Building a basic toolkit

hmmm ok was going to halfords tommoror to buy some autoglym products for car cleaning. Will have a good look at what they have. Basically just after whatever I need to service my car, and some other minor things.

If I didnt want to easy option where else might I look ?

Thanks conor

I'd tend to get a fairly comprehensive but reasonably cheap toolkit like

or the Halfords equivalent. If and when you wear some of them out or break them, buy an expensive version of just that bit.

A quick look at what Screwfix could offer found these 2 items that seem good quality and excellent value.

22 piece Chrome Vanadium combination spanner set that should last alifetime of DIY work. At £14.99 inc VAT, very good value IMO.http://tinyurl.com/7wf9cA cheap 6 piece screwdriver set at £5.39. Being able to hit them is a usefulfeature. :-)

Much of the other tooling they have, like socket sets, plug spanners, pliers etc, can be baught cheaper elsewhere IMO. Have a look at what Clarke, Sealey, Draper, etc are offering for those.

Halfords Pro range of tools are as good as you'd ever need, but IMO are overpriced. Compare their combination spanner prices with the Chrome Vanadium ones from Screwfix, which IMO are equally as good.

One useful tip is to avoid any tools simply said to be 'drop forged'. Mike.

However, should you break the Halfords Pro. stuff they'll exchange it for a new one. I've done this with some of their ratchet spanners.

Cheap spanners, sockets and screwdrivers are to be avoided since they won't fit the fastners and often damage them to the extent that you'll need to resort to butchery.

People without mechanical aptitude often start out buying cheap tools, then later realise that it is a false economy. Bear in my that it is all too easy to hurt yourself when something cheap and nasty breaks.

It is better to start with a basic set of the best tools you can afford. When you have some experience it is then possible to judge whether a cheap tool, perhaps for a one-off job, is worth buying.

Chris

In news: snipped-for-privacy@news.giganews.com, Conor wrote something quite bizarre, possibly in an effort to confuddle the world. It went like so;

I like Snap-On gear, but to be honest I tend to use the Halfords stuff more often.

The Halfords stuff is cheap, cheerful, and remarkably robust, and if you break it they replace it. No haggling or arguing with Dave from Snap-On who really doesn't want to replace it.

I built a V8 Land Rover last year and it was pretty much all built using a Halfords £15.00 socket set, a Draper torque wrench and the occasional tool bought for the jobs that the cheap ol' Halfords set didn't have bits for.

Remarkably strong little kits, and the equivalent from Snap-On would cost a lot more, and do the same job, but without the Halfords warranty.

I really don't rate the Snap-On warranties, I got bored buying "rebuild kits" for my Snap-On 3/8th ratchet.. Never needed a rebuild with the Halfords "s**te".

Much of the Kamasa range of tooling is of equal quality IMO. Are cheaper, and also have a lifetime guarantee. I've never broken, or needed any of my cheaply baught tools replaced, apart from a Snap-On Phillips screwdriver which rapidly wore out, and which the Snap-On driver refused to replace! My biggest worry is losing them.

IME cheap doesn't necessarily mean poor quality, and I speak from a lifetimes experience as an engineer. Mike.

Doesn't matter, very rare you should break a hand-tool.

I know they are even more overpriced, but that doesn't negate my point. I have baught the occasional Snap-On, and I'm not impressed. A Phillips screwdriver that wore out quicker than a cheapie Halfords one, and a set of hex keys that twisted like corkscrews on the first really tight screw they met. They finished up in the skip. A complete waste of money. Allen or Unbrako are the only make of hex keys I would recommend.

We've had this argument before. IME 'Chrome Vanadium' is as good a guide as you can get when it comes to buying tools. All the cheap CV tools I've baught support that belief. None have broken or show strain even after years of use. I can only assume you've baught some fake CV tools as it's not my experience at all. Price is not a good guide as to the quality of a tool.

If they don't break, of what value is that. It usually means you have pay double or more for the tool. Not a good reason to buy a tool IMO. Take Snap-On as an extreme example. You pay several times the cost of a cheaper, maybe as good quality tool. In effect you're buying the tool several times over when you pay the original price. I can assure you, that using tools all day long, if they kept breaking, I would buy better quality, but I've never had that problem. If you want to pay through the nose, in the belief you are getting better value, that's your choice. I choose to continue saving money by buying tools equally as good at much lower prices. I could show you cheaply baught tools 30 years older and more which are still quite serviceable and still doing their job. If that is my experience, why should I pay more? Mike.

That does look quite good value especially with the box thrown in. The socket set is a bit lightweight but for that price ....

The message from Conor contains these words:

He said "As good as you'll ever need". In the case of the user he's writing to that seems perfectly reasonable.

The message from "Tim S Kemp" contains these words:

HA!

The message from "Malc" contains these words:

I hurled a Machine Mart ratchet from me with great force some time ago when I broke it and skinned my knuckles something awful.

Snap -On is cast with special fairy dust that has a magical effect on price just look at ebay.

Realistcaly ,Snap-On quotes under investor information that their main business is finance, all those mechanics paying up tools weekly to the franchised Snap-On van. Who are prickly about replacing things under warranty, their unremarkable screwdrivers will get a new blade hammered into your old handle ,you can buy a ratchet rebuild kit and its the lifetime of the tool not your lifetime....

Halfords pro range is pretty much as good as anyones and has a no hassle replacement warranty.

Sealey and Silverline are good value and generally follow the lifetime warranty model. C.K. had god luck with if you really want to spend money Gedore and Elora actually owned by Draper Professional. Personally like Facom marketed by same group as Sykes Pickavant and Britool. Don`t rate Britool sockets but have a 1/2" drive tbar with MOD mark from 1954 now thats a lifetime warranty.

Small selection of decent tools will serve you better than an array of seldom used rubber tools. Good six sided socket or well made spanner will save in rounded nuts and skinned knuckles, they won`t turn you into cheif mechanic at Williams but they will stop you getting discouraged by naff tools that don`t quite cut it.

If your working on modern Euro or Jap cars you won`t need A/F spanners and sockets, the ones in imperial sizes. 3/16" etc

Decent spanners and sockets in short range of metric sizes will do pretty much everything.

6 bikes car internal stuff (rare) 8 bikes car internal stuff(rare) 9 never seen, unless used as hammer on to badly rounded 10 10 common to cars and bikes 11 never see 12 bikes rare on cars 13 very common on cars 14 bikes rare on cars 15 never see 16 never see 17 common to cars and bikes 18 never seen 19 common to cars and bikes

20+ things like axle nuts etc. rare to need, see adjustable spanner ;-)

10,13, 17, 19 mm covers most things on a modern car and engine, manufacturers dont want to faff about with 20 different sizes on a production line.

Thats only 4 good quality combo spanners and good quality 6 sided, not

12 sided or bi hex, sockets , couple of extension bars and ratchet cover most eventualities.

Pair of combination pliers and pair of long nose pliers, still like Stanley, available everywhere.

Screwfix sell Wiha screwdrivers which can`t rate highly enough, worth every penny.

Adjustable spanner, 12" Bahco, for big things that you can`t fit otherwise, Bahco invented the things and still make best one, cheap ones wobble and loose their setting which ends up rounding things off and slipping.

Errors and ommisions welcome ;-)

Adam

The message from "Adam Aglionby" contains these words:

Renault use 'em everywhere.

I'd never see them then ;)

The only ones I 've ever broken or bent are the really cheap drop forged tools. I've never broken any of my 'good' cheap tools, but then I don't make a habit of over straining them with extra leverage. Beating them with a hammer, etc. Mike.

The snap on so called 'life time guarantee' is total bollocks, they refuse to change half the stuff, claiming its 'consumable'.

I broke 2 breaker bars on a job once, my own halfords one, and a borrowed snap-on one. Halfords immediately gave me an exchange, snap on argued the toss, saying that the drive end wasn't covered(great guarantee, only covers the bits that wont break anyway!).

I know for a certain fact that snap on wouldn't exchange ratchet spanners, as in the previous post.

Same here.

Mocha, take a look at this:

6-point socket referred to is also known as hex (as against bi-hex),wall, or flank socket. The set taken as a reference standard in thediscussion is this one: Omega Mechanix 52-piece 3/8" drive socket set; 1/2down the page: don't have to buy from them; there are much less expensive oneselsewhere.