Lidl Bench Drill & Mitre Saw

Halycon

Hi all,

There is a Powercraft Mitre Saw and Bench Drill in Lidl on sale Thursday.

Can't link to it as I am new here.

Anyone any experience with them before? Worth €60 or €69?

I would only be doing light DIY stuff once a week or so. No metal or thick hardwoods.

And before anyone suggests it, I am keeping an eye on second hand sites but I don't have the budget or expertise in restoration for anything I have seen on sale. I would prefer to spend my time making sawdust!

Prenderb

I would think it's worth a punt. You do get what you pay for, but lots of folk have bought Lidl tools and had them last well enough for them, given the price. With the sort of use you might have in mind, light DIY once a week? I'd say go for it.

As long as the saw can cut the timber you have in mind (max depth is a bit small at 60mm, width only 120mm...). The drill looks ok, might pick one up myself!

Halycon

Hi Prenderb. I am doing some small woodwork, shelves, boxes and the like.
I hadn't thought of the cutting depth, good point. I'm planning on buying a quality table saw eventually but would like something for small cuts in the meantime.

I will pick up the drill anyway, will think about the Mitre saw. Just need to get to lidl in time!

recipio

Bearing in mind these come out of China, the prices are still for nothing !
You might get a few accuracy glitches with the saw and the drill is only 500 watt ( underpowered ) but if you only want to do light diy work you can't go wrong.

my3cents

Yes they are worth the money and have used them both. BUT don't let them limit what you do treat them as hire tools and replace them as soon as you need to with better ones.

The reason you need a bench drill is either for accuracy and duplication or power, the drill doesn't have the power but if you don't force it (easy with a bench drill) it will reasonably accurate. Its other limitation is its height, put a long drill in it and you can't get a large piece of material under it. A bench drill is sometimes used in place of a mortise/router to help cut housings, it will do it but really lacks power for this. Use it sensibly and you won't notice any power problems.

The miter saw doesn't lack power in softwood and is reasonably accurate. It has no slide mechanism but can still cut 4 inch timber if you cut it in two goes. I use mine mainly for cutting up off cuts for fire wood and its has a lot of use and is still working fine. One really annoying feature is the lock that holds the cutting head down for storage has no spring in it so it will engage on every cut sometimes, you just need to tie something around it to keep it from doing this. Never used the laser feature or dust collector bag both are a waste of time (you can hardly see the laser in daylight and not at all outside in full sun) but still basic saw is sound.

downwesht

Have a mitre saw for years.I use it for cutting up kindling and tree limbs as thick as a can of beans.Great for the money think I paid more than 60 euro too!

Buona Fortuna

I was going to say what My3Cents did. These tools are "good enough".

I have one of the bench drills from 4 (might be more) years ago. Its OK, but you do notice the lack of throat.

my3cents

downwesht wrote: »

Have a mitre saw for years.I use it for cutting up kindling and tree limbs as thick as a can of beans.Great for the money think I paid more than 60 euro too!

I bought a similar one in a B&Q sale about 6-7 years ago for €14.50 I remember as I thought it might be crap and agonized over it till my wife said stop being so stupid and just buy it (I was also thinking of spending a lot of money in a DeWalt one at the time). Left out side in an open sided shed it lasted up until last August and cut up tons of timber, I suspect the Lidl one I have now will last as long as its better made and is more accurate.

Halycon

Thanks guys, I am going to get both under the principal of "buy cheap tools first, then replace what you wear out with quality" . That way I won't end up spending lots on stuff I don't use. If I get to the end of the 3 year warranty with them I will feel I got my money's worth.

Might get a better blade for the saw though.

BenAtar

Halycon wrote: »

Hi all,

There is a Powercraft Mitre Saw and Bench Drill in Lidl on sale Thursday.

Can't link to it as I am new here.

Anyone any experience with them before? Worth €60 or €69?

I would only be doing light DIY stuff once a week or so. No metal or thick hardwoods.

And before anyone suggests it, I am keeping an eye on second hand sites but I don't have the budget or expertise in restoration for anything I have seen on sale. I would prefer to spend my time making sawdust!

Go ahead and buy....great for light work. Generally, as a rule, buy the biggest (HP) you can afford. That way, you buy once and you're covered for most situations.

recipio

Its hard to see why most benchtop drills are underpowered. I managed to burn out the wiring in my Ryobi simply by drilling about 20 x 40mm holes in plywood. I didn't check just how hot the motor was getting !
I would caution against cutting firewood on a mitre saw fellas, it can twist and cause a nasty jam - more like an explosion with wood going everywhere.

my3cents

recipio wrote: »

Its hard to see why most benchtop drills are underpowered. I managed to burn out the wiring in my Ryobi simply by drilling about 20 x 40mm holes in plywood. I didn't check just how hot the motor was getting !
I would caution against cutting firewood on a mitre saw fellas, it can twist and cause a nasty jam - more like an explosion with wood going everywhere.

I hope people have the sense not to cut round branches on a mitre saw?

recipio

my3cents wrote: »

I hope people have the sense not to cut round branches on a mitre saw?

Apologies, I misunderstood your comment on cutting offcuts for firewood .....:D

..Brian..

my3cents wrote: »

I hope people have the sense not to cut round branches on a mitre saw?

I'm a nub, why shouldn't you?

my3cents

..Brian.. wrote: »

I'm a nub, why shouldn't you?

The wood won't be held firmly and what can happen is a saw blade tooth will catch on it and fire the wood at the guide that holds the wood square with enough force to smash it. Things like fingers can go with it. Another problem is because a branch can't be supported fully it will drop against the blade as the cut goes all the way through it with similar results.

You can make a guide/support if you have to cut round timber but branches are always going to be dangerous.

peter bermingham

..Brian.. wrote: »

I'm a nub, why shouldn't you?

If your using a fairly powerful chop saw and you cut round branches that are not square to the fence they jam anything can happen from a tooth break off wood flying. I have had oak top molding smash and fly out of a chop saw its something you don't want happening. One time it gave me hand that hard of a belt i was afraid to look down though i had whipped me fingers off. One was enough to lose on a table saw.

..Brian..

Thanks guys, good to know!

Calahonda52

Halycon wrote: »

Thanks guys, I am going to get both under the principal of "buy cheap tools first, then replace what you wear out with quality" . That way I won't end up spending lots on stuff I don't use. If I get to the end of the 3 year warranty with them I will feel I got my money's worth.

Might get a better blade for the saw though.

The mitre saw has a lot of play in it so fine for rough cutting but not for accurate work.

It is also incredible light which is a bonus for carrying but a drawback if using it with heavy timber.

I bolt mine down when using it

I also have an electro beckum which is v heavy but is 100% accurate on mitres.
It cost 400 quid 20 years ago

my3cents

Calahonda52 wrote: »

The mitre saw has a lot of play in it so fine for rough cutting but not for accurate work.

It is also incredible light which is a bonus for carrying but a drawback if using it with heavy timber.

I bolt mine down when using it

I also have an electro beckum which is v heavy but is 100% accurate on mitres.
It cost 400 quid 20 years ago

I think it depends on each saw, my lidl one, same model, cuts an accurate mitre, might be worth opening the box up and checking to see how sloppy the joints are before buying.

jack of all

I took a punt on a bench drill from Lidl this morning, have to say I'm very disappointed- I know it was cheap but the build quality is awful and I will be returning it later today. I have an old Clarke Metalworker bench drill which I am comparing this against (the Clarke machine cost me something like £50 around 1998 if I recall correctly). Problems/ issues as I see them:

Both tables are just pressed steel (cast iron on the Clarke), so don't be expecting much accuracy under load.
Pulleys are plastic and light gauge at that (cast iron on the Clarke).
Pulley housing and cover is light plastic and feels very flimsy.
The quill is aluminium alloy so expect wear and a sloppy action over time.
The cast iron body of the main drill "headstock" is rough and looks to be poor quality.

Best parts are the chuck (seems reasonable quality) but the key that comes with it is poor by comparison and will probably lose its teeth in short order.
The vice is light but better than none.

All in all this drill is probably fine for light DIY work but I wouldn't take it if it were free!

Halycon

Hmm, I think I will give the drill a miss so. The whole point of a bench drill is accuracy. I will save up a bit and buy something like a Record Power DP16B. Can get it for around £150 from the UK.

Thanks guys.

Calahonda52

jack of all wrote: »

I took a punt on a bench drill from Lidl this morning, have to say I'm very disappointed- I know it was cheap but the build quality is awful and I will be returning it later today. I have an old Clarke Metalworker bench drill which I am comparing this against (the Clarke machine cost me something like £50 around 1998 if I recall correctly). Problems/ issues as I see them:

Both tables are just pressed steel (cast iron on the Clarke), so don't be expecting much accuracy under load.
Pulleys are plastic and light gauge at that (cast iron on the Clarke).
Pulley housing and cover is light plastic and feels very flimsy.
The quill is aluminium alloy so expect wear and a sloppy action over time.
The cast iron body of the main drill "headstock" is rough and looks to be poor quality.

Best parts are the chuck (seems reasonable quality) but the key that comes with it is poor by comparison and will probably lose its teeth in short order.
The vice is light but better than none.

All in all this drill is probably fine for light DIY work but I wouldn't take it if it were free!

Thanks for that review.
This also highlights a very importnat feature about this stuff.
Previous versions had cast iron tables ..
So they keep the design, box and price the same but downgrade the build quality

jack of all

Calahonda52 wrote: »

This also highlights a very importnat feature about this stuff.
Previous versions had cast iron tables ..
So they keep the design, box and price the same but downgrade the build quality

Indeed, I got my money back this afternoon and I'm going to use it to order a new chuck for the machine I already own and a few bits and pieces to go with it. I saw plenty of customers walking out with both power tools this morning, although I can't comment on the saw.

delaney001

Sold out in Nenagh at 6 this evening. Anyone know of any still for sale?

Halycon

Well I picked up the saw. It seems solid enough, obviously not as heavy or stable as my dad's DeWalt flip saw. (Which I am so envious of).

I checked the fence and its square, the locking position for tilt is 90 degrees to the base. The rotation mechanism for the base is smooth and locks at 45 and 90, seems square too. I will have to do some practice cuts to check. If I get less than 1mm accuracy it will do. Be next week before I can do any work with it.

The blade guard is cheap plastic and won't last long I'd say. The dust bag is crappy too, but I am planning to hook up a shop vacuum and cylone seperator so that won't matter either. The blade is also cheap looking but will do for a while. The manual is crap, 90% safety info, didn't tell me much at all. The exploded diagram might be useful when replacing the carbon brushes that came with it. Haven't tried the laser, but that seems a gimmick to me, no substitute for checking by eye.

Incidently the 16 drills Lidl had were gone by 9.00 according to the lady at the till.

delaney001

If anyone wants rid of their drill I'd gladly take it. Ideal for what I need

fergal.b

Just picked one up the table and base seem to be cast on this one and I'm happy enough with what I got for the money although I don't have another one to compare it to, it wont be getting much use but at least it matches the rest of my Lidl tools You got to love to hate them.

my3cents

Fergal that looks like pressed steel to me ?

Thanks for posting the pics btw

jack of all

my3cents wrote: »

Fergal that looks like pressed steel to me ?

Thanks for posting the pics btw

Definitely pressed steel, the reinforcing webs on the underside of the adjustable table are welded in place. Good luck with it Fergal, I'm sure it'll do the job just fine.