers-cordless-nailers-premium-cordless-18v-finish-nailer-and-stapler-18g-rutlands%C2%AE+r7016

One more thing to note on the multi tools. You can't cut yourself with the blades. Certainly it's the case with mine. You can run the blade over your finger with the machine running, nothing. Apply it to some wood, cuts it. This makes oscillating cutters popular for removing plaster casts etc.

I think Fein held a patent for a long time. Their history was in boat building and they still have lots of blades specifically suited to that industry.

Really?! I’m pretty sure I’ve cut myself on a blade just attaching it to the machine 😂

I had a demo once and the guy showed me. I'm pretty sure you could cut yourself with the blade but when it's oscillating for some reason it doesn't. Cue pictures of severed fingers etc.

Try it at home (at your own risk etc.)

They work on the same principle as those oscillating tools they use to cut off plaster casts without slicing through the quivering flesh beneath. In fact, I think I read somewhere that those medical tools were the precursors to the multitools we all know and love.

Yes, they refer to it here.

https://fein.com/en_uk/fein/company/history/

Apparently the multi tool was based on an automotive 'chassis saw'. Turns out the first application was removing glass from silicon in cars.

Air tools all benefit from lighter weight

Not to mention the maintenance benefits. Couple of drops of oil every time you use it Vs stripping down and cleaning every 10,000 (very optimistic that number) nails (Paslode etc) or flogging it to an unsuspecting person on eBay when the warranty is about to run out because they are so complicated that out of warranty repairs are either impossible or will cost more than the price of a new unit.

do not buy cheap aftermarket blades, i bought a bosch when i moved into my flat and it was a lifesaver for doing skirting, sockets and removing gummy adhesive residue from concrete floors and got a new blade for removing more adhesive and the spot welds failed as soon as i turned it on, sending a triangular pice of sharp metal whizzing past my face, had safety glasses on but could have had an unwanted funky new piercing.

If you’re really tight like me, you can extend the life of a normal cutting blade almost indefinitely by sharpening the teeth back into points with a triangular key file. My thrift knows no bounds.

Ninja level thrift

Kitchen tap + filter + dual handles + pull out spray thing = ?

Quooker?

Don't really want hot water - do they only do heaty ones? Edit: seemingly yes if you want the hosey thing. Also, so far adding the bits together it's at £3.5k and counting.

Yeah my dads got a Fein corded and we use it all the time, absolute workhorse. I’ve tried the cheap blades and expensive ones and they all seem to never last, so just buy the cheap ones now and throw away.

I got a quooker for a job, all singing and dancing the tap and setup was like £3k. Nice tap but not worth that money

Kitchen tap + filter + dual handles + pull out spray thing = ?

Could this also equal-
Tap water filter cartridge.
Kitchen Tap with dual handles and hose.
Requisite plumbing adapters.

Or were you thinking-
Hot and cold unfiltered plus a filtered/sparkly drinking option

No idea really.

I'd like a single tap (single hole drilled in surface) with a dual handle (because multi-angle levers with hot water always end up frustrating me) with a (not obvious) pull out function to spray stuff / definitely not use as a bidet and I just happened to think, "wouldnt it be nice if it was filtered water ready for the coffee machine" (a technivorm, which I have to clean fairly regularly as a result of our muck/water).

It’s a fair point.

We’ve got one but it was a tiny bit less than £2k all in. Think the prices have gone up since.

In terms of the single handle thing I hate the side mounted ones but ours is great, never confusing.

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