Tools

[TDi90]

just wondering where you guys buy your tools from...
cheapest place?
best place?
internet?
etc... etc...

Cheers Rob

[Nick666]

Reckon it depends on what the tool is - e.g. if you're only likely to use it once, no point in getting the best one you can find and paying 5x as much. But for regular-use tools, quality pays. SnapOn, Makita etc are well worth the extra in my opinion.

Buy just about everything from the internet these days. Places like Screwfix and MachineMart can sort out just about everything and have it to you next-day.

[muddyjames]

Inherited mine off my Dad who has had his socket set for 25years + and still not 1 socket or ratchet broken.

As for any tool I havent inherited I normaly go to Halfrauds and get thier life long guarantee ones.

[blackbob]

snapon for me :D  :D and argos not much differance

[jaws]

mac tools,cheaper than snap on but still good quality.if i wasn't using them everyday i reckon that halfords and machine mart do some alright kit.like people have said before,depends what your using them for and amount of time you use them.britool have some quite good tackle also

[v40mav]

First place I visited was my fathers toolkit to see what I could use. Got some good britool and draper tools but many were old wf sizes.



Bought a mixture from draper and clarke (machine mart) clarke with life time gtees.  I could not justify the cost of snap-on  :? although if i needed to rely on tools for my main work then these would be tool of choice.

I do buy the best power tools I can as they do last - mainy dewalt / bosch.

you get what you par for.

[Rangie3.0LtrDan]

Halfrauds tools arent too bad from what i have seen, i have a set and they havent let me down at all.

[bezzabsa]

my Halfords set has so far broken 1 ratchet, 3 sockets, several screwdrivers - and even the tool chest!!!!!

[V8MoneyPit]

I do buy the best power tools I can as they do last - mainy dewalt / bosch.

you get what you par for.

I think you'll find DeWalt are now made in China and are not as good as they used to be  :roll:

My father-in-law sells tools so I usually get nice healthy discounts off anything a need  :D Just have to wait for them to be sent down from Scotland.

[freeagent]

i've got a mixture of Halfords professional, Britool, Teng and Stanley.
there is a world of difference between the halfords pro stuff and the halfords cheapie stuff, the pro stuff is on a par with Teng and britool, and certainly good enough for trade/ commercial use.

i've had a few nasty accidents with cheap stuff (like hex-keys snapping, sockets splitting and breaker bars falling apart just when you are leaning on them) so i'll never buy cheap stuff again.

we've given our halfords stuff some serious grief (like 5' extension tubes on breaker bars) and have yet to break anything. rumour has it that Halfords pro gear is just re-badged sykes-pickervant gear, and it certainly looks pretty similar. The farmers next door to our place have Halfords gear in their tractors and unimogs... and they are proper thugs with tools.

Halfords rachet ring spanners are one of the smartest tool investments you can make, you will wonder how you ever did without them.

I've got a complete set of Britool ring spanners, which are certainly on a par with snap-on.  

i don't expect to have to replace any of my handtools, just add to the collection as and when, this lot will certainly last as long as i do.

I'm sure Snap-on are the best, but you'll not go wrong with Halfords Pro, Britool or Teng... i think its a bit of a fashion thing with Snap-on though... just like dewalt in the carpentry trade....

Powertools... i've got mostly DeWalt, and a few bosch and Makita bits... you get what you pay for... £10 grinders from bootsales will shake you to bits before they catch fire.... a bosch grinder will work all day every day, because thats what they are designed to do...
next time you walk past a hire shop.. take a look at what they're hiring out, theres a reason why most of it is Makita or bosch stuff.

we've also got an SIP welder, (good trade quality stuff, and fine for a bit of sunday afternoon welding) a Meddings Floor standing pilar drill, a startrite bench mount pilar drill, a startrite bandsaw...... you get the idea.

[muddyjames]

Halfords rachet ring spanners are one of the smartest tool investments you can make, you will wonder how you ever did without them.

One of the best inventions ever!!  :D

[TDi90]

cheers for all the feedback!!

[ian_s]

i got in the habit of buying the cheapest possible, as when i was younger i used to work around boats a lot. and my dad got really annoyed one day when i dropped 20 quids worth of ratchet in about 50ft of water......

[90DV]

I work in my local Lr dealership so my tools get some stick and i'm brutal with my tools. I've got a tool set from teng (top middle and bottom box full of tools) ranging from 1/4" to 3/4" drive circlip pliers screwdrivers and so on, ive brought a couple of other bits from snap on and all my tools are great. i have only managed to break two things so far...thats a pair of side cut pliers which i snapped and my magnet where the end fell off! Snap on is very good stuff but little do people know you only get life time garentte on the hand tools. I've got a cheapo drill from Homebase for 30 quid and its the best in the workshop.

My best tool has got to be my Trim tool for getting door trims off, or my halfords pro ratchet spanner set!

[burgerman]

As i live in a relatively small village For security reasons im not declaring how much or what i have, but most of its the best i could afford, I reckon that is the best advise i could give really, also depends on how much you are likely to use them??  If you earn ya wagees with um then go for it must be snap on,

[TimM]

So where does one buy ones Snap-On gear from?

There are local dealers, but are there discounted internet sites?

[dreadnought110]

So where does one buy ones Snap-On gear from?

There are local dealers, but are there discounted internet sites?

i wish other than Ebay i don't think so!!!! :?

[burgerman]

best bet would be to pop into a main stealer workshop and ask, most tool suppliers will call there on a weekly basis  Usaully to collect there money owing on the tools  :lol:

[bullfrog]

I have had snapoff in the past but their lifetime warrenty was "replace it 3 times, then give money back"
I now buy halfords pro as they just give you new tool no questions asked.
I also have a trade card so get about 35% off.
I chose them over machine mart due to the fact that halfords is less than a mile from my place.

[Xtremeteam]

best bet would be to pop into a main stealer workshop and ask, most tool suppliers will call there on a weekly basis  Usaully to collect there money owing on the tools  :lol:

that would be the best bet,have a fair amount o snap on tools in my "work" set & where i am now snop on guy came in & has replaced any stuff no probs even though i never bought any of the stuff from him

[andycwb]

I've got a Teng set that I got at a discount shopping around - that's what gets most abuse.

I heard a story from the US of someone who (deliberately) dropped a spanner into liquid nitrogen and then dropped it on the floor to see if the stories about what would happen were true.

They were.  It shattered into small pieces.  So he took it back to the shop and asked if he could have a new one under the lifetime warranty.  "Sure, they said."

The next time he was in that shop, the pieces were glued to a card above the counter in an approximate spanner shape, with the words "Lifetime warranty: even if you do this, we'll replace it."

I wish I could remember what make it was.

[beast5680]

I have a complete mixture in my boxes
If your just getting a toolkit together buy a spanner set that your not afraid to modify to fit things, i have a lot of modified spanners ie bent to fit cut and welded into odd shapes needs must in my job
Ibuy some snap on stuff when i need to and my boxes are snap on as i have found them to be the only boxes that don,t crack up when in a service van
my 1/2" socket set is still mostly the original one i recieved for my 15th birthday from mum and dad which was a draper expert set ,these sockets have had a lot of use over the last 20 odd years and are still going strong

[Range Rover Blues]

Familiar story, Britool that my Dad gave me, some cheapo ones and Halfrauds for the ones I use a lot.

[Lucy1978]

I use a halfrauds Po socket set, came with spanners and ratchet ring spanners, was about 140 quid and worth every penny, it's been given some serious use, came with us down Africa and now 5 years after we bought it the only thing to have broken is one catch on teh plastic case it came in.

[Mash]

I've got a right collection that I've aquired over the years..Personally I hate Snap-On stuff..Give me MAC anyday.. Snap-ON lifetime warrenty varies from dealer to dealer, due to the clauses in their warrenties !

Out on the road (I work in recovery) I use a lot of Halfords pro stuff, it's cheap and cheerfull plus does the job really well..Never had a problem with getting a replacement. and I aint to bothered if I leave a Halfords rachet at the side of the road, whereas I'd be gutted leaving me Mac ones there...

At the end of the day it is each to their own personal preferance as to what brand they use..Bit like buying cars really init  

[winchman]

Right this will up set a few but here goes
I feel the halfords stuff is fab as its well designed and comes with a life time garantee.
A few years ago I couldnt do the overtime at work due to the kids being small and I used to drop them at nursery for the afternoon and flog  tools to the local garages ( they all know me as I owned a Britool franchise a long time ago), I found a lot of people using the Halfords stuff with very good results.
I found a brand called Bergen which I sold with great sucess.
The Founder has Snap on stuff copied in some of the worlds best factories, its mainly chrome ware ( sockets spanners etc) all the fast selling stuff, whilst I say copied, it says Bergen on it but the dimentions and design are very similar to Snap on
But a full rail of 3/8 sockets 8-22mm sell for £10-15 you would struggle to buy 2 or 3 from Snap on for this. I sold loads of the stuff and only ever had one ratchet back
I think Teng is good too but Halfords is the best value for money
One interesting thing is how the quality f the cheap imported tools has improved over the last 15 years.
Its interesting to note how many Snap on dealers have shut up shop, we havent had one for over two years, its just too expensive last time I looked a 22mm Combi spanner was £46 +vat

[freeagent]

yep ,i've got some Bergen stuff, very nice and superb value, theres another brand around called 'US Pro Tools' which is pretty much the same as Bergen....
i don't have any Snap-on stuff (except a tool chest/ top box) and doubt i'd ever buy any as its just so expensive and i cant see its worth it for what i do....
i do like their boxes though, i'll be on the look out for another one soon.

Cant beat Halfords though.....

[winchman]

US pro is the same as Bergen
Another to watch is Max Pro, some bits are just average but some of it is as good as Bergen
If you want bargain basement Blue Spot is about the best cheap stuff, but it is really for DIY
Cost Co do very good value for money boxes, it depends on what you use it for.
A box wont fix any thing or earn you money.
I have a few secondhand boxes which I bought as battered old trade in ones, I welded them back together hand painted them stuck a load of stickers on them and they are still going strong.

[Evilgoat]

Halfrauds tools arent too bad from what i have seen, i have a set and they havent let me down at all.

The expensive stuff is actually quite good. The cheap stuff, as Bazza said, is utter junk.

I have the most expensive set they do and I have yet to do anything more than shear a screwdriver bit, and that was my own fault. I also have a chaep £10 set that lives in the audi that has bust the ratchet, the inter-series adaptor and I think the screwdriver bit too.

Other than that where I can I use draper stuff.

[Nick666]

Curious to know what kind of screwdriver / drill bits everyone uses as esp my HSS drill bits don't seem to last any time at all ... are these 'gold' bits any good? (Don't think I'd have coloured them gold since -real- gold is dead soft!)