Big Brother Posted November 3, 2001 Share Posted November 3, 2001 If you buy a cheap torque wrench on the basis that you only use it 3/4 times a year remember you still need it to be accurate that 3/4 times a year. I'm not sure it's worth taking the chance. Could not agree with you more! Steve cool.gifScream...if you want to go faster!!!id=limegreen> cool.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjwb Posted November 3, 2001 Share Posted November 3, 2001 My sentiments entirely regarding hand tools. Always buy the best you can afford, Snap On, Blue Point, Proto, Facom, Bahco and believe it or not the original Britool and Gordon were quite OK. Modern stuff - crap! Favourite expensive tool? Well not exactly a tool, but an hydraulic motorcycle lift. Absolutely superb! Get the Seven halfway on it, blocks under the chassis rails and pump away - either end. It makes me smile reading threads like bleeding the cooling system; no problem, on the lift, up goes the front with the header tank at the highest point. A five minute job. And whilst your at it you can remove the front wheels and play at mechanics. Just a note of explanation I have mine recessed into the workshop floor so there is no issue with clearance. Five years ago I built a W*******d on it and it was indespensible - saved the aged spine you know. Steve B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny. Posted November 4, 2001 Share Posted November 4, 2001 Have to agree with the comments regarding quality tools and trying to buy the best you can afford..it certainly can work out cheaper in the long run. It's always a balancing act though quality vs expense if it's for hobby purposes as a full chest of Snap on hand tools is a formidable price and most proffessional mechanics build them up over many years. I've found Teng tools to be a cheaper and very reliable alternative with a lifetime guarentee. On the subject of drills/taps the only make I would touch are Dormer......you can grind and re-grind their drills back to the shank if needed and they do not lose their hardness/cutting ability (sod all those errr diamond tipped things you see at shows) and their taps if needed will take a grind on the clearance flutes and also last forever....I rate them miles higher than Snap on. As for best expensive tool........I love my parts washer and pillar drill.......with the de-humidifier keeping everything rust free. Kenny HPC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Gillet Posted November 4, 2001 Share Posted November 4, 2001 Who experienced Sykes-Pickavant torque wrenches as seen in the DT catalogue? It seems to be a good alternative @ 50 £ and 70 £ excl. VAT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Perry Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 Britool always were a quality make. My father still uses his AF/ Whitworth Socket set and its over 50 years old. Had the wrench changed though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philwaters Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 How about spending £100 + on leveling and painting the floor with a few thick coats of floor paint. This makes the garage a joy to work in and if you cover the walls in white you get so much more light. On the same theme adding lights is money well spent too, I am planning as least two more flourescent tubes for the next few weeks. You could look into workshop floring - the kind that fits together ala jigsaw style and you can take it with you when you move - not sure on price of this though. Phil Waters 1600 X/flow - soon to be 2000 Zetec wink.gif Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHRIS CLARK Posted November 5, 2001 Share Posted November 5, 2001 As an aircraft engineer apprentice we had the 'Snap-On' van around once a week. The tools were a fortune then, and kept me poor for a long time. Great move in retrospect though, but I can't say what they cost now. The reason? Those tools have been in use on a more or less constant basis one way and another and are still perfect! The cheap tools that made (and still make sense!) are the combination ring spanners that are say made in India. They are great when you need a 'special' ie. a slotted ring spanner or a short handed large size open ended. All can be 'created' with the use or a bench grinder! These specials are just that; one-offs for a certain not-carried-out-very-often job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Area Representative Crudders Posted November 5, 2001 Area Representative Share Posted November 5, 2001 It would have to be a lathe and/or a decent mig welder. A few years ago I helped restore a girlfriend's Morris Minor. More often than not, busted, worn out or simply unavailable parts were mysteriously fabricated by her old man in the garden shed, mostly with the lathe and/or the mig. He even made his own bolts and bushes! A true magician, and a joy to observe. Ron White, I salute you! Crudders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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