I am looking to purchase a proper mechanics tool kit (rather than the cheap rubbish I have at the minute) and was wondering if anyone could advise me on the brand I should go for. Whilst I know Snap-On are good, their prices are not the most attractive, I am looking for something of similar quality but at a lower price.
Your help would be much appreciated as I do not want to waste my money!!
Thanks
Chop
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I go to house clearance auctions every week (often probate) and a persons lifetime tool collection often only makes £40 for many hundreds worth at new prices.
Unless you are working day in day out in a professional way mid price will last perfectly well. I still have Draper and Kamasa sets from 35yrs ago which just with the odd socket or ratchet replacement are fine.
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People speak well of the Halfords Pro range and they're often heavily discounted - often half price and a few days ago there were Halfords online offers even less than that, although they may have ended now. They're guaranteed for life (not sure whose life!).
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Silverline Tools.
Lifetime guarantee (if you register your product(s) online with them)
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I inherited my late FiL's Halfords 1/2" drive socket set.
I have to say that it is a remarkably well made bit of kit.
Then again, the very comprehensive el-cheapo 3/8" set-inna-steel-toolbox that I bought for a shade over a tenner in Woolies over 20 years ago is still going strong.....
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I have a 40odd year old draper 1/2 In drive socket set plus an assortment of extra sockets and drive implements accumulated over many years, also a 3/8 In drive "Metrinch" set which will fit most things. A good basic set which as said above can be obtained cheaply, and accumulate tools as you need them, it spreads the cost over many years. Shiny new tools are not always the best buy, used good quality tools can be found at greatly reduced prices.
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Take one example, socket sets.
You want a very good quality ratchet plus various well made extensions, an older no longer used for its original purpose torque wrench makes one of the best breaker bars you will ever find.
You need a selection of sockets, but the problem with most socket sets is that they are 12 sided and will round off far too easily on stubborn nuts, and will speared too easily when excessive force is required.
The answer is to invest in a set of impact sockets, 6 sided hardened steel, they tend to be heavier and thicker than the standard stuff so you can't always get them in, they are one of the best investments you can make.
You can find 6 sided thinner sockets, Snap On offer them but at footballers prices.
One tool that the home mechanic must have, a decent trolley jack, not a £30 toy from the accessory shop either, you're a long time recovering from crushing if indeed you live through it.
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>> a decent trolley jack, not a £30 toy from the accessory shop either, you're a long time recovering from crushing if indeed you live through it.
gb, I'm sure you wouldn't go under a car supported by a trolley jack alone (even a big old rattly garage monster)... I certainly wouldn't.
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I have done AC when the situation demanded it, but i was really getting at the flimsy glovebox size rubbish with a jacking point the size of an eggcup.
I wouldn't trust one of those nasty little things whilst i placed an axle stand.
If you recall we had a trolley jack discussion a few months ago, the Weber professional i bought following that is indeed doing sterling work and is stable and well made.
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I bought a trolley jack from Lidl and only ever use it for changing wheels etc. The welding points on it don't fill me with confidence!
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Snap-On are the best but ludicrously expensive.
Even professional mechanics use and recommend the Halfords' range... but do keep your receipt as unlike Snap-On you can't just walk in and swap a broken tool, you need proof of purchase.
You could also consider Machine Mart. They also do a "pro" range, just spent a grand there re-equipping my garage after last year's fire. They often have "VAT free" weekends, register on their site and they'll give you a heads-up.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Wed 12 Jun 13 at 21:58
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Ex military stuff is usually good. I have loads of sockets in all 3 drive sizes but the best quality are my 7 ex WD Whitworths. Not chrome or shiny, they just feel right when you use them, I have broken Snap-on in the past. I have set of long double ended ring spanners, about 13", which were issued to engineers on Lancaster repairs during the Hitler unpleasantness.
Another rarity you won't need...I have a set of half inch drive square sockets for use on coach bolt nuts.
Get a 2 tonne jack...about £80 or so and a couple of stands. Draper tools seem ok, I have quite a lot. Half inch drive stuff is heavy, most pro mechanics prefer 3/4 inch...lighter but just as good for normal stuff.
Depending on your car, you probably won't need Whitworth or AF. Everything's ruddy continental now ! My AF stuff only comes out when the old Velocette needs work.
Welcome to our little world !
Ted
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>> Depending on your car, you probably won't need Whitworth or AF. Everything's ruddy continental now
>> ! My AF stuff only comes out when the old Velocette needs work.
>>
Don't I ruddy know it! :( Few years ago the Halfords Professional range covered AF and metric sizes, now it's very limited on the former. Having four Harleys and a GMC in the stable means Imperial spanners and sockets are a must.
I got lucky t'other week though. I put out a request on Freecycle for decent quality AF stuff and had a response from a chap who's involved in a charity called Tools For Self Reliance.
www.tfsr.org/
Because as Ted says virtually all the world is metric, they end up with loads of Imperial and Whitworth kit which they can't get rid of. In exchange for a few of my Dad's old tools which I'll never use and a £20 donation, I came away with a load of virtually unused King Dick and Britool spanners and sockets, really good quality stuff which will easily see me out. Win-win situation I think, so if any of you ever get bitten by the classic bug and need "old-fashioned" tools, might be worth finding a local branch.
They welcome all sorts of tools BTW, not just spanners.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Wed 12 Jun 13 at 22:42
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Good link that, Harleyboy. Aguy round the corner sent tools but I've not seen him or his van for a while. Mind you, he was in his nineties !
I've bookmarked it....must get rid of some stuff. Gave a young neighbour my MIG a couple of months ago........he can do any welding now although I'm hanging on to my BOC Portapak set....too handy for heating stuff up.
Ted
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>>Gave a young neighbour my MIG a couple of months ago
Blimey! - I read that as MG.
:o}
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>> My AF stuff only comes out when the old Velocette needs work.
Your Velo's AF? I would've thought Whit, BSF or BSW.
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I have a lot of sockets, metric and AF mixed up together. I find a socket that fits the nut or bolt properly. Seemples...
I have some sockets that don't touch the corners of the nut at all, they grip the middle of the flat with sort of rounded projections. They work fine and of course won't burr a nut. Indeed they work on nuts that have already been terminally burred or rounded.
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>>
>> I have some sockets that don't touch the corners of the nut at all, they
>> grip the middle of the flat with sort of rounded projections.
...
>>
I believe 'flank drive' is the term
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Your Velo's AF? I would've thought Whit, BSF or BSW.
Old whitworth is indeed a different size bolt head, but some more recent ones are AF (across flats) so an AF set will fit some. (BSW is whitworth British Standard Whitworth)
However, some of mine are just plain weird sizes and a set of metrinch spanners is the only answer.
Helps to have a name as the buyer of old spanners and I often get offered sets and odd spanners and am known to the local scout group. I often put together useful sets and sell them cheaply to other old car nuts. By doing this, I now have a very good selection of many imperial sizes, from silly little to traction engine sizes.
Last edited by: Slidingpillar on Thu 13 Jun 13 at 10:43
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>> Your Velo's AF? I would've thought Whit, BSF or BSW.
>
Yup, AF,Tubby....1966.
Ted
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>> Ex military stuff is usually good.
I bought my first open-ended spanners from a government surplus shop. The spanners were very thick and heavy, and had the War Department broad arrow symbol on them.
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>> If you recall we had a trolley jack discussion a few months ago, the Weber
>> professional i bought following that is indeed doing sterling work and is stable and well
>> made.
I was going to ask how your jack was performing. Hopefully the cost of the thing is a rapidly fading memory and only the pleasure of using a quality tool remains.
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>> I was going to ask how your jack was performing. Hopefully the cost of the
>> thing is a rapidly fading memory and only the pleasure of using a quality tool
>> remains.
Cost did come into it, but i was trying not to buy Chinese and indeed Weber is made in Europe but blowed if i can think of which country offhand, i'm not sure if you can buy a British trolley jack any more.
If you recall my last one, British made and a good one had seen 25+ years during which time it saw much use in my kerbside cowboy days and didn't owe me a penny.
I've swapped my old one for my lads equivalent sized jobby for the very odd time that i want two lifts, at least he now has a jack with infinitely controllable lowering (as Weber, lacking on most of the Chinese stuff) for the odd jobs he does at his own home.
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Where's Number Cruncher to explain why 12-point sockets are better than 6. A 6-point puts the stress on the small area that is the vulnerable corner of a bolt; a 12-point puts the stress on a point a little up from there. Hence a 6-point is more likely to round off your bolt head.
Or were my undergraduate lectures wrong?
Last edited by: Mapmaker on Thu 13 Jun 13 at 10:25
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I have two old socket sets, both with metric and AF, that I've had over 20 years with no problems. The XJS has an intriguing mix of AF and metric.
There's a shop in the street behind the Automobile Club in Monte Carlo that sells nothing but Facom stuff. I always drool as I walk past but I wonder how much of what is bought ever gets used.
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First look at what your thinking of doing the basics?
Some cars now have torx head bolts you may need a set of these sockets vauxhalls do.
Torx set in 3/8 & 1/2 drive long and short for the smaller bolts these kit are needed.
As said impact sockets are great you can attack them with a hammer to shock the bolt loose then use a strong bar, your not supposed to hit the socket but we do!
3/8 sockets a good set & 1/2 & 1/4 drive you will need these at some point..
But how far do you want to go compressed air is invaluable if you have worked with it i wouldnt be without it i use my Ingersol Rand air gun often.
Most of the tools can be bought over several years & buy the best you can afford my snap-on is still going strong after 25 years Mac tools & Britool have these too.
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> A 6-point puts
>> the stress on the small area that is the vulnerable corner of a bolt; a
>> 12-point puts the stress on a point a little up from there. Hence a 6-point
>> is more likely to round off your bolt head.
>>
>> Or were my undergraduate lectures wrong?
>>
My instinct on this says that a 12-point has a lot of space distributed between the nut and the socket, whereas a 6-point is a kind of negative nut, with no space at all.
Therefore if something is going to deform, the 6-point is more resistant because there is nowhere for the displaced metal to deform into.
In desperation the last resort is to hammer on an old socket that is slightly too small, perhaps from another size series.
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>> the last resort is to hammer on an old socket that is slightly too small,
Or use with due caution a nut splitter, unless the nut itself is irreplaceable...
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Or heat it with your oxy/axy set....never fails !
Ted
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Things seem to have moved on from the gas axe.
theinductor.co.uk/?index.php
Last edited by: Old Navy on Fri 14 Jun 13 at 21:16
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>> Where's Number Cruncher to explain why 12-point sockets are better than 6.
As far as I know the main advantage of a 12-point socket is that you can position the socket in increments of 30° instead of 60°. If you're lucky, you can fit a 12-point socket onto a square nut/bolt/bar.
Last edited by: L'escargot on Sat 15 Jun 13 at 07:37
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I have a fairly large lsocket set with so many sockets that have never ever got used.
The extensions U/Js etc are the bits to add that make jobs easier.
I have always found that long (18" or longer) screwdrivers are very usefull.
I have a collection of various types of tools for removing oil filter canisters.
Choose one that is suitable for your canister location.
Mine are doomed to stay in the toolbox now unloved as I have given up the oil change lark :-(
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>>I have always found that long (18" or longer) screwdrivers are very usefull.
I have a collection of various types of tools for removing oil filter canisters.
I thought that's what a long screwdriver's for.
;>)
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>>I thought that's what a long screwdriver's for. ;>)
No that is for messy fellas :-)
Oh I forgot to say buy lots of sugical gloves. Really useful when having to retrieve the sump plug from the sump tray/ oil catcha.
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>> I have always found that long (18" or longer) screwdrivers are very usefull.
When I was a student apprentice I was told to go to the stores for a long weight!
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Snap-on seems to be tailored more for tools on finance as I think there is some tax advantage.
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>> Snap-on seems to be tailored more for tools on finance as I think there is
>> some tax advantage.
>>
They're usually bought on a "pay-weekly" basis.
If they're your living you can claim on their purchase against your income tax, and provided you've got proof of purchase it can be backdated some years. This is where Snap-On's sales methods score, as their franchisees keep records of all purchases and pretty much everything can be traced back.
Friend of mine ended up several hundred quid better off through this.
Last edited by: Harleyman on Sun 16 Jun 13 at 09:26
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>>They're usually bought on a "pay-weekly" basis.
>>
I started my tool collection this way back in 1960 ( with tax relief ) so certainly not a new concept.
Could claim re work clothes too.
Last edited by: henry k on Sun 16 Jun 13 at 10:16
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What tools should I buy? - L'escargot
