Cheap tools to die for.

Ball ended allen keys. Once you've used them, you'll never go back to the regular sort again.

David

rads came up with the following;:

I have a cheap and nasty little doohickey that takes a 6mm (maybe 1/4") hex allen key and is a ratchet too that can take a 1/4square drive adaptor for sockets or screwdriver bits. It's a god send in small places. Made originally in Germany, but I've not seen them on sale elsewhere ...

On or around Mon, 10 Oct 2005 16:09:42 +0100, Lee_D enlightened us thusly:

one of those magnet things rescued my 10 and 11 britool ring spanner from a drain once. Dropped the spanner and it rolled (double-crank ring spanners can) and went down a drain. one of those long thin slot concrete drains you get in car parks. I could see it sitting there, about a foot down. Aha, I thought, (after going f**k b***ocks etc a bit) I've got this here screwdriver with the magnety thing... too short by about 6". More f**k etc, then I thought I know what, 's a cheap nasty screwdriver anyway, so vandalised the handle off it, gripped the remains in a moel grip, and it just reached... spanner retrieved, result!!

I can think of a whole host of cheap little gizmos for the workshop which save time, but the hands-down winners in my garage are the tools i've made myself. Especially the custom pullers/inserters for various landrover bushes/bearings/shafts etc etc.

Alex

Mine is one of them magnetic tool and parts trays, less than a fiver from Machinemart. Keeps all the nuts and bolts safe from me knocking them onto the nut and bolt swallowing thing that is my floor when pulling stuff apart.

Nigel

A very small set of Stilsons, about 3" long and with jaws that go from about 5mm to 15mm. Absolutely invaluable when removing brake pipes from wheel cylinders and other stuff like that.

John

The one thing I would really like is a cheap EP90 dispenser for those hard to reach EP90 holes. Something that is useable one handed and doesn't cover me or the car in oil, maybe even suck back when I pour in too much. Something a little better than a washingup bottle with a length of pipe attached.

Nigel

so Lee_D was, like...

About ten years ago I was given a "tool set" by my M-in-L. It was a Halfords jobbie with a cracked grey plastic case (reduced?). I kept it in the back of the garage for emergencies and one day had cause to use it. Brilliant! The plastic case fell apart so I made a wooden box around the moulding inside, and now it goes with me everywhere. There's a small 3/8 ratchet and sockets from about 6mm to 17mm (with same range in imperial),

I also have a 10/11mm double ring spanner (Draper?) that gets used almost every time I work on a vehicle and is like an old friend. It is exactly the right size for the top cover on the woodburner too, for when I clean the flue. Just like the one Austin almost lost, and yes, they do roll.

I've got a cross-style wheel brace that rather than having 4 different sized sockets on it has a 1/2" square drive on one arm allowing any sized socket to be used - absolutely ideal for LR vehicles that have wheel nuts too big for all the standard wheel braces.

have you tried the ones with coathanger ends though you can feel them start to twist before you strip the threads I've been happy with my set bought really cheap as they packed 2 x 6mm by mistake. Derek

Best thing I've found for that is a container that used to hold that awful gunk that you put in tyres to stop them getting punctures (green/blue stuff that ruins inner tubes) its same principle as washing up bottle and pipe but is about half+ as big again.

An endoscope! Not too cheap perhaps, any Doctors on the group?

Sounds like you want an oil syringe, about 6 quid from most motor factors.

I got one of these from Machine Mart and it works on a SII and 110 V8 just fine:

RIGID ones are affordable, flexibles not.

Steve

Hmm, endoscopy is one area where you don't want a stiffy. I can just about get by with one of those slightly too expensive budgie mirrors fastened to the end of a car aerial, but it's not quite the same.

Given the size of mini-tv cams from the likes of Maplin you could always put a camera on a stick.

Steve

I don't think I could bring myself to bid on one on ebay. Yuk!

Lee D

-- Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiam. Winston Churchill

I did have one of them, it lasted about 6 months then the rubber shrunk and it doesn't work anymore. Wasn't that impressed as the tube is too wide and it will dribble oil out unless held upright when it then leaks out of the top.

I was wondering if a windscreen washer bottle with motor still attached would work with oil. Anyone tried this?

Nigel