Bad buying decisions or tool regrets

[Molynoox]

My regrets:
Cheap f clamps from Amazon - they work but they flex as the bar isn't thick enough
Evolution mitre saw stand - upgraded to the DeWalt, world of difference, £50 Vs £150, not worth the compromise, although I do think the evolution is amazing for the money as it does get the job done
Stanley plane, £50 - it does work, but I have a feeling that if I spent a little more or maybe went second hand for same money instead, it would offer a better experience. I don't know enough about planes to know if this is true though

 

[Sideways]

Was just about to write the same thing.
I do have the Festool Track Saw, and the vast bulk of it's life
is spent cutting the waney edge off solid boards, mostly oak.
These often try to close up following the cut, which to my
mind makes the riving knife essential.
Maybe the other manufacturers intend for their saws to only
be cutting sheet goods, and not solid timber ?

The Mafell has electronic speed control that operates to combat any binding of the blade.
I don't know exactly how it works but it does - I could feel it occasional operating while ripping many metres of 2" thick softwood to make flat roof firrings.
The project converted me from the festool to mafell tracksaw.
Bosch's tracksaw is based on the Mafell design so maybe includes the same electronic control.

 

[Molynoox]

The Mafell has electronic speed control that operates to combat any binding of the blade.
I don't know exactly how it works but it does - I could feel it occasional operating while ripping many metres of 2" thick softwood to make flat roof firrings.
The project converted me from the festool to mafell tracksaw.
Bosch's tracksaw is based on the Mafell design so maybe includes the same electronic control.

Sounds like witchcraft

 

[Dibs-h]

Guys I must be the odd one out. I never regret buying tools. Highlight of the day,week,month. Cant have too many and no such thing as a bad tool. Just haven't found the right job for it yet. Life's too short for tool purchase regret

I'm typing this as I sit looking at at least 3 of the Aldi digital verniers. Soon after each purchase, they all went their separate ways (necessitating the purchase of #4, which walked and #5 got bought) and only God know why they these 3 decided to congregate in one place.

I blame the children - but they probably blame me for putting stuff down & not remembering, but that could just be gaslighting.

Don't regret buying (or having) 5 - even tho 3 are to hand. The price of not frothing at the wife\kids and demanding they return the tools they knicked\hid - only for them to point out where I last left it.

 

[Distinterior]

..... but I always cut on a solid / flat surface......

As do I,....But it is a well known fact that timber and sheet materials can have internal stress within them that can result in when the material is being cut, it can jam up on the blade.
This is likely to be much more of an issue if the saw doing the cutting does not have a riving knife!

 

[Spectric]

electronic speed control that operates to combat any binding of the blade.

I think that increases the power if it detects any decrease in blade speed, many routers have that as well.

The Bosch and Mafell are so close in design, both 1400 Watts, have a speed range of 3600 - 6250 Rpm and weigh 4.7Kg which has to be more than a coincidence.

As to the riving knife debate there is no right or wrong answer, if it was needed for safety then like tablesaws they would all have one, maybe it is because you are not ripping narrow stock with a tracksaw, ie 3 by 2's. Another difference is that on a table saw the cut is in front of the blade but on a tracksaw it is behind the blade.

Maybe they include a riving knife because it costs them about £0.15 each saw and they know it will get them some sales over their competition?

Sounds like either Festool marketing or a good excuse to give the missus as to why you spent so much on a Festool tracksaw.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I haven't cut massive amounts of sheet stuff, but a fair amount over the years. I don't recall any sheet goods binding on the saw - is it common?

 

[Molynoox]

As do I,....But it is a well known fact that timber and sheet materials can have internal stress within them that can result in when the material is being cut, it can jam up on the blade.
This is likely to be much more of an issue if the saw doing the cutting does not have a riving knife!

Are sheet goods well known for having internal stresses? I thought because they were dimensionally stable and made up of lots of different grain directions that wouldn't be the case?

 

[Distinterior]

Are sheet goods well known for having internal stresses? I thought because they were dimensionally stable and made up of lots of different grain directions that wouldn't be the case?

See my post #24 earlier in this thread....

 

[Molynoox]

See my post #24 earlier in this thread....

oops

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Cheap band saws are my down fall still and I am still learning the lesson. I have many bad experiences with the old Axminster white range, truly terrible stuff and in fact it is a company I will no longer deal with due to customer service (after 30years as a loyal customer). Re hand tools got it right fairly early on but power tools it took me a while to find what works. My Festool Kapex / TS55s are amazing both on quality and dust extraction which is my number one priority for every buying decision. My TS55 with it's riving knife is brilliant as a track saw, though I doubt it is ever needed for my sheet goods breakdown. The same TS55 is also my table saw and I would would not be without a riving nice cutting timber (though noways anti kick back technology in electronics is as good). I drool over the new TS62 but the 55 does all I need atm. I have regretted some cheap drills and screw drivers over the years but now have my tools (quality) and cheap tools which are single use / loaners,

 

[Sideways]

Sounds like witchcraft

Yup, but something is going on. Not just feedback from a tacho to maintain speed under load, that's there too but I think there's some sensing going on like they put in drills nowadays. Sudden movement of the saw body that happens when the blade binds causes power to be reduced while you get the tool under control. It's all so fast you don't really know what it's doing, it just doesn't run wild.

 

[baldkev]

Well,....Obviously Festool & Dewalt seem to think a tracksaw warrants having one.

Certainly, my experience would back up that decision.

What's the difference between a tracksaw needing/ wanting a riving knife and a table saw needing/ wanting one...?
It seems to be generally acknowledged that a table saw should have one.....Why not a tracksaw? Albeit, a retractable one for mid panel plunge cuts.

In respect to the riving knife debate..... i used to use a makita 240 circular saw, it had a knife. In fact, just for completeness, i just googled new makita 240v circular saw and they have a knife.
These days i have multiple 18v makita circ saws, they are so easy to use and no cable.
Edit to add, no riving knife.

But..... i have experienced binding and subsequesnt kickback multiple times. Sometimes its because the timber has closed the cut as you progress, sometimes it was because the material was not fully supported and one edge was dropping, causing the binding issue. When it catches, the saw moves backwards, up and has caused damage to the workpiece. I just held on tight.

My point would be I'd rather have the riving knife and there's no doubt in my mind it's safer.

I still like my makita 18v's though

 

[Scruples]

I can't be the only one who's done this. Has anyone else bought a tool thinking it was right for you, then pretty quickly realise you got it wrong? It's all a learning experience so I'm not particularly upset about it, but I'll always have the voice in the back of my head saying I should have bought the right tool from the beginning!

Two examples:
I bought a Bosch sliding mitre saw about three years ago. Nice bit of kit, accurate enough for my needs. But the bars sticking out the back took up way too much space and dust collection was awful. Replaced with a Festool KS60 last year, absolutely chuffed with it and wish I'd just gone for it in the first place but the thought of spending £600 on a mitre saw scared me back then.

Then around two years ago I bought a Makita SP6000J track saw, I thought there wasn't much point spending the extra for Festool, pretty much the same thing right? Nah, after two years of minor niggles and frustrations with the Makita saw, I found a used TS55 on eBay at a great price and went for it. Solves all the problems I had with the Makita and it's an absolute delight to use, makes me smile every time.


I have plenty of other Bosch and Makita tools that I love, I'm not about to rush out and replace everything with festool any time soon, but I'll definitely think twice for any future purchases.

Does this happen to anyone else? Luckily I managed to sell both saws off at decent prices so I haven't really lost any money, but if I'd just plumped for the more premium options from the beginning instead of trying to save a few quid I'd have saved myself so much hassle!

When setting up my workshop,on a budget, I proudly bought a Makita table saw on a stand. It was my regret. After many hours of finding out that the cuts were never true, I set about testing the position of the blade in the table. And the problem was that the blade was misaligned with no available adjustment.

I took the saw apart and, after a lot of trial and error, I managed to shim out the motor carriage. Makita wanted me to return the saw, at my own expense.

I eventually bought an Axminister table saw and it was already set up, straight from the palette and didn't need any adjustment, whish ironic since it had adjustments for everything.

I have a Makita thicknesser which works well but I wouldn't put the make on a rating any higher than average.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

As has been said before - if you can't make something perfectly accurate, make it adjustable.

 

[frankendoodle65]

When setting up my workshop,on a budget, I proudly bought a Makita table saw on a stand. It was my regret. After many hours of finding out that the cuts were never true, I set about testing the position of the blade in the table. And the problem was that the blade was misaligned with no available adjustment.

I took the saw apart and, after a lot of trial and error, I managed to shim out the motor carriage. Makita wanted me to return the saw, at my own expense.

I eventually bought an Axminister table saw and it was already set up, straight from the palette and didn't need any adjustment, whish ironic since it had adjustments for everything.

I have a Makita thicknesser which works well but I wouldn't put the make on a rating any higher than average.

That's interesting to hear, thanks. A Makita tablesaw had been on my shortlist as well as the DeWalt and the Axminster I eventually settled on - sounds like I made the right choice.

Makita's an interesting brand, builders seem to love them and I've got a whole bunch of their 18v stuff which I'm very pleased with as well as the RTO700C corded router which is a great bit of kit. But I wonder if they throw out some tools half heartedly just to fill a gap in their product line, ultimately hurting their reputation in the long run. Though I think all the major players are guilty of this to some extent.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I've spoken to several builders and chippies in the last few months and they've all changed from Makita, mainly to DeWalt and Milwaukee.

 

[frankendoodle65]

I've spoken to several builders and chippies in the last few months and they've all changed from Makita, mainly to DeWalt and Milwaukee.

Ah that's worrying, I'm pretty well invested into their 18v platform! Any idea what the reason is? All my Makita tools seem pretty decent so far (barring the track saw mentioned in the opening post of course)

 

[Phil Pascoe]

A dip in perceived quality. Perceived ........... true? Who knows.

It seems to be Bosch that's out of favour, mainly because of availability issues and lack of range across the battery stuff.

 

[frankendoodle65]

Fair enough, I've noticed my Makita tools have been made literally all over the world, some in England, some China and everywhere else in between so maybe quality control is difficult now when it's all coming from different places?

Apart from the odd thing I've never paid much attention to Bosch professional tools, though my random orbital sander is nice and I've been eyeing up one of their 12v drill drivers with the interchangeable heads - I'll be sure to do some extra research if I ever decide to pull the trigger on that!