The Dapto Markets are a bit of a favourite of mine. Held weekly, they bring all sorts of people along selling all sorts of wares. My favourite things to look for are used hand tools that are still in good condition or are good quality item/brands that are being sold cheap. Its a cash only affair and sometimes you can get some good deals.

My hands-down favourite and best buy so far would have to be my Hilti rotary hammer drill that I paid $20 for! Assembled in 1985, she’s older than me, but still an absolute brute of a tool. Once you’ve used a rotary-hammer drill you’ll never have the patience for a hammer drill again when drilling into concrete.

Anyway, back on track, this week’s finds include:
*2x bar clamps for $15 each. I found similar new ones at Bunnings for $32 each
*1x Clock – $4
*1x plunge router – $25

Once home, I had a good look at them to assess if I got had.

The bar clamps needed a bit of a clean and the backyard-shed job to make the replacement end-stops needed some de-burring on the sharp edges. I’ll use these for laminating some timber together to make a record storage shelf.

The clock is for the workshop because I needed a clock. It needed a new battery and I later realised the seconds hand was fouling on the glass window as it passed the 1 O’clock position. Anyway, once I realised it was running slow, I fixed the seconds hand. I suppose I can’t expect too much for $4.

The plunge router, despite having never been used, probably is not the best. I don’t normally buy power tools unless they are cheap or good brand – Hilti as mentioned above. It looks like it was an Aldi-special from 2004, and its overall quality seems a bit dubious with some of the plastic components cracked – plastic sole and dust extraction guide. Some epoxy glue has fixed thie for the time being. I’m thinking I’ll use this to make a router table because all the controls are not very ergonomic.