hairymel
Club Retro Rides Member
avatar by volksangyl
Posts: 1,081
Club RR Member Number: 207
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Recommend spanner sets?hairymel
@hairymel
Club Retro Rides Member 207
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Jan 11, 2016 21:40:38 GMT
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i have a set of the nielson spanners and a toolzone 8-32 set also. both are perfectly adequate, and have stood up to some serious abuse without breaking - a bit of damage to the pvc coating on the nielsen spanners where i have hit them with a hammer, but they are just normal spanners underneath for the money they can't be beaten - i am sure the halfords spanners are better but the are 66% more expensive (or 233% more expensive @ full price!)
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whats that burning smell?
oh curse word :-(
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We sell Silverline, Draper, Sealey, Britool, Siegen, Bahco, Sykes Pickavant, CK and Facom at my work, and generally the old adage that you get what you pay for always rings true. Silverline is generally very low quality but it depends what you buy, and what you expect - the spanners are a bit chunky but great for our agricultural customers and DIY folk who appreciate a reasonable tool for a low price. There are plenty of things Silverline sell that I regularly sell to professional customers without worry or returns - measuring jugs, magnetic trays, some hammers, spanners, (their stubby ratchet spanners are stupidly good, whatever factory they came from!) and a few others.
Draper, Britool, Elora and Facom are owned (as well as others) by the Stanley group. I've never really rated Draper hand tools myself but their expert socketry isn't too bad - beyond that, like Sealey, it has a distinct feel of imports in expensive packaging. That said, we sell tons of Draper and Sealey and they are both reasonable brands with good support if something breaks, and it must be remembered that an awful lot of things are built in the east these days, and they are getting quite good at some things! Britool remains a cut above as does Elora, and although neither are what they used to be they are both good brands to have in your box. Sykes Pickavant is also good - I remember hearing once that the Halfords expert tools were made by them, which explains their quality - the only parts of my huge Halford set I bought 25 years ago I don't still use regularly are the ratchets which wore out and a torx bit I broke. MAC and Snap-on make good tools but are just not worth their money in my view.
The thing to remember with tools (and I speak with 20 years experience of daily use and five of selling them) is that no tool company makes the best of everything, and as everyone uses (and abuses) tools differently, opinions differ widely. I have been told I have a tool problem - I have 27 different tools to undo a 13mm nut in my box, and my 1/4,3/8,and 1/2" socket extensions reach almost twenty feet when joined together (got a target now...). So for what little it may be worth, here's what I have in my own box and what I have learned on the way:
Screwdrivers - Facom for me, comfy handles and a great, nicely fitting, durable tip. CK also do a great range, Draper don't, and Silverline ones would double as jokes in Christmas crackers.
Shifting spanners - Bahco. End of. Other brands are available, but just save for a Bahco and it will last for life.
Spanners - I have Silverline to use when dismantling rusty chod, Britool for general use and some super sexy Facom for reassembly when everything is like new and fit is a factor - the ultimate spanner might be their flex head ratchets. All of these I have in stubby, standard, long, and ratchet (I did say I had a problem - 260 and counting). A note here - why spend on branded stubby spanners, when Geoff Capes couldn't exert enough torque on a four inch long 13mm to break it, regardless of brand?
Pliers and cutters - Again, Facom for me but there are other great brands out there. CK are the best when it comes to small snippers. Anyone using self locking pliers which are not made by Vise, Gedore, Irving or Facom may be mad, and are certainly to be avoided at parties. The injuries are not worth it.
Socketry. Hex is best, walldrive better. Buy the best quality comprehensive set you can afford, then add either Britool or Facom ratchets for added enjoyment and flexibility. I mostly have Britool and Facom sockets, but I also have King Dick, Elora, Koken, Craftsman and a few others including my old Halfords sets with extensions.
For the rest of my tools, I have stacks of second hand branded tools by all of the above plus Williams, Tipco, Metabo, and StahWillie, all acquired via boot sales, autojumbles, facebook, ebay, friends, trades with other guys, etc etc. Buy the best you can afford, but don't waste money on a big brand item that isn't asked to carry a torque load. Keep 'em clean, and don't abuse them. And buy more...
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Last Edit: Jan 12, 2016 0:33:06 GMT by airspeed
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airspeed - great post thanks
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Jan 12, 2016 10:31:52 GMT
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I have intentionally opted not to read all the other replies and offer my humble opinions based on over twenty year experience both professional and amateur applications......
I could type a lengthy detailed reply and I would probably be wasting my time....
You see when I did my apprenticeship this old fella said to me, "if it breaks its not worth having"
Now that statement has rang through my mind every time I have bought,mistreat/abused,broken loaned and had tools stolen time after time...
You pay for what you get. Before you buy hold it caress it and inspect it, If you like it buy it, and if you break it well done you won and it probably wasn't worth having anyway...............
Buying tools is a personal thing ............
Good luck and enjoy...........
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Jan 12, 2016 16:11:14 GMT
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Has anyone tried Wera Joker spanners? They look super sexy:
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Jan 12, 2016 18:30:35 GMT
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At first I thought these looked like a fancy open ended ratchet........
Wera have created a fix for a problem that didn't exist with these even in there own video they are showing exampled of wrong application who would attempt to remove a rusted bolt with an open end???
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Jan 12, 2016 20:22:36 GMT
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draper & sealey feel very similar to each other. ok. silverline feel like chunky & cheap. avoid if you have another options. I have a halfords professional 3/8 rachet set and it's decent (avoid their non-professional range). keep watching and you should be able to get them in the regular 50% off sales. make sure you get the sizes you need - I got a set of halfords stubby spanners a while ago and they didn't include 10mm
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dazcapri
North East
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Posts: 1,057
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Jan 12, 2016 21:53:28 GMT
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i have a set of the nielson spanners and a toolzone 8-32 set also. both are perfectly adequate, and have stood up to some serious abuse without breaking - a bit of damage to the pvc coating on the nielsen spanners where i have hit them with a hammer, but they are just normal spanners underneath for the money they can't be beaten - i am sure the halfords spanners are better but the are 66% more expensive (or 233% more expensive @ full price!) It's not them breaking I've always thought the cheaper stuff slips off and rounds nuts off more,I changed a fan belt on my old van once a cheap spanner slipped I used my snap on spanners and it undone it no bother
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Mk3 Capri LS
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mikeymk
Part of things
'85 Polo Coupe S 1.6 16v
Posts: 931
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Jan 12, 2016 22:08:41 GMT
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My spanners are Garant and i rate them highly. I haven't damaged one and they grip well, good teeth in the ring, but what i like most about them is they're so light in weight.
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I love quality tools and i've got a real mix of spanners,quite a lot of Snap On,KD and older proper British made Britool. I wouldn't touch anything Britool branded after 2007 or so,it's just a name for Chinese made stuff now.
I have some German made Elora which is now imported by Draper but not made by them,very good quality tools as are pretty much all German tools.
I like Roebuck spanners,they are the own brand of Buck and Hickman and you get some great deals on them on Ebay from time to time.
Halfords Advanced is decent,but not as good as the old Pro range they did.The older stuff was rebranded Signet and very good.
Silverline,Neilsen,Amtech,Rolson and the like will get you out of trouble,but as said above compared to quality gear they are clumsy and don't fit well.
For adjustables the older Swedish made Bahco were the best,but the new ones are made in Spain i think since Snap On bought them out.
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mikeymk
Part of things
'85 Polo Coupe S 1.6 16v
Posts: 931
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Jan 13, 2016 10:00:09 GMT
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Silverline are certainly budget, but they do the job - Rolson are just a total waste of time even for single-use in my experience. I walked a bicycle about four miles to the nearest Tesco once, bought a pair of pliers to get it working but the handles just folded on me. They were like mild steel. I still didn't get the wheel secured.
Another one was a torch. Little cree led thing. Just didn't work. I opened it to check the battery and that was okay, the electronic unit was just hopeless though - solder had completely missed, plastic casing so poorly moulded it wouldn't even clip together.. I'm talking christmas cracker quality tools, if that.
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Iain
Part of things
Posts: 351
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Jan 13, 2016 11:12:05 GMT
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Very happy with my Halfords spanner set. In fact I moved to it from a cheapy well used set (maybe Clarke ones) and they're lovely to use. Would recommend them to any enthusiastic DIYer.
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Jan 15, 2016 20:20:48 GMT
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There are plenty of things Silverline sell that I regularly sell to professional customers without worry or returns - measuring jugs, magnetic trays, some hammers, spanners, (their stubby ratchet spanners are stupidly good, whatever factory they came from!) and a few others. Airspeed - Are these the stubby ratchet spanners you mention above? Silverline 199916 Stubby Ratchet Spanner Set 8-19 mm - 7 Pieces
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Last Edit: Jan 15, 2016 20:26:18 GMT by twincam11
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omega
Posted a lot
Posts: 1,060
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Jan 15, 2016 22:36:06 GMT
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if you just read through this thred one name keeps comeing up Halfords .
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,714
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Recommend spanner sets?Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Jan 15, 2016 22:39:37 GMT
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I wish halfords would do a set of imperial (AF) ratchet spanners. I'd be on them like a tramp on chips.
Anyone know who does a set of good quality at non snap-on kind of money?
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Jan 15, 2016 23:01:23 GMT
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I wish halfords would do a set of imperial (AF) ratchet spanners. I'd be on them like a tramp on chips. Anyone know who does a set of good quality at non snap-on kind of money? Same here, I did a bit of digging a while ago and they used to sell them but discontinued. I'm also keen for a suggested alternative decent AF ratchet spanner set.
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1966 MK1 Cortina 1971 Hillman Super Imp 1985 Volvo 360 GLEi 1986 Volvo 340 1.7 1990 Mercedes 190e 2.0 1993 Peugeot 205 STDT
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Jan 15, 2016 23:10:17 GMT
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Has anyone tried Wera Joker spanners? They look super sexy: I really want to like WERA stuff. RS components sell it so I can just put a set of screwdrivers or sockets on the daily order list at work and it turns up the next day, more or less no questions asked. If I want to order tools from anywhere else I have to explain it to purchasing, they're very considerate but it's a ballache getting purchase orders made etc etc so I generally stick with whatever I can get from RS. I've got an £85 set of WERA screwdrivers on my bench that are 9 months old and have been used to take apart very light stuff like ECUs when I couldn't fit a drill driver in. Maybe used 3 or 4 times a week tops. They are all fairly chowdered and have lost their bite. The "laser tip" etching lasted about a week. Lovely to start with, but it doesn't last. At home I've got a drawer full of 12 year old Halfords screwdrivers which came free with bottles of oil and have been absolutely hammered over years of serial car and house bodging. Even now they grip better than the 9 month old Wera stuff.
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Dez
Club Retro Rides Member
And I won't sit down. And I won't shut up. And most of all I will not grow up.
Posts: 11,714
Club RR Member Number: 34
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Recommend spanner sets?Dez
@dez
Club Retro Rides Member 34
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Jan 15, 2016 23:25:17 GMT
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I wish halfords would do a set of imperial (AF) ratchet spanners. I'd be on them like a tramp on chips. Anyone know who does a set of good quality at non snap-on kind of money? Same here, I did a bit of digging a while ago and they used to sell them but discontinued. I'm also keen for a suggested alternative decent AF ratchet spanner set. I've just had a look around at what various brands are offering, and can't really find anything that offers a comprehensive range of sizes for less than the £120-ish facom set.
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dazcapri
North East
Enter your message here...
Posts: 1,057
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The only other a/f ratchet spanners I know off are teng and from memory they were around £200 a set
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Mk3 Capri LS
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