Power Tools in Europe?

[mick]

im a carpenter, and im travelling to europe at the end of this year. im wondering what i do about power tools. do i buy mpre there, or will they be supplied on job sites? because it's too much weight to carry them from australia. any info from someone who knows would be great.

[LHR02]

Hi Mick.....welcome. I am afraid I have no earthly idea what the answer to your question is, but had to reply to say this is probably the biggest 'stumper' ever posted. ;D We've dealt with any manner of electric appliances over the years....but power tools? That really is a new one.

Hope you will continue to post even if no one here can resolve this for you.

ging

[WillTravel]

Mick, I guess the first question is do you know where you would be employed? Is it reasonable to expect employment? I don't know anything about it, but it seems most people who don't have a specific visa have problems (but perhaps you do).

It's no doubt worth asking this question at the Thorntree.LonelyPlanet.com and BootsNAll.com boards.

[mick]

willTravel, Im planning on getting a Uk or Swedish Working Holiday Visa so working isnt a problem. Thanks for the links, i'll lhave a look.

[Eagle]

Mick, you have certainly posed a challenging question! I've had no experience being a "travelling Carpenter", so don't have any definite answers for you. I assume you're more of a "framing Carpenter", rather than a Cabinetmaker or whatever, so you don't need Radial Arm Saws or larger power tools? However, a couple of things to think about (hope the terms make sense -- I'm used to North American trade descriptions).

I agree, it's probably not a good idea to pack your kit over from Australia. Not only would it be very awkward to haul around, but you'd probably be faced with a variety of plug configurations, depending on which countries you visited.

A few different scenarios to consider:

> the Employer might provide power tools. I suspect this is more likely with large firms or Union shops.

> perhaps you could rent power tools as a short term solution? This could get expensive, but might be enough to get you started. There are companies such as Fermco here in North America that will rent anything from power saws and carpet cleaners to Bobcat Loaders and Backhoes.

> you could buy some power tools, and then sell them before you return home. This could also get expensive, but would depend on what you were buying. This also might be a problem if you were travelling around to different countries. Although the tools would be designed for Euro Voltage & Frequency and would work pretty much anywhere, the plug configurations might be different in some countries (especially Eastern Europe).

Sorry I don't have a more helpful solution for you. If you find an answer, you might Post a note so that we can all learn from it.

Good luck and happy travels!!!

[mick]

Eagle, thanks very much for your ideas. i never thought about renting some over there. that would be good short term, but probabally not long term.
Im sure if i worked for a big enough company, some tools would be supplied.
Yes im a framing carpenter, so really all i need is a power saw and an electric power planer. i did think about buying, but i'd think id lose probabally up to half selling second hand. i suppose i could buy second hand tools, then on-sell them. i wouldnt lose anywhere near as much then. I can imagine mine has been one of the harder questiones asked! but it's a serious consideration for me. thanks for your help.