Model Railway Forum

Stese wrote: ↑Sat Oct 17, 2020 11:40 am I'd be interested to find out how good (or not) that iron is, if it has a wedge tip or if the tips can be replaced.

I almost bought one today! It was in my trolley for at least ten minutes before I decided to put it back. It was only a tenner but I already have an Antex and a Chinese made soldering station so felt it was an unnecessary purchase. I also got the impression it would not last that long. It is a lot smaller than I thought and it has a sort of pyramid shaped tip.

What I did buy were the some rotary tool accessories. I will be interested to see how they perform.

I have their previous model about the size of a fat highlighter which uses replaceable 3x AAA or is it AA batteries and that is poor for anything apart from fixing the odd decoder wire. The batteries don’t last long at all. Maybe the rechargeable Li-ion one is better.

Why would you want to highlight fat?

Ha ha.

Methinks the only useful type of cordless soldering iron is the type using Butane but would I be happy soldering delicate electronics with one I do not think so.

Richard

Incidentally, did anyone notice Lidl were selling a small bench top pillar drill for £149.99. Aldi are selling the exact same machine for £129.99 barring a few cosmetic differences. The Lidl one is green with their Parkside branding whilst the Aldi version is blue and branded Scheppach. Scheppach manufacture some good workshop machines, we had a table saw with sliding table at work and it was a brilliant machine.

SWAMBO bought me the Aldi version as a belated birthday present to replace a previous Lidl belt driven type. I have to say that it is a vast improvement being gear driven with a more powerful motor. It has two gear ranges and electronic speed control and a very accurate depth control for such a small device. It can drill to a depth of 100mm compared to the previous Lidl which only managed 50mm. So far I am reasonably impressed despite not having really put it through its paces. If anyone is interested I will post more info about it once I get to do some real work. Of course it will never compare to a full size industrial pillar drill but seems perfectly capable of what I am going to throw at it.

Richard

I wanted the little clamp on vice but our store didn't have them.

vespa wrote: ↑Mon Oct 19, 2020 11:30 am I wanted the little clamp on vice but our store didn't have them.

Both Lidl and Aldi have online stores where all these items can be purcheased, though you will have to pay a delivery charge of course.

For me, only on Aldi do I have the ability to buy online. The Lidl site has no purchase options.

Not sure if they are available everywhere, but in Lidl today, I picked up a set of oil paints (24 x 18ml tubes) for £4.99
Ideal for weathering, just add some suitable brushes.