nutool and performance power

[StevieB]

Idly flicking through the B&Q power tool sale on the web and I keep coming across nutool, performance power and performance power pro tools. Nutool are also appearing on e-bay alot at the moment. Anyone know if these are worthwhile makes or should one save up the pennies and go for the axminster level tools?

I actually have a performance power pro circular saw and for the little I do with it its been fine. However, when considering a bench jointer I am not so sure that the £110 being asked by B&Q will compare favourably to the axminster tools - even the perform jointer is £180. Any thougts welcome as their sale ends next Thursday (23rd)!

Cheers,

Steve.

 

[Signal]

Hi,

Ive got the performance pro 2050 plunge router which comes with a 3 year warranty. At the moment its out of action as the brushes need replacement. Rang them up told them what I wanted and a week later the brushes arrived. No charge, no spanish inquisition.

Its by no means the best kit out there but the router perfoms well and with a 3 yr warranty you cant really go wrong. I also have their little morticising machine which doesnt see much action but when its used with nice sharp bits it works a treat.

Dont know about the jointer but it does seem a bit on the small side to me. If it has the same 3 yr warranty as the router I dont think a a weekend warrior like me would find much wrong with it.

Cheers

Signal

 

[Steve]

My old electric planer packed up last year, and I had three doors to do in a hurry so I nipped to my local B&Q to see what they had, and came away with a Power Pro tool that cost £47. If nothing else, I thought it would get me out of trouble. It turned out to be a terrific piece of kit.
Since then, I've bought a few more smaller bits from the 'Pro' range, and I think that in terms of value for money, they're great. I'm not sure they'd stand up to anything serious though.
However, a pal of mine has a 2050 router in his table, and calls it a 'poor mans' spindle moulder'. He's got some good cutters from Wealden, and I have to say the work is excellent. He also has an American-style fixed-base router (Power Pro again) which he uses for freehand work, and he absolutely loves it.
I have three Performance 12 volt cordless drills that I use for piloting, countersinking and screwdriving respectively, and they are terrific. At £17 each, you really can't go wrong.
On the other hand, my brother in law has a compound mitre saw with a silly laser gadget attached to it, and it's next to useless because it just won't stay square, the pre-set angles are out and the depth stop is a flimsy little affair that gives when any pressure is applied, making it a complete waste of time and money.
Check the tool out thoroughly. Some of the range is surprisingly good, and some of it is next to useless.

 

[Anonymous]

Well at those prices ok for intermitent use and when they go wrong you got a nice door stop or hammer . I find tools like that are ok until you get hold of a quality tool and do some work with it you know where your extra money is going , certain tools are ok to buy cheap but others you end up spending out again when you realise it wont do what you want .

 

[Anonymous]

My point was that as a 'quality' tool user, I was amazed at how good some of the power pro stuff was. As I said, some of it is surprisingly good, and some of it next to useless. The little cordless drills have been used hard and regularly, dropped loads of times, left out in the rain, recharged dozens and dozens of times and generally abused while I built my new workshop over the summer.
They're still going strong for £17 each.
The compound mitre saw with the laser - rubbish. Won't stay square, the presets are at best approximate, and it's just not worth the money. It can't compare to my EB.