Club 80-90 Forums

Post by **kathyshack** » 06 Jan 2006, 11:51

hi,
Gonna treat myself and buy some tools with my Christmas money. Anything you think would be useful? I need to get a socket set i think and somethign to take a wheel off with. any ideas of sizes which are useful for t25's, and anything else you think is a useful thing to carry round with you?

Post by **missusjen** » 06 Jan 2006, 12:02

Halfords pro socket set.........sex in a box.......

150 quid mind.......

Post by **Diamond Hell** » 06 Jan 2006, 16:12

Unless you get the monster Pro set then a handy addition to your kit would be a 19mm 1/2" drive impact socket and 2' breaker bar. This will enable you to remove your wheels a lot easier than the rubbish OEM wheel brace.

Post by **Louey** » 06 Jan 2006, 20:57

Machine Mart do a nice extendable wheel brace with 4 nut sizes for about £9

Post by **TechtroT25** » 06 Jan 2006, 21:25

missusjen wrote:Halfords pro socket set.........sex in a box.......

150 quid mind.......

Got meself that very same set 3 years ago and have never had any problems with it plus life time guarantee with it uber cool

Post by **Mash** » 07 Jan 2006, 08:55

stef998 wrote:
missusjen wrote:Halfords pro socket set.........sex in a box.......

150 quid mind.......
Got meself that very same set 3 years ago and have never had any problems with it plus life time guarantee with it uber cool

Snap - though some little sod pinched the first one with hubbies bike lid!!! (why???) and half a cordless screwdriver (without the battery) from our garage in our first house in englandshire.

Ash

Post by **Cate** » 07 Jan 2006, 11:46

You'll need a good varied socket and spanner set, 3/8 and 1/4, two 13mm of anything is vital, a good set of screwdrivers, wheelbrace, headtorch, torque wrench if you like to get complicated, bigboys socket set, eg 1/2 inch stuff with BIG sockets for wheelhubs etc, plug sockets, hammers, wiring repair stuff....... the list goes on, oh and gaffer tape.

Might treat myself to the 1/2 socket set sometime.

Post by **HarryMann** » 07 Jan 2006, 12:06

Kathy,

Are you near a Costco store?
They have a fantastic deal on a 3 draw stainless steel box full of superb black finished US sockets, keys and spanners) seem to remember about £105 + VAT.

Thomas' suggestion is to the point - you do need a 1/2" powerbar and 19mm impact or flank drive socket (those matt black parkerised ones).
Halfords Pro stuff - good!

Post by **Louey** » 07 Jan 2006, 12:39

Buy a bit at a time if you are unsure of paying out. Deffo a socket set first and some good spanners. Being honest, nutters like Harryman & DH use their stuff a heck of a lot so they should spend out big amounts. I think to start with I wouldn't spend £150 on a socket set, but don't go and pay £10/£20 for one either.

good makes? tell me if you think I am wrong

Draper
Machine Mart - Clarke brand
Snap On
King D_ick -really honestly, not sure if you can still get them
Halfords
Halfords Pro

Post by **Louey** » 07 Jan 2006, 12:42

Just had a look and there is a Machine Mart in Bolton

Machine Mart - Bolton

Post by **Louey** » 07 Jan 2006, 12:43

Louey wrote:

Machine Mart - Bolton

and Matt will read this as Michael Bolton

Post by **HarryMann** » 07 Jan 2006, 13:54

King D_ick -really honestly, not sure if you can still get them

Top class - King Dick, says it all - American? Not seen them on sale for donkeys
Britool - Made beautiful spanners and sockets

Draper Expert not Draper standard

The problem with the smaller and hence cheaper sets is they don't tend to stretch to the sizes that you so often need - so depends on what extent of jobs you intend to tackle. Buying larger sockets/spanners singly later on as you require is an option - but can be an expensive one.

Post by **futurecut** » 07 Jan 2006, 13:56

Machine mart looks excellent!! Are the clarke tools up to much tho?

Post by **HarryMann** » 07 Jan 2006, 17:36

My take is that they are 'price pointed' quite acutely, but do offer better than average value for money.

They're certainly not Chinese style 'use once and it's knackered' which are always a waste of time (except for paint brushes

)

Bought a Clarke 155 TE MIG welder a while back for £175 (got a better deal than Machine Mart somewhere) - abs. excellent for my needs. One or two slight cheapskate areas but not where it matters - so ver pleased with it.

Have no great experience with their hand-tools - Martin (MJM that was) knows their products well, if he's around to comment...

Post by **Diamond Hell** » 07 Jan 2006, 21:29

I've got various bits of Clarke kit so far. They seem very similar in quality to Sealey.

What I would caution regarding Halfords Pro stuff is that Jake bought the big set after I bought my small set and there seems to have been a change in suppliers and that which Jake has yields rather easier than mine - I've only broken a screwdriver bit and that's not for want of trying!

I'd also suggest that good 6 sided sockets grip a sight better than 12 sided ones and the Halford's Pro set is 6 sided in 1/4" drive and 12 sided in 3/8" and 1/2" sizes.

I object to being called a nutter, I just don't have any kids