After a leaky shower, I’m patching up and have a load of tile grout to rake out, and some new flooring to lay, and a bunch of general woodwork around it too. Google suggests a multitool is the way to degrout with the least faff these days. I’m happy to be told differently if you know better, but otherwise I think I’m going to splash out on a multitool with a bunch of blades, it seems they can do everything but espresso.

On a tangent, my toolbox is pretty traditional, drills, jigsaw, circular saw, sander, angle grinder etc. Which of the new range of tools has made the biggest impact on your work, rail saws, small diameter plunging circular saws, joint cutters all come to mind. I’m no expert at anything, but renovating my own place and keeping on top of a handful of rental properties, I end up doing a lot of differnt jobs, but not very often.

The oscillating saws are amazing for those hard to do oddball jobs:- Removing small sections of floorboards without trashing them or making a mess.

Cutting across boards midway over a joist (so refitted board has something to sit on).

Trimming a bit off doorframes so floor covering can go right under.

Cutting a copper pipe deep inside the toilet cistern to fit a new ballcock without totally stripping and splitting the toilet.

I’ve used it for grout before – just be careful as tungsten carbide blade will cut into edges of tiles just as easily as it will cut grout….

aside from my Fluke multimeter and hand tools

Impact driver (really, how did we manage!)
Laser level, useful in more ways than you’d think
SDS drill
multitool – yup, i use mine a lot, but never for a specific job, more working round bits and bobs

most important, DAB radio for Radio 6 (or a spotify playlist), if you’ve ever worked with someone who listens to Kiss FM you’d know this is a life saver

I’m presuming you’ll get a proper grout raking blade for the multitool? They are really good if you’re careful and have a wide enough grout line. In general I found the best job for a multitool was cutting holes in plasterboard for electrical sockets. It’s bloody great. They are dead handy.
I bought an old biscuit jointer that’s really good but I’ve only had call to use it a few times. I really want a track saw but haven’t taken the plunge (sorry) yet. I also nearly bought one of those little screens with the long windy camera for looking into hard to reach places etc. I think it might be quite handy.

I also nearly bought one of those little screens with the long windy camera for looking into hard to reach places etc. I think it might be quite handy.

My Mum got me one from Aldi. The sort of thing that is useless, until you need one, when it pays for itself 10 times

I remember about ten years ago, setting my phone to record video, tying it on some cord, and lowering it down behing the engine of my mate’s freelander to see where it was leaking from this time.

Everywhere, it was leaking from everywhere.

I’m about to use mine to cut a big hole in the wall of our newly finished lounge 🙁

Got a central heating pipe that’s sprung a leak.

I also nearly bought one of those little screens with the long windy camera for looking into hard to reach places etc. I think it might be quite handy.

I’ve just got one from Amazon, connects to your phone via WiFi and works really well.

I’m going to have a look in the wall before I cut the big hole.

I remember about ten years ago, setting my phone to record video, tying it on some cord, and lowering it down behing the engine of my mate’s freelander to see where it was leaking from this time.

Everywhere, it was leaking from everywhere.

I didn’t mean to click on this thread but I’m glad I did now.

Aldi was where I saw it.
I think it was £50 but it looked quite good.
Who knows what fun you can have poking your tiny camera around.

Multi-tool is an awesome piece of kit. If you can’t afford a decent cordless, then go for a corded for some grunt. Sexton (also sell thru Amazon) for a relatively cheap set of blades – 16 various sizes for around £40. Always move from side to side with a cut, that way the blades will last longer. A plunge cut will blunt them – although to be fair, sometimes it’s what you have to do and that’s why you have one. You’ll find jobs you never even realised needed doing once you have one. Double up as a nice mouse-sander as well.

And an impact driver – as someone else said, how did we ever manage!

Get a Fein one, the ones that need an allen key are only £120. Work much, much better than the green Bosch ones. Fein and Bosch have started using Starlock Plus which means you can only fit their expensive blades; their blades are really good quality and if you buy in bulk online you can get them as cheap as a fiver each

The saxton blade one is excellent. Admittedly i broke one in a day but they replaced instantly before i sent the old one back.

Was a deadly darcy recommendation.

I have a 10quid endoscope that plugs into the phone, dead useful.

A chisel knife is mad useful when you’re hacking about in wood. I split spacers from scraps as i go along with it. Cut slice notch etc all with the one tool way handier even that a fixed blade stanley knife.

Axtually alot of handtools are pretty bloody fast. Japanese pull saws, brace and bit etc get hauled out on occasion when a bit of care is required.

Could not agree more about the radio.

I have recently bought an battery plane after years of using a traditional type. It’s brilliant. I would say look at which brand does the stuff you like and buy the individual bodies. If you shop around on Google or screwfix it works out cheaper. I prefer the bosch as the rattler gun comes with a 1/2 socket drive as well as a1/4 hex. It means I can use it when doing jobs on cars and on jobs on the house.

My little palette knife, so useful for little filling jobs.

If I may ask, what is so much better about an impact driver over a normal drill driver?

those tools do work well but the blades are like butter – if you need to cut the skirting in a room (to fit laminate under it – for which they’re really good), you’ll probably rinse through 3 or 4 of them

Anyone seen any offers on multi-tools? My corded Titan from Screwfix died in a cloud of smoke last week and screwfix just refunded me as the they no longer sold that model.

If I may ask, what is so much better about an impact driver over a normal drill driver?

Think how hard you push on a screw to stop the driver slipping, an impact driver pushes a lot harder than that! It also only turns a few degrees with each impact so it’s harder to hamfistedly round off the head.

That and it’s easier to have a drill and a driver when doing jobs so you dont need to swap bits every few minutes. And if you’re buying a tool it may as well be the right one for the job.

Downside is there’s no torque setting or clutch, it’ll keep screwing it in untill the thread goes. To set a torque you buy extension bars that are sized to twist as a given torque, when the torque is reached the driver is just twisting/untwisting with each impact (remember it’s only moving a few degrees before it stops and relaxes before going again).

Makita brushless multitool is excellent, got me out of many a tricky situation!

Impact drivers are great, but the noise is irritating, why not just use torx head screws and a nice quiet drill driver, trust me is you are using them all day they send you crazy.

98db vs 75db so an 8hr day vs 1/2hr

HAVS on my impact driver is <1.5hrs per day maximum exposure, tingly pinkies are not much fun!

Decent dust extraction and a rail saw are just superb and get used heaps.

Don’t make the same mistake I did.. don’t buy a Bosch which uses the new proprietary “starlock” fitting. It means its basically impossible to find blades and they are super expensive. Big mistake! Turns out multitools are very much like the bike industry 😉

Impact drivers are great, but the noise is irritating

Yep, I have to wear ear defenders to use one, sets my tinitus off otherwise.

The saxton blade one is excellent.

They make some excellent quality blades and very cheap to boot..

While we are on the subject of tools, does anyone know of a good source of hex shank drill bits? A smaller set of 1-6mm are readily available, but I’d like a bigger set…

Something like this; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/13PCS-set-1-5-6-5mm-High-Speed-Steel-Titanium-Coated-Hex-Shank-Drill-Bit-Set-UK-/222844406344

I’ve got a makita oscillating multitool and it’s great – it uses a keyless system for changing the blades and has lasted a lot longer than the Bosch home diy-er and Bosch professional one I had before it.

Bosch do a good blade just for removing grout which saves a lot of faffing round.

after having a cheap 10v lithium one from Aldi I went for the higher power of the mains Worx ones on sale at B&Q. It’s excellent but I miss the cordless-ness. Wickes were recently selling off loads of Worx blades so picked up lots for £2 each and some diamond and carbide half round cutters for £5 each. I think the interface is common with some others.

Aldi Oscillating saw multiool owner here.

Bought it on a whim, was 19.99 or something ridiculous.

Been a savoir!
Tiled my bathroom, loads of adhesive oozed up as i was a bit frivolous with it when laying, used it between the groves to make real clean grout lines. Aldi sells packs of blades specific to ceramic ing, they are like carbide grit coasted blades 6 quid a pack.

Ebays does very cheap blades, also has tool less blade change.

but i have used it for cutting door jams when laying floors loads of other random jobs.

Also lidl Laser line also 19.99 or something whilst not stabila quality does the jobs and very useful.

@siwhite –

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TIMCO-ADDAX-X6-IMPACT-QUICK-CHANGE-DRILL-BITS-1-4-DRIVER-2mm-10mm-HSS-STEEL/162800253570?hash=item25e7a6ba82:m:mT4-PSYj8OFdseTIMdl43gA

Might be worth a look.up to 10mm and can buy singles.