Souvenir

Like most of us, I have a deep and abiding interest in power tools (the acquisition, use and abuse of).

A few days ago our junk mail included a flyer for a brand of tools called King Canadian. The tools look like any other but I've never seen them in the shops, nor even heard of them. The seem to be rather less expensive than the regular brands. There is usually a good reason for that. Does anyone have any experience of this brand?

Calgal

Oi! Why no gurls??? I like power tools (and cars - think I should have been a boy )

Never 'eard of "King Canadian" either. Can't beat Bosch for quality and longevity (daughter of an excellent Carpenter)

Souvenir

Here is an example of why gurls shouldn't be allowed to play with tools.

Over the weekend, my own gurl decided to modify our kitchen counter. There is, or rather was, a bit the stuck out and got in her way (ie an overhang). She wanted it gone. To cut it down it had to be removed.

Here was her work progress.

1) Remove every screw in sight, stripping as many heads as possible in the process.

2) Lift off counter top with an 18-inch wrecking bar (it helps to loosen the glue, particularly where the counter and its support are firmly glued to the wall).

3) Cut a four-foot long section off the counter, freehand, with a jigsaw and having a line of sight that is perpendicular to the cut. Counter is now flush with the end of the cabinets underneath. To within about half an inch, anyway.

4) Block off end with a sheet of mdf that has been shop-cut to her precisely measured dimensions (accurate to within an inch). Also block off, permanently, one of the largest storage cabinets in the kitchen.

5) Fix wainscotting panels to mdf with No More Nails. Fix one piece (scrap) to the ceramic floor at the same time.

6) Consider ways to deal with yawning gap between new panels and edge of what is left of counter. Also gaping hole in wall caused when glue removal resulted in drywall removal.

7) Start chucking out stuff we have no room for any more owing to lack of counter/cabinet space.

Gurls

Calgal

LOL Now that situation, sounds like our house, but in reverse - my hubby would be the one to do it that way!

Smokey

Sorry to hear that you had an 'unfortunate' experience...but to say 'no gurls' seems a little like you should be working at my local Home Hardware...its taken them a year of constant visiting for them to realise that when 'we' come in its me they should be talking to. It's funny when a new employee does it but there was a time it wasn't as I'd be in there three or so times a week.

I might not know what things are called - I had a rediculous convo with a work collegue about spanners and he didn't know what I was talking about but I'm moving onto my fourth house reno shortly. I use what power tools I have a lot in that time - newest acquisition was a Mastercraft combo mitre saw...shoulda bought that last year as it rocks.....

So my point it that unless you're a pro using these things 5 or 6 days a week then why would you want to pay out three or four times the cost effectively just for a DeWalt or Bosch? Unless of course you're a brand man and will have them sitting on the bench and gleaming when not being used in which case I would recommend spotlights to help with the gleam

Calgal

Right - that's it! Off to the hardware store for wire/track/spotlights

Seriously, we are doing loads of reno's (whole house looks like a construction site). I don't own any Bosch actually, just that my dad (as a professional carpenter) did, and he preferred Bosch. Our collection consists of Ryobi, Skil, Dremmel, and Dewalt so far. Oh yeah................the ol' Black and Decker drill blew up not so long ago...lol

iaink

"King Canada", seen them in TSC I think, anyway, too cheap for me. I'll stick to the tried and tested Mastercraft ones. Even if they break you know Crappy will replace with minimal fuss.

heres the link anyway

Craftybanshee

I'm another 'gurl' who is interested in power tools, but has only used a big chunky drill once

Some of you guys can be as bad. I watched "Worst British DIY'er of the "Year and nearly laughed my socks off, 'cos these guys should never have been let out near the public, let alone near DIY tools and electricity :scared:

Even I know that if you're gonna disconnect a bathroom sink you turn the water supply off first and have a container to hand to catch the water (and I'm a 'gurl' whose never done plumbing). The guy was wondering where all the water was coming from - I felt sorry for his long suffering wife/gurl.

Don't ask me about electrics tho' 'cos I would probably end up fried like this :scared:

Souvenir

Nor 5 or 6 times a week, for sure, but most weekends over the last couple of years. They do sit on the bench/garage floor/kitchen counter (what's left of it) but they're far from gleaming.

I'm no label queen. I have B&D, DeWalt, Mastercraft, Delta, Dremel, Skil, Ridgid (yes, I have Ridgid t...). Obviously, I'd like to get good stuff for less money. If this King gear is OK, then it looks like a deal. If, however, the motor brushes burn out after two weeks, or the motor has no cohones, it's not such a good deal.

I was just wondering if anyone had any experience of it.

My next mitre saw will be a 12 inch, I swear it. Possibly a radial. Either that or gurl will have to rethink her ideas regarding baseboards.

Smokey

Girlie tip for impending baseboard nightmare ....silicone gloop ...very forgiving product in which I'm considering buying shares Still can't understand why flat plasterboard walls actually aren't

...now I just wonder what a cohone is...hmm....

Souvenir

Boy tip: use latex, not silicone.

Flat walls, like level floors and 90-degree angles, are illegal in Canada.

iaink

Use Latex not silicone...you can paint over latex easier than most silicone.

Not flat cos it depends on the studs behind the wall being in a dead straight line. When the screws are put in the plasterboards will flex to follow the studs to some extent. If its an old house your chances are even slimmer that they will be flat, timbers will flex and warp with time, and old timber was not cut as precisely in the first place. plus youve got all the taped joints between boards that have to be mudded and sanded flat and seldom are 100% right.

Cohones? well if you google the second result is for something called "The Gonad gallery", url is "bumpernuts.com". I wont paint you a picture

dbd33

If you have an older house surely you won't have plasterboards and joints. We have proper plaster held together with horse hair; I know this because when I replaced the living room ceiling it took weeks to clean up all the hairs.

iaink

Sound like fun...not.

I guess it depends how old and how much remodeling has happened. Most older homes have had some internal remodeling it seems...and as the chances of the original walls and floors being true and square are slim, then the chances of retrofitting anything true and square are equally slim.

My home was built in the 50s with plasterboard, and has been remodeled inside at least once acording to our elderly neighbour whos been here since shortly after it was built.

dbd33

Oddly, the house in the 'burbs was built in 1957 using plaster. The cable guy put his foot through the neighbours ceiling damaging the pattern; the insurance company had the whole thing taken out and repaced with plasterboard rather than pay for someone to sculpt matching plaster swirls.

The house in the Beach is quite old, bits of it stood there in 1927 when they surveyed the street. It has been expanded from miniscule to tiny by the addition of various bits by various owners. Most of the houses locally are like that, they were originally cottages built with a few leftover red bricks, a few brown ones and so on. Our exterior finish is several types of brick, cedar shakes, shingles, man made siding, wood siding and tongue and groove panels. There's also some plywood.

The living room ceiling had been sprayed with that pebbledash stuff and had a large crack in it. Rather than fix it I took it out and put in a tin ceiling. People liked the tin so when a bathroom flood did for the kitchen one I replaced that with tin too (after several months of garbage bags over the hole). One day the upstairs hallway will have tin too.

The wall between the kitchen and dining room is plasterboard, at least one side of it is. I took the wall out with a view to an open plan look. I then discovered a wide heat duct inside it. For a year or so everyone and his dog came and proposed ideas for rerouting the heat duct, none of which worked out so eventually I put the wall back. Lacking skills I used drywall for one side. I then met a proper plasterer in the pub, he did the other side reusing the lathe I'd taken down.

The only power tools I own are a drill and a chain saw. The chain saw's a good one, Husquvarna or however you spell it. The drill's ok, I found it in the garage when we moved in, not sure what brand it is. I rented a saw for cutting the tiles in the bathroom and for the patio stones, I didn't note the brand. I used my brother's compressor and nailer for shingling the garage roof but having nailed the hose twice and my hand once I did the house roof with a conventional hammer.