DIY and Home Improvement, Choosing Electrical Power Tools by Bill Bradley
DIY and home improvement work is an excellent way to save money and add value to your home. Electrical power tools help you do do the work easier and faster.Hardware stores carry a full range of power tools, from very cheap to very expensive. Start with your first drill and maybe a circular saw as cheapies, see if you like it. They will still get used even when you start to get bigger and better ones.Once you have done a few jobs and you are more confident, start getting better quality tools. I am a bit wary of these multipurpose tools. Things with a lot of accessories that do this and that. Stick to standard items.I usually go for medium to just under top of the range power tools. I guess you'd say the tradesman range. Really top price stuff usually caters for specialist applications that you probably won't need. An example, if you had a lot of dry concrete type cutting to do, (like a block layer or ceramic tiler) you could splash extra cash and buy a specially dust sealed grinder. Most guys don't bother, they just get as much as they can out of standard tools.I own heaps of power tools that look terrible, but they all do the same job that they did when they were brand new. The reason they look like crap is because they have had a long hard life, (tell me about it :-). The reason they still do the job is because they were well made, by reputable companies.I have mostly one brand of electric power tool, Makita. I don't say it's the best, there are a lot of good tools out there, but.... In our town, there is, and has been for the last 30 years only one manufacturer's agent who carries stock of parts and accessories, and has on board a top repair man. Makita. The Hitachi grinder that I was using for months on my last job, is tough, powerful and has a better guard adjustment than my Makita ones. I am not biased towards Makita tools so much as the Makita after sales service WHERE I LIVE. Check out your own situation.It seems that every store has a DIY section. Find a good store that carries a large range and ask about until you find a salesperson who knows tools. Someone you feel you can rely on. Ask him or her which models the guys in the trade use.Ask if they get warranty claims on any. Take the sales persons advice and see them the next time you are looking for another tool.A good salesperson gets to know all the latest from the wholesalers, new gear is coming out all the time. They also get feedback from their DIY and trade customers.I broke the habit of a lifetime a few years ago when I was looking for another 100mm angle grinder. I have a few, one with a cutting disc in it, one with a grinding disc, etc., but I needed another so I picked out a cheapy, a Chinese import. At the trade counter the guy says to me "You intendin doin a lotta work with that Bill? ". Always ready with a smart reply I said " I don't think I've got a lotta work left in me Frank ". He smiled and shook his head slowly. I realised then that he'd been trying to warn me off that particular tool. He'd probably had returns and bad feedback about them. I turned around and re sheved it and then picked up a reasonably priced B&D. Thanks Frank.More about the service issue. My Makita wet saw's bearings packed up on me in the middle of a job. I had scaffold on hire and men on it. I raced into town and explained the situation, if they couldn't fix it quickly I would buy a new one. No worries, I was back on the road with a new set of bearings inside half an hour. Thanks Richard.To sum up. go with well known brands. DIY sometimes has that feeling of cheap, it shouldn't because you want to do a good job, and you may be doing DIY in years to come. So choose carefully.Check availability of service, spares and accessories. Check that the accessories are industry standard. Middle to top of price range. ( Maybe try a few cheapies when you are starting off, they are getting better).Make sure it feels comfortable in the hand.Ask yourself is it the correct tool for the job, not too small and underpowered? Not to big and heavy?
