SOCKET SET HATE!!!!

[JohnnySomersett]

GGGRrrrrrrrr!!!

Another cheap-a$$ socket set just had the rachet go on me trying to un-meld 30yr old bolts from the datto

Gonna have to get another now.


Anyone know a good one for about £30 i can get from a shop?

[slater]

Go to halfords and spend 100quid on theres. You wont regret. If you cant afford that get a loan!

[JohnnySomersett]

slater said:

Go to halfords and spend 100quid on theres. You wont regret. If you cant afford that get a loan!

If i spend 100 quid on it then therell be no pointgetting it to take the struts off cause then i wont be able to afford to get the coilovers made

[hairnet]

buy the 150 piece one for 99.99

ive broke one socket is 7 years

def worth it

[Deleted]

go to halfords buy just a ratchet then ;-)
I had a boxer ratchet from them still going strong even though its plastic .......
their steel stuff is seriously good quality for a "supermarket" and I should know I used it as a pro mechanic back in the late nineties day in day out never broke a single one...

[Odin]

Buy a breaker bar/solid t-bar with no ratchet in it to break. If you already have one, use it!

[rustybits]

I don't buy sets anymore. I just buy everything individually. The biggest "set" I ever buy is getting a cliprail of sockets. Even then, I tend to buy sockets individually.

It works out a lot cheaper, and you can spend more money on the important bits, like the ratchet and the breaker bar. My tools are a mixture of good branded stuff, very old second hand stuff, and random Chinese stuff.

With sockets, the way to avoid breaking them is to use the largest drive size possible. If at all possible, use a half inch drive ratchet, and the BEST adaptors you can buy. A Chinese 1/2" drive 13mm socket will be stronger than even a snap on 1/4" drive socket.

I have broken halfords pro stuff. I don't really rate their kit any higher than anything else of the same price. I had one of their ratchet spanners go on me, and the ones I got from a market stall have survived far far worse.

[dave21478]

cheap tools are fine for odd use and are great to have lying about to chop up and bastardise for other uses, but day to day stuff needs to be decent quality.
Halfords stuff is perfect for diy use.
Have a look at what you need though - the 150 piece set is a monster and has everything, but you may find you will use very little of it. - it may be worthwhile doing as above and buying what you need seperately. Get a 1/2 drive ratchet, sockets 10 up to 19mm except the odd stuff like 15 that rarely gets used...then a decent wee 1/4 drive set for smaller stuff and easy access. get a breaker bar and a set of combination spanners. This will give you a good base and you can expand as you need things.

[Neil]

buy cheap, buy twice...

[bigginger]

Seconded. Draper also make decent stuff

[alfazer]

I know lots of people don't rate Draper stuff but I've had a 3/8" drive metric set for 15 years and it's been used a lot without anything break. For suspension parts I use a mixture of 1/2" stuff bought and inherited over the years. Most of it is old Geodore stuff previously used on heavy plant which seems to be seriously strong.
I'm not saying you're hamfisted but there is a lot to be said for mechanical sympathy too. Making sure the socket is nice and square on the nut and using a breaker bar, maybe with a length of steel pipe over the end rather than beating away with a hammer on a ratchet.

I keep reading about Halfords being great but don't have any. I notice they have a lifetime warranty on their stuff, but it doesn't cover ratchet damage on their ratchet spanners. Was behind a guy at the till last year with four broken ratchet spanners and they turned him away so read the guarantee carefully.
Al

[BenzBoy]

I can recomment Halfords Professional ratchets. Mine's had years of abuse and is still going strong. 1/2 in drive is under £30 I think too.

[JohnnySomersett]

well.....just popped to halfrauds and spent near 30quid on just the ratchett....


opened all the nuts first time

[perry]

"Buy a breaker bar/solid t-bar with no ratchet in it to break. If you already have one, use it!"

best advice here

use the right tool for the job

i buy cheapish due to my ability to lose vast quantities of tools on any task i undertake lol

[Paul H]

Even Halfords non-professional range are good. I have a small Halfords socket set (something like 8 to 15mm range of sockets & imperial equivalents, with extension, uj, sparkplug spanner etc with 1/4 drive) that I've been using for almost 10 years & it's seen plenty of (ab)use.

[BiAS]

I took my 10mm ratchet spanner back to Halfords on Thursday morning, fuss free, no quibble exchange. Full marks to Halfords Professional range from me.

[rustybits]

I had a 1/2" halfords ratchet spanner go on me.. They didn't argue about replacement, but didn't have a replacement in stock to give me, so they said they would phone me.. Never did. Couldn't be arsed chasing it up either.

The thing that annoys me.. I was only using it with one hand when it went. Leaning on it a bit, but I wasn't doing anything too silly.

[mskinner]

half inch drive should take more torque than a human can apply really!

I use teng stuff, never broken any of it and I'm pretty heavy handed sometimes!

[BiAS]

Yep, broke 2 Draper breaker bars before I gave in and spent the cash on a Teng one, it's put up with tons more abuse than the drapers ones, and as a bonus the knuckle is available as a repair kit.

[popuptoaster]

You shouldn't be able to break a decent ratchet if your using it right, both hands on it and a foot braced on the car somewhere means its not the right tool for the job, if you need that much effort you should be using a much longer breaker bar without a ratchet in it.

This is the reason that car wheelbraces are the length they are, an average man should be able to torque the wheelnuts up just about right if the tool is used right.

Most tools break through misuse unless your using chinese made plastic crappy ones. If your buying sockets impact ones are the best but expensive, at least try and buy the 6 sided ones as they wont round the corners off.