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I was wandering down the middle of Lidl (looking for a worklight I'd seen advertised) and noticed quite an array of power tools including a Dremel-a-like and an oscillating cutter. I was wondering if these are OK for occasional use, or if I'll just have to replace them with "proper" tools? Not a huge loss, as they're very cheap, but I'd prefer not to waste money and Earth resources unnecessarily. Any experience to share ?
Have a parkside sliding chop saw that has been hammerd over five years and still good, got a rechargeable multi tool again lasted well, got a rechargeable jig saw for £12 yet to use it (these are both on the smaller 12v battery) i also have a lot of dewalt and some worx stuff.
Only thing I've got is the battery lawn mower, if that counts! Been superb for years and years. Think I got it shortly after I moved in to my current house, so about 7-8 years.
Its pretty decent and great value for money. Not top end but way cheaper. For occasional use its ideal, certainly not bin fodder
The dremel-a-like is excellent. I've had a few other things from them as well including a heat gun which I can't fault. I wouldn't hesitate.
The middle of Aldi however is more like a jumble sale these days.
Excellent - thanks 🙂
I had a Parkside Dremel-a-like and it was woeful, I suspect the battery was duff as it just didn't have the torque to work effectively.
...worklight I’d seen advertised...
If it's the big square green one with black bumper corners, it's an excellent light, but the battery could last longer. There's no blinky or reduced brightness warning either, just boom - instadark. Remember to keep it charged. Or get two so you have a backup.
The Parkside (it that Lidl?) electric screwdriver I got about 6 years ago is excellent and still going strong. The battery life is almost magically long!
Dremelclone is great, I have used mine loads. Get a box of the accessories too.
Work light is very useful too but as above, no warning re charge running out.
In general the middle aisle of the discounters are very disappointing after much use. You get pulled in by the suggestive convenience (hey, you there, have you thought about buying a wood fired tagine this week?). Power tools have mostly broken, lacked spares and you'd be better off buying Screwfix Erbauer or a real budget brand. I very quickly fed up of of being sucked in and ending up with something that I either don't need or do need and doesn't last.
YMMV but I'm sick of the excess consumption and waste.
In general the middle aisle of the discounters are very disappointing after much use. You get pulled in by the suggestive convenience (hey, you there, have you thought about buying a wood fired tagine this week?). Power tools have mostly broken, lacked spares and you'd be better off buying Screwfix Erbauer or a real budget brand. I very quickly fed up of of being sucked in and ending up with something that I either don't need or do need and doesn't last.
YMMV but I'm sick of the excess consumption and waste.
Is Workzone Aldi or Lidl? I can't remember but I have a Workzone bandsaw that's as good as any "entry level" equivalent. But I think that the Parkside, Workzone etc. "big" tools are of a higher quality than the typical impulse buy specials.
Although I do have a very old set of Lidl screwdriver bits that has all manner of weird types which as well as torx, robertson, security hex, there are some which I'm sure would come in handy for dismantling cash machines.
I have quite a few of their power tools, drill, driver, circular saw, recip saw, etc. Only one that I have had probs with is their cordless angle grinder.
I've got a few of their rechargable things for cheap devices I don't use much (hedge trimmer and chainsaw - I have bigger, petrol versions of both for when I need serious power) - they work fine for that purpose. The battery charge indicator on them is bumf, so I'd definitely get a couple of batteries and a 2-slot fast charger, and they're obviously plasticy and wouldn't do a professional, but for occasional use they're fine.
Had a Parkside SDS drill for a few years now. Done plently of stuff around the house with it. Has actually lasted longer than the Screwfix budget Erbauer that I used previously.
Parkside plasma cutter has been used a lot, 240V and compressed air. Cuts thin steet steel nicely, good for 'patching' up cars and making repair patches of odd shape.
Table saw is also good. Modified i) Added measuing scale to back of table to make setting up the fence more accurately an easier task, ii) 2m length of sink waste pipe wedged on the end of the dust outlet to make the dust exit further away from the operator area.
All in all, IMO good value for DIY use.
I've a Parkside Chainsaw which I've been very pleased with. It's taken down around 15 trees and removed many large branches and shows no signs of giving up.
I've also got a couple of Workzone cordless drills, which have been great for general DIY.
I've got a jigsaw, glue gun, work light, detail sander, wheel brace amongst other things. Mixture of Aldi and Lidl.
Everything still works and is perfect for the occasional light use that they see.
I was in a similar boat a couple of years ago - needed 400Nm of torque and renting an impact driver for a day was 45€. Buying a Lidl Parkside one and a battery was 60€ at the time. Getting to the rental place and back again - twice - would've taken an hour each time and cost me a fiver in fuel. Utter no brainer. It's come in really handy multiple times, and the quality is actually really quite good. Ended up buying the hedge trimmer and portable compressor as well. No complaints.
I seem to recall some time back that somebody of this parish was extolling the virtues of the Lidl Wet & Dry vac, I think it was something like £60 and deemed well worth the money.
I've always erred on the side of caution with Lidl/Aldi power tools and have bought into the Makita LXT range, although I'm considering trying a multitool from one of the Makita-battery-compatible brands, as it's not something I'd use that often; has anybody here had any experience with these brands? I would never buy any of the knock-off batteries though, I value my house & family far too much. Genuine Makita for those every time.
I bought the cordless impact driver but find it woefully under powered and lacking in ooomph. That said it’s serving its purpose as a cheap drill / driver and kept on the boat these days.
A mate of mine in Italy basically built his house with Parkside tools.
He said the advantage was when the tool died he took it back and either got a new one or his money back.
In my opinion as a carpenter they're hobby tools, but they do the job.
Don't expect too much from them and they're fine.
There's a YouTube guy who does videos about most of the gear, mostly the woodworking stuff. He usually has good things to say about it... Although it's all in German.
A mate of mine in Italy basically built his house with Parkside tools
I can’t help but think that conventional materials like brick or timber would have been better….
I''m a fan. After struggling to decide which battery ecosystem to buy in to I thought I'd go cheap and see. I now have a impact wrench, strimmer, pressure washer, drill and heat-gun in 20v and a ratchet wrench in the 12v and whilst they aren't going to compete with Milwaukee or Dewalt, they have taken some abuse and extra batteries etc. are cheap. the drill I probably wouldn't buy again (not much power), but it was dirt cheap and I have some better mains powered ones that I prefer. I haven't had any breakages despite my knack for leaving them outside in the rain.
The only Parkside I've got is a corded multitool. I wasn't sure if I'd find a multitool much use but was interested, then when I saw the Parkside it was ideal to try....gateway multitool as it were. It's switch is stuck on but otherwise it's done a number of jobs great, and convinced me in spades that the multitool is a super tool. I'd almost certainly replace it with bosch blue/makita/dewalt but if I saw another Parkside s at the point I was looking to replace I wouldn't feel I'd done wrong if forced to get another.
Just found this in my YouTube videos -
It is me setting up the machine. It was brilliant for the first 10-15cm of cutting but never worked again as screws and bolts came loose, things bent, the vibrations shook it apart and I binned it 6 months later.
As a tradey, cheap tools make my teeth itch.
I still have some Makita LXT in action that I bought in 2010
I've never bought them, for two reasons.
1) After you've factored in batteries and chargers (sold separately) they're not the bargain they initially appear and,
2) If Lidl decide to discontinue them tomorrow, you're screwed when all your batteries die. I've already committed one set of cordless tools to landfill after all the NiCad batteries died and ebay scalpers wanted more for replacements than I originally paid for the tools.
I've just started again with Bosch green and their "ALL18V" system, as it seems to be a push for cross-compatibility between manufacturers.
I was in a similar boat a couple of years ago – needed 400Nm of torque and renting an impact driver for a day was 45€. Buying a Lidl Parkside one and a battery was 60€ at the time.
Guy two doors down has the 20V pro impact wrench, never misses a beat, only replaced it with a monster Milwaukee.