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GMC current tools - opinions?
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 7:03 am
by simonm
I came across GMC the other day - never heard of them before. A friend has a GMC 710W router/laminate trimmer. It seems to be an exact copy of a makita - the only difference is the name and if memory serves me correctly the color of one of the plastic switches. My friend has the makita as well. Looking them up I found an 18v cordless drill which looked interesting. Having never heard of them I looked them up an discovered they are officially Australian. A quick search here showed a few discussions which mentioned them but generally not in the best light but none were recent discussions.
Anyone here with recent experience of either the cordless drills/screw drivers or the smaller routers?
Thanks.
Simon
Re: GMC current tools - opinions?
Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2017 10:46 pm
by kiwigeo
simonm wrote: ↑Mon Jun 26, 2017 7:03 am
I came across GMC the other day - never heard of them before. A friend has a GMC 710W router/laminate trimmer. It seems to be an exact copy of a makita - the only difference is the name and if memory serves me correctly the color of one of the plastic switches. My friend has the makita as well. Looking them up I found an 18v cordless drill which looked interesting. Having never heard of them I looked them up an discovered they are officially Australian. A quick search here showed a few discussions which mentioned them but generally not in the best light but none were recent discussions.
Anyone here with recent experience of either the cordless drills/screw drivers or the smaller routers?
Thanks.
Simon
Bunnings were main supplier of GMC tools before they switched to Ryobi. Very much a case of you get what you pay for. They might be copies of Makitas but there'd be a big difference in quality and reliabilty. With the cheap arse routers/lam trimmers don't expect zero bearing play and don't act surprised when the depth stop slips and your cutter plunges through your $150 spruce top.
If youre a chippie then they can make sense.....you work the guts out of them until the die, take them back and claim on the warranty and do the same to the replacement they give you.
I picked up an Ozito router a few years ago.....used it once and then it went straight in the bin.
Re: GMC current tools - opinions?
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 11:47 am
by Mark McLean
I had some GMC gear a few years ago when Bunnings stocked it. A cordless drill and an orbital sander. I remember that they were cheap and pretty rough, but effective for home handyman stuff. I know a couple of tradies who prefer to buy GMC or Ozito because they get stolen so frequently from work sites or utes. And if they break they are still under warranty, like Martin said. My Ozito table saw just died (snapped the drive belt) when I gave it some brush box to chew through. So it probably depends on what sort of work you are doing. Building a deck from treated pine, probably fine. Building a guitar from BRW, might not be the right tool..
Re: GMC current tools - opinions?
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2017 7:06 pm
by Steve.Toscano
I have a gmc drill press and a cordless drill. Had both them for ~5yrs.
They were dirt cheap, probably under $100 for both combined.
They do what they're supposed to and are yet to fail on me.