actually IKEA say only to use hand tools !!!!

Actually, good shout, found this at Ikea, £6.95, Li-On batt and all the bits too!

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90203258/?

I've got one of these. Short battery life when fully charged but works whilst plugged in which is a good compromise.

You're not buying a Makita so don't set your sights too high but for £4, like the OP said, great for Ikea furniture and saved me a lot of headache messing about with a manual screwdriver. I've had mine for about 2 years and still works fine too.

3.6v is more then enough for most home needs.

actually IKEA say only to use hand tools !!!!

Thanks OP, have reserved one together with the Guild PSJ550GL 550W Electric Jigsaw (464507) which is just £9.93!

Is it NICD or L-ion battery

Thanks for this post - I've had my eye on a cordless hammer drill for my sister's partner, just reserved one tomorrow :smiley:

I don't think I've ever used the tools IKEA supply. Or any hand tools on their furniture. Electric screwdriver every time

Picked up the Guild CDI118GL Li-Ion Cordless Combi Drill (Hammer function) - 18V http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/guild-cdi118gl-li-ion-cordless-combi-drill---18v-464554 £19.53 and GUILD CSD36G2 3.6V Screw Driver http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/guild-csd36g2-36v-screw-driver-464563 at £7.93 earlier :smiley:

Can anyone recommend a drill bit set for the Guild CDI118GL I ordered (Post #11)? Surprised it doesn't come with a set. Not really a drill expert :smile:!

Cheers. Reserved one in Edinburgh. 3 quid odd, if it works a couple times then it's a bonus!

Ordered, thanks OP

absolute crap but for £4.. it's worth it

I bought a 7-piece masonry set and a 7-piece wood set from Poundland to go with my Tesco Extra Value drill 8-)

Total crap, spend another £3 or £4 and get a Lithium one, my Lithium one from Argos (About £8.99) 2 years ago is used every day, never failed me yet..... These things are hopeless :wink: (I had one years ago and it lasted about 5 minutes at a time)

maxmix

Cheapest Li-On on Argos is £14.99, a whole 300+% higher in price. Unless you can steer us all towards a cheaper alternative ?

Actually, good shout, found this at Ikea, £6.95, Li-On batt and all the bits too!

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/90203258/?

Depends what you're doing with it. There are several types of drill bit, but the main three: masonry (for bricks), wood/allround and metal.
For masonry, better drill bits make a real difference. I use DeWalt Extreme: http://www.screwfix.com/p/dewalt-extreme-2-masonry-drill-bit-set-5pcs/88598
For wood/allround, I tend to use any cheapy set - Poundland will do, but don't expect it to last.
And the majority won't be using metal, so don't buy yet. You tend to pick up the drill bits for specific jobs as you need them.

Thanks for the links louiselouise.

it is only 2Nm torque
went is store, held this and guild one and went for guild one; max torque 4Nm, however twice the price, but looked and feel much durable

I know this is a lot more but the charge lasts absolutely ages really handy to use solidly built really has power also https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Cordless-Lithium-Ion-Screwdriver-Battery/dp/B00XI610R0/ref=dp_ob_title_hi

Generally, I think it's.

Yellow=5mm
Red=6mm
Brown=7mm
Blue=8mm

However, it depends on the wall type and condition, something experience will bring, give it 10 years and you'll know straight away,

With red plugs, which we use most of the time, I generally start with a 5.5mm bit...... but on some walls you will need to just put it in and out, don't do it a few times to clean the hole, otherwise it will be too big, other types of walls are harder and need a cleaned out 6mm hole, or 5.5mm hole.
It's not easy to pick up and do, start small, don't force the plug in and gradually make it bigger. You should really just be able to push the plug in with a fair amount of finger force. If you are hammering it in, it's probably too tight. Maybe a slight tap from something is ok, but only the final bit.

It is a skill that isn't often known about, but it definitely is a skill that has to be learnt.

plus always throw away the fixings that come the item you have bought. they are invariably rubbish. rawlplug uno are really good but very expensive for what they are, depends how terrible it would be if the thing falls off.

No bother X10, I should have said the 3.6V rechargeable Guild screwdriver only has one crosshead screw bit, which is a shame. Can't grumble for the price paid.

Thanks for that info, I generally get it wrong but didn't know about the wall plug sizes so that's handy to know.

I highlighted your quote about experience and give it 10 years.... I'm 48 lol

This might not be news to anyone else, but it was news to me. I paid a flying visit especially to pick up the drill and screwdriver yesterday. Turns out they don't accept Argos Gift Cards any more - though I'm sure I read Homebase were no longer owned by Argos recently!

Just in case anyone's thinking of using them :smiley:

*Seems to have been from the end of May this year when an Australian company (Bunnings I think?) took over ownership of Homebase from the Argos Group.

OK, so I collected my Powerbase 3.6V Screwdriver yesterday evening and have just had a look at it. The instruction leaflet says that it requires 3-5 hours to charge it but that it comes from the factory uncharged and needs 10 hours for its first charge. However, even though mine appeared to be brand new, its battery had charge so I decided to test it and just ran it continuously. After ~20 minutes it started to slow down, after ~24 minutes it started to crawl and after ~27 minutes it died completely. Now I don't know how that would equate to actual usage, but I suggest it would have lasted a hell of a lot longer than 2 minutes or even 5 minutes that a couple of posters have stated, so for less than £4 I reckon it's a pretty good buy. I also suspect that the poor battery life others have experienced is likely to be from following the instructions blindly and immediately placing the screwdriver on charge for 10 hours, which no doubt will cripple the battery if it is supplied fully or close to fully charged. I have sent Homebase an email to query this. Like the Tesco Everyday Value drill I bought a few years ago, I expect I will have to be careful when charging this to avoid damaging its battery.

I'm going to put it on for a ~5 hour charge now, and I'll see how it performs after that, but first impressions are that it's not a bad purchase at all.

screw in, screw out
thats what the gf prefers :smile:

Not gonna get this, had one before. Rubbish, might as well use a screwdriver - unless you only use it for a few screws. :confused:
I need something at Homebase... just been given 750 points from Nectar on my next spend (anything) at Homebase. 750 Nectar points coverts to £3.75 ...for just spending a few pence, that appeals to me!:laughing:

Can't see this on Hotdeals, perhaps it's only for me!! :innocent:
750 bonus points on your next shop at Homebase.

So I charged it for ~4hr 20min and then repeated the same test (just running it continuously). After ~28 minutes it began to slow down, after ~31 minutes it began to crawl and after ~34 minutes it died completely. So from my limited experience I would say that this is a decent bit of kit for under £4 provided you are careful when charging it, and IMO those suffering very poor battery life have probably crippled their batteries by over-charging.

Conclusion: if you're not going to take care when re-charging your screwdriver, probably best not to buy this one but rather buy a more expensive one that will (hopefully) look after the battery for you.

I reserved one of these and picked it up this afternoon. The Loudwater branch near High Wycombe gave me a yellow Guild product Li-Ion 4Nm model for the price. Plenty more in stock. Came pretty much fully charged & just had a single cross-head bit accessory. Happy with that. Deal heated :smile:

No, not acutal usage, just held the power button down continuously. I imagine actual usage would reduce the time but not by a great deal.