Are cheap tools ever worth buying?

"Buy cheap, buy twice" is repeated as though it were universal, and it is not. The useful question is not how much a tool costs but what happens when it is not very good.

Safety

Step by step

1. Ask what a poor version actually does.A cheap tape measure reads a millimetre out. A cheap square is not square, so every cut from it is wrong. A cheap ladder fails. The consequence of poor quality varies enormously and it is the only question that matters.
2. Buy cheap for tools you will use once.A tile cutter for one bathroom, a specific socket, a floor scraper. Buying a professional version for a single job is the more common waste, and hiring is often better still.
3. Buy cheap for things that get destroyed.Cutting discs, sanding sheets, mixing paddles, brushes for adhesive, blades used on plaster or nails. They are consumables and premium versions rarely justify the difference.
4. Buy well for anything that defines accuracy.Squares, spirit levels, tape measures, marking gauges. Every subsequent cut and fixing inherits their error, so this is the category where cheap costs most and it does not look like it at the time.
5. Buy well for anything that takes force.Chisels, screwdrivers, spanners, pliers, prybars. Soft steel rounds off, chips and slips, which damages the work and occasionally you. A cheap screwdriver chews screw heads out.
6. Buy well for anything used weekly.A drill, a saw, whatever your particular work needs most. Frequency justifies quality on its own, and comfort matters over hours in a way it does not over minutes.
7. Never economise on load-bearing equipment.Ladders, steps, jacks, axle stands, lifting gear, working-at-height equipment. Failure here injures people. Check the standard, and do not buy these second-hand or unbranded.
8. Check certification on anything mains-powered.A genuine CE or UKCA mark, a named manufacturer with a UK presence, and a proper plug. Very cheap unbranded mains tools are where genuinely unsafe electrics turn up.
9. Start cheap to find out what you need.A reasonable strategy: buy the budget version, use it, and let it tell you what actually limits you. Then upgrade that specific thing rather than guessing across the whole set.
10. Look at mid-range rather than the extremes.The gap between budget and mid-range is usually large and the gap between mid-range and professional is usually small for domestic use. Trade brands are built for daily use you will not give them.
11. Buy second-hand for quality hand tools.Old chisels, planes, hand saws and spanners are frequently better steel than anything new at the price. A car boot sale plane and an hour of sharpening beats a new budget one comfortably.
12. Hire the expensive occasional things.Floor sanders, breakers, scaffold towers, large tile saws. Hiring gives a properly maintained professional tool for a fraction of buying a poor one.
13. Check the warranty and whether parts exist.A three-year warranty and available spares change the arithmetic considerably. A tool nobody supports is disposable whatever it cost.
14. Weigh comfort for long jobs.Grips, weight, balance and vibration matter over hours. Vibration in particular is a real health issue with prolonged use of cheap power tools.

Tips

• Spend on anything that measures or marks. Every error in a square or a level is copied into everything you make with it.
• Hire rather than buy for the expensive one-off. A hired floor sander is better than any sander you would buy for one room.
• Second-hand tools are often better steel than new budget ones, and sharpening is a skill worth having anyway.

Common mistakes

• Buying a cheap square or spirit level — Every cut and fixing made from it inherits the error, and you will not know until something does not fit. This is where cheap costs most.
• Buying professional-grade for a one-off job — It is the more common waste. Hire it, or buy the budget version and accept it is for this job.

If it doesn't work

Questions people ask