some more dross to read
basically, some more observations, advice and theory before we get into buying bits and making stuff.
two big things we need to address are skills and tooling, or maybe the lack of it. these kinda merge into one subject at some point along the way, so ile try to cover them as one.
now, I'm not gunna tell you you need to have top end everything and a lot of specialist tools right at the start, cos to be perfectly honest, you don't. these days I'm totally spoilt with what i do have, as i have a 1300 squ. ft. workshop full of
most of the tools, gadgets, gizmos and equipment i could ever need, but i started out the same as everybody else- working outside on the floor with half a socket set that had all the sizes except the ones i needed, some bent screwdrivers that the previous owner had relegated to only being fit for opening paint tins years ago, a pair of pliers with stripped jaws, and a hammer. 10 years later, and although I'm surrounded by parts washers, blast cabinets, compressors with every conceivable air tool imaginable, bead rollers, countless power tools and boxes, drawers and racks full of numerous and varied hand tools, i find i actually use 10% of my tools 90% of the time. the other 90% are specialist stuff that i use maybe a dozen times a year or less, and of those dozen times id maybe only use em once if i wasnt working on other peoples stuff as well as my own. in other words, you can do without them, or beg/borrow/steal em if you do find yourself stuck without one.
the tricky bit is figuring out whats in the 10%, and whats the 90%!
for the general kind of stuff youll do when building a rod, basic sheetmetal work, assembling and disassembling parts, servicing, etc. ile start a list at the end of this post, and edit it and add to it as we go as we find we need a tool, or if anyones got any suggestions for things ive forgotten- by the end common sense dictates there will be more or less everything youd need in a resonable too kit to build a car then.
as for where to get your tools, I'm not an advocate of buying new(except power tools). it just isn't cost effective- even for me being in the trade. just cos that 13mm spanner has shiny new chrome and sits in the middle of 9 others in an attractive and handy wall hanging rack for the princely sum of £39.95 the set, doesnt make it any better at undoing nuts than the singular grubby old one with worn chrome from the car boot sale for 20 pence. the car boot one will probably be a better brand and made of better quality steel too!
the vast majority of my basic hand tools (sockets, ratches and attachments, spanners, allen keys, hammers, tinsnips, chisels, cro-bars and leverage bars, driver bits, molegrips, pliers, snips, screwdrivers welding clamps, etc.etc.) are all cheap car boot/garage sale items. from memory, in the last 10 years the only items ive bought new are a set of ratchet spanners, a brake pipe spanner, and a pair of tinsnips.
2 or 3 car boot visits and 50 quid will see you with a pile of half decent hand tools that will serve you well for years to come. youll probably need to buy a wire brush and some WD40 to free them all off, clean them up and get them working nicely, but with the money youve saved as afternoon cleaning them up is a small penance to pay. ive had some real car boot bargains over the years, and saved literally thousands of pounds on new prices. plus, if you lose or break anything its no biggie if it only cost 20p not 20 quid. some of the best tools i have cost pennies.
but, if you do want/need to buy anything new, i thoroughy recommend halfords professional stuff- thats now been renamed halfords advanced. contrary to what certain people with massive collections of it will tell you, you do not need snap-on tools to do a good job. personally ive got about half a dozen bits of snap-on, and they're no better than most of the other stuff ive got- in fact, ive had to have a lot of it replaced on warranty, cos ive broke it.
furthermore, your tools do not work any better of you keep them in a big shiny red roll-cab.
i have a old filing cabinet with 20-ish small shallow drawers, a big wall mount cabinet with racking in (bought off here), and a load of maxibins on a rack. everything else goes on shelves or in boxes.
but you could have all the tools in the world, and they'd be sod all use if you don't know how to use them. not just use them, but use them
properly.
this is where we cross into the 'skills' section.
starting with the real basics, it stupifies me the amount of people ive seen who can't manage to use things like a screwdriver, a spanner, or a hammer and chisel properly. most hand tools are basically a mechanical lever, so you need to think about
where and
how you apply force to said lever. i cant really explain it more than that, but a little thought about how to use the tool in question will often make the job youre trying to do a lot easier, and prevent you damaging fixings, or yourself.
basically, you need to take each tool you have, and practice with it until you get the desired result/finish that the tool can produce. once youve mastered using it, move onto the next one and learn how to use that. once youve got a feel for what you can do with each tool, youre ready to actually use them on something. this theory particularly applies to metalshaping tools- hammers, dolloers, tinsnips etc. there loads of tutorials out there for this kind of thing, so i wont go over it again, do a search for each tool, and follow the tutorials of bit of scrap steel and the like until your confident.
and lastly, whatever tools you have, look after them, and they'll look after you. keep then sharp, clean, and well lubed and maintained, and check them all back in at the end of each day, wether the job is finished or not. good tools do good work, simple as that.
so, lets do the 'tools list'
-metric spanners, 8-30mm, 2 of each of the common sizes, combi-spanners (ring and open end) are probably best.
-same as above in AF, 3/8" to 1-1/8"
note, its not
essential to have all sizes, pick up the commonest stuff first then add to it as you go.
-a decent socket set. i don't do 3/8" i have all 1/2" then a 1/$" set to complement for smaller stuff.(more about that later). reasonable brand name- elora, gedore, halfords pro, teng, etc. same socket sizes as for spanners, same principle- common sizes first, other stuff as you need it. try to get 6-point face drive sockets, as 12 point ones are great for rounding off really tight nuts. youll need a ratchet, a 12" extension, a 6" and a 2", and a big ol breaker bar. i find T-bars fairly useless, same as braces.
-a really good quality crosshead no2 screwdriver. a snap on one is about 18 quid. you shouldnt find any prozidrive screws on a car, so a cross head is what you need.
-a decent midsize flat blade and a good large flatblade screwdriver. keep them filed sharp and square and don't use them for chisels of prybars!! either get some chisels and prybars, or keep a collection of curse word screwdrivers for that purpose.
- a lump hammer, a decent large ball pein (fiberglass shaft, itll last a lot longer), and a copper or plastic hammer.
- various chisels and punches, especially a good bolster chisel. keep them filed up sharp and square- if you keep on top of them, its less of an arduous task then if you let them get totally fecked up before sharpening them.
-a 1/4" socket set that goes up to 14mm, has wobble extensions, and a set of allen key and torx bits. not overly expensive, you can get a good set for about £40 new, and they're a total godsend when working in fiddly spaces.
-flexi ratchet spanners. halfords was doing a set of 8-19mm for £40 recently, and they're well worth the money.
allen keys- a standard set of L-shaped ball ends in chrome-vanadium is fine, no need for expensive T-handle stuff.
- i you plan to work with a modern-ish ford engine, or for than matter most engine, a decent set of torx bits.
-left and right cut tinsnips- good ones.
- measuring tools- a 12" steel rule and a 6" steel rule (engraved not printed) with metric and imperial scales, a decent 12' tape measure, a good vernier caliper(i perfer non-digital as metal filings on the slide makes them go haywire), a pair of deviders, a good square, and a slide bevel.
- mole grips. varying sizes, including needlenose, lots of them. can never have too many pairs it seems! same goes for the molegrip-based welding clamps. lots.
-G-clamps. i never seem to have enough of these either no matter how many i have.
- pliers. a large pair of heavyweight combination pliers, a good pair of needlenose, a good pair of sidesnips, and maybe a small pair of combis.
- a sledgehammer.
-a load of various crowbars, leverage bars, shortish lengths of scaffolding tube, round bar etc. for improvising stuff out of.
^^obviously theres will be loads to add to this lot as its brought up^^
i *think* thats hand tools about covered. we'll do power tools and welders next.