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I've been very happy with my Festool too. The question of whether it is worth the cost though is very subjective, as it is with any tool. I bought the Festool to replace my home-made cutting guides and a standard Hitachi circular saw with a decent blade fitted. The quality of cut from both my...

For a variety of reasons, not least being the wish to choose the most appropriate site for maximum effectiveness, many people are likely to have their air filter located somewhere where the on-board control panel is not easily accessible. Even in my small workshop, my filter is on a high shelf...

It might well just be a case of an incorrect description, and I'd certainly hope that's all it is, but I'd recommend checking to be sure before committing to buying one. In this thread from last year this very topic cropped up too and it seems that the model does vary from one country to another...

I too have the Jet AFS500 and have been happy with it. The remote control is, for me, one of the real selling points of it, but I notice that some sites seem to suggest that it no longer comes with a remote control. For example, Axminster's site talks about using a plug timer for it, and...

For users of Li-ion batteries, the following may be of interest: How to prolong Lithium-based batteries, and Is Lithium-Ion the ideal battery?. The answer to the latter question is essentially "it depends", but there is some useful info in both pages, including the following: * Li-ion...

The following technique works well for me: folding a bandsaw blade using your hand and foot. ...except when I stop to think about what I am doing and then it just goes horribly wrong :?

I certainly wouldn't dismiss the tools just because of the NiCad batteries. I have a 9.6V DeWalt drill driver whose two NiCad batteries have been going strong for 8 years or more. I think they don't hold a charge as long now but the same is true of my Makita 12V NiMH batteries (one of which died...

One thing to beware of when choosing any dust extractor/collecter is the level of filtration that it provides. Especially if you are dealing with something as toxic as MDF dust. I'm stating the obvious, I know, but it can be easy to forget or assume that they all provide a similar level of...

I use the Niflisk-Alto 360-21 and find it very good. At the time I bought it is cost £199 (on offer) but I don't know what it costs now. I threw some info into a thread at the time, comparing this Alto with the Fein and Festool alternatives. The thread is here in case you are interested.

My guess is that they may be considered too aggressive to be safely controllable in a hand-held drill, especially as they refer to "high feed rates" in the description. It is just a guess though, but I have had a regular 12mm bit catch on me in the past while drilling into wood with a hand-held...

The general public view of batteries is that NiCad is inferior to NiMH, which itself is inferior to Li-ion. However, the truth of the matter might not be so clear cut as that. In particular there is a view held by some that this public image of the improvement of batteries with each version/type...

matt, the Bosch 10.8V Li-Ion range are worth considering too: * Bosch GSR 10.8V Drill Driver * Bpsch GDR 10.8V Impact Driver They pack a lot of power for their size. I have the impact driver above and an older version of their drill driver and have been happy with them both. They are not as...

Just to throw one other option (well, two options really I guess!) into the mix, Rutlands have some Panasonic drills in their clearance sale at the moment: * Panasonic 12V Impact Driver for £150 * Panasonic 12V Hammer Drill Driver for £100 Both drills take the same 3.5Ah NiMH batteries, and...

When I built my mobile base, I considered positioning the castors outside the body of the base, but decided against it as I reckoned it would make the jutting out bits of the base a trip hazard. The risk of tripping is greater in a small shop where floor space is limited, obviously, but I'd be...

My mobile base is essentially the same as wizer's (right down to not having made the drawers yet :) ). My workshop is very small so I needed it to be as manoeuvrable as possible as I invariably have to move it each time I am in the room. For that reason two fixed and two swivel castors just...

The latest Axminster mail has prompted me to consider the Kreg Precision Bandsaw Fence as a replacement for the stock fence on my Jet JWBS-14. There are a few positive comments in past threads about this fence, but some comments that suggest that it may not be worth the investment. My dilemma is...

Oh, and I would definitely second LeeValley (www.leevalley.com) too - they are an excellent supplier and their Veritas range (planes, etc.) is great.

Woodcraft sell a wide range of tools, from hand tools to power tools, plus a huge range of accessories, hardware, etc, too. I stopped buying from them when the delivery costs increased, but they might be a worth a look while there as their prices used to be good. I think they list their store...

I am very surprised by this. Apart from anything else, many of the most popular high street shops in this country are owned by UK companies (Tesco, M&S, Argos, Boots, etc.). In addition, the likes of B&Q and Homebase are extremely popular here too. Several years ago I bought some bulkier items...

I grew up with imperial (in fact, our road signs were only changed to metric in 2005), but I try to use metric as much as possible due to it being easier. However, all of my measuring tapes have both so I sometimes end up switching between metric and imperial when reading measurements off the...