Oh, you are special.
Keen to get the house
looking half-way decent before the Christmas festivities begin in
earnest? Don’t pay a handyman to fix the place up… do it
yourself! Fortunately laying your rugged, manly hands (you have them
too, ladies) on suitable tools is far easier, and cheaper, thanks to
Aldi’s two up-coming tool-laden Specialbuy ranges. We hit the
workshop and check them out.
The range released on
15th October includes: a Bench Grinder (£29.99), an XL
LED Workshop Inspection Lamp (£24.99), a 300w Multifunction Tool
(£19.99), an Industrial Hand Truck (£19.99), a Double Drive
Ratcheting Screwdriver (£12.99), and smaller pieces of equipment
like Heavy Duty Padlocks (£3.69 each), a 120w Halogen Floodlight
(£6.99), and a mix of clothing such as base layers, work shirts,
work trousers, and work gloves.
Meanwhile, following
quickly after on 25th October, there is a Table Saw
(£89.99), a suitably Sci-Fi sounding Arc Welder (£39.99), an
Electric Planer/Belt Sander (£29.99), a Multifunction Aluminium
Ladder (£49.99), a 710w Reciprocating Saw (£24.99), a 18v Cordless
Drill (£19.99), and a mix of smaller bits like a Premium Axe
(£9.99), a 12 piece blade kit for the Reciprocating Saw (£4.99),
and a HSS Drill Bit Set (£6.99).
As ever, the low prices
Aldi are offering this kit for is a definite eye-opener, so to check
them both out be sure to visit www.aldi.co.uk/en/specialbuys/
Aldi were kind enough
to furnish us with a piece of kit from both ranges to test out on
Test Pit Towers. Which, if we’re being honest, is a bloody state
and in need of some DIY TLC. They sent us the…
300w Multifunction
Tool
What at first glance
appears to be a simple sander actually turns out to be a remarkably
useful tool. The Multifunction Tool can sand, saw, scrape, and cut,
and does so easily thanks to the included 24 piece accessory set. As
the name suggests it is a powerful 300w, capable of 23,000 rpm. The
unit itself is nice and light, being laid out very well. There are
grip plates on both the top and under sides, while the handle on the
side is perfect for keeping it steady when you whack on the power.
We’ve
been using it to sand down an old table and were quite impressed with
the results. The key thing here, as it is with many of the items
we've reviewed from previous Specialbuys, is the price. This just
doesn't work like sub-£20 tool should; looking, feeling, and
producing results like something that is more than twice that cost.
And it even comes with a three year warranty. For a general purpose
tool that is just as good for craft and carpentry as it is for DIY,
you really can't go wrong.
Available from 15th
October.
...and the...
710w Reciprocating
Saw
The Reciprocating Saw
is something of a beast, and we must admit to being a bit intimidated
by it at first. Lets just say that if this baby was cordless, you'd
be set for fighting off the zombie hordes once the apocalypse hits.
The unit, which allows you to swap out the blades for tackling
different materials (we were also supplied with the 12 piece blade
kit), is nicely weighted and feels extremely solidly built.
The whole forward
section of the saw can be rotated through 180 degrees, allowing you
cut straight on, or sideways. The front also features a pivoting
guard so you can really lean into the saw as you cut, without fear of
damaging it or the blade. Also, while in use, this thing really isn't
as noisy as we assumed it would be, but obviously that depends on
what you are sawing through. The additional blade pack covers all the
bases, including saw blades for different thicknesses of wood and
metal. For home DIY work, where you might be cutting shelves and
other short bits of timber, this is ideal.
Available from 25th
October.
Aldi have also put together a series of DIY videos, presented by Jo Behari. Check them out: