Home DIY

Is there a recommended inexpensive bench mounted pillar drill?

And if I'm looking 2nd hand is there anything I need to look out for/ask/etc. phase and speed I guess? What sort of speed do I want for steel, wood and alu?

Cheers.

Presumably the boiler flue is out through the wall with A? If it was B, you'd fall foul of the 30cm from opening.

B would probably be easier to wire it too.

Any thoughts welcome.

If it's possible put it above the shower and duct it through the ceiling. More from an aesthetics perspective. And fan should be able to shift the air in that size room pretty quickly so placement for efficiency is less of a concern.

If you use that window, I would be wary of B or C because the fan will pull air in through the window rather than dry air in through the door which is what you are aiming for. I also wouldn't want it near my boiler tbh. No idea if it would fall foul of regs if it is in B or C but from an access perspective it could make things difficult and you've got more chance of fucking something important up when wiring it.

You know about bathroom splash zoning presumably? You might have to use a 12v fan with a transformer or a zone 2 certified 240v.

put it above the shower and duct it through the ceiling

Is that possible in an old Victorian terrace ?

This seems to be commonly resold under a few different brands. I got a second hand one for £30 and it's ok - I blew the starter capacitor drilling loads of steel but it still works, just need to give it a spin to start. There's 5 belt speeds, I tend to leave it on the slowest one.

Vintage stuff is probably a lot better but you'd want to know what you're looking at. Lidl/Aldi probably worth a look too when they have them in.

Thanks all. It was a panic last night as the builder is in today and I'm unable to be there. I've asked for B if it is possible, if not C. A was semi vetoed so unless it was a unanimous recommendation then it would was being discounted.

Is that possible in an old Victorian terrace ?

Yes. If the ceiling has been fucked with already - which it looks like it has - it's less messy and probably easier.

Obvs. depends on what's above and where the ducting has to go - if it's the empty roof space above then happy days as you can work from it from above. If it's another floor, it's a fairly big disruptive job as you'll big taking big bits of your ceiling out.

Cheers.

Is there enough space if say you wanted to get a 1.5m long bit of 4x4 in there?

I've made a half arsed effort to look at vintage stuff. But as you say, you need a bit of knowledge. Online forum searches are always full of people advising that as they don't make 'em like that anymore (I suspect they do, just that people forget that what they're looking at was yesterday's equivalent of today's £ks worth of computer controlled profession machines).

Yeah would do that fine, probably worth having a bit of support at the other end though.

Cheers.

Also idk if other folks Lidl has them, but mine has a load of useful bits and bobs in at the moment.

I picked up:

• assorted steel brackets
  
• nails
  
• en trend double sided Japanese pull saw
  
• Forsener(sp?) bits - they had spade bits and steps too. I've previously been satisfied with my Lidl step bits.
  
• open sided right angle clamp thingy
  

Is there enough space if say you wanted to get a 1.5m long bit of 4x4 in there?

Chuck To Base Distance 290 mm
Chuck To Table Distance 200 mm

Tight squeeze, once you have a long enough bit.

Like almost every Zone diagrams online, that one is horribly wrong.

This one is correct and also has text from the regs:
https://www.lightfixation.co.uk/n/n7/knowing-bathroom-lighting-standards

Hah yes, there did seem to be a bit of variance in them. Ta.

Cheers. I reckon that's an outlier as 7cm is the thickest bit of wood I've got at the moment.

@Nef Cheers for the Knipex multi function pliers suggestion. They're nice.

I managed to get an open damaged box pair for £38.50. Despite being almost x3 what I'd planned to spend being <£40 made it a justifiable purchase investment.

Decent hand tools are always a worthwhile investment if you’re going to spend any amount of time using them. Although it does make for an expensive habit.

Where's good for decent quality kitchen handles, without paying the silly prices from kitchen suppliers?

Good tools last a lifetime if you look after them, although my dads tools aren't the best and they have made him money for 30 years so im not sure my theory really works. Ha

Let there be light. (A 6ft batten on a 5a plug at the moment.)

1 Attachment

I'm just getting back into playing around with various bits of electronics using Arduino/etc. Wire strippers, cutters, soldering iron, multimeter, etc. Quite a bit of up-front expense but it means each subsequent thing is really cheap to do.

(Home temperature/humidity monitoring, clock and next bus time displayed in the hall, 5-a-side scoring display with clock, etc.)

Good tools actually last several lifetimes. Your Dad may have bought the type that only last one lifetime which is pretty clever on his part!

I still use tools that my Grandfather used.

@Airhead Gotta say thanks for the Zinsser recommendations.

Despite my determination to avoid painting and decorating at work and subcontract all of it out my inability to find a decent painter of late means I've had to do a lot. Zinsser stuff has made this almost bearable - less prep, better coverage no need to slack it off. Plus the exterior stuff doesn't even need primer etc and sprays beautifully.

Once again thanks.

You're welcome. I'm all about making the paintwork bearable. Just finished an exterior and I'm hoping I never say yes to one again!

Hi! That sounds ominous…We are about to embark on painting our exterior, do you have any tips please? Do you recommend washing the paintwork first with sugar soap?