Hey guys, so I am happily moved Into my new (empty) 3 story town house and we ended up buying all of the essentials at Carrefour (AC, washer, fridge, stove) as they had better prices than. Online e shops,and give me an Extra 5% off for using my Amex.
But we would really appreciate closets.
And other furniture. Haha.
I have been a Carpenter off and on and worked construction most of my life, so I am familiar with the basic tools I would like to setup my home.
(Suggestions are always welcome)
I am looking for
Circular saw
Hammer drill (or powerful corded drill that can handle cement. Battery ones seem to be relatively expensive here)
Oscilating sander (one of the little hand ones)
A rotary cutter wouldn’t be bad if I can get a cheap one. Used to.buy the $16 stateside. Even gotten em for $12 on sale.
So.
I was recommended and went to b&q the other day. (neat, like a home Depot). But didn’t feel their tools had great prices or particularly good deals. And I don’t know if the local. Brands are any good.
I like Makita. Or Hilti. But I’ve owned many DeWalt and Ryobi due to their lower cost. Black and Decker seems hit or miss. Sometimes great quality, sometimes total junk.
So. What’s the lowdown on local tools?
I’ve asked Tainan friends,but they all said used tools are rare. Not much second hand or pawn finds like back in the US. Or to look online. But Ruten ist particarly Challenging for me with my lack of Chinese (getting. Better! Pretty excited!)
this seems like a pretty good deal. It’s list d for $119 on Amazon. And has generally good reviews. The Bosch orbital sander sells for more at the same store… Which is what I paid for one a few years back. $62, but I thought that was expensive. 1000-1500 ntd would feel better
Ugh. One of the last things I sold before moving here was my DeWalt battery-powered hammer drill, 3/8", with the battery charger and a spare battery. Batteries charged in less than 90 minutes.
What a workhorse that was. Killed me to part with it.
I think that the Black & Decker corded interchangeable powertool is pretty neat.
I’m no carpenter, but I’ve used this tool to do a number of tasks. It has a circular saw attachment, jigsaw attachment, oscillating sander attachment, hedge clipper attachment, bike pump attachment, etc.
I don’t know if it has a hammer drill attachment, but I believe there is a high torque impact socket wrench attachment.
I have the cordless one too. But because I didn’t use it daily, the battery died out and I didn’t feel like buying a new battery for it.
Love Makita tools. Never had any trouble with them.
As for high prices, Taiwan is just like that. You’ll get them a bit cheaper online (try shopee.tw) but not dramatically so.
B&D-branded tools seem to be Made in China these days. Possibly the same with Bosch. Anyway, they aren’t what they used to be.
Personally I’d never, ever buy a battery-powered anything unless you intend to work in places with no power points. The cells they use in those things are (nearly) always operating on the edge of their specs (power tools demand huge peak currents). AFAIK DeWalt is the only manufacturer that makes an effort to use good-quality cells. Which is odd, because I thought B&D and DeWalt were the same company.
Lots of used tools around. Go to shops that fix tools and small farm equipment. Also lots of trucks that park and layout the tools on roadsides, wee them often. I wouldn’t personally buy them, but they’re available.
So far the big shops like b and q tend to sell really small overpriced stuff. There are also many new tool shops which tend to carry larger stuff at better prices. They tend to carry the once-decent-now-plastic lines that are not always complete trash. Like Milwaukee, makita some Bosch. I just bought the Bosch still above as I was in a pinch and massive rush…Probably good for the money, but I wouldn’t want to rely on it for years. Very plastic y. It’s already smelly of burning motor after about30 3" screws into fairly softwood I bought the same drill, almost same price, also bnq maybe 7 years ago and it was infinitely better and with speed option. though most things now seem cheap, shitty and made in China, despite the brand. But noticed some brands would have 2 options of the same thing. For example chainsaws was just looking at. Stihl had the same one from China for 5k less than made in Germany one.
No idea about second hand tools, but for new stuff the best place I’ve found is Stong Power Tools, tucked away next to a bridge here: https://goo.gl/maps/ovMLnzCrJCU2 … it’s huge, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the prices reasonable. Lots of Makita stuff there in particular.
There are also rows of power tool shops on Taiyuan Road by the train station (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/hYFZ2UNEfv62 ) and on HuanHe South Road (e.g. https://goo.gl/maps/VPN4E9yQwvD2 ), including places that specialize in DeWalt, Stanley, Milwaukee, etc. But none of them are as good all-round as Stong.
Awesome. Thanks guys.
Yeah. The corded version of that Multitool might be ok.
But, I don’t need that many tools, and it has been my experience that a tool will do on etching exceptionally well, or a few things pretty well. Or. Just ok.
I like the truck full of tools bit. That’s where I got my best tools. Circular saws last forever. Especially the older versions. My grandpa’s was still going strong, but it was far too heavy to bring.
I will look into Stong. Thank you!
Any idea if they take credit cards? AmEx gives me the TWD at 32!
this seems like a pretty good deal. It’s list d for $119 on Amazon. And has generally good reviews. The Bosch orbital sander sells for more at the same store… Which is what I paid for one a few years back. $62, but I thought that was expensive. 1000-1500 ntd would feel better
I bought the same drill, almost same price, also bnq maybe 7 years ago and it was infinitely better and with speed option. though most things now seem cheap, shitty and made in China, despite the brand. But noticed some brands would have 2 options of the same thing. For example chainsaws was just looking at. Stihl had the same one from China for 5k less than made in Germany one.