wheres the best place for tools

Post by **andrew.searston** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:58 pm

hi everyone
im hoping to go into the motor trade once i leave school and want to know wheres the best place for decent but cheap tools?????
and could you name some brands????

Post by **mike.perry** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:46 pm

In a sturdy locked toolbox where they won't get nicked.

Post by **Mogwai** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 10:10 pm

These things can take years to build I'm still buying bits after 18+ years in the trade

. You wont need a lot (if anything) at first just basics spanners sockets screwdrivers etc I would avoid getting some of the complete the kits as they tend to have a load of stuff you wont need in them & of low quality ( which will result in plenty of pistaking

) .
wherever you work you are likely to have various tool vans visit & can pay off weekly on account etc which helps. its usual just to buy what you need as you go most of the budget brands are ok sealey, teng, mag etc, I'm still using most of the draper sockets I bought as an apprentice. When the high use ones break replace them with snap on

Post by **PSL184** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:39 pm

I would argue that there is no such thing as decent and cheap - I use Snap On - bought from the van that comes round at work. I've only ever had one rachet break which was replaced under their lifetime guarantee and I had an account that allowed me to pay off a bit weekly ("Snap On Pete" as we called him always came on a Thursday when we had received the pay packet

).

Post by **Mogwai** » Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:52 pm

My opinion to.You get what you pay for. Ive had my 3/8 snap on ratchet about 17 years, is used daily & its still on its original innards, the square drive is is getting a bit sloppy though now

Post by **MarkyB** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:21 am

Boot fairs can be a good source of Whitworth and other spanners.
Get ones that are chrome vanadium NOT drop forged.
Cheap screwdrivers make poor economic sense, they mangle screws rather than undo them, leaving you with a worse problem then when you started.
Take the time to clean screw slots out so the blade fits as well as it can.
Once it's chewed up it's too late.

Post by **paulk** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:41 am

I'm not a motor Mechanic but do use spanners and sockets regularly for work.

I've had Halford proffesional Combination spanners for 10 years now and they are still in good condition after 1000's of hours of use.

My socket set is a 1/2" Draper expert set. Like Mogwai says full sets tend to have stuff you don't need and there are sockets I have never used in over 10 years of use and its only a small Metric and Imperial set! To be fair the ratchet is getting a bit slack in its old age And I'm not using as often as a mechanic would .

Screwdrivers tend to be a bit hit and miss. I go through Pozi 2 size drivers every 2 years but I've never had chance to try Snap On so its only been the normal Names i've used Stanley,CK, Draper(not great )

Other spanners I've got that seem hard wearing are Britool and King Dick. Both still available and old British manufacturers < not sure if they still make them here but they still seem high quality.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 11:40 am

In my experience -Snap etc tend to be VERY expensive (you are paying fir that chap in his van to come round every week!) - without a doubt - autojumbles are the place to get tools - and only take bargains - don't worry too much about 'sets' - although my Britool socket set which I inherited many moons ago is excellent. Top tip is to keep sockets in size order on a 'stick' - one for AF, one for Whit - and one for Metric. And always put them straight back after use - saves ages searching for the right size. Poundland do good fabric tool rolls - again - one for each range of spanners - keeps them handy!

Post by **andrew.searston** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:17 pm

my brother has a halfords ball bearing tool chest full to the brim with tools. i dont rate machine mart much as ive bought a spanner set and their was one missing and also ive bought a spanner and ratchet set and the ratchet keeps slipping a tooth or two and that was the first time i used it. i know a mate who has a snap on tool box worth 3,500 (just the box) but its in my dreams at the minute.

Post by **Blaketon** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:48 pm

As has been said, budget tools won't stand a lot of use. I would tend to buy from engineers merchants, where customers will tend to require durability rather than a shifting spanner to assemble the new wardrobe.

My spanners are Britool and I cannot fault them. My father has Britool spanners and these are fifty years old. His socket set is a similar age and also Britool. The quality of the wratchet is first class.

My socket set is German (Not a well known make and I can't recall the name but it was bought from an old fashioned Motor Factors, who supplied the trade - the same place as I got my Britool from). Other tools which seem good are Elora and Sykes Pickavant. I have some Sealey tools which seem like good value for money.

Mind you, if you're going into the motor trade, I should have thought a good laptop would be the most important item these days

.

Post by **andrew.searston** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 1:16 pm

why a laptop

Post by **Blaketon** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 2:02 pm

My point is that modern cars tend to be highly computerised. I know that breakdown vans often have to carry laptops.

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 2:16 pm

Handy in the Minor too - to keep track of what's happening on this Forum! And - if it breaks down - to ask for help!

Post by **millerman** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:05 pm

Get a Halfords trade card and get tools from there

Post by **andrew.searston** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 3:34 pm

thats my next move but i have to be in a the trade before i can get that

Post by **simmitc** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 4:06 pm

When I needed a socket to shift a dynamo bracket and was parked outside Halfords, the chap in the shop said that as Minor owners tended to do all their own work, it was branch (and possibly company) policy to give them a trade card, just show your MMOC card and sound knowledgeable.

Post by **andrew.searston** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 5:19 pm

im only 16 and have a baby face
and also i dont have a mmoc card
but i should get my level 1 qualified certificate soon

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 7:51 pm

Just go in with a dirty boiler-suit on, and bluff it out!

Post by **andrew.searston** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:12 pm

great idea
now where my overalls
ill tell my mum not to wash them

Post by **bmcecosse** » Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:58 pm

Good grief - yer Mum washes the overalls ??? I have to sneak mine into the machine at dead of night - and remove them first thing in the morning before I get caught! Mind you - working on Steam Locomotives does get them (and me) VERY dirty!