© Silverline

You wouldn’t believe the number of people I see working under their cars on a Sunday morning with nothing more than a flimsy jack and a couple of bricks separating them from a sudden and horrific meeting with their Maker! They’ve obviously never heard of axle stands, or seen the horrendous results when a jack gives way or a pile of bricks falls over and the whole weight of a family saloon comes crashing down on you.

In these credit crunch times, more people are doing their own car maintenance and in many cases they just don’t have the basic gear to do it safely. But why do they think professional repairers invest in proper equipment like axle stands instead of using basic jacks and piles of bricks? Exactly! Health and Safety would have them shut down in a flash, and quite right too.

A lot of routine car maintenance is easy, and there’s nothing wrong with doing it yourself. But safety is paramount, so if you’re going to be spending your Christmas break under the car, make sure you stay safe and go shopping for a good pair of axle stands first. Draper tools do quite a selection, as do Michelin whose 3 tonne axle stands come in at around £30.

It’s a potentially lifesaving idea from your friendly shopping blog. Maybe not one for the Christmas stocking though!

Rob

Rated: from 1621 votes

flickr © choffee

If like me you’ve got a lot of roses, you’ll just have given them their autumn pruning. Pruning roses is not difficult, in spite of rumours to the contrary, and tests have actually demonstrated that rose bushes pruned carefully with secateurs do no better the following year than rose bushes “pruned” with a Flymo! Though that sounds highly dangerous to me and isn’t to be recommended.

Either way, you’re left with a huge pile of cuttings to dispose of. Many people burn these, much to the annoyance of neighbours and Friends of the Earth; while others transport them to their local recycling plant in multiple carloads. Why on earth they do either of these things is beyond me, when the garden shredder provides the perfect green solution.

For under £80, you can get an electric garden shredder that will eat up all those cuttings and chop them finely ready to add to the compost heap. No waste and all the goodness goes straight back into compost ready to be spread on the roses next year.

A garden shredder is the ideal gift idea for the eco-conscious gardener, and could even be an early Christmas present.
But a word of warning, when you go shopping for the shredder, go shopping for a pair of ear muffs too as all shredders are noisy. Shredding your garden waste isn’t something to do first thing Sunday morning.

Rob

Rated: from 1556 votes

As you know I’m a keen do it yourselfer and my garage and garden store are full to bursting with the latest in tools and gadgets. If anything new comes out, I’m the first to try it.

Black and Decker and Draper tools always feature in my list of favourites, and I think Bosch power tools are good value for money. But I thought I’d let you in on my three favourite tools of all time, the ones I’d take with me to a desert island.

Number 3 on my list - Stanley knife © Stanley

3 - The Stanley knife
There’s no safer way to use a wickedly sharp knife, and when your blade is blunt, you just replace it. It may not be the most novel of gadgets, but to me it’s indispensable.

2 - The electric drill.

Number 2 on my list - electric drill © Black and Decker

Mine’s a Black and Decker cordless drill with hammer action, able to take on the toughest of jobs. And the Black and Decker’s variable speed means it can also take on the delicate jobs like driving screws. It gets great product reviews, and it’s the first thing I went shopping for when I bought a house of my own.

And at number 1 - drumroll, – wait for it – is

Number 1 on my list - good old screwdriver © Wiha Pozi

1 - The screwdriver!
Yep, the plain old 20 centimetre flat bladed screwdriver.

You can put in and take out screws of course (and it’s no fun taking out a screw with an old knife or pair of scissors). But when you can’t find a chisel, what do you use? Looking for a paint-stirrer? Need something to lever the lid off a paint tin? Dig out that dandelion root in the lawn? Tear through the gaffer tape sealing that box? Need I go on?

Rob

And yes, I can hear you crowing that the Black and Decker would be no use on a desert island. But the first thing I’d build on my desert island is an electricity generator!

Rated: from 1777 votes

© Arrow

Only joking?! But seriously, I wouldn’t be without my staple gun and if you don’t already own one, then your shopping news blog recommends you to go shopping for a staple gun now before you need it.

For fastening stuff together and fastening stuff to walls and fences, there’s nothing to beat it. No fiddling about with hammer and nails, no bruised thumbs as you miss your aim, just quick precise fixing each time with one click of your heavy duty stapler.

Stanley, famous for the Stanley knife do staple guns, as do my old friends Draper tools, at prices ranging from £8 to £20 and above. They all take industry standard staples, so whichever kind you buy you’ll be able to find refills easily.

There are electric staple guns for those who like everything electric, but I’d class these as more for the professional and am much happier with my manual Draper tools staple gun. My manual staple gun is always available without recharging or the need for a cable; it’s light and easy to use; and most important of all there’s no danger of accidentally stapling the dog to the fence while he’s “helping” me fix up the trellis for the clematis.

Rob

Rated: from 1162 votes

I think it's time to get this garage in order! morguefile © vilhelm

Hands up those of you who’ve got a collection of tools in your garage or garden store (I’m talking to the guys here; though the girls can join in they’re still awake). Right, that’s everybody.

And hands up if you keep them all organised in a tool storage unit.
What none of you? Well I’m not really surprised, but it’s time you did something about it!

Add together all the hours you’ve wasted looking for a tool you knew was “around here somewhere”. Then add the cost of all the tools you’ve thrown away after you found them rusting and bent in the corner behind the lawnmower, and you’ll quickly see why you need a tool storage unit.

Decent tool storage doesn’t cost much, but it’s worth its weight in gold as my grandpa used to say. It could be just a rack on the garage wall to clip your screwdrivers, hammers and other tools into. Or you could go all the way and invest in an all-singing all-dancing storage unit with gas lift on the lid like the great Biohort Leisure Box retailing at about £300. It may not be hot shopping news, but an investment in tool storage will pay dividends year after year.

If you’re out of gift ideas – and let’s face it men are never easy to buy Christmas presents for – why not avoid the usual socks and unwanted gadgets?

Want more proof that you need tool storage? I once spent 3 days looking for a tiny screwdriver that I knew I’d left somewhere. It turned up in the fruit bowl, and by the time I’d found it I’d broken 2 knives and the thing I was trying to unscrew.

Rob

Rated: from 1504 votes

© Black and Decker

With the end of the lawn cutting season approaching, now is the time to get yourself that top quality grass trimmer to make sure that the edges of your lawn keep their crisp neat appearance throughout the whole winter.

Grass trimmers and gardening equipment are always good value at this time of year as merchants try to move stock rather than have it sitting around all the winter. That’s why I replace my mower, hedge cutter or grass trimmer in the autumn rather than waiting till the spring and paying top price.

Black and Decker do a great range of cordless grass trimmers, and I always recommend getting a cordless trimmer rather than the kind with a cable that is never long enough, or gets tangled up in the hedge or even worse, cut.

The Black and Decker GLC2500-GB is fantastic value for under £60 and is sure to give your lawn that neat finish that will be the envy of your neighbours.

Weighing in at only 1.8Kg, this Black and Decker is light enough for anybody to use, boasts a powerful battery to give hours of use between charges, and has a superfast recharge time of 3 hours from flat.

My neighbour on the other hand swears by Bosch, and his whole gardening arsenal from mower to garden vac is by Bosch. So have look at those too

Rob

Rated: from 1698 votes

© Black & Decker

It’s that time of year again when the leaves are starting to think about falling from the trees, and the hedges are crying out for the last cut to neaten them up for the winter.

I’ve always used a corded hedge cutter, my trusty Black and Decker that has given excellent service and reliability over many years. But advances in technology persuaded me that this year I might be as well investing in a cordless hedge cutter for the added convenience.

No need to watch out for the electric cable and avoid accidentally cutting it. No need for the extension to reach the farthest of my privet hedges. And advances in battery technology means that a single top up should be ample for doing my entire hedge collection.

Black and Decker and Bosch both do excellent high quality cordless hedge cutters at a keen price, or for the more economy minded, there’s the Silverline range which is suitable for the smaller gardens.

I settled for the Black and Decker, cut my hedges in superquick time without the bother of finding my extension cable, or cutting any wires, and would recommend anybody facing their autumn trim to invest in a cordless hedge trimmer.

You won’t regret it.

Rob

Rated: from 1579 votes

© Draper

I’ve long been an admirer of Draper tools, from when I first discovered their range of high quality yet affordable hand tools, all of which have been specifically designed for the DIY enthusiast.

Draper tools started out as a small company in 1919, and naturally are one of the country’s most long-established suppliers of hand tools. They have over the years quite deservedly built up a superb reputation, based on supplying the right tool for the job at the right price without sacrificing quality.

I use Draper tools for all my DIY jobs, and in the time I’ve known them, I’m delighted to say that the company has grown in stature and reputation and added many products to their portfolio, from superb quality electric cordless hammer drills to cordless screwdrivers and even powered angle grinders.

So whatever the job, you can be sure that there’s a Draper tool specifically designed for it. And furthermore you can be totally confident that your Draper tool won’t let you down. They’re precision engineered from the finest materials to the most painstaking designs, and are destined to give year after year of sterling service to the discerning handyman.

Rob

Rated: from 1535 votes

© Black and Decker

As a self-confessed gadget fan, I love not only electronic gadgets, but the more regular tools made by Draper tools, or Black and Decker. I enjoy shopping for mechanical or electrical tools just as much as buying electronic gadgets, and so find that whatever the DIY job, I usually have the right tool for the job on the shelf of my garden store.

Draper tools are highly regarded as quality products for the serious handyman, whether it’s saws and chisels you’re after, or drill bits and screwdrivers. Draper make quality tools, but at very affordable prices, and I’ve not found an application yet that Draper don’t have the tool to fit!

Black and Decker needs no introduction from me, as practically everyone I know has a Black and Decker drill, hedge trimmer, lawnmower or strimmer. Their reputation for quality and affordability is second to none, and they are always at the cutting edge of product development.

My latest Black and Decker electric tool is a large garden vac, which will come into its own in the next few weeks as the autumn leaves start falling and blowing about the garden. The Black and Decker garden vac will have them all cleared up and in the compost bin in a matter of minutes – so much better than chasing piles of leaves about the garden with a sweeping brush – and is my recommended garden appliance of the week.

Rob

Rated: from 1641 votes