Thread: Diamond sharpening blocks at Aldi

Thanks for putting that up Joe, personally I'm probably pretty good for diamond stones like this but believe others may be keen. As you say, the price is right! Having said that, I've found their stuff can be a bit "variable" in quality, much of it is remarkably good considering the price, but I've also bought some things that are dreadful (digital calipers for example). I can't afford to buy crap . Hopefully somebody will volunteer to be the board's crash test dummy and post what these are like once they arrive.

Pete

Greetings chaps Yes I was one who tried the digital verniers and was dissapointed but these stones could be worth a try 4-6-4

Thanks Joe, I will have a look at them.

Dave

The local store here has metric tap/die sets for $25 .... has anyone tried them out for quality ?

The diamonds sound good

MIKE

I haven't tried them Mike, but they might be ok as some cheap sets are. They would only be carbon steel for that price, but you could always buy a set, take it home and try one, then if it's no good take them back if it's not to far away. After all if they don't cut/work, it's a good enough reason to take them back.

Dave

Has anyone tried their wipes? They have four types including one for tools:

ALDI - special buys from sat 11 feb - hurry, limited stocks in store*

Chris

You will need those added vitamins and alovera,for those sensetive ones.

I thought it was a bit odd that the aloe vera note points to the tool wipes. I'll use those on my delicate measuring tools!

Just to chime in, I have the digital calipers and never had any trouble with them.

Originally Posted by Dave J

I haven't tried them Mike, but they might be ok as some cheap sets are. They would only be carbon steel for that price, but you could always buy a set, take it home and try one, then if it's no good take them back if it's not to far away. After all if they don't cut/work, it's a good enough reason to take them back.

Dave

Dave

They appear to be HSS as they have a shiny finish . Yes they can be returned , ALDIS are good that way . Carbon stuff usually has that dull look to them .

I noticed that Super c auto have small 1200kg rated $20 trolley jacks on sale again. I have one and they do work work OK , that is until , after about 5 years, the seals fail in the hydraulic cylinder

Originally Posted by petersemple

Just to chime in, I have the digital calipers and never had any trouble with them.

They did a number of early ones and apparently they were fine, but then changed suppliers I guess and the later ones were just crap AND twice the price of what they could have been bought through ebay. Of course I bought 3 pair of the Aldi ones before I realised they'd changed

As far as the taps I wouldn't touch them with a 30 ft barge pole. I've had my fill of cheap taps, snap a few off in work and then tell me you still reckon they're a bargain! Some "shiny" taps are still carbon steel. Apart from snapping, the other problem I've seen a number of times with cheap taps (and dies) is being woefully the wrong size. These days there are two things that I will ALWAYS go with the best I can afford; drill bits (although I have some crappy sets for rough work around the house), and especially taps and dies. There are some sellers who sell quality Eastern European taps and dies through ebay at very good prices, just buy what you need as you need them. Apart from the confidence in knowing that so long as you use them properly they aren't likely to fail in the work, good quality taps cut SO much better than cheap garbage. Most home shop users won't wear out taps/dies, so over a lifetime it's not a huge investment in my book. I'm all for trying to save some $$$, but sometimes it's completely false economy.

Pete

I generally agree with your sentiments Pete but:

The Quality of some of the ALDI tools isn't too bad for the price, if you are choosy that is . I bought their set of hole cutters for wood , about $7 for the set of five in a neat wooden box . Out of the box they are blunt as, but after a hone , they work fine , even in hardwood. I cut 32mm holes in a 20mm thick hardwood board with ease . For $7, it was a bargain

But yes, they do have a lot of crap tools as well .. MIKE

Mike, obviously the decision is yours, but I reckon I'm on a pretty safe bet to say that at 25 bucks for a set they're not going to be top quality. Your example of the hole saws is exactly my point, with something like that if they're not up to scratch you can possibly do something about it, or at worse throw them out. If a crap tap snaps the best you may hope for is a heck of a lot of grief, worse case if you're making something you scrap the piece and start again! I'm definitely not trying to "dis" Aldi, quite the opposite, I've often bought tools, screws, etc from them and it's the only catalogue I read each week. But taps is something I generally urge others to not make the same mistake(s) I have.

A while back I was tapping an M10 hole IIRC. The tap was from an "ok" metric set I've had for many years, but I was having a really hard time getting the thread to tap really nicely. In desperation I asked my neighbour if I could borrow one of his good taps (I hate borrowing things so that just goes to show how desperate I was). What I'd been struggling with then just became the routing operation it should have been. Nothing technically "wrong" with my M10, it just illustrated the difference between a good quality and properly sharpened tap, and an "ok" tap. A cheap tap ... chances are that would have snapped.

I used to think cheap taps were ok to chase threads out, but when I started coming across some that were the wrong size I decided there was never a time to go that way; why screw up a perfectly good thread.

Anyway that's my 2 cents worth. It wasn't that long ago I went through this process for the second time, it was a complete waste of money and at the end of the day I had to go buy decent ones anyway. Complete false economy.

Pete

Originally Posted by Pete F

why screw up a perfectly good thread.
Pete

Isn't that what you are supposed to do?