Did you buy any cheap tools that surprised you with being actually good?

[Sporky McGuffin]

I bought the last fence they had I'm afraid - was this.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aluminiu...DIY-Miter-Track-Woodworking-Tool/124588975378
There are more like it - the slot in the back means the fixing screws are right at the top but it fits. I did a post about fixings here - [edit] only the M4 approach fits; as the grub screw holes are higher than the top of the slots I used those.

https://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/threads/metric-fixings-and-imperial-t-track.134847/

 

[Phil winks]

I bought a hammer and ring-spanner set from Lidl; they are ok.

I have given up on their power tools, life is just too short.

Give me a day on site nailing roofs up with that Lidl hammer just saying

 

[GregW]

Back in 1979 I bought a really cheap set of screwdrivers, obviously made from Chinesium, they were absolute s..it as screwdrivers but I used the biggest one to hold in the bucket pin on my digger, they were such poor quality that I was able to put it through the bucket pin and bend it around, Did the job for the day! So it was excellent as a makeshift clip but I wouldn't have rated them for what they were intended for!

there were no “cheep made tools” before 80’…. All sold were made to last, as market demanded one-time-expense products.

 

[Jameshow]

there were no “cheep made tools” before 80’…. All sold were made to last, as market demanded one-time-expense products.

Stanley handyman??

Rb10 plane?

I agree most were good quality.

The ubiquitous orange B+D drill for instance...

 

[GregW]

Stanley handyman??

Rb10 plane?

I agree most were good quality.

The ubiquitous orange B+D drill for instance...

can we agree that you are able to find fully functioning electrical equipment, house or workshop, and easily repair it to functionality if needed, only if it was produced before 90’

consumptionism created need to production fail trigger, and replacement practice in 2000 onwards.

 

[MARK.B.]

My Wife got me one of those telescopic thingumibob's with a mirror and a magnet on the end several years ago from Aldi cost about 2 quid, , it has seen frequent use over the years and is always to hand stuck on top of the band saw

 

[Fergie 307]

I bought a Ferm sabre saw from screwfix about twenty years ago, I think it cost less than thirty quid at the time. Has taken some serious stick over the years but never missed a beat. Only thing wrong with it was the grub screw that holds the blade in. I think the original one was made of cheese or similar because the hex socket rounded out the first time I used it. New decent grub screw and it's been going strong ever since.

 

[kinverkid]

I bought a Ferm sabre saw from screwfix about twenty years ago, I think it cost less than thirty quid at the time. Has taken some serious stick over the years but never missed a beat. Only thing wrong with it was the grub screw that holds the blade in. I think the original one was made of cheese or similar because the hex socket rounded out the first time I used it. New decent grub screw and it's been going strong ever since.

I bought mine around the same time. Used it only yesterday cutting up some more root-balls. Still going strong. I can confirm that the grub screw was made of a very soft cheese.

 

[Spectric]

I bought the last fence they had I'm afraid - was this.

Looks like the same profile as Kreg uses .

 

[jaro]

I've been buying lots of stuff from Banggood, most have been tested and recommended via a YouTube guy called Hooked on Wood. Price is relative of course these tools are extremely cheap when compared to American companies like Woodpecker or Kreg, which the Chinese are copying. One example is Banggood's pocket hole jig the upgraded XK-2 which I bought recently which is a third of the cost of the Kreg equivalent. I've also bought some angle clamps, hold down clamps, kerf gauge and a super accurate tee square measuring ruler with a resolution down to half a mm. Most of the rest of my tools are cheap ones, mostly acquired second hand, or gifted to me. The only exceptions to this financially driven regime are costly Japanese saws but those are just a vanity purchase really.
I watch, like a lot of you guess do, lots of YouTube clips of American workshops. I'm always staggered by the value of the equipment they are using in these hobby shops, like you see entire walls with what seems to be Festool's complete range or table saws listed at north of $12,000!

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

Looks like the same profile as Kreg uses .

I don't doubt it. The mitre gauge itself is remarkably like the Incra, but at about a third of the price. Generally I like to support the people who design stuff, but there are limits.

 

[powertools]

In truth some of you don't know how lucky you are. When I first started buying tools a router for example was the stuff of dreams now you can buy one for less than half the cost of a tank full of petrol.

 

[Droogs]

In truth some of you don't know how lucky you are. When I first started driving, buying tanks of petrol for example was the stuff of dreams now you can buy one for less than half the cost of a Festool router

 

[paulrbarnard]

In truth some of you don't know how lucky you are. When I first started driving, buying tanks of petrol for example was the stuff of dreams now you can buy one for less than half the cost of a Festool router

The main fuel tank on my Landy is 156ltrs. It also has a 66ltr reserve tank so 222ltrs in total. Those Festools are looking pretty good value.

 

[Sporky McGuffin]

I've started just tipping three Systainers into the car. You don't get far, but it's cheaper than diesel.

 

[Kaizen123]

Hello,

This is just a pool question. Did you buy anything that was relatively cheap (e.g. from big box store) that surprised you being a quality product? By quality I mean that it was perfectly usable for the intended purpose (maybe with minor tweaking). It does not need to have a superior finish or premium materials. It can be either power tool or hand tool.

A good example of such tool would be Paul Seller's find: Aldi chisel.

I literally just posted that video on a different thread

 

[clogs]

I just bought the fuel Millwaukee 18v, 1/2 nut driver like an air gun....
bought it in Germany, quite a few suppliers...1/2 the price of the UK supplied tools....
only 21 euro's post to Crete.....bargain.....
will buy a few more this spring....
My old 18v Hitachi tools are getting tired....

 

[Digger58]

there were no “cheep made tools” before 80’…. All sold were made to last, as market demanded one-time-expense products.

You think????? There were always cheap dung tools, years ago it was Taiwan until the Chinese took over making rubbish. Maybe you're not old enought to rememmber!

 

[paulrbarnard]

You think????? There were always cheap dung tools, years ago it was Taiwan until the Chinese took over making rubbish. Maybe you're not old enought to rememmber!

Remember avoiding “made in Hong Kong”?

 

[Tony Zaffuto]

Remember avoiding “made in Hong Kong”?

The “Boomers” among us (particularly in the US) remember well the stigma of “made in Hong Kong” or even worse, “made in Japan”.

My long ago departed dad (2004), bought me a 1-1/2” wide western styled chisel, made in Japan, that I used for decades (bought around 1975). It took an edge and kept it, and today there is barely an inch and a half of blade left. Red plastic handle that could take hits from a hammer. I thought of rehandling it, but gave it a place of honor on the rack, still using it from time to time.