Cheap tools

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:13 pm

What tool brands are you using?

I have some noname shit and it's shit

I'm using my dad's Britool / Snap on / Skykes tools at the mo but I need to buy my own.

His tool are between 30 - 50 years old and look great (lots of use building engines and stuff) My ratchet broke so I need a nice good one.

Any good places to get them from?

Cheers

chris1roll · Post by **chris1roll** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:30 pm

Shit tools just cause more trouble, if they don't just bend before they round off your nut.

My ratchet set is draper expert, the ratchet spanners are halfords professional: halfords stuff always seems well made.
If you can afford britool, sykes-pickavant (my spring compressors) or snap on, its well worth it, if not the draper stuff would be adequate.

Things that aren't used often, like the torque wrench, are just cheap ones.
mini grinders for Â£20 last about a year, throw it away, buy another one!
full size grinders though, get something decent. Bosch ones come in at about 90 quid now.
power tools, bosch or dewalt. my fathers a builder and anything that is used a lot, he wouldn't use anything else.

Mole valley farmers is always good, with a reasonable selection, and its much cheaper.

Edit: in actual fact my ratchet handle is a halfords one, i broke the draper one hitting a bolt out of a bush with it, snapped the direction turner thing. That was just before i smacked my self in the teeth with it.

deviliShred480 · Post by **deviliShred480** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 7:40 pm

Halfords stuff seems good. Still using the socket set which is twenty years old this Christmas, can't vouch for the newer stuf though. Draper stuff seems quite reasonable on cost and quality, suprisisingly cheap if you go to Tesco's. Using it at home and work and seems to be holding up well.

Garry

robkendall · Post by **robkendall** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:52 pm

draper.....my mechanic snapped three snapon 'turbo' sockets trying to get my front hub off.
in the end,we hammered on a socket too small (draper), put my draper bar on it, the put an old clothes post on the end of that and SWUNG on it
cameoff straight away
rgrds
rob

volvofox · Post by **volvofox** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 8:54 pm

hazet, snap-on, stahlwille, facom, but an all round gedore is ok too

use knipex for pliers

use bosch, makita for electric tools, never black and decker.

dragon · Post by **dragon** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 9:07 pm

I am using most tools from Halfords Porfessional (bought their largest set last year) - draper breaker bar and socket convertors, noname impact driver, machine mart special bearing and hub pullers, stanley screwdrivers, cheap NuTool angle grinder etc

bbf · Post by **bbf** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 11:00 pm

i use mostly noname or gedore or unior, at work i use wiha and weller.

strangegame · Post by **strangegame** » Fri Aug 27, 2004 11:11 pm

i use my dad

rpruen · Post by **rpruen** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 10:44 am

Teng tools are ok, not that expencive either. They are proly better than draper, but not as good as britool.

I have also got a screwfix socket set, that seems to be very good. I used the sockets with air impact guns, and none have broken / split.

Richard

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 11:21 am

I got some draper extension bars today, They look good.

Went to halfords and they only sell Halfords stuff. Looks cheap so I will get a britool or snap on or anything else that is good from the net

Who else thinks all the tool shops have faded away?

I know only of Halfords

rpruen · Post by **rpruen** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 12:19 pm

martinholmesuk wrote:I got some draper extension bars today, They look good.

Went to halfords and they only sell Halfords stuff. Looks cheap so I will get a britool or snap on or anything else that is good from the net

Who else thinks all the tool shops have faded away?

I know only of Halfords

Something that is worth getting from halfords is the set of screwdriver (and other types of bits) that fit ito a rachet spanner. Very usefull for near impossible to reach hose clips and the screws on the top of the dash.

Richard

LASEROWL · Post by **LASEROWL** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 12:44 pm

Martin try : http://www.cromwell.co.uk

we use them at work and they do mail order various makes stocked, however Halfords Pro series is v.good i have quite a lot aswell as draper, snap on etc......Rollcab and tool chest came from cromwells ( got a good contact

)

deviliShred480 · Post by **deviliShred480** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 4:33 pm

Cromwell are good supliers but not always particularly good on price. Compare the price of Clarke toolchests from Cromwell and Argos. Sometimes the less obvious places for tooling seem to do the better deals on price. Must get one myself so I have a personalised toolchest!!!

Garry

volvofox · Post by **volvofox** » Sat Aug 28, 2004 7:22 pm

cheap tools are the most expensive ones..

but don't buy "hazet" to repair a bicycle once a year.....

like everything i like german (tool) brands most.

french facom is good too, and fits the hand like a glove...

I only buy crap at halfords, that is allowed to be crap, nothing else... its a crap store, at least here. (to my oppinion)

JohnTurbo · Post by **JohnTurbo** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 2:01 pm

stahlwille

Thats the stuff for spanners! for pliers snap-on, and for sockets i have to agree tengtools take some beating. They do 6 sided sockets rather than that shit everyone else churns out with little corners that ruin your nuts. i bought a long series draper pro socket for a job, and it was quality yeah, but wouldn't unscrew shit withotu roundign it.

martinholmesuk · Post by **martinholmesuk** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 2:18 pm

So good tools for hard work and bad tooks for everything else.

Cheers guys! Some good points made!

Patrick 480 Turbo · Post by **Patrick 480 Turbo** » Sun Aug 29, 2004 9:25 pm

Hazet, Gedore and Snap-on

but mostly Snap-on. The tools are from my dad and over 20 years old and are the best tools that I ever worked with

volvofox · Post by **volvofox** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 9:37 pm

martinholmesuk wrote:So good tools for hard work and bad tooks for everything else.

Cheers guys! Some good points made!

almost, to my oppinion... better : good tools if you use em often, cheap, but good ones for "just in case"

Murf · Post by **Murf** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 10:45 pm

well, ive been less than impressed with my teng ratchets, ive stripped the ratchet pawls in two of them and completely snapped a third one. got them all replaced under warranty but i now use the excellent teng sockets with a seemingly unbreakable cheapo deluxe ratchet, cant even remember where i got it from!!
and no i didnt use my infamous scaffold pole leverage bar with any of the broken ones!!!!

pol · Post by **pol** » Mon Aug 30, 2004 11:10 pm

Strap-On?

pol