# Forum Home Renovation Tools & Products  Twist-a-saw.  Are there alternatives?

## Kirsty B

Hi, I have seen an add on tv for the twist-a-saw.  As my husband and I are about to renovate an entire house in just 6-8 weeks on a minimal budget, we are interested in what this tool claims it can do.  I am also weary about buying anything on tv and always prefer to purchase tools locally which have a warranty whereby we can return to a store and have the ability to replace parts locally.  Reviews for any products that the brand  'The Renovator' put out are not the best. 
Can anyone tell me about this twist-a-saw and whether or not there are similar products out there that can do what the twist-a-saw claims it can do?  I have not called the phone number yet to get price but the recent twist-a-saw adds throw in a free join-a-jig as well as a twist-a-mini, which could come in handy.

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## webtubbs

I'd be very hesitant to spend any money on it - generally what you see it do on TV isn't how they perform in real life. What jobs in particular were you interested in?

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## PlatypusGardens

Oh how I love these infomercials   :Rofl:  
Not only will this tool replace ALL your old conventional black and white powertools    
Including that expensive SCMS...    
...but it magically enables you to do EVERYTHING so you don't even need a (black and white) tradesman!   
Because he's expensive too!    :Rofl:   
Seriously though, I'd never actually heard of this gadget before, and it looks like it would have its uses for the odd job here and there.    :Smilie:   
Not sure how easy it'd be to cut accurately freehand though...      :Unsure:

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## Kirsty B

Thanks webtubbs for your reply.  We have $10K to completely renovate an entire house so saving on plumbers and electricians will be vital.  We are particularly interested in the plunge cuts through tiles so that we can do our own plumbing in kitchen and bathroom using sharkbite.  Also need to remove old tiles.  In addition, this tool can 'apparently'  make cuts for electrical switches through 'apparently' any material.  We will also be plastering a number of rooms so this may come in handy.  May be building some kitchen cupboards from scratch too, so the join-a-jig could come in handy there. 
Thankyou Platypus Gardens, yes, I am very wary of this, very.

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## OBBob

You can buy it at Big-W ... but I wouldn't. If you have a big renovation then your budget needs to allow for tools I'm afraid and I'd really consider gearing up with some reasonable ones. As above ... it depends how extensive your renovation is and what you need tools for.   https://www.bigw.com.au/product/reno...0000000078286/

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## PlatypusGardens

One thing to look at would be the availability and cost of replacement cutting bits.

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## Mike8136

It is basically a 'poor man's' Dremel. I googled and the Twist-a-saw is $198 at Big W. I actually do have the Renovator which is by the same company. My mother bought it for me. I only buy quality tools.  
It depends what you want to use it for. Renovating an entire house with a no name brand rotary tool, I don't think so. I would buy a Dremel instead (for about the same price). 
I have used my Renovator a couple of times for fiddly jobs but it runs hot and does not give a quality result. 
You are going to need a number of tools for a house renovation. You're going to get less frustrated with quality tools which you can hire if necessary.

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## OBBob

> Thanks webtubbs for your reply.  We have $10K to completely renovate an entire house so saving on plumbers and electricians will be vital.  We are particularly interested in the plunge cuts through tiles so that we can do our own plumbing in kitchen and bathroom using sharkbite.  Also need to remove old tiles.  In addition, this tool can 'apparently'  make cuts for electrical switches through 'apparently' any material.  We will also be plastering a number of rooms so this may come in handy.  May be building some kitchen cupboards from scratch too, so the join-a-jig could come in handy there. 
> Thankyou Platypus Gardens, yes, I am very wary of this, very.

  
Lets not mention plumbing.  :Smilie:   
A drill will do this too. My cynical view is that it's likely to be underpowered and the bits are likely to be not as good as they could be. Drilling through tiles really needs good quality bits. Cutting plaster for PowerPoints can be done with a knife.

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## PlatypusGardens

> My cynical view is that it's likely to be underpowered and the bits are likely to be not as good as they could be.  
> Drilling through tiles really needs good quality bits.  
> Cutting plaster for PowerPoints can be done with a knife.

  
Eggsacktly. 
If it had a good cutting bit I can see some metalwork uses for it.
Shaping concave curves etc where you can't get a grinder in etc. 
Part from that...maybe handy for woodworking...? 
The video I watched showed a Dremel-like attachment as well thrown in for free.

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## OBBob

You're certainly in for a bit of a challenge ... my budget line item on my first fully renovation for tools was $10k ... eek. Perhaps looking secondhand for some band name tools ... or do what Marc does and check out Cash Converters.

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## PlatypusGardens

Perfect for all those things you never had a need to do before...            
Bashing these things is so much fun... 
Oh well, off to the shed to do some work with my conventional expensive awkward black and white tools    :Rolleyes:

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## OBBob

I see DIY dentistry on the cards!

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## PlatypusGardens

But, to answer the question, "are there alternatives?"  
Yes.
X marks the spot.     :Wink 1:

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## Marc

That thing, whatever it's intend purpose is, has no place in a renovation. It would be something to have in a well assorted workshop as a curiosity but certainly not to replace any traditional tool.What does your renovation entails? For carpentry work, you need a decent drop saw, or at least a circular saw, and a cordless drill and impact driver as a minimum. None of this tool can be mimicked by that ...Not even going into nail guns or compressors of course. You need a good assortment of hand tools too, gadgets to cut villa board, tiles, a grinder, ladder, easels, clamps, oh my, the mind boggles ... My suggestion is to buy as you go, you can not possibly buy "everything" before you even start. Forget fanciful infomercial, they are designed to take your money and give you nothing in exchange.. For one off work, Ozito is decent. If you are a gambler, try Cash Convertors, I bought tons of tools from them mostly with good results after a visit to the power tool service dude.

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## PlatypusGardens

Marc, what took you so long? 
Now where's Metrix when we need him....

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## OBBob

> ... try Cash Convertors ...

  LOL ... told you so ...

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## PlatypusGardens

:Rofl:

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## Kirsty B

Hi, thankyou all, 
Yes luckily for us we have a large range of tools from renovating our own home.  We have a compressor with assortment of tools, drop saw, table saw, drills, jigsaw, circular saw and lots more, also some building materials that will come in handy.  Knowing now that we can cut plasterboard with a knife, that's handy knowledge as haven't worked with this material yet.  Also knowing that you can plunge cut tiles with your drill!  Is this simple enough to do?  Do I just clamp it down onto a piece of timber and plunge down with the drill? 
And yes, not just the availability of parts comes into consideration, but the cost of these parts is something to consider.  These gimmicks can make a buck after the original sale, especially if parts are cheap and go blunt quickly.  Also the 'renovator' brand has had a real bad rap over the motors. 
Just saw the add and was wondering if there was a brand name tool that did similar work as I can see how this tool would save time if the motor and the parts were good quality and time is vital when you consider the time we have to renovate an entire home. 
Yes had some experience with Ozito, very handy tools, especially when I have had issues with the tool, a quick trip into the local hardware with my receipt whilst still in warranty means that I get a replacement tool on the spot.

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## johnc

Totally unsuitable for renovation work, you are going to need to build in a tool budget, six to eight weeks is pretty good going so I hope you aren't tackling anything major. Hire is good as are second hand for power tools, you don't need a complete tool shop but each trade requires some basic hand tools as well.

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## OBBob

In lieu of Metrix being here ... this is your friend for tiles.  http://www.bunnings.com.au/qep-12mm-...l-bit_p6820156

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## David.Elliott

Watching my favorite US reno show some moths ago I was intrigued to see something like that, it looked quite a bit bigger, possibly a tradie version used by the plasterers.
They just threw the sheet up completely over the window and door openings and with one of these following the frame, cut the opening. No measuring.
We did not get to see enough to know how they worked the architraves. So that has me a bit buggered...

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## Bloss

As others have said this is not a tool you need, but maybe a toy for an experienced DIYer to play with. Others might disagree, but for DIYers on a tight budget the Ryobi One range from Bunnings Technology | ONE+ offer good value, reasonable performance and pretty much instant warranty replacement if any problems occur. The value of cordless tools is immense as labor saving devices and I have had many DIYing friends buy and use these really hard. They are mostly good enough and the interchangeability of the batteries is big plus. 
As a base for a DIY you'd need the circular saw 18V ONE+ 165mm Circular Saw , the hammer drill 18V ONE+ Brushless Drill Kit, the impact driver (maybe the impact wrench too if you plan on driving many Type 17 batten screws) 18V ONE+ Impact Driver Kit - RYOBI , the multi-purpose tool, the disk grinder and the planer 18V ONE+ Planer - RYOBI. The finishing nailer is also a useful tool 18V ONE+ Airstrike 15GA DA Finish Nailer. Look for kits e.g.: 18V ONE+ 5 Piece Combo Kit which have at least two batteries and at least 4Ah and can be much cheaper - buying the batteries separately is poor value. 
And BTW, I have no connection with Bunnings or Ryobi - just think that for DIY 'good enough' is the test not 'the best'. And I also have a bunch of Ryobi cordless tools at home for round the house use. I use a 6 slot battery charger too so I always have spare batteries charged.

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## phild01

On the point about cutting plasterboard, yes a stanley knife for sheet cut and snap but for cutouts you need one of these: Craftright 150mm Wallboard Saw | Bunnings Warehouse 
As you already have array array of tools, maybe just budget for any tools as they arise being necessary.  Battery tools like a drill/impact driver are a bit of a must, other battery tools aren't so necessary but make life easier.  Go for good quality battery tools from AEG, Makita, Bosch rather than cheaper stuff.

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