For the price, this is a well-equipped welding machine for private use. However, it is annoying that the fans always run at full speed. This is not only unnecessarily loud, but also promotes the ingress of dirt into the device.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution: a 24-volt fan control with a temperature sensor. Manfred Welding has published a good YouTube video on this topic:

I bought the exact same controller at a low price on AliExpress*. The conversion was no problem, and with soldering equipment and heat-shrink tubing*, the whole thing even looks quite professional.

Der Beitrag Parkside PMPS 200 A1 multi-welding device – make the Fans quieter erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

After careful consideration, we decided some time ago to use a battery-powered system instead of corded power tools for our home renovation. In terms of quality, I would only have considered brands such as Bosch Professional, Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee, etc. – if it weren’t for the really high price, especially for the batteries and chargers.

Milwaukee in particular has undergone several system changes, making newer devices in the same segment incompatible with older batteries. The next step was to discontinue production of the older battery system, and after inevitable defects, the devices gradually became unusable. Absolutely unacceptable. DeWalt did something similar, but some time ago.

What are the advantages of a battery system?

The biggest advantages are mobility and flexibility. In addition, the basic idea of having just a few batteries and chargers that are compatible with many devices is appealing. The convenience is a real bonus when working.

What’s wrong with that?

Actually two things – batteries are basically wear parts, and you also become dependent on the compatible system and thus on the manufacturer. So everything depends on the behavior of the manufacturer of the respective system. In addition, very useful functions such as a vacuum cleaner that switches on automatically on hand-held circular saws, etc., cannot be used.

The starting point

The only cordless tool we already had was a 14.4-volt Makita cordless screwdriver (Newer model*), which is well over 10 years old. It was purchased as a set together with two 2 Ah batteries and a charger in a case. Both batteries have been defective for some time and have been replaced by two replicas from the Far East*. The cordless screwdriver itself still works very well, but has always been a bit weak.

After I was able to purchase a Parkside 20-volt performance cordless screwdriver (brushless!) with a 2 Ah battery and 4.5 Ah charger for a really low price of €66.99 including shipping during a special Black Friday promotion at Lidl at the end of 2022, I quickly made my decision – I would go with Parkside for battery-powered tools.

The reasons were and are obvious:

• Really very inexpensive in relation to quality.
• Green standard devices come with a 3-year warranty, while the black performance versions come with a 5-year warranty.
• Almost all devices come in cases.
• Many items can be ordered online at any time or with short delivery times, and at that time shipping was free for orders over €59 (today €79 with an app coupon).
• There are several different chargers and batteries to suit every budget and application
• The first impression of the performance cordless screwdriver, at least, was “surprisingly good”

However, I still use (additional) 230-volt versions of tools that require continuous power, such as a Bosch Professional SDS-Plus hammer drill*, a Makita 125 mm angle grinder* and a hot air gun.

What is the conclusion after almost 3 years of using Parkside cordless tools?

First of all, it should be noted that we are private individuals; in the commercial sector, I would also recommend equipment developed for commercial use. In that case, the price is also reasonable and the quality is far superior. Our approach was: “If the equipment survives our home renovation, it was a good deal; if not, there is at least a 3 or 5-year warranty, and that should be sufficient.” Renovating is expensive, and if the tools do the job for less than half the cost, then the goal has been achieved.

I regularly checked the Lidl website for offers from the end of 2022 onwards. At that time, there was no explicit advertising for Parkside as there is now, two to three years later. This is also reflected in the price of many items. At first, I wanted to limit myself exclusively to the 20-volt system, but a really good deal on a fine drill grinder, which unfortunately is part of the 12-volt system, persuaded me to go down both paths – even though this is still the only 12-volt device I have.

As expected, our experience has been very mixed—some devices are really good for the price, while others are really poor and unreliable. We also have some 230-volt devices from Parkside, if the offer was good or the intended use is stationary.

We have had bad experiences with the smart batteries, especially with the 8 Ah version. First, the charge status buttons stopped working reliably (even with the 4 Ah smart batteries), then soon stopped working altogether. After about 1.5 years of use, 4 of the 6 batteries could no longer be charged, except with the “jump start trick” . After a few weeks, even that no longer helped; one of the cells inside was defective and could no longer be charged manually. At this point, however, praise for the service department: the complaint was handled professionally and smoothly, and after a week we had four brand-new replacement batteries in use. These are still running well today.

Would I go down this path again?

Yes, but not with every device purchased. Unfortunately, you only realize this after the fact, and as we all know, hindsight is always 20/20. The savings enabled us to purchase significantly more devices than would have been possible with Makita or Bosch Professional, for example. Doubts always remain—something of commercial quality will certainly last a few years longer. On the other hand, Parkside products are not designed for such heavy-duty use, and you can’t expect that of them.

One could argue that you should focus on quality when it comes to the most important tools, which would mean having several parallel systems in terms of battery-powered tools. It has become clear that these devices are indispensable and heavily used:

• Drill driver
• Angle grinder
• Hand-held circular saw
• Jigsaw
• Hammer drill

All in all, Lidl’s long warranty period and service make up for many negative points—but if you want to buy something “for life” or for heavy-duty use, Parkside is not the right choice. Even in expensive systems, batteries are always consumables, which should never be overlooked. Nevertheless, mobility is a real gain in convenience compared to corded devices, especially on a construction site with few working power outlets.

It should be noted that I would only purchase the system as new with a warranty, or as used only if it were practically free. There is a definite risk of irreplaceable failure.

Next, I have created a commented list of the devices we purchased, which makes our experiences much clearer.

Der Beitrag General thoughts on power tools, especially battery systems erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

The original plan was to simply screw the bench drill to the workbench and that would be it. However, the PBD 40 has openings in the aluminum base which dirt can and will inevitably fall into the hollow base.

Then another idea came to mind: similar to the bench grinder, build a base and integrate a drawer into it. Also mostly made from 40 mm multiplex scraps. No sooner said than done: this is what the result looks like now:

Except for the “front panel,” the drawer is simply made of leftover laminate without integrated impact sound insulation (MDF slides well!) and is fixed with 3D-printed brackets using M3 countersunk screws. After working with the machine, you can now simply sweep the dirt through the openings in the base and remove the drawer from time to time to empty it conveniently.

Der Beitrag A dirt trap drawer for the Bosch PBD 40 erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

I purchased a Bosch bench drill for our workshop – a PBD 40. The data sheet looks good, and I bought this tool second-hand, but I had some reservations before purchasing it:

You often read that the accuracy leaves something to be desired, especially when drilling small diameters in metal. It was clear to me from the outset that if I bought this model, I would immediately convert the internal bearings to something more precise.

That’s why buying second-hand made sense; I didn’t want to be restricted in my actions by a warranty period and preferred to invest the money I saved on the purchase in the conversion. Alternative bench drills, e.g., from Scheppach* or Parkside, don’t really offer much more, and I can’t imagine that they are any more accurate. That’s why I opted for Bosch, even if it’s “only” Bosch Green (for private use, not commercial).

Upgrade

First of all: There was a really interesting and useful thread in the official Bosch forums about which bearings are suitable and how to convert the whole thing.

Unfortunately, it seems to have been deleted in the meantime; at least, I can’t find it anymore. If I come across the content in the future, I will add it here, but unfortunately that seems unlikely. Things can disappear so quickly!

The precision bearings used were these two from Kugellager-Express.

Disassembly and reassembly is quite easy to do. Simply remove all visible screws until you have taken the gearbox apart. Be careful with the cables and plugs, as these are often quite short.

The most difficult part is removing the pressed-in bearing in the aluminum housing; even with an internal puller, it took me several attempts. Photos:

Conclusion

The observations made by the original posters of this conversion were not exaggerated: the concentricity and drilling precision have really improved considerably, even with the original drill chuck, which is often described as “poor”!

There is virtually no noticeable play anymore. Anyone who owns a PBD 40 and is dissatisfied with its precision should carry out this conversion; I am very satisfied.

Der Beitrag Bosch PBD 40 bench drill: Increase accuracy erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.

For our workshop, I wanted a bench grinder* that, unlike most, was equipped with a wire brush on one side instead of another, coarser grinding wheel. This poses a problem: a significant imbalance, as the grinding wheel is much heavier and more round than the wire brush.

Regardless of this, a bench grinder is generally a vibrating machine. In my “old” makeshift workshop, there was an older bench grinder with two fairly well-aligned, smooth-running grinding wheels – also screwed to the worktop. Even when starting up, the entire worktop vibrated, let alone when you held something against the wheels with force to grind it.

In our “new” workshop, which is built into the house, I wanted to avoid the problem from the outset, or at least minimize it significantly.

How do you do that?

I had already had experience with so-called “rubber-metal buffers” in the past to decouple a two-cylinder air compressor. It worked so well that it was hard to believe:

The mount on which the compressor stood at full operation basically no longer vibrated, which made everything much quieter. So my first thought for this grinding block was similar – rubber-metal buffers.

Implementation

It’s actually quite simple: First of all, I should mention that I am relatively tall, so a “foot” that raises the bench grinder is very useful for me. This is how I did it:

• Two pieces of 40 mm multiplex cut to size and sanded
• Holes drilled and countersunk in the lower of the two panels so that they can be screwed to the worktop later
• Recesses drilled from the other side so that self-locking nuts can be pressed in to hold the upper panel in place
• Using a 25 mm Forstner bit, cylinders approx. 10 mm deep were drilled into the upper panel so that the buffers could be made to disappear almost completely
• Suitable through holes were drilled in both panels for all screws

I used 20 mm buffers with internal threads on both sides (Type C, Ø 20, Height 20 mm, IG/IG M6, NK 55 (20-20-C)*), with galvanized 8.8 M6 hexagon socket screws* and lock washers both from below (invisible) and from above to secure the grinding block.

Experiences

The decoupling is not 100% effective – slight vibrations can still be felt. This is particularly noticeable because we keep our storage systems for screws etc. on the same worktop – you can feel and hear even the slightest vibration.

Nevertheless, the result is really good: 99% less vibration.

Photos

You can clearly see the gap between the plate and the machine; light shines through the gap.

Der Beitrag Decoupling the bench grinder – Scheppach SM200LB erschien zuerst auf flohs blog.