tools - quality of

[foz1969]

6 sided sockets/impact sockets, 6 sided/open ended spanners (6 sided less chance of rounding-off, but more restrictive,compared with bi-hex products), rachet spanners (flexi look good, but in fact can be a pain) decent hex drives, a used cheap 12v electric impact driver, heat gun, gas soldering iron. Got most off ebay or car boots except afew halfords ADV PRO socs/ratchets. Average 10-100NW torq wrenches maybe good for 30/40+, but don't trust them for anything less. Got a lot for very little.

[jasonbc]

All i will say is, it doesn't matter what you buy you will always need more or something to make a job easier. I tend to buy MAC and Snap-on for stuff i will use a lot and it will get heavy useage asthe quality is there for stuff i won't use quite so much i buy Facom, Britool, Sykes-Pickavent and Teng. Don't assume snap-on are always expensive either there offers are very good for some things they are also the cheapest place i've found to buy indiviual taps, dies and air fittings. At work last year we bought just over £20,000 of BETA tools for the workshop again they are well over priced for what they are and i know at work it's not the as looking after your own stuff but it doesn't seem to last that well and we are replacing lots of it through wear and mis-use and because it isn't up to the job for heavy work. I bet work have spent at least £5000 on replacement bits for one thing and another since we've had the kits

I'm not a fan of the Halfords professional kits seen them cause too many problems, my mate bought one of there big sets on an easter promotion £200 quids worth for £99 last year and most of it was kack. He started to strip his XR250 down using it and the smaller spanners just rounded the bolts off, I came home got my snap-on ones put them over the rounded off bolts and it they did undo the rounded of bolts with no issues so you do get what you've paid for quality wise.
You'll just have to set yourself a budget to start with and see what you can get for that money prioritising the most common stuff you'll need first and then build on it over time.
There are some brands i tend to stay well clear of things like Draper, they used to do some good stuff but lately it's all rebadged cheap rubbish Kamasa have gone the same way and so have some of the other cheaper brands personally i include Halfords tools in here aswell but i know many will argue that Sealey stuff is also quite budget stuff which is over priced i snapped a sealey socket undoing the wheel nuts on my car about 10 years ago with the socket on a breaker bar and it was a 1/2 socket so won't buy them anymore.

For measuring tools such as Micrometers etc i like Moore&Wright, last vernier was Mitutoyo and that lasted years but the battery leaked and screwed it up, i replaced it with a £8 cheapo from lidls at the time and i still have and it works fine for doing the 4 roughing out measurements, internal, external, depth and ace to face but if this one goes tits up i will get a decent one

[Boris]

I go with what the others say. Unlike Jason I do find what little Halfords Pro stuff I have is pretty good but I also agree with him re Draper Kamasa etc. My old Kamasa socket set which cost me £30 in the 70's (well over a weeks wages then) is still going strong and it's had dogs abuse whereas the Draper torque wrench I had to buy while my good one was out on loan is complete junk.

I seem to be a collector of tools as when I need one I tend to buy or make it, and over the years I have built a vast collection. When in the workshop my mates no longer say "Have you got a..." they have learned to say "Where is the ..."

[benhur]

thanks for the input guys...i appreciate the pointers.

Interestingly though, none of you guys has mentioned any electrical tools at all...multimeters, battery testers and the like?

also I dont have an air compressor in the garage, and it is something which i have missed on several occasions....what are your views there?

R.

[jasonbc]

thanks for the input guys...i appreciate the pointers.

Interestingly though, none of you guys has mentioned any electrical tools at all...multimeters, battery testers and the like?

also I dont have an air compressor in the garage, and it is something which i have missed on several occasions....what are your views there?

R.

Multimeters you can get a half decent one for £30-40 but if your feeling flash Fluke and Robin are the top quality ones, i have 2 Air compressors one is a small one with a 6l receiver and i bought that for moto-x and enduro i can fill the receiver at home and if i had punctures on the course i would have enough pressure to get the tyre on the rim in 1 hit that cost me about £80 with the tyre inflator, spray gun air gun, air stapler and some other bits.
The the other one i have is a 100 litre v-twin compresor to get the best deal i played a local branch of BOC, 2 local hardware stores ( MillAuto's & S J Andrews ) of against each other and got the compressor and 2 rolls of hose and air fittings for a really cheap price this one is big enough to drive impact guns air ratchets and cutters the 6L one is only big enough for tyre inflating and air cleaning. Both my compressors are made by SIP.

This was a handy peice of kit of bought from snap-on for £25 about 10 years ago charging systen anylizer, for all those people confusing regulator faulures with other things. Jusy clip onto the battery and it tells you whats wrong via a series of indicator lights



Bought this meter in the early 90's when at college cost about £100 back then but does more than most meters as far as electrical component tests


This is a decent size for home workshop but i now wish i bought th enext size up as my Blue-point air ratchet use lots of air



This is the baby one small enough to throw in th eback of my truck for events, probably the one i use the most at home for small jobs


I'm not a tool spotter i just take phot's of my stuff for insurance proof incase some theiving **** tries to get in my garages

[benhur]

Multimeters you can get a half decent one for £30-40 but if your feeling flash Fluke and Robin are the top quality ones, i have 2 Air compressors one is a small one with a 6l receiver and i bought that for moto-x and enduro i can fill the receiver at home and if i had punctures on the course i would have enough pressure to get the tyre on the rim in 1 hit that cost me about £80 with the tyre inflator, spray gun air gun and some other bits.
The the other one i have is a 100 litre v-twin compresor to get the best deal i played a local branch of BOC, 2 local hardware stores ( MillAuto's & S J Andrews ) of against each other and got the compressor and 2 rolls of hose and air fittings for a really cheap price this one is big enough to drive impact guns air ratchets and cutters the 6L one is only big enough for tyre inflating and air cleaning. Both my compressors are made by SIP

very good hint thanks...so the small compressor does not have enough power for tools...so if i buy an air compressor a decent volume with good power would be essential, otherwise i would end up not using it except for tyres...thanks!!

[Boris]

thanks for the input guys...i appreciate the pointers.

Interestingly though, none of you guys has mentioned any electrical tools at all...multimeters, battery testers and the like?

also I dont have an air compressor in the garage, and it is something which i have missed on several occasions....what are your views there?

R.

My compressor is just a cheapie oil less one with a 25L tank. It was one of those things I acquired as a bit of a luxury but I have to admit were it to pack in I would replace it as it has proved so useful. Meter wise it's hard to beat Fluke for quality and my old Fluke 77 has been going for 20 odd years and again I would replace like for like.

I still have my old Avo8 that I saved from the skip at work (which cost the best part of £500 in the 70's) but I have to admit that's more for sentimental reasons rather than any desire to use it again.

[Boris]

very good hint thanks...so the small compressor does not have enough power for tools...so if i buy an air compressor a decent volume with good power would be essential, otherwise i would end up not using it except for tyres...thanks!!

It depends on the cfm of the compressor and the size of the tank. My cheapie will run most air tools but not on a continual basis. 25l of air at 9 bar is still 25l of air at 9 bar regardless of the size of the pump but when it runs low you have longer to wait for it to recover.

[jasonbc]

It isn't the pressure they need, to run air tools for a long time continuously you need high air volume so the bigger the receiver the better my air ratchet can drain my my bigger one in a few minutes but you also need to work out how much you will use it to justify the space as they get quite big and the cost of buying it.
I bought my compressors from SJ Andrews ( look them up on the web)they also did a huge range of EBAC compressors i could have got a 150litre one for the same price as my SIP but opted against it. The reason was EBAC make good gear but the deal i could have had was on the RED range and although it was good brand and big receiver it was made in China so that put me off it

I did also buy an air impact gun and cut off tool in the ALDI special offers for next to nothing and they seem to do what i need ok

[Cabby]

if money is tight....

Buy cheap originally....replace with quality...you end up replacing those that you use most anyway.

Advice on here about quality is sound.

P.S. DON'T rely on the missus to buy any tools for birhdays etc.....she'll get them at the market and think you won't notice! ......don't ask me how I know this (It's what led to my first sentence. )