Lidl DIY tools 6th June

[Droogs]

Is this one of the mini welders doing the rounds of ali and banggood?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384197989561?hash=item5973fc14b9:g:35QAAOSwzntgtcjt

 

[Rorschach]

Is this one of the mini welders doing the rounds of ali and banggood?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/384197989561?hash=item5973fc14b9:g:35QAAOSwzntgtcjt

I've got a £15 one similar to that on order, just something to play around with really, if it ever arrives.

 

[Droogs]

I saw a review on the tube which showed the amperage is really half of what is displayed

 

[John Brown]

My wife ordered two pairs of sandals last year, and received a tacky pair of sunglasses. The vendor said it was the courier's fault, and suggested she give them as a present. Then they offered a 40% refund.
We eventually got a full refund via the visa or amex, I forget which.
However, I have bought a lot of electronic components from China with no problem (as yet).

 

[Rorschach]

My wife ordered two pairs of sandals last year, and received a tacky pair of sunglasses. The vendor said it was the courier's fault, and suggested she give them as a present. Then they offered a 40% refund.
We eventually got a full refund via the visa or amex, I forget which.
However, I have bought a lot of electronic components from China with no problem (as yet).

I've not yet had the "bait and switch" scam yet, kind of looking forward to it though.

 

[NickDReed]

Good timing, theres a job i really really need to do and ive been putting off as i knew it would involve welding, but i dont have a welder.

My axminster saw bench i got from axminsters ebay, and it came with a flaw, which i knew about, but its a pretty big flaw. - I got the saw for 300, when it should have been 450.
The mounting bolts to hold the table to the base are squint. I'm guessing the points on the frame where the nuts the main securing bolts go in to are placed wrongly.
What this means in real money is when you try to cant the blade for miters, the blade isnt lined up with the blade opening/well to such an extent that the blade impacts into the table. there is some adjustment, but its not enough and you either have the blade straight in parallel to the miter slots, ,in which case canting it over to miter it impacts, or you readjust the fore and aft adjusters so it can miter, but doesnt line up with the slots, you simply cannot have both.
Axminster tech team adjusted it roughly, so it was nearly straight and nearly mitered but not enough for you to utilize the miter slots accurately, and as we all know thats something that has to be right or the fence will always be out of alignment, and thats not something easily fixed.

I guess the solution is to take the cast table off, grind or remove the nuts or whatever the main bolts screw into and place them in positions relative to the top. I guess whomever originally welded the saw together in China hadnt accurately placed the mounts so when assembles it was squint.

If you were look at the cast top in relation to the base, it sits squint, and is so by about 5 or 6mm.
So what I need to do is remove the cast top, remove the nuts, then with the saw upside down, have the bolts going through into the base, place large nuts on them, accurately reposition the top to the base so they are square and parallel to each other, and then weld the nuts into their new position.

So it meant me getting some sort of mig welder and trying to sort it myself in the above method.
I see from the lidl link they've just the thing I need and not too expensive either.
As to the best option, its always best to have a look on you tube to see what others make of it in review and this one appears to have been made by someone better suited to judging such things.
The review looks excellent, and the guy doing it judging from his workshop is more suited and experienced in welding. Where perhaps another pro(if you is a pro) might highlight its weaknesses in that its not a pro kit, this reviewer seemed pretty taken with it enough to give a positive recommendation.


So on the strength of it I reckon I should get one and try to sort the sawbench i've been putting off for the last 5 years.

I don't even have the excuse of a job that's been waiting 5 years to be done...... But I'm not sure I can stop myself.

 

[paulrbarnard]

£79.99 for a welder? Pah! I've just ordered a Lincoln Electric MIG 210 MP from a Chinese eBay seller for £25.99+VAT. Considering it looks as though it retailed for over £1000 it must be legit, yea?

I do now have a tracking number, so it'd got to be worth a laugh to see what turns up (if anything).

Interestingly I have a TIG for the same price in transit, well at least that’s what the tracking info says. I figured it was a scam but worth a punt to see what happens. eBay already sent me mail to say they subsequently removed the listing and I can have my money back. Something is supposed to be arriving around the 26th so I’ll also do an unboxing.

 

[Filament]

Has anybody got one of the Parkside Inspection Cameras and if so would you recommend it?

Yes, I got one and haven’t found it any better than a cheapy I got from Amazon (though having the integrated screen is useful)
The distance it focuses is so short that for the things I bought it for (peering into ceiling voids above down light holes etc) I’ve ended up using a go-pro+torch or just stuck my phone up there.
Had it been say £25 I probably would have been happy as I’m sure at some point it’s going to be the perfect tool for a job, but at £40, the quality just wasn’t there for me)
Disclaimer: I haven’t used a high end inspection cam/endoscope, so it may be that they all have this limitation and I’m expecting too much.

 

[TRITON]

I think I'll take a look to see what other mig machines are on the market at the sub £100 level. Can't hurt.

 

[Rorschach]

Yes, I got one and haven’t found it any better than a cheapy I got from Amazon (though having the integrated screen is useful)
The distance it focuses is so short that for the things I bought it for (peering into ceiling voids above down light holes etc) I’ve ended up using a go-pro+torch or just stuck my phone up there.
Had it been say £25 I probably would have been happy as I’m sure at some point it’s going to be the perfect tool for a job, but at £40, the quality just wasn’t there for me)
Disclaimer: I haven’t used a high end inspection cam/endoscope, so it may be that they all have this limitation and I’m expecting too much.

Focal length a big problem for these kinds of cameras, luckily I only bought a cheap USB one that I stick in my tablet. There have been occasions where it was useful, and kids love looking up their noses etc but it's not a terribly practical bit of kit.

 

[sploo]

Interestingly I have a TIG for the same price in transit, well at least that’s what the tracking info says. I figured it was a scam but worth a punt to see what happens. eBay already sent me mail to say they subsequently removed the listing and I can have my money back. Something is supposed to be arriving around the 26th so I’ll also do an unboxing.

Yea, had the same this morning (listing and seller removed - it was a different one to that listed by Droogs). Already got a refund pending. I'm gutted I'm not going to get a >£1000 welder for £26 . Off to Lidl this weekend then...

 

[julianf]

Just a quick note -

If you buy somthing that's obviously a scam, you're not only wasting your time, but also allowing the seller to steal from your card company, as, if they are selling hundreds or thousands around the world, they will undoubtedly have a plan in place to avoid the chargeback.

I have no love for credit card companies, far from it, and am dubious as to if their price to the consumer is in any way related to their costs, or, more likley, just what they think they can get away with, but it's somthing to consider regardless?

 

[paulrbarnard]

Just a quick note -

If you buy somthing that's obviously a scam, you're not only wasting your time, but also allowing the seller to steal from your card company, as, if they are selling hundreds or thousands around the world, they will undoubtedly have a plan in place to avoid the chargeback.

I have no love for credit card companies, far from it, and am dubious as to if their price to the consumer is in any way related to their costs, or, more likley, just what they think they can get away with, but it's somthing to consider regardless?

This is something I though about before making the purchase. In my case it was on eBay using PayPal. As PayPal and eBay are the same company and it was eBay hosting the offer, and providing me with the buyer protection, then they were the ones taking the risk not me. If they weren't prepared to take that risk they shouldn't make it so easy for people to run scams on their site. It's a little different in the credit card situation where the credit card is simply offering a financial service, but yes they do charge to cover that...

 

[sploo]

Just a quick note -

If you buy somthing that's obviously a scam, you're not only wasting your time, but also allowing the seller to steal from your card company, as, if they are selling hundreds or thousands around the world, they will undoubtedly have a plan in place to avoid the chargeback.

I have no love for credit card companies, far from it, and am dubious as to if their price to the consumer is in any way related to their costs, or, more likley, just what they think they can get away with, but it's somthing to consider regardless?

True. I think if it were a product that I had more experience of/with (i.e. a Festool DF700 for £25.99) I wouldn't have touched it with a bargepole. Having zero experience with welders I thought it was worth a comedy punt to see what would happen with an order; but it's a fair point that every scam does cost money, and ultimately the costs will be passed to the end consumer.

 

[powertools]

This is something I though about before making the purchase. In my case it was on eBay using PayPal. As PayPal and eBay are the same company and it was eBay hosting the offer, and providing me with the buyer protection, then they were the ones taking the risk not me. If they weren't prepared to take that risk they shouldn't make it so easy for people to run scams on their site. It's a little different in the credit card situation where the credit card is simply offering a financial service, but yes they do charge to cover that...

Ebay and Paypal are no longer the same company.

 

[powertools]

Many thanks to those who replied about the Parkside Inspection Camera.

 

[Davey44]

£79.99 for a welder? Pah! I've just ordered a Lincoln Electric MIG 210 MP from a Chinese eBay seller for £25.99+VAT. Considering it looks as though it retailed for over £1000 it must be legit, yea?

I do now have a tracking number, so it'd got to be worth a laugh to see what turns up (if anything).

Ha, I ordered a woodworking device for a friend from a company in China, with a delivery period of about 3 weeks (because of the Covid problems). This was back in the last few days of December last year. It didn't turn up. I contacted the supplier to be told that it would be a further couple of weeks. Within a day or so of the anticipated date I received a cheap and nasty pair of sunglasses in a case. Not terribly helpful!

I had paid via PayPal, so after having no luck contacting the company - they seemed to have disappeared - I went to PayPal. After a few emails to and fro' they found for the supplier. I have challenged it, without success. I then went to my bank and related the story. They immediately made a complete refund to me with the caveat that if after full investigation they believed the supplier, they would remove the refund.

However, I have now heard that PayPal have challenged this action. I'm waiting to hear what the outcome will be. It's vital that everyone is careful when ordering from the friendly Chinese.

Oh I forgot, I DID have a tracking reference too, much help that was! The first version came written in Chienese. I asked for something I could understand and it showed the item going to and fro' across China and when I asked about how I could find an actual delivery date, I was told that once the item landed here, Royal Mail would deliver.

 

[Jonm]

I have taken a punt on several odd listed items like this.

I “took a punt“ on eBay, a Dewalt DWS778, sliding mitre saw, 254mm, 1850 watts, 240 volt, 305mm width of cut, compact design with the internal rails. Price was £10.90 buy it now, including vat and delivery. Yes that is ten pounds ninety pence.

Current price is about £450 upwards, currently the 110 volt version is £620 in Toolstation DeWalt DWS778 250mm Compact Compound Slide Mitre Saw 110V

Genuine UK based seller. Recieved notification of dispatch, tracking number arrived, and next day it was delivered. Genuine Dewalt, new, in original unopened packaging, no faults or blemishes. In other words it was not a second, all as advertised, worked perfectly.

Looking at the sellers other sales I assume that it was meant to be an auction, but they made a mistake and put buy it now. I fully expected them to cancel the order, and I would not have left them negative feedback. They honoured the sale, much to my surprise, and delight.

 

[paulrbarnard]

Ha, I ordered a woodworking device for a friend from a company in China, with a delivery period of about 3 weeks (because of the Covid problems). This was back in the last few days of December last year. It didn't turn up. I contacted the supplier to be told that it would be a further couple of weeks. Within a day or so of the anticipated date I received a cheap and nasty pair of sunglasses in a case. Not terribly helpful!

I had paid via PayPal, so after having no luck contacting the company - they seemed to have disappeared - I went to PayPal. After a few emails to and fro' they found for the supplier. I have challenged it, without success. I then went to my bank and related the story. They immediately made a complete refund to me with the caveat that if after full investigation they believed the supplier, they would remove the refund.

However, I have now heard that PayPal have challenged this action. I'm waiting to hear what the outcome will be. It's vital that everyone is careful when ordering from the friendly Chinese.

Oh I forgot, I DID have a tracking reference too, much help that was! The first version came written in Chienese. I asked for something I could understand and it showed the item going to and fro' across China and when I asked about how I could find an actual delivery date, I was told that once the item landed here, Royal Mail would deliver.

I had a great experience a few years ago. I bought an electronic device from a Chinese supplier and it didn’t work. I found their address and next time I was in China (Shenzhen that time) I turned up at their office. They couldn’t believe it and the whole office came out to meet me. I got a tested replacement on the spot. They were actually completely genuine and not looking to scam anyone. They just couldn’t deal with the international nature of their sales and the margins were so low they had no concept of servicing and replacements.

 

[Rorschach]

I “took a punt“ on eBay, a Dewalt DWS778, sliding mitre saw, 254mm, 1850 watts, 240 volt, 305mm width of cut, compact design with the internal rails. Price was £10.90 buy it now, including vat and delivery. Yes that is ten pounds ninety pence.

Current price is about £450 upwards, currently the 110 volt version is £620 in Toolstation DeWalt DWS778 250mm Compact Compound Slide Mitre Saw 110V

Genuine UK based seller. Recieved notification of dispatch, tracking number arrived, and next day it was delivered. Genuine Dewalt, new, in original unopened packaging, no faults or blemishes. In other words it was not a second, all as advertised, worked perfectly.

Looking at the sellers other sales I assume that it was meant to be an auction, but they made a mistake and put buy it now. I fully expected them to cancel the order, and I would not have left them negative feedback. They honoured the sale, much to my surprise, and delight.

Probably made a mistake and the shipping department didn't notice, once it was gone it was too late or they never spotted it. I think that's what happened with one of the items I bought, got a £100 item for £10. I also bought some tools on a special offer once, for the cost of buying one pack of drill bits you got drill bits, screwdriver bits, sockets and all sorts thrown in, it was a crazy good price. I bought several sets, kept a few bits for myself, gave a few bits to friends and family and then sold a few bits on ebay a year later and that covered the costs so everything we had was free in the end.