The toolbox thread

[ChrisF]

18 hours ago, patches said:

Have you seen the cost of building materials in NZ lately?! 😂😵 hahaha!

Plenty of news articles about builders paying over 6x the retail price for Gib (plasterboard). Nationwide shortage caused by a monopoly that is failing to meet demand. The big construction companies are panic buying the majority of what is available and smaller builders are paying exorbitant prices for whatever they can get their hands on as they are stressing about penalties for blowing out the programme on their projects. Luckily for my projects, I have 4 sheets in my garage that I bought over a year ago. I'd be screwed if I didn't buy them back then.

A year ago developers were pushing housing prices up at an alarming rate as zoning laws were changing and an 800sqm piece of land could now be used to develop 5x higher-end townhouses selling for $1.75m (about R17.5m) each (literally happening 5 houses down from us on our street). The hyper-inflated prices locked out plenty of conventional buyers. But now with the building material costs and shortages, the developers are scared to take on new projects, so housing prices are cooling again.

Anyway, brief status update on the Auckland housing market, but yea, building is k-a-k expensive at the moment, haha!

In Feb 2020 (before all hell broke loose) we looked at a piece of land in the Southern Alps (about 1hr from Queentown). It was 4Ha block with a 250sqm shed/garage/workshop on it and not much else. The vendor planned on building a beautiful 300sqm house, but decided to sell after building the shed (which had a bathroom and power), and casting the services and concrete pad for the main residence. (architectural plans were included in the sale).

Price wasn't too bad either, about $500,000. Less than half the median house price at present, and land alone would be worth 1.5x that in today's money.

I tried very hard to convince my wife about the merits of the property and how we (or atleast I) could live in the shed, store all the building materials there, and oversee the project. Sadly she didn't bite.

I continue to dream!

 

Some "strange" and worrying prices down here in SA ....

 

Steel prices have gone totally crazy !!!

 

Most import goods have drastically increased in price ....

 

 

And yet .... some of the long time trusty sub.contractors are coming in way under project estimates .... 

 

Lets hope they can deliver at these low rates ....

[Hairy]

2 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

Some "strange" and worrying prices down here in SA ....

 

Steel prices have gone totally crazy !!!

 

Most import goods have drastically increased in price ....

 

 

And yet .... some of the long time trusty sub.contractors are coming in way under project estimates .... 

 

Lets hope they can deliver at these low rates ....

And if they deliver, they install the same known quality products vs cheap alternatives?

[patches]

On 6/25/2022 at 11:28 PM, patches said:

Aaand I caved and ended up on yet ANOTHER battery platform (Makita 40V). That brings me to 6.

The new addition. Makita 40V 216mm Sliding Compound Mitre Saw (as used by Scott Brown... just for Hairy).

Decided it was time to go cordless and compact. I like the idea of the forward facing rails, so can be placed with back pretty close to the wall. Has the AWS chip, so will autostart my cordless vac. LED drop shaddow for cut line (which I prefer to laser on the 36V Makitas), and weighs in at under 16kg.

The compromise is cut capacity, but 70mm deep x 312mm long is pretty decent and will do 90% of what I need, and I can just rotate thicker pieces.

So now just to sell the 254mm AEG corded mitre saw, which has served well for 2 years, but needs to free up some garage space.

I forgot to mention 2 of the best parts of this purchase...

1. Got 15% off retail, as the big-box hardware store next door had it for $4 cheaper and the one I was purchasing at has a policy to beat the competitors pricing.
2. Getting a free stand (worth $350) through a Makita redemption offer, unique to the store at which I purchased.

With deals that good, how can I not make terrible financial decisions!

[geomark]

[patches]

I very nearly made more terrible financial decisions yesterday.

Bunnings (big box hardware store in Aus and NZ) currently has a deal on a 9 piece AEG cordless tool kit.

Usually the kit is $2,000 (approx R20,000), but at the moment that have it for $1,600. 20% off for tools that would cost well over $3,500 if purchased individually)

PLUS, one gets a free 10" mitre saw and stand (valued at $850) via online redemption.

 

If I didn't have most of those tools and hadn't just sold one of those exact mitre-saw stand combo's, my wallet wouldn't have survived the window shopping.

[patches]

New nail gun day today.

Upgrading the 18ga Ryobi brad nailer with a Milwaukee version (trying to cut back on them battery platforms).

Brushless motor (more power), bump-fire mode and reduced hammer marks

and here it is, dwarfed, next to the big-boy nail gun

 

[patches]

So after hypocritically stating that I'm selling off my Ryobi tools to reduce down on battery platforms, I went and invested in a new one for this...

Bosch GEX 18V 125mm Random Orbital Sander.

Influenced by Project Farm's shootout (and other reviews) the Bosch seemed like a top contender. I like its lower profile, and on control, dust collection, vibration, and noise it seemed to smash the competition.

It also hooks up nicely to my little Makita 2x 18V dust extractor

The cheapest way I could find to get onto the Bosch Professional 18V platform was to buy a brushless hammer drill kit with 2x 4.0Ah batteries. and a charger. I should recoup some money though the sale of the unneeded drill, and the free 40M laser measure claimed through a Bosch promotional offer.

Looking around the garage now, I realize I need to do something about battery and charger storage.

• 7 platforms
• 7 chargers
• 18 batteries

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by patches

[BaGearA]

I've wanted one forever and finally....

[ChrisF]

6 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

I've wanted one forever and finally....

Please tell more ...

[Hairy]

28 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

I've wanted one forever and finally....

Did you get the one for Metric or Imperial nuts and bolts? 🤪

[ChrisF]

11 minutes ago, Hairy said:

Did you get the one for Metric or Imperial nuts and bolts? 🤪

 

Here I thought it was a Freestate vernier ...

[Alouette3]

45 minutes ago, BaGearA said:

I've wanted one forever and finally....

Where did you get yours from? Brilliant piece of kit, used mine today servicing a Reverb

 

[Hairy]

57 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

Here I thought it was a Freestate vernier ...

I am also trying to figure out if it is left or right hand user friendly

[BaGearA]

1 hour ago, Alouette3 said:

 

haven't formally used mine except for playing with it today when i was really supposed to be working 

 

Looking forward to the next time i need to swap brake hoses or something with pivots or something with an Imperial bolt head even 

[BaGearA]

1 hour ago, ChrisF said:

 

Here I thought it was a Freestate vernier ...

already got lots of those 

[patches]

Tool Priorities...

When you're overseas visiting the in-laws for the weekend and you come across a tool deal that is too good to pass up...

Despite the oversized box and priority sticker this one isn't that exciting. Just a Makita 40V Powerhead and line trimmer attachment. Figured if I'm gonna be the gardener I may as well do it with quality tools.

Plus garden power tools are easier to justify to the wife, haha.

Next up will be the hedge trimmer and edge trimming attachments for the powerhead.

Edited August 9, 2022 by patches