f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Doing some major refurb work on my house and all my old Bosch power tools are giving up the ghost!

I need a decent circular saw and a belt sander. Makita look pretty well made to me and are a fairly good price, but my mates tell me DeWalt are better... that said I don't need tools I am going to use every day so are they overkill even if they are better as they are also more expensive.

Also I need a chop saw for cutting 200mm laminate floor 'planks'..... any recommendations on these too.... most don't seem big enough!

Thanks in advance.

fat-thomas

iTrader: (4)

Hilti, we use them at work very reliable

bustaMOVEs

iTrader: (31)

Dewalt are very good and robust, we use them at work and have recently upgraded them. Makita are also good.
Buy any of them depending on your budget.
Dewalt items are usually serviceable

kevfawcett

iTrader: (7)

We use DeWwalt, Bosch and Makita drills at work. The Dewalt seem to be much more powerful and reliable than the others

ALi-B

iTrader: (1)

IMO - if its cordless. Makita Li-ion everytime.

Beware of cheap cordless tools being sold with NiCd batteries. Mostly Dewalt from the likes of screwfix and B&Q, although you do also see the odd NiCd equipped Makita too - avoid!

Corded -for DIY, can't knock Green Bosch. Not the best, not the most expensive, but solid and does the job and better than the budget stuff....I once bough a JCB orbital sander - it vibrated me more than the workpiece, swapped it for a Bosch that was £10 more, lighter, nicer to hold, better made and it didn't blur my vision. Most of my corded tools are Bosch (except teh Black and decker Router, which I as a impulse buy as it was opened-box stock for £25 - discounted from £80).

I wouldn't buy Green Bosch cordless though - the usual issue - cheap Nicd batteries. Blue Bosch are mostly Li-ion.

JGlanzaV

iTrader: (3)

I would go for dealt or hilti every time, but hilti is major over kill for diy!

Makita cordless stuff is okay, the tools are good, the batteries are the worst out there though, my mate owns a tool shop and has hundreds of makita batteries back on warranty every year, but only tens of dewalts

b3nmw

We use dewalt for drill driver, 18v with 1.5 a batteries powerful and lightweight and bosch 18v sds also powerful and lightweight. I think most of the big names are all pretty gd. Hilti is abit expensive IMO. Not sure for the tools that u need as don't use them. Don't get anything **** though like ryobi or cheaper.

Turbohot

I vote for Makita.

I've recently done this and that (nothing major, mind) in my house. I got hellbent to DIY it by my own deadlines, rather then waiting around for my loved ones to do as per their mood and conveniences, and for the hired professionals' bodged up substandard jobs- sick of it! So, I found Makita cordless drill, charged it in no time, and went round drilling holes, putting curtain rails up, fixing damaged furniture and hanging pictures. I'm very proud of myself and very pleased with Makita drill. We have more Makita tools in our tool box. I will be using them as and when required. Very good make.

zip106

B & Q P brand






Not really......

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Makita circular saw here, in the last 7yrs it's been used semi-professionally to put boards on a 120 metre square roof, board the same in flooring, multiple cuts for concrete shuttering of which there has been more than I can count, cut through 80yr old inch thick oak boards when I was making my kitchen, which are as tough as wood gets, I **** you not, I have seriously kicked the **** out of this saw and it's still going, only had one disc replaced, like for like, I have built tables and benches with it and it's about to get another hammering when I lay another 60 square metres of pine in the next few months, cant praise it enough. as for their drills I have a makita battery drill that is over 20yrs old, it was used professionally for 15yrs everyday in my line of work and yes it's had a few batteries over the years but the drill is still going, doesn't look pretty but it still does the job.

So I recon another vote for Makita.

Just to add; the inch thick oak boards killed 2 bosch electric planes, 3rd one is still alive, both previous ones replaced under warranty, the guy in that shop doesn't like me.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Hilti has a sale on at the moment as I got sucked into buying more stuff . If you use the Hilti stuff when your finished your refurb I bet the gear will sell quickly as it really is the best out there.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

DeWalt are rebadged Black and Decker...to be avoided.
Makita, Hitachi, Hilti, even Ryobi are better.

The Sheep Worrier

iTrader: (2)

Milwaukee. 3 year guarantee on the drill itself (or whatever you buy), 2 year on the battery's. Battery indicator which tells you how much juice you have left, they also have a clever sensor inside them that senses when the battery is on the verge of overheating (e.g after sustained heavy Drilling) and will cut off the supply to the unit. This is your warning that if you continue to use without allowing the battery to cool down, your on your way to ending the battery's life prematurely. Obviously you can then remove the hot battery and use your spare while the other is cooling. Overheating is the biggest killer of li-ion battery's, and makita Imo are the worst out there for poor quality batteries. Hilti are way overpriced, and do no better with regards to the job your doing, and I speak from experience. DeWalt are ok,but not as good as they once were Imo.
My tools get some serious abuse with me, and by far out of all the drills etc I've had over the years they are the better Imo.

pflowers

Another vote for milwaukee here

I use a lot of their 12v range and they have proven to be pretty much indestructible despite major abuse, very well priced to.

Anglian tool centre always has deals on, also look out on eBay.

joe v3sti

iTrader: (8)

I've had the makita 18v lithium gear since it it came out years ago. Only thing I've ever needed to replace are a chuck on a drill, multiple batteries and a half inch drive on my impact wrench. So all in all it's served me very well considering how much hammer it's had. However my stuff is now really quite tired and I will now me moving over to Milwaukee battery gear. My corded stuff comprises of hilti, makita, Bosch, dealt, metabo, evolution. There's not a right lot a haven't got. But I agree with the above, the new Milwaukee is great stuff, it makes my makita gear look a bit old hat really. Things have moved on since I first bought it years ago.
Milwaukee gets my vote

pflowers

I agree, have tried some DeWalt stuff and have not been impressed. Have found Makita better but latest stuff nowhere near as good as they were 15/20 years ago.

scooblet

iTrader: (5)

Another one for Hilti, great bits of kit!

hux309

Milwaukee, from what i've seen they're bulletproof

joe v3sti

iTrader: (8)

The problem is, not one manufacturer makes the best everything! Ie drill, grinder, impact driver, impact wrench. This isn't an issue in corded stuff hence why I have so many different manufactures, taking the best tools from each brand.
However you can't do this with battery gear as it all needs to work off the same battery's. So somewhere along the line compromises within the tools them selfs need to be made. So for me the battery technology really makes or breaks it.

The Sheep Worrier

iTrader: (2)

Agreed.
I have a bosh corded sds max, which hammer drills big 6" cores through Stone walls (have a lot of them here) for fun, and equally "kango''s through concrete or whatevers in its way effortlessly. Had it 6 years without any issues (touches wood). Got some DeWalt corded kit aswell, drills, circular saws etc again which work great.
The thing that's useful for me (if the milwaukee kits ever fails) is there are two builders merchants close to me which stoxk the kit, and they have regular visits from reps, so I can give them aggro if it breaks.
I've also got the mega radio which plays ipod etc and the sound and build quality Is far superior of any others out there on the market Imo.

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

All my tools are cordless and I have quite a few dewwalt tools and they are spot on, how many people pick a makita cross cut saw over a dealt one ? Not many as the dewalt is better. Dewwalt also do some good tools that the others don't make

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Stupid ipad has changed all my words, it's Dewalt.

jayallen

iTrader: (31)

There is no doubt about it Hilti is the best when it comes too power tools but over kill for DIY.

I have a 36volt SDS which i use most days for drilling and really is that good. I also have a 110v TE15 which was given to me nearly 15 years ago as a secondhand unit, it is still in regular use and will snap your arm if you get it caught up drilling RC.

dpb

Get a man in. ?

joe v3sti

iTrader: (8)

I can't fully agree with that, hilti doesn't make the best of everything. as I said before all manufactures have thier strong points.
Yes hilti make some nice gear. I have various hilti tackle, one of which is a 36v te7 sds drill which is by far the best battery sds stuff on the market.
In fact I think hilti make the best sds equipment. But they have other areas that they don't do as well as other manufacturers

Joe

b3nmw

I think dewalt has come on leaps and bounds and good powerful range. Other brands are gd as well such as Hilti, Milwaukee, makita, hitachi.

jayallen

iTrader: (31)

Maybe i should of used the word "Drills" instead of power tools. I have used many different branded drills over the years but Hilti really does take some beating, they make light work of drilling RC Lift shaft walls and really do have the staying power

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

The good thing with Hilti is they come with a 2 year guarantee and Hilti have excellent customer service. I have a 3 year old drill I need to put in for a service which they do and other makes don't.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

We are talking one hit wonder here, I would not buy the absolute best for that, I would buy the cheap but name brand and get it from someone local, because should you have a problem, you want to buy from someone that has a good returns policy and is close by.

BoozyDave

iTrader: (8)

Hilti and Milwaukee are great, but OTT for DIY

I bought an 18v makita combi drill last year, only had it a few weeks and was drilling a couple of 20mm holes in wood, it just stopped, so I thought battery must be flat, stuck the next battery in and nothing. tested voltage and both were 0v, tested the drill and something had shorted out and killed the batteries. took it back and they wouldn't swap it, they said it must have been misused/abused. I said I'd never buy another makita

I'm still using my old dewalt 18v xrp combi drill, I'm on my 2nd pair of batteries, but it's still going strong after 9 years (I'm a sparky and use/abuse it most days)

I use a challenge extreme circ saw, had it 10 years and still going strong. I bought it as a cheap way to cut bricks and breeze blocks when I built my workshop, had to blow the dust out a few times, but has cut everything I have thrown at it

If I was going to buy new now I think it would be Dewalt or Bosch