Been eyeing up an 18V combi drill plus 2 Li-ion batteries (dv18dcl) for £99 at B&Q- bargain or just run of the mill stuff?

Decent enough stuff. I use their gas nailer and I've got an hitachi angle grinder that is older than god, but their product designer seems to have been on crack for the last few years. The exceptional ugliness of their products shouldn't compromise function though

Yes, it's good kit. Not pretty, but good. Btw, that's astonishingly good value for 18V LiIon. 2 batteries you say? Linky?

Have a look at the 'site' range at screwfix if it's for diy. They're made by makita.
Can't go far wrong with any of the big boys, dewalt, makita, hitachi or blue bosch.
It mainly comes down to personal preference.
I've got a full set of 18v dewalt, mainly because of the range available and prices you can get them for imported. Most of my corded stuff is blue bosch.
I've got an old hitachi palm sander that must be 25 years old now, and a 4 inch makita belt sander that's around the same. They were my dads

http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/nav.jsp?action=detail&fh_secondid=10798554&ecamp=trf-005&CAWELAID=468160192

Think the batteries may be smaller than average (1.5Ah?) but yeah, still good value! Store down the road from here sold 32 in 1 day according to bloke re-stocking them last night…

EDIT: Seen the Site stuff, but fancy Li-ion batteries for lightness- all seem to be Ni-Cad)

****, paid well over two hundred calamari for that driver a year and a bit ago. Those do look like the smallest batteries ever though…that's where the cost has been saved.

Hitachi kit is very good

Makita drill

I was eyeing up this one, can't go wrong with a Makita.

I've got an old hitachi palm sander that must be 25 years old now

I've got a 9 1/4 inch Hitachi circular saw which is at least 25 years old. I've dropped it twice from a full storey height – once onto a concrete slab. Apart from a bent sole plate which had to be hammered straight and a broken depth adjustment knob which had to be replaced, it was fine.

Hitachi 7 1/4 inch circular saws were somewhat underpowered – I've managed to burn out a couple, but they've now fitted them with massive 1670 watt motors whilst still keeping the weight down, and they appear to be the most popular circular saws on sites these days.

I've also got a Hitachi mitre/compound saw which I use a lot as it's incredibly light – that must be about 20 years old now.

That's my personal experience of Hitachi. As FunkyMonkey says, Dewalt, Makita, Hitachi, and Bosch (professional) all make decent tools. And I have to say that I am seriously tempted with the Hitachi 18V Li-ion combi for £99……..even though I don't really need it 😐

Damn you STW…….I avoid the bike forum precisely because I don't want any clever ideas of how to spend money on stuff that I want, but don't need, but at least I thought the chat forum was safe !

Ive just taken delivery of a new makita 14.4v Li-Ion (2×3.0Ah) driver set I put together for £170+VAT today and that Hitachi deal looks very good to me although 1.5Ah batteries would be a pain next week when Im screwing flooring down on this lot 😉

does it pass the Gus test so far? 😉

BTW I have a SIte driver that I got from Screwfix – great price but the NiCd batteries just dont last long enough for all-day working and they fade quickly if you leave them for a more than a few days even fully charged. Great quality and build for DIY, just not for "site" work. But at £60 when you can get a Li_ion for £100 – Id go for the Hitachi even with the small batteries.

I've just bought one for work, as it was the proverbial Bargin (sp) They claim on the packaging that they will take any battery though, whether thats just any Makita battery or "any" battery I haven't tried yet.

pepper – the hitachi wont take Makita. The Sites probably will take makita (since Site are made by Makita), but only the Nicd or NimH I think – certainly the Site wont take the Makita Li-Ion.

does it pass the Gus test so far?

That's the prettiest joisting I've ever seen – specially all those rows of neat holes in the middle of the joists – didn't fancy notching out eh ?

Although for aesthetic reasons I prefer herringbone strutting to staggered solid blocking 💡
Wrap your jiffy hangers round won't you.

WTF is a jiffy hanger?

and notching isnt allowed for sparks these days. But yeah, I like planning ahead to make first fit easy (im doing pipe first fit at the end of next week, sparks will be in just after) (Oh and they're not the middle of the joists they're 0.25<0.4 innit! or regs man would have me 🙂 )

TBH the skill lies with my mate humanbean. Im just the pain in his arse that spends all the time chewing stuff over whil he's getting on with it 🙂

I'm thinking he means the joist hangers need to be tapped round the other side of the joist rather than flying in fresh air as they currently are. All looks nice though.

flying in fresh air

damn. I thought that was an architectural feature!

😉

The Li-Ion batteries (I have Hitachi ones) charge shockingly quick – the charger even has a little cooling fan on it to keep them cool while charging (which I think, speeds up the process).

If you're using one to screw the amount of screws you're going to be using there, I'd consider the deal. The Li-Ion units are light as a feather (makes a difference for all day use too). Find which torque setting gives you just below the surface for the screw, use that and the battery will last even longer. Depends on what you're screwing down of course..I do hope it's ply and not chipboard!! 😯

keep up DD! Ive just got my hands on a makita Li-ion set. OP was after the Hitachi. I may get the hitachi as a back up tomorrow though 🙂

"notching isnt allowed for sparks these days"

From where I'm standing, it looks like you're going to have some pretty meaty cables there – and plenty of the them 😯 What's this building going to house ?

Yeah, your jiffy hangers are fine – it's just I reckon you could have wrapped then round a bit more and got another couple of twist nails into them. It all looks very pretty though – just ignore me….

have you seen the price of those twist nails? 2 per hanger is more than I can afford 😉

That building is my new home…eventually 🙂

There's two sets of joist holes on either side of the half way line.

4x28mm + 1x50mm take 15mm mains, 22mm hot, 22mm grey, 28mm spare and 50mm for sparks. t'other side of 4x28mm and 1x50mm takes 2x22mm UFH to manifold and back, 2x15mm 1stFl CH and back and another one for sparks (got to give the guy room to move 😉 )

There'll be a lighting run in the 1st fl ceiling too, but that's it.

possibly a bit overkill but it's easier doing it on the deck than up in the gods later. It also keeps sparks time on site to a minimum and he's working day rates.

keep up DD

**** off will ya 😀

Ah yes, just reading back…and you said this…

…14.4v Li-Ion…

I think it was when I read "14.4V" that I switched off…nice bit of kit though. 😉

Well I popped into B&Q a couple of weeks ago. Picked up the Hitachi and held it in my hands for a few minutes humming and harring, dithering and procrastinating. And then carefully placed it back on the shelf 😀

However yesterday, it got the better of me and I went back to B&Q with a wad of money stuffed in my pocket, having convinced myself despite all the evidence to the contrary, that I needed the Hitachi (if I carry on like this I'll end up with more cordless drills than bikes ffs)

What a result ! ………. B&Q had a "20% off everything over £50" deal on….so I paid £79.98 8)

I'm not that bothered the batteries are only 1.5Ah, I can always buy an extra, higher rated, battery and it will still represent excellent value. And it makes the drill extraordinarily light for a combi. In fact Bosch supply their 36v SDS drill with three 1.3Ah batteries as it keeps the weight down for over head height work.

I'm a bit of a weight weenie when it comes to power tools – not only does it make life easier when you are using a power tool all day, but it's also rather useful when you're ducking and diving in and out of scaffolding carrying a multitude of tools. Granted, having to trundle across a muddy field to get to the site agent's office to recharge your battery can be a pain, but that should not represent a problem for a DIY person, as power supplies tend to be close by. Actually I'm not a huge fan of cordless and will almost always use corded tools if a power supply is easily available.

Anyways, I'm well chuffed with my completely unnecessary purchase. Although I did notice that the keyless chuck is two-handed operated and not one-handed (although most times it can be done with one hand) That, plus the apparent cheap quality of the storage case provided, suggests that particular combi drill is aimed more at the DIY market, which surprises me – I wasn't aware that Hitachi bothered with that market niche. Time will tell if it falls apart the first time I drop it. Although my experience of Hitachi tools suggests that I shouldn't be unduly worried. And still, at £80 it still represents a real bargain – just a new Hitachi charger costs about half of that.

B&Q still have one day left on the "20% off everything over £50" deal, so I would recommend anyone considering buying anything from them, do it today 8)

……. whilst on the subject of tools/bargains……..Clas Ohlson (if you've got one near you) are selling handsaws made by Bahco (Sandvik) for £2.99

http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/Product.aspx?id=134587860

They are imo excellent handsaws, and appear to be exactly like the Bahco 244 saws, only with a pale, rather than dark, blue handle.

Clas Ohlson are also selling Hi Viz jackets for £14.99. They are designed for cyclists (back & napoleon zip pockets) but I have worn them on site (couldn't be arsed to take it off after cycling to work) and on two occasions caught it on sharp nails (enough to stop me in my tracks) on neither occasions it ripped. And I can confirm after cycling home on friday, that they are shower proof. It packs up as a small ball, into the back pocket with a reversible zip.

I can't seem to find a link, but there is a picture of it here :

http://www.clasohlson.co.uk/Product/CategoryDisplay.aspx?id=85177602&_path=251882;85177602