Independent Tool Reviews & Buying Guides for UK DIYers and Tradespeople
When you take a brand new combi drill out of its case, you will notice switches and various controls. Between the numbered ring, the gear switch on top, and the mode icons on the side, it’s easy to wonder why all of those are there. Most beginners default to leaving their drill on a random … Read more
If you are a UK DIY beginner choosing your first power tool, you should buy a combi drill. While a standard drill driver is great for putting together flat-pack furniture, it cannot drill into brick or concrete. And while an impact driver is brilliant for driving huge screws into decking, it lacks the delicacy and … Read more
If you are starting out on your UK home improvement journey, there is one power tool that almost every experienced DIY enthusiast will tell you to buy first: the cordless combi drill. Often called the “Swiss Army Knife” of power tools, a combi drill can handle 90% of the drilling and driving tasks you’ll ever … Read more
I own a DeWalt 18V combi drill and an impact driver myself. I’ve used them for ages, love them to bits, and yet for the longest time, I had absolutely no idea what the confusing string of letters stamped on the side actually meant. I did guess that the “D” stood for DeWalt. If you … Read more
An impact driver is supposed to make driving screws effortless. But if you keep chewing up screw heads, snapping bit tips, or leaving mangled, half-driven fixings stuck in your timber, it can feel like your new power tool is doing more damage than good. When a bit slips out of a screw head under rotational … Read more
If you need to change a flat tyre, swap over wheels, or replace brake pads on your car, using a power tool to spin off wheel lug nuts saves immense time and arm strain. Because 18V impact drivers are now staple tools in almost every UK garage, a common question asked on trade and car … Read more
There is nothing more frustrating than being midway through a project, going to swap a Pozidriv bit for a Torx or a socket adapter, and finding the chuck completely jammed. I have had this happen on my own DeWalt driver more times than I care to admit, and it always seems to happen right when … Read more
If you have ever tried driving long decking screws or heavy structural coach bolts with a standard combi drill, you know the frustration. The drill wrist-torques backwards violently. The bit slips out of the screw head constantly. You end up with stripped fixings, ruined timber, and bruised knuckles. An cordless impact driver solves this completely. … Read more
Few things bring a jobsite or DIY project to a halt faster than your multi-tool casing becoming scorching hot in your hand, emitting an acrid burning smell, or suddenly cutting out mid-plunge. Because oscillating multi-tools package high-torque motors into tight, slender handles designed for one-handed grip, thermal management is their biggest engineering challenge. Unlike circular … Read more
There is nothing more frustrating than fitting a fresh, £8 multi-tool blade, starting a cut into a door frame or floorboard, and watching the teeth strip flat or burn black within thirty seconds. Because oscillating multi-tools use tight micro-vibrations rather than continuous rotating teeth, they are uniquely prone to extreme heat build-up. When heat builds … Read more