Saws - don't go this low!

[Corneel]

Some of my tests of cheap stuff:

Aldi one hand clamps. Each one of the set broke almost immediately.

Silverline titanium coated forstner bits. They were so dull, they didn't even drill in pine. After sharpening they work pretty well, allthough the centrepoint isn't very well centered. So not usefull for very accurate holes.

 

[MIGNAL]

Give me an hour with that saw and I'll turn it into a LN killer.

 

[mseries]

I sometimes make bicycle wheels, the guide I use recommended making ones own nipple driver (really) from a cheap screw driver. The device is a screw driver with a nick in the middle of the blade so that the driver stops turing the nipple when it's on the spoke by a certain amount (the depth of the nick). A cheap screw driver is recommended so the nick can be cut/filed easily. I got a set of five for a pound or two from Poundland and the ones that I haven't modified are OK for occasional household screwing duties.

 

[thick_mike]

Some of my tests of cheap stuff:

Aldi one hand clamps. Each one of the set broke almost immediately.

Silverline titanium coated forstner bits. They were so dull, they didn't even drill in pine. After sharpening they work pretty well, allthough the centrepoint isn't very well centered. So not usefull for very accurate holes.

What is the sound of one hand clamping?

Mine sounds like this....


$%^$^%<$%^$< thing...stuck a...<^#<...gain!

I have those Aldi ratchet clamps

 

[mseries]

I had a couple of cheap one handed ratchet clamps that I bought when I was starting out. They used to spring loose when trying to clamp them up tight and really hurt my hand. I haven't used them for while, not sure if I have binned them or not (probably not, I rarely bin stuff)

 

[AndyT]

Give me an hour with that saw and I'll turn it into a LN killer.

Go on then!

It's not worth the postage for me to send you this one (which may well get turned into some scrapers) but I'm sure they have poundshops down your way too. I suggest a full wip, with a clock visible in the photos!

(But if you'd rather do this ](*,) I quite understand.)

 

[rspsteve]

Give me an hour with that saw and I'll turn it into a LN killer.

Test him , test him...then do another review.

 

[thick_mike]

It would be like Scrapheap Challenge...I used to love that programme.

 

[MIGNAL]

Crikey! It was a joke!
. . . . but I'm game enough to give it a go, providing it can be resharpened and reset. Won't be for a few weeks though.

 

[G S Haydon]

Mignal, go for it, it would be really cool to see that WIP

 

[thick_mike]

Hooray!

 

[AndyT]

Just checking Mignal - when you say 'LN Killer' you do mean that you will make it cut wood properly, better than a saw from those nice people in Maine, don't you - I'd hate to see the man himself meet a grizzly end by being stabbed with an offensive weapon - and I do mean offensive!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

This is a fascinating bit of research you are doing Andy. As a real handsaw snob, I could have told you so beforehand. :mrgreen:

Ok - but I'm stopping now - perhaps you'd like to try the hacksaw from the same shop - I think I already know whether it would cut anything harder than mud!

A couple of weeks ago I bought a pack of junior hacksaw blades from a very reputable manufacturer (I***n) and they'd just as well have been made of coca cola cans.

 

[Cheshirechappie]

This is a fascinating bit of research you are doing Andy. As a real handsaw snob, I could have told you so beforehand. :mrgreen:

Ok - but I'm stopping now - perhaps you'd like to try the hacksaw from the same shop - I think I already know whether it would cut anything harder than mud!

A couple of weeks ago I bought a pack of junior hacksaw blades from a very reputable manufacturer (I***n) and they'd just as well have been made of coca cola cans.

I bought a packet of Eclipse junior hacksaw blades about 20 years ago. There were 10 in the packet. Still got eight left. Just can't wear 'em out.

 

[AndyT]

I bought a packet of Eclipse junior hacksaw blades about 20 years ago. There were 10 in the packet. Still got eight left. Just can't wear 'em out.

Same here!

Irwin is a brand now owned by Newell Rubbermaid, which is an American conglomerate turning over $120 billion p.a., making a bewildering range of products around the world, from pens to cleaning products to hospital equipment. You'd think one of their 19,000 staff would be responsible for checking the hacksaw blades. ;-)

 

[Vann]

Plenty more to choose from...

http://www.poundland.co.uk/leisure-and-[b][color=#BF4040]entertainment[/color][/b]/diy/tools

Fit for purpose I'd say. I was entertained... :mrgreen:

Thanks for the review Andy.

Cheers, Vann.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Ironically, I've got Eclipse junior blades in a tool box - but I'm in a rented house between properties, and the tool box is in a container under or behind about two tons of other stuff. There isn't a day goes by without my buying something I've already got. Roll on spring.

 

[MARK.B.]

Andy that was probably the best use of £1.00 that i have ever seen, in spending your hard earned pennies you have given entertainment to 569 people (maybe more when you read this) . Now if you can tell me where 569 people can be entertained for such a small amount these days then i will break open my Nat West porcelain piggy and send you a pound coin so you can review the Hacksaw =D> =D> =D>

 

[Fergal]

Hi All

New member, been lurking for a while but had to post a reply on this thread.

Although most of the stuff in pound shops is useless tat, there are a few things worth buying. For example I bought an "exercise mat" which is just a roll of foam rubber about 3mm thick and the size of a sleeping bag. This is useful to put on the bench to stop work sliding around or to cut up and stick on push/sanding blocks.

A few other things:
Bag of assorted washers
Scrapers
Disposable brushes for glue etc
Large black rubber gloves (I can't bring myself to wear the wife's pink ones, and they're too small)
Wire wool
Disposable utility knives
Glue (spray & super)
Glass cleaner (as recommended by Paul Sellers for sharpening)

Next time you're in a pound shop, go and give a pair of pliers a squeeze. See how far you can bend 'em...

Fergal

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Ironically, I've got Eclipse junior blades in a tool box - but I'm in a rented house between properties, and the tool box is in a container under or behind about two tons of other stuff. There isn't a day goes by without my buying something I've already got. Roll on spring.

I've just come across this. What a difference six months makes - I'd love the chance to buy another right leg.