What kind of tools to people keep in their garage?

ive decided that im going to start to build up a decent toolset, i used to have about 1k's worth of snap-on stuff when i was a mech, but sold it all when i changed jobs...

Does anyone have any reccomendation on what manufacturer of tools to look at? im not going snap on again because they are stupid expensive!!! im not after every tool under the sun, just a decent socket set, spanners etc

All joking aside, Halford Professional tools are pretty good, and have a lifetime warranty.

I've got a lot of Draper stuff, which seems well suited to the DIY mechanic tbh.

Halfords professional tools look lovely and shiny, but I bet the sockets are no match for air compressor ones.

I can't say who's best because I've got a mixed bag of just about everything.

another vote for Halfords pro , i even have a few of their ratchet spanners , that get some abuse at work with no problems

Halfords professional tools look lovely and shiny, but I bet the sockets are no match for air compressor ones.

the shiny sockets shouldn't be used on air tools , as they have thinner walls compared to impact sockets, quite possibly difference steel used also

the shiny sockets shouldn't be used on air tools , as they have thinner walls compared to impact sockets, quite possibly difference steel used also

Yup... brute force and ignorance wins for me every time

A grand's worth of Snap-On is what? a socket set?

i have about 95% Snap-on (or their cheaper Bluepoint version) at work , i break a few impact sockets a year but otherwise pretty reliable stuff if you can afford it , but no point if not a full time tech

Yeah, i had bits of a socket set, a breaker bar, some big sockets and some other misc stuff... i mainly worked on Transit vans and 7.5t wagons so didnt need anything smaller than a 17mm

plus it took me 2 years as a YTS boy to afford all that stuff as it was!

Ive just bought a 120pc halfords pro socket/spanner set.. £99 down from £150.

Main thing is an easy lifetime warranty - replaced no questions asked (!!).

If you're gonna use an air impact wrench - never use chromed sockets - the chrome plating plus the steel are relatively weak and can explode - showering you with sharp bits!.....

I'm a bit of a tool nut myself admittedly - have a craftsman small socket set in SAE and mm sizes whic I bought in Canada with a couple of handles and an Argos Torque wrench (extremely useful for the fabia....)

Good luck!

Bas

the halfords 1/2 inch drive shiney sockets lasted longer on the end of my ingersol rand than the snap on gear!!!!top stuff in my opinion,

btw - I did use chrome sockets with my impact wrench during my clutch fitting - couldn't be arsed to dig about for the proper ones in the toolbox....

Just I know you're not supposed to - but that made it kinda naughty and more exciting....

i just had to watch out for the health and safety berk coming,he would get a real sad on over this stuff,hate to think what he'd do if he found i once used a small bolt as a fuse for the mig:eek:

I'm trying to think of my basic stuff I have and have in a "man bag" of tools

Draper "big" socket set. I think 1/2" ?

Tiny socket set - 1/3"? very small anyway.

Variety of bits that fit in 10mm socket - Spline bits, Torx bits, Allen key type bits

Variety of flat & philips screwdrivers

VAGCOM

Ratchet screwdriver with variety of bits

Must be more - must be.

small will be 3/8 medium 1/4 and the large you refere to will be 1/2 inch drive which isn't large at all,i have quite a bit of inch drive tackle which just is big,tho i dread to think how hard some of the 2 1/2 inch drive stuff advertised in the teng catologue is to use,and as for price well poa of course:thumbup:

Defo; reccomend Halfords ratchet spanners:thumbup: £39.99 i think

Set of Torx bits always come in handy

Phil

I forgot about pliers, both bullnose and longnose. Longnose come in handy sometimes for extruding dropped bits out the engine bay - Or, so is one of those magnetic telescopic aerial things too.

My tool bag always has spare torx trim/arch liner type screws too, along with other random bits that you never know might come in useful ONE day. I also have a plastic box at my mate's garage with a load of bolts and screws from the stripping down of the first fabia. Again - never know when it might be needed, and I have used it on many an occasion.

and you have a perfect swappy ends screwdriver to get my no plates off,as the screws front and back are x head and flathead,so i can get my showplates on,

I brought this for working on cars and mountain bikes http://cgi1.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?MakeTrack&item=300189255938&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:uk

It has most things you require for most jobs.I also have a 1/2" drive ratchet and sockets plus a couple of sets of draper expert spanners.

The halfords professional tools are spot on.

The lifetime warrenty covers all sockets and non moving mechanisms.

And it means lifetime.

The only thing it doesnt cover is the rachet mechanisms, but these can be purchased for 4 quid and are a piece of **** to fit.

.

1/2" torque wrench for about £13 from screwfix seems to do what it's meant to and be well built, same as the Argos one at £15 I think.

Don't bother with Wilkinsons spanners, managed to snap one whilst working on a suspension strut with little effort.

Halfords Pro combi spanners seem fine by me. I use Snap-On ratchets because when I was learning car stuff years ago I watched my mentor remove a cylinder head with a Span-One quarter-inch drive and a lot of brute force and ever since then I've been convinced! Anyway, put it this way: unless you are the sort to lose tools, a really good ratchet will last you years and be used on every single job. I'm a big fan of using a 3/8 ratchet for most car jobs, and a 1/4 for the rest (so much easier to swing them) so having the best money can buy is useful.

My top tip on sockets: get a selection of different makes (I've got various Sanp-On, Facom, Stahlwille, Britool, CK and others I've forgotten). Why on earth? Because they are much more obviously different from each other than a 13 from a 14mm of the same make. So for instance I have 13mm Facom, 14mm Stahwille, 15mm CK, 17mm Snap-On, and I can tell them apart instantly in poor light at arm's length when I'm lying under the car.

Breaker bar - Sykes Pickavant half-inch drive. 2 foot long, cost about £25, and it's got a very tough head design.

Impact driver set (for big fat slot and cross-head screws) - Halfords Pro.

Ball joint splitters - I've got a fabulous quality big one which doesn't seem to fit anything on any of my recent cars, so I end up using the rubbishy little thing I bought off a market stall for a fiver. It's bent but has not yet fallen to bits....

Brake hose spanners - Draper.

Shifting spanner - 15" cheap and cheerful (there's so much metal in there it's basically unbustable). My mate saw me using it and said 'you should carry one of these in the car'. I couldn't think of much roadside use for it and asked him why. 'Comes in handy for adjusting the bad attitudes of other drivers.'

Torque wrench. I've got one somewhere.....

Screwdrivers - Stanley seem to make very good ones. The ones with soft rubbery inserts in the handle are easier to grip when your hands are all greasy'n'orrible.

Hammers - big one, medium one and poxy little one which you use to whack the **** out of your driveway when you lose your temper - it makes you feel better without actually trashing the concrete.

Those seem to be the things I spend most time cleaning and putting back on the rack, so they must be the ones I use a lot!

Oh, and I always carry my best quality tools in the car (just the basics). If I break a spanner at home I can stroll up the road and get another, but that isn't an option halfway up to M6 at 2am. I carry a Maglite for those occasions too.

don't agree there,i wouldn't have anything but snap on at first,but some of the hafords stuff is stronger,and they have a lifetime guarantee,and you wouldn't touch some of the stuff i do with a 1/2 inch ratchet,1 inch drive all the way:thumbup:

snap on do make the strongest breaker bar i have ever seen tho,i've had a 6ft piece of scafold bar on the end of my 1/2 in drive and been hanging off it(and i'm over 16 stone)the bend on the bar is unreal,but it never snaps,its been subject to this sort of abuse for 10 years,others have fallen but the snap on one lives on:thumbup:

Snap-on breaker bar , Hmm , yes i've snapped one

snapped the 3/8" square off an air ratchet once, ouch

@ Jason - Wot no angle grinder????