General: Tools

[loki_the_glt]

Meandering back towards the original concept of this thread, I use a mix of Sears Craftsman spanners and sockets, and have the very expensive ratchet repair kits that cost me 15cents in total for the 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" ratchets (each kit has everything except the handle), Sears, Britool and Ultra Last spanners, Britool and unknown but very good American 1/2" torque wrenches, plus some Halfords Professional bits'n'pieces.

I've also got some Laser and Clarke tools for the occasional jobs (e-sockets, spline bits and such like). And a couple of Snap-on and Facom tools that had been abandoned in cars I purchased!

[cross-Member]

Draper have been phenomenal, early BDS, rubbish, rubbish and Ok now as they're owned by Elora. All of my tools are bought secondhand. The best, beating Snap-On by miles being Stahlwille. Snap on for what you get aren't worth the money, I don't particularly like Halfords. Teng (red) are very good. Britool used to be good although the chrome was a bit skinny then they became crap. The Spaniards make good tools: Irega, Acesa were used by the MOD blah blah.

[cross-Member]

Bahco made fantastic tools when they were B.A. Hjorth & Co. Now they are bad (Irwin owned?) If you want to buy Vise Grips, I have snapped two pairs of the Irwin ones; you need to get the old ones.

[Simmy]

there is a lawn mower museum in southport if any ones interested iv been more than once its an easy way to spend an hour while the wife shops.

[Fastpatsilents]

I opened this thread expecting a discussion about BMW drivers.....




I'll get me coat.

[kiloran]

Originally Posted by cross-Member

Draper have been phenomenal, early BDS, rubbish, rubbish and Ok now as they're owned by Elora. All of my tools are bought secondhand. The best, beating Snap-On by miles being Stahlwille. Snap on for what you get aren't worth the money, I don't particularly like Halfords. Teng (red) are very good. Britool used to be good although the chrome was a bit skinny then they became crap. The Spaniards make good tools: Irega, Acesa were used by the MOD blah blah.

Thanks for the tip for Stahlwille - as I posted a while back my late father had (has?) an imperial Stahlwille set from the late '50s, so for purely sentimental reasons I might seek out some of their newer tools for the specialist bits and pieces.

[Dancake]

For spanners and sockets I've always found Gedore to be top notch. Not the Carolus (Gedore Red) branded tools as made by Gedore, but the actual Gedore branded tools. Carolus (Gedore Red) aren't actually too bad in fairness. Some of the Facom stuff is fantastic too, but the 440 OGV spanners can be a bit soft. The Mac Tools equivalents are made of better metal. Torque wrenches by Norbar and Gedore are usually excellent quality and easy to use. I'm almost certain Norbar make the Halfords Professional torque wrenches as well.

Bahco for axle stands. Not many ratcheting axle stands come with an additional safety pin.
Compaq or Bahco for trolley jacks if you're feeling flush and want a jack for life. Alternatively some of the Sealey jacks are quite good, such as the 3040AO for example.