Decent Socket Set

Halford Professional range are good quality and fairly cheap.

I have quite a nice Draper metric socket set - has sockets from little tiddlers right up to a 32mm one (for hub nuts), tiny and normal size (1/2" drive) ratchets, and some screwdriver bits. That, combined with a torque wrench and a 2' breaker bar (because I'm weedy and need a butch breaker bar to get tough bolts undone!), plus a few open-ended / ring spanners and appropriate flare-nut spanners is enough for most things for me.

Still, once I get that long dreamed-of classic, I can put the evils of metric behind me and I'll have to get another set in all the Imperial sizes...

Brian.

This month's Practical Classics has a revue of reasonably priced socket sets.

Ebay if you want good at a reasonable price, postage on heavy things like sockets obviously means you need to shop a bit carefully.

Buy 6 side or Hex sockets, dinnae bother with 12 point or Bi Hex sockets, more liable to round things off. Same for spanners, get combo wrenches with ring key of same size at other end.

Snap On is a huge tool retailer that makes most of it`s money from offering easy payment terms on its overpriced tools, price is not a guarantee of quality. Though the Snap On name appears to have a magical effect on what people will pay for worn out ratchets etc.....

Facom ,Britool, Sykes Pickavant, Signet, Gedore, Elora, Koken, Draper Expert (not just Draper) all make tools that are at least as good as Snap On without the price rising fairy dust on `em.

Halfords pro stuff is pretty good, Silverline and Sealey stuff tends to be ok for the price.

Adam

The message from "Dave Plowman (News)" contains these words:

Wot, they're all doing the can-can with frilly knickers on?

In all the years of using bi-hex sockets, I've never rounded off a nut. Perhaps I just use the correct sized quality socket. I've snapped plenty of studs, though.

The problem with non bi-hex is the course 'adjustment' in tight places, so if getting these make sure the ratchet you get is very fine.

I was obviously thinking of the all singing and dancing sets.

I would second that. Never had any problems with my Halfords set (except snapping a screwdriver I was trying to use as a pry-bar...). It's still shiny after 10years of being dropped, abused, rained-on, etc. Good selection of sockets, hex star and torx bits, useful ratchet, simple pliers.

Unless you're going to be using it every weekend constantly, then I wouldn't think you need to pay any more than this, apart from the odd unusual socket (eg oil drain plug key)

Good luck and enjoy learning!

In message , Adam Aglionby writes

You are forgetting one thing...... they are guaranteed for life. So if you are using them all day, every day for your living and you only want to buy a tool once, Snap-On are not such bad value.

Every single other brand I mentioned also offers a lifetime guarantee. Lifetime means lifetime of the tool not your lifetime. If a Snap On ratchet wears they will SELL you a rebuild kit, if you snap a blade on their screwdriver they`ll put a new blade in your old handle.If your toolbox drawer runners fail they`ll tell you you had too much weight in it..... in a toolbox! not a Snap On fan

Facom, introduced lifetime warranty before Snap On , used by Ferrari F1 team, their ratchet is a 72 tooth ratchet, Snap On only offer a 48 tooth at quite a lot more money.

Even Sealey and Kamasa at the lower cost end of the market offer lifetime warranty.

Adam

The snap-on guarantee is not worth the paper is written on.

While doing a particular job at work, I managed to break 2 socket breaker bars. (yes the bolts were a little tight!) The snap on dealer told me that the broken part was 'consumable' and not therefore covered by the guarantee. In other words, the snap-on 'guarantee' only covers the parts which aren't going to break anyway, the parts which are liable to break are not covered. (very useful)

The other bar I broke was a Halfords Professional tool. I walked into Halfords with the broken tool, no receipt, and was handed a new one without a single word of argument. The Halfords tool was less than half the price of the snap on tool.

In message , Adam Aglionby writes

I've had no problems obtaining rebuild kits FOC for ratchet tools. I don't buy Snap-On exclusively. I prefer Stahlwille spanners because they are just as good as Snap-On and half the cost but for ratchet tools I always buy Snap-On.

The message from "SimonJ" contains these words:

contains their guarantee. It's a bit weasely-wordy, particularly the line

"Repair or replacement shall be at the election and expense of Snap-on Tools Company, and is your exclusive remedy in place of all other rights and remedies." - which I'm fairly sure they're not allowed to do, wot with consumer rights and all that. If it's not fit for the purpose for which it was sold and they refuse to accept that then they cannot hide behind that clause 'cos they're not allowed to abridge the rights the law gives you.

Screwfix carry a large range of small tools, at cheap prices. Despite their cheapness they are good quality. and excellent value. In the past I've baught a combination spanner set. 10-32mm. £13.50 And a 3/4" socket set. About £40 IIRC. Both sets well made and good quality IMO. I am an engineer BTW. Stick to their 'chrome vanadium' range of tools, and you wont be disappointed. For £80 you could buy a fairly good kit of tools. Socket set, combination set, torque wrench, screwdrivers, hammer, pliers etc. Could even finish up with change. :-) Mike.

I did that with a halfords solid towbar that I specifically bought to carefully tow a car with no brakes along about 70 miles of motorway (or fully grade-separated dual carriageway). In a spur-of-the-moment decision I came off the A23 to pop into Pease Pottage breakers yard (biggest in the country, I think), and my mate in the towed car followed me. Problem was, I missed the turning, and on approach to a roundabout where we were about to u-turn, I forgot the whole over-gentle driving and braking, and approached a roundabout with a bit too much speed, had to stop rather quickly, and the towed car couldn't, and it mullered the solid towbar. Fortunately the banana-shape the solid towbar ended up in pretty much prevented one car from going into the other and I ended up with a slight crack on the rear bumper.

So I had the bright idea of towing the car to the breakers yard and parking it in the customer parking area, which was amusing enough in itself, as this car had no headlights (no tail lights IIRC), an engine without a sump, etc etc. (I had bought it for the diff), and to anyone else's eyes was definitely fit for the scrap heap. I then went to the nearest Halfords (Crawley) and fed them a c*ck and bull story that we'd towed a car up from Brighton and due to the crap quality of this solid towbar which just bent for no apparent reason we nearly ended up writing off £5k worth of car. Of course I had the receipt having only bought it about half an hour ago, and they happily let me walk away with a brand new replacement!!!!

Then we went back to the breakers yard and towed the scrap car (that looked very much dumped) away.

Peter

You're a f****it really aren't you.

John

It is horses for courses, Stahlwille make lovely, compact, fine ratchet wrenches that make the SnapOn ones look like they came from a Sunday market ;-)

There`s a lot of quality tool makers about , just don`t subscribe to the mythology that SnapOn have built up around them, their warranty is no better than many other makers and worse than a few.

It is a pity that there are so few quality UK makers left, King Dick still survive but at a price:

Dunno who currently owns Parkway Works in Sheffield, where Record and Elliot Lucas used to be made, just old enough to remember Sheffield Made being stamped onto metal things.

As someone has mentioned Screwfix do a range of good value tools, there screwdrivers particularly, being made by Wiha are excellent.

Sorry turned into a tool snob when gave up smoking , had to have something else to spend the money on .

Adam

The message from "AstraVanMan" contains these words:

Must say that the instructions on my rigid towpole said not more than

20mph. I had to modify it anyway - I don't have any lashdown points at the rear of mycar to which to attach it - so I've welded a towsocket onto it and use the towball.

Why? It steered absolutely fine, all the suspension was present and in reasonable condition, so the worst that could have happened was it going into the back of my car towing it. We also chose a quiet time to tow it back (a Sunday morning with good weather).

Peter