Thread: Damned power cords!

I agree with the comments about the Festool leads, they are very supple and work well.

A lot of tradies have shorter leads because they have accidently shortened the standard leads.

I know it's not possible in your shed WW but the wood heater I recently had installed keeps me warm, keeps my leads supple and rids my shed of any evidence of mistakes plus helps glue and finishes get there much faster.

Originally Posted by Wood Borer

I agree with the comments about the Festool leads, they are very supple and work well.

And you can also get them in 7m lengths. I have one for my ROS and its fantastic

Almost every tool shop I have seen has a type of power lead securing clamp for sale on or near the counter.

Have normal plugs/sockets (whatever length) and hook one of these over the join.

Golden!

for my work bench I have a fixed board attached to the bench via an earth leakage device then you can plug any lead into it whatever the length.
Otherwise just use ELD + cord doesnt matter so much.
Of course they could use better cords it is just to get the cost down.
BTW Milwaukee has the best cords I have seen it has a lock into the tool + is supple.

I bought an Italian Ghibli vacuum cleaner about 22 years ago and the lead on that still rolls up without a twist or kink. Machine still runs perfectly. Beautiful! Yes, I've often thought about cutting power tool leads short but...How many times have I nicked the lead on my planer?

I ordered a handful of the IEC 13 connectors and a 3 metre IEC 13 mains lead. I cut the DeWalt close to the rubber stiffner thingy and soldered the bared wires onto the IEC terminals.

The connectors are a very firm fit, so there's no chance of them coming apart during use. The only way it could be improved is if DeWalt had moulded a similar connector into the body of the ROS. Job done!

I'm now going to repeat the process with my circular saw, mains drill and a few other electro-gizmos.

Nice one. Looks like I've got yet another thing to deal with.

This kind of work makes me nervous about insurance claims in the event of a mishap.

I've done some minor wiring mods or connections downstream of a power point too but without a tag or a certificate the work is open to challenge.

Brilliant idea WW. Its the plugit you have when you dont have a plugit. Im going to do it to all my non festools

great to see someone had a go at doing it, i looked at doing that a few years back but never got round to getting the bits together.

i think its a great idea, and i cant see why a sparky wouldnt tag the tools afterwards.

the thread from 6 years ago ) https://www.woodworkforums.com/f11/op...l-leads-11352/

Originally Posted by GCP310

i think its a great idea, and i cant see why a sparky wouldnt tag the tools afterwards.

True. I have the same connection on my Jet band saw and its tagged

We have 2 PAT tester machines in constant use at work, they tag hundreds of items each week and I see no reason why that would not pass all tests and get a tag.
Well done WW. I'm going to do all my tools as well.