The official DID KM500R Tool is £99 at the cheapest place I can find it. There are plenty of copies around for circa £35 but all seem to get bad reviews saying they break on first use and not strong enough.
£99 seems expensive for a rarely used tool but I suppose a quality tool is always a good investment
Kwacky wrote:I think it's one of those "tools for life" so probably worth the initial outlay.
I must admit that is what I m thinking too.
I wonder if possible to get a better decent discount at the NEC show ??? The £99 I have already found is quite cheap and already discounted approx £40 from a lot of other places so I'm not sure further discounting would be possible.
Monty wrote:I bought a cheap one and broke it the first time I used it. I'd say get the expense one so I can borrow yours next time.
That's what everyone says about the cheap ones so going to stay well clear
I have a better idea mate. You get the expensive one and I'll prove it is suitable for service and up to the Monty standard before hand delivering the item to your door step free of any testing or delivery charge
Where are you based Blade, you can borrow mine if that helps.
As so often pointed out, it's not something you use very often.
Mine is exactly this one (but not as new & clean). : http://www.sealey.co.uk/PLPageBuilder.a ... results=16" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
No worries StMarks it was a very kind offer and very much appreciated but I'm probably best getting my own its a tool that will always come in handy. Thanks again mate it was a kind offer and your a gentleman to do such.
If you're doing a hollow link pin you can use mine and have a go of it, see what you think. It's only a cheap one but the only thing it couldn't do was close over a solid link. As StM says, grind off the top of the link you're pushing out first and it's fine.
I tried 3 different cheap ones over the years and most didn't last more than one use then I bought the DID one and I still have it (somewhere) after my last few chains. just need to see if it does moped chains for the next couple of years
As StM and DaytonAndy said they generally only break when you try and press a pin out without grinding off the link pin head first, I've done a 520, a 525 and a 530 with mine with no problem, but as I said I do remove the head of the pin prior to pressing apart. The chain tool I use looks very similar to StM's, iirc mine cost me £40 about 5yrs back, the threads take some wear, but good grease helps reduce wear and friction - makes it easier for me to use as well.
Fwiw the part my brother broke on his (I haven't broken mine yet) was the hardened pin that pushes the old link pin through the chain link when removing the chain, most breakers should come with at least one replacement hardened pin. On a different note I've heard of people using bolt croppers to cut a chain off, quick, clean and a lot less faffing about. Hth.