Thread: Aldi Woodworking Tools

Originally Posted by woodg62

I’m just starting out on woodworking as a hobby and a need some tools.

Been a member of the woodwork forum for 18 years, guess you are a slow starter

Cheers Andrew

Originally Posted by AJ.

Been a member of the woodwork forum for 18 years, guess you are a slow starter

Cheers Andrew

What with my first home having no shed, not even a garage, and then working overseas for many years, I'm just starting out.

Originally Posted by woodg62

Now I needed to see how “square” they are. I nestled each square inside the others, and they all seemed to fit very well, so if they are out of square then all 3 are out by the same amount.

Welcome to the "Rat Pack"

A handy tip - the best way to see if a square is square is to put a sheet of paper at the edge of a desk and tape it down. Then place your square against the edge of the desk pointing left with the blade pointing into the desk over the paper. Draw a line along the outside edge of the blade. Now flip the square along the outside edge of the blade so base of the square points to the right. Again draw a line along the outside edge of your square.

Pull the square away, and the any deviation between the two lines will show if your square... isn't square

See this video for a better explanation: When Is Square, Square Enough? / How To Check A Square For Square/Accuracy For Woodworking - YouTube

Unlike the original poster, I have used some excellent woodworking machines in my woodworking life and had some great tutors including Rob McKee and Richard Vaughan. I also had a good workshop setup at home, including a Hammer C3-31 and a Minimax S500p bandsaw. HAD being the operant word as I lost the lot during the 26 February 2022 Brisbane River floods. Two of those machines have gone on to another life with a prominent forums member, but required extensive restoration by him.

So, I'm NEVER building a workshop below flood level again, but still, as of 12 November 2022, waiting for a cent from Westpac/Allianz. DON'T insure with them! I have, as of last Friday, had promise of part payment!!!!! DUDs

To the point, I was desperate for some woodwork experiences so I stupidly, as it turns out, purchased a wood lathe and a small bandsaw from Aldi. UGH, I found that they were made by Sheppach, which is a long way to spell a four letter word starting with S and ending with T. The lathe tailstock will NOT clamp to the aluminium bed, so don't bother trying spindle turning. The variable speed motor obviously has had a lot of gravel to eat, or that's what it sounds like. Scheppach/Aldi warranty issues? You must be DREAMING. The contact email - disconnected! The phone number is answered by a pleasant call centre who says they will get the actual person to call you. You must be dreaming again - never happens! My call was placed six weeks ago, no call back since.

DUD, DUD, DUDDed, I'll never buy another tool from Aldi or S**T.

Oh, but the Aldi/S**T bandsaw? It runs, but the blade won't stay in line, so cuts the guard etc. My big Minimax SP500 was a bit of an unpleasant beast when purchased and took a lot of taming, but, once tamed, performed well. I do hope that SCM will provide a replacement that works well without taming otherwise I will report here.

David

I bought an Aldi bandsaw for$100 and found it ok.
I do have a 20” Wadkin Busgreen for serious work but as the council is hassling me over noise the toy saw has its uses. I will probably make a new table from some 10mm Al I have.
Re Your dud lathe my son bought an Aldi mtb ebike and the gears were rs. He rang them and on their ok took it to a bike shop who fixed it. It then had 2 bolts fall of the front sprocket and same off the rear disc during a ride in the boonies.
As it was within 3 months of buying it they just took it back at the local Aldi store and refunded his money. They had already reimbursed him for the gear adjusting.
H.

Hey

i have a Aldi table saw and Aldi Thicknesser.

They seem to do an ok job, far from great. but i didnt pay much. the thicknesser did a good job on what i needed.

the main thing i noticed is that the guages are all runnish. 0 isnt 0 etc.

Table saw is ok, biggest issue is the rubbish sized rails. has to be custom made to fit.

Hi all

I have a few Aldi tools and machinery and find they are hit and miss. But when they miss, they miss in a very big way.

Several years ago I go the squares and straight edge. They were made in Germany and were top notch. The one's I saw in store more recently were made in China and were clearly junk.

I have a belt sander, which as a very simple power tool works as advertised. I have bought a tonne of consumables like drill bits, plug cutters, needle files, etc and work well enough.

But the best example of the quality of Aldi tools and machinery is the table saw. Out of the box, the wings were impossible to get flat, which while frustrating is not fatal as the table itself was flat. The mitres were 16mm t-track style rather than 19mm/3/4" mitre slots so proper mitre gauges and featherboards are out. The blade was not parallel to the mitreslots and there's no trunnion to align it - only a "u-bolt" and screws (hours of frustration but eventually got it within micrometres of parallel). The dust collection is average. But there is no issue with power, even resawing Australian hardwoods. The fence is junk, but you knew that and so can work around that.

I looked at Aldi thicknesser and thought about my issues with the table saw. I could spend days getting to work for me, or I could dig deeper and get a proper one. I bought a "helical" (code for spiral not helical despite multiple claims) from Hare and Forbes, and it worked right out the box (and appears to be identical to the Carbatec one that I had drooled over for months but the price was held me back).

I use some or the 10" sawblades for rough work - they were stupidly cheap - cheaper than re sharpening one blade for a mixed 3 pack . The jigsaw blades when they come up have been German - properly ground and excellent value.