Rated tools for the trade and DIYer Archives - All THINGS PROPERTY AND CONSTRUCTION

Makita Mitre Saw

I had the chance to use a friend of mines Makita saw the other day and thought I needed to put this up on my list. If the budget allows you really can not beat this piece of equipment. The cut you get from it is amazing. Its light and easy to use. I would recommend getting the table to go with it or at least have a decent surface to bolt it to. The spec is as follows:

Blade Diameter 305 mm
Max mitre range 52 – 60 º
Max mitre cut at 90º 102 x 363 mm
Max mitre cut at 45º 102 x 255 mm
Max bevel range 45 – 45 º
Input Wattage 1650 w
No Load Speed 3200 rpm
Vibration K factor 1.5 m/sec²
Vibration no load 2.5 m/sec²
Net weight 26.5 kg

This comes in a 110v option or a 240v so check before purchasing your preffered choice.

Again this is a fine bit of equipment and I would highly recommend.

Makita mitre saw — Makita LS1216 305mm Mitre Saw – 110v

Click on the image to be taken to the ebay store which has more information on the saw.

Core drill set

These are great little kits if you have a lot of core drilling to do through any sort of masonry.

I picked up this set to install some extractor fans and a couple small 40mm waste pipes and they worked a treat. At this price they dont break the bank and it saves the relationship with your mate who has a set and who you constantly pester to borrow them from..

I dont use the special core drill for these I just have my standard masonry drill, you will just need to make sure its a geared drill so it doesn’t snap your wrists when the drill bit locks in the hole..

Click on the picture to be sent to the Ebay page where you will find more details about the product and where to purchase if you want to..

Fence Post hole digger

I do tons of fencing and I couldn’t do without out my post hole digger.

This one comes with wooden handles, which are easily replaced unlike the fibreglass version, its well balanced and not to heavy so a bit nicer on the shoulders when digging a lot of holes. The business end is very strong heavy duty steel so can usually break up small lumps of brick and stone that are in the way.

Very useful tool at an affordable price and ideal for your fencing projects or if you just need to dig some trial holes.

Click on the picture to be taken to ebay where you can purchase the digger

Door clamp

Its a real pain trying to plane a door or fit hinges and handles with the thing clamped between your knees or trying to lean it up against something. It always moves or your legs get in the way.

Not anymore I was on site working and came across a carpenter with these:

Door clamps, they make the job so much easier and the door is safe and secure while you work on it so no more falling over as you lean over to pick up a sharper chisel.

Such an easy idea but so useful.

click on the image where you will be taken to ebay to be able to view and purchase.

Hitachi Nail Gun

Hitachi Nail gun

I have never had a nail gun until i had a big framing job come up last year and i thought i would treat myself. As i have said before i am not the sort of person to just go out and buy the most expensive piece of kit. I like to review and research for weeks before I think about a purchase and i dont necessarily think the more money i spend the better the kit.

I looked into the market leader (paslode) and just couldn’t justify the price tag for the amount i would use it, so i researched into other brands and came across the Hitachi.

A name that has been around a very long time and upon researching and looking at other peoples reviews i decided to take the dive and purchase this particular model (please see amazon link) and i am glad i did.

Its got tons of power, the batteries charge really quickly and it takes all the standard nails and gas that a paslode would take.

I find it quite a comfortable power tool to hold and it feels well balanced and not to heavy, which is odd because it is big.

It seems very durable and well made and looks really stylish. Also it comes in a nice big carry box with lots of space so no more spending hours trying to get it all in properly before you can shut it.

I am all about value and quality and this ticks all the boxes.

Great for all your timber framing or fencing jobs.

Best plumbers blow torch

Rothernberger blow torch kit

I have found this kit on ebay and its a great kit for your soldering work.

The torch is very durable I have had mine knocked over many times and it still lights and works really well.

This particular kit comes with the carry bag which is really useful when keeping it all together a 15 mm pipe cutter, solder mat and a canister of gas.

They supply a MAPP gas with this kit and it is what I would always recommend. The reason being is that it burns at a higher temperature, so when soldering your fittings your not waiting for ages for the fitting to get up to temperature ready to melt the solder and seal the joint.

All for just under £100 which is amazing because when I brought my blowtorch a few years back now I paid £80 just for the torch. So great value for a great bit of kit..

Top Recommended Tools at great value

RECOMMENDED impact drill/driver for daily use 18v

I have this Makita set and its amazing its a great all rounder and the impact driver is sensational for driving in big screws. I have had mine for a few years now and its put under a lot of pressure being used daily and never let me down.

Possibly slightly to much power if you just need something for putting together furniture (see below review) but for your decking projects or if your doing up a property its perfect…

Recommended smaller drill 10.8v for lighter duties

If you just need more of a screwdriver but dont want to spend hours manually doing it, these little bosch drills are great, I have a set of these for the smaller jobs, putting furniture together especially ideal for spaces where there just isn’t room, because of there compact size these are great. The power is more then adequate and to be honest for a couple years when I first started doing building maintenance I just had this set and again they never let me down

“A must have” multi tool

Another tool in my arsenal which is a must have and its one of those tools I’m constantly saying what did I do before i had this is A multi tool. Now i have only ever had bosch and I have never had a problem I dont spend money on tools lightly and i do agree you do pay for what you get but i really research a tool before I purchase and I want to pay the right money and bosch have ticked all the boxes with this one so ill link you to where i have found it at the best price then its up to you..

This is a must have if you are a keen diy’er or builder alike, Its main purpose is cutting materials in those hard to reach/impossible places to get. With a massive amount of blade attachments to choose from you can put the metal cutting blade on it to cut those awkward screws that are left in the timber

Battery Circular saw

I had a chippy on one of my sites that had this and i loved it. Its a cordless makita circular saw.

Now this thing cuts everything I’ve seen it cut through kitchen worktops and very neatly and 4 x 2 timber.

So it will cover you for anything timber cutting related.. Again for me its a must have..

To note the one that the link takes you to is the body only so if you dont have the drill set then you will need to buy a battery as well..

Cement mixer

Best bit of large kit i have is my belle mixer. I started with a really old second hand one which gave years of service and when it finally gave up the ghost there was no question that I would buy another. Its great in all whether and is very robust. Its heavier then the really small mixers but just about manageable on your own if your trying to get it into the back of a van. But when on the ground its very easily put up on the stand by one person.

I can usually put 5 builders bags of sand in and 5 x shovels of cement and that’s usually full capacity.

Again its great and I couldn’t recommend it enough on small to medium size projects.

Wheel barrow

These are a great all rounder, they are for general building works so ideal for every task. I have one of these for general around the site uses.

A concrete breaker that “DELIVERS” at an “AMAZING PRICE”

This is an amazing bit of kit its made by titan so not a massively known brand associated with tools for the trade but I have used one extensively and I can tell you its been amazing.

I have had one working on site breaking up foundations for a garage day in and day out for a week solid and its was fine. Its makes 100 mm concrete floors look like thin sheets of ice. Its ideal for domestic use and has taken on all the breaking duties I have asked of it.

The other great thing is that its so affordable at under £140 it also offers amazing value. I would challenge anyone to find a better product at such a great price.

Click here to find it on Ebay uk

Titan hammer drill

I am going away from the branded stuff here but again Titan do a fantastic hammer drill/mini breaker which again I can personally vouch for. This does a fantastic job drilling masonry, it has tons of power so drills into even the hardest substrate easily and whats great is that it doubles as a mini breaker, now I know most standard hammer drills have this feature but this one on this titan is actually useful and great for those bits of concrete that just need nibbling off.

The only downside is that they are quite heavy so trying to hold something up in one hand and have this in the other is a big ask it really needs both your hands on it to operate.

But for less then £100 this is hard to bit and gives the more branded equivalents a run for their money at a fraction of the price.

Angle grinders.

Grinders are the main tools required in any garden project. The larger 230mm is great at gutting up even the strongest of substrates and the smaller 115mm great at smaller neater cutting tasks and also grinding out brickwork ready for re-pointing. I have used many types/brands over the years and have not come across any more reliable and robust then Makita’s. See ebay link below.

They are very powerful and with the right cutting disc can carry out all manner of tasks. I have had mine for years now and they still perform really well.

Diamond blades

The types of diamond blades I go for are normally medium range so around £35- £45 for the 9″ blades. I find these types of blade perform really well at an affordable price. I always by 2 at a time so i have one spare in the van. I really like the spectrum blade:

The best power tool starter Packages

I Thought it would be good to find a starter package set of cordless power tools to look at that would be a great for any DIYer and tradesmen.

I have found a great set that Makita offer that will really get your project into full swing.

Its all cordless so you can work on awkward sites where access to power is only in one location and it gives you a tool for any task. All for less the £700.

I chose this option of package because i think it gives the most all round tools. Drill/impact driver. Reciprocater, circular saw and handy torch and all these tools would be used on any development also a 4″ grider. It also comes with 2 x 5ah batteries so you could have a couple tools being used at the same time. I personally have 4 batteries in total now and find that is the magic number for me personally but i always forget to keep one charged at all times..

I find these tools very durable as I’m always dropping them and they still seem to work fine. Also once you have a good set like this you can keep adding to it and using the same batteries..

Click on this link to go to a uk price..

Dewalt combo pack

Although so far i have only really talked about Makita, I have to say Dewalt is really doing well in the market at the moment and they are coming out with some great bits of kit. I attended a tool fair run by the local merchants recently and Dewalt had a stand there, where i tried out some of there stuff and I have to say I was very impressed. If i didn’t already have Makita tools I would be very tempted to move to “Team Dewalt”

What really impressed me although not cheap was the 24v & 54v option of battery which their kit also works on and you can really tell the difference. The 54v can run a table top sliding chop saw it was fantastic.

I cut some OSB board with the Dewalt circular saw and tried it with the 18v and then the 24v battery and the difference is mega. The 24v made light work off it whereas the 18v although still good had an obvious lack of power.

Dewalt is slightly more expensive but very much aimed at the full time professional and the quality feel of the tools is amazing. I would be more then happy to have this set of tools..

A must have tool in the pocket of any DIYer or tradesperson.

Gerber multi tool

The leathermens equivalent only better looking. I love my multi tool it goes with with everywhere. Loads of great bits on it for general daily challenges. The best thing is with in the the first month of owning mine i stupidly used the knife to open a seized up drain lid and snapped it. I was really gutted but then i saw another chap on site with one and i told him the storey and he said they guarantee these things for years so i got onto where i purchased the product (see link) and they sent me out a new one no problem at all and that was a good 12 months after purchasing.

So a great tool, good quality metal and it comes with a nice case that clips onto your belt. I would challenge you to find something that you cant use it for. I also take this with me on family camping trips..

Love it..