Tools for Beginner - Loventools experience?

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richms

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#1151492 10-Oct-2014 19:22

networkn: Are those all in one exchangeable parts multifunction kits any good? The ones that you can change between a drill and various other hand hand parts?

The black and decker one where the head changes on the drill handle isnt. Started to get really sloppy on the connection quite quickly. Not much saving over geting ryobi tools which are an entire tool and the ryobis seem much better built.

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richms

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#1151494 10-Oct-2014 19:25

nickb800:
mdf:
Impact driver is a beast - first time I used it was to fix some brass window latches. More fool me because it destroyed the screws (Tim Toolman Taylor "more power" grunts go here). I've now more or less got the hang of it, but have learned to only use it on chunky screws.

From my experience I now only use the impact driver on square head screws, I've just destroyed so many philips screw heads and bits. Hardened impact driver bits help too

Actually getting the proper irwin philips and pozi bits helps heaps with the impact driver on non square heads. But they still suck on that bastard combo screw head that a square will fit into, so I swap back to square drive to do those ones. But on proper pozi drive head screws no issues with it camming out. Philips are a bit crap but they always have been on any powertool for putting them in.

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33coupe

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#1166181 31-Oct-2014 22:14

Thanks for the replies.

Now my laptop is working I can hunt around again.

I think I have decided on 240v tools, as they wont be getting that much use, and would like to keep them for many years.

I see Mitre10 are promoting Makita & Hitachi tools so I might have a look at them.

CutCutCut

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#1166206 31-Oct-2014 22:50

I ended up getting the Ryobi set from bunnings http://www.bunnings.co.nz/ryobi-one-combo-kit-18v-2pc-_p00319201
It's been helping me get the deck/pergola/sandpit done. I've been really happy with it. The batteries are the lower capacity ones but seem to last long enough for my needs.

richms

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#1166207 31-Oct-2014 22:55

Ive bought a few more ryobi 1+ things recently. The only major disappointment is the 18v weed whacker. It only has a single string, and instead of bump to dispense, a little more comes out everytime it slows down when you let go of the trigger. So you go thru loads of string, it barely cuts anything, and the diameter of the cutting area is way too small.

Now they have a whole lot of 36v power gardening gear so it may be upgrade time soon.

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mattwnz

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#1166213 31-Oct-2014 23:09

I have a Hitachi trade quality grade cordless 18v drill. Really good quality and durable, it is about 3 years old. The batteries are what really cost ($150-200 each normally), the actual handset isn't that expensive in comparison. Got mine on special with two batteries and charger from Bunnings for about $400, and see Mitre10 are now retailing it for over $700. Also like Bosch (blue not green) and Makita (blue) trade tools.

The key with buying 18volt trade grade tools, is you can buy other addon tools that use the same batteries using their same system.

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#1166559 1-Nov-2014 17:15

I got a second ryobi one plus drill because the kit with a drill and the impact driver was only a little more than the impact driver and some batteries.

Anyway, this is the non hammer one, something I wouldnt normally ever bother buying. And it is a right POS.

Put a 20mm auger bit into it to go thru some wood and the gearbox seems to slip. Its not the clutch, it just makes a horrid noise and doesnt turn when the going gets tough. That is before the thing stalls.

Will be taking it back and only using its replacement for extra light duty stuff. The hammer version of the drill seems fine for all the work I have asked of it so far, but I cant find it at the moment. Probably in the shed.

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mattwnz

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#1166562 1-Nov-2014 17:21

Consumer grade tools are really just for very light residential use. In the old days, there didn't tend to be much of a difference between grades, all tools were pretty expensive. For example I have a B&D drill that is over 30 years old, and still works perfectly well today, but was probably $300 + in todays money and was the cheapest one at the time. But I purchased a cheap drill about 5 years ago, and the hammer part of it has failed and slips. But it was on sale and really cheap for about $30.

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#1167295 3-Nov-2014 09:04

Loven Tools are great. Their stuff is generally parallel imported but they do provide warrantee and repair themselves.

Black and Decker do make very good quality tools, they are called Dewalt. B & D branded stuff not worth it for any more than DIY. The main advantage of Dewalt is the very good batteries, get the new ones with the little battery meter. If you expect to be giving it a hard time then get the 3 speed drill, but apart from that all the options are pretty solid. I've had my Dewalt 3Ah Loven Tools batteries for 3 years now and still good despite the number of times I have drained them flatter than you are supposed to.

Time to find a new industry!

webwat

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#1167298 3-Nov-2014 09:09

I also have a Ryobi ONE+ that I originally bought before I discovered Loven Tools, drove me nuts because would overheat the undersized batteries every time I gave it a tough job so I had to keep swapping the batteries around. Might be keen to sell it...

Time to find a new industry!

lxsw20

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#1167315 3-Nov-2014 09:34

webwat: Loven Tools are great. Their stuff is generally parallel imported but they do provide warrantee and repair themselves.

Black and Decker do make very good quality tools, they are called Dewalt. B & D branded stuff not worth it for any more than DIY. The main advantage of Dewalt is the very good batteries, get the new ones with the little battery meter. If you expect to be giving it a hard time then get the 3 speed drill, but apart from that all the options are pretty solid. I've had my Dewalt 3Ah Loven Tools batteries for 3 years now and still good despite the number of times I have drained them flatter than you are supposed to.

When I worked in DIY Retail we stopped selling DeWalt gear as it had about twice the return rate of any of our other professional grade stuff. That was 7 years back mind you so things may well have improved.

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Fred99

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#1167347 3-Nov-2014 10:01

lxsw20:
webwat: Loven Tools are great. Their stuff is generally parallel imported but they do provide warrantee and repair themselves.

Black and Decker do make very good quality tools, they are called Dewalt. B & D branded stuff not worth it for any more than DIY. The main advantage of Dewalt is the very good batteries, get the new ones with the little battery meter. If you expect to be giving it a hard time then get the 3 speed drill, but apart from that all the options are pretty solid. I've had my Dewalt 3Ah Loven Tools batteries for 3 years now and still good despite the number of times I have drained them flatter than you are supposed to.

When I worked in DIY Retail we stopped selling DeWalt gear as it had about twice the return rate of any of our other professional grade stuff. That was 7 years back mind you so things may well have improved.

That would be a pretty brave move. In the building trade, DeWalt and Makita seem to dominate, so if supplying the pro market, you'd be cutting off a major revenue stream. There's a bit of "Holden vs Ford" type banter about both brands, but it seems to be accepted that both are excellent quality.
In the mechanic trade, there's probably a high return rate for Snap-On. Good reason for that is that you pay a premium for an almost unlimited warranty that you know they'll honour, so instead of chucking a broken $50 tool in the bin, you return it for repair/replacement.

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