Our Favourite Workshop Equipment Thread.

[scooters]

For me its a 20year old pair of water pump pliers...I use them all the time G94 psa use where you can't get fingers in. Perfectly shaped end for cranking back a belt tensioner

 

Pop flaring tool..its a basic sealy but easy to use and cheap.

 

Mole grips but those angry has look fantastic

 

An ancient..19thC foot long metal working file...cuts shapes and will whip through a hardened 12mm nut in minutes gets into narrow gaps and puts on weight onto the victim effectively.

 

An extra long Alan key that is perfect for pinning tensioners

[shite_meister]

I had all my old tools nicked about two years ago so had to start from scratch, I tend to buy fairly decent stuff like Teng and Facom if its on special offer as we don't have Halfords here but I don't have any Snap-On as its a bit overkill for my needs.

 

My favourites would be these:

 

Mini 1/4 socket set, bought it because I thought it was cool and thought that I wouldn't actually use it much but I use it loads, its brilliant for getting into awkward areas and dicking about with fiddly motorbike fairings. About the size of field mouse thats been flattened a bit with a mallet.

 

 

 

Another Teng set, I wanted a quality general set that would last a long time and allow me to do most jobs with just the one set so I can just throw this set in any car I use, its got metric and imperial and all kinds of pliers/wrenches/spanners/screwdrivers allowing me to carry on swearing at my Mini one minute and losing skin and blood to the BMW the next. About the weight of Eddie Large's fat head.

 

 

 

Draper multi meter, normally I avoid draper like I would avoid being in the same kebab shop as Trigger as I've been let down a few times by Draper stuff (Trigger has NEVER let me down and was most understanding when he caught me in his wife's underwear). It cost something like £12 which is frankly stirling value for money in these modern times and its been bloody brilliant when I've needed it however I was dissapointed that I couldn't text on it, I could play London Bridge Is Falling Down with its continuity tester though so....

 

 

Facom 1/4 ratchet, I'd like to marry this ratchet and have its ratchet-babies but I can't so instead I will just have to enjoy it in all its 72-toothed ratchety goodness. Often just knowing I have this in my tool set is enough to see me through the most trying of days.

 

 

 

[stuboy]

my trolley jack..

[shite_meister]

my trolley jack..

 

Thats a beautiful action!

[Justin Case]

Rubber-handled molegrips from Maplin, never seen any others but they are seriously useful, much nicer to use than normal molegrips. The bullnose ones are especially handy!

 

Yes, they are very pleasant to use. Last year's birthday present from Mrs A

 

 

My favourite however is a Garringtons 6" adjustable spanner, picked up for just £1 from an open day at a water-mill; absolutely no slack in the screw and it's beautifully balanced when you use it. I don't think that you can beat these superbly made Britsh tools, you know that they are just right as soon as you pick them up.

[Cavcraft]

You only really need two tools anyhow. 'If you can't fix it with a hammer it's an electrical problem'.

[mk1_4dr]

Theres a couple of tools that I really wouldn't be without.

Firstly, my 1/4drive set, I bought it with my second wage from the garage (I bought a bass with my first weeks wage) I've used it for almost everything on every car Ive had so far. The box is pretty much knacked now, but the tools within are as good as ever. I like the botton you have to press to release the socket/extension too...

 

And my SnapOn long handle 3/8ratchet. Its got a long handle and an adjustable head thats lockable in 10 or 12 positions. I did like it and use it more before I put a replacement mechanism in it as its quite a bit courser now....

[Andrew353w]

I bought it with my second wage from the garage (I bought a bass with my first weeks wage)

 

That is, without doubt, THE most expensive pint I've EVER heard of.....!

[jonny69]

I don't think I could pick one tool out of my collection. They all have their merits. A couple of years ago I made a conscious decision to only buy quality tools and replaced a load of worn out budget stuff with better tools. The difference is amazing. All the tools are lighter, slimmer, stronger, fit better and are more comfortable to use. Some of them feel so nice to use that I actually look forward to using them

 

So some of my favourites.

 

1. Makita 18V Li-Ion battery grinder

 

I bought this after I replaced my battery drill. I went for a Makita Li-Ion drill because I'd been impressed with my mains powered Makita tools and noticed they did a range of other tools to go with the batteries. I'd used a battery grinder a few years before and it was 'ok' but a Makita one came up on eBay at a nice low price. I just wanted it for lopping off short lengths of steel from the stores instead of carrying the full 7 metre length over to the chop saw in the workshop, but it turned out much better than I could ever have imagined and has basically replaced my mains powered grinder. As well as the grinder, I've now added a couple of extra batteries, a jigsaw and a fluorescent work light. Pic of the grinder:

 

 

2. Sealey socket set

 

This was one of the first things I bought when I moved out of home. My dad had a 1/2" drive Britool set in a metal case which was ancient, but said a lot about the quality. I wanted a similar set but, as we all know, the quality isn't there any more with most tools. I looked around for a bit and found the Sealey AK 692, which comes in a metal case and has both metric and imperial. I took a look and knew it was the one. Nice positive ratchet, slim sockets and extensions and Walldrive. I'm happy to say it has taken some punishment from me including a few proper poundings with a club hammer and it's still going strong. Never let me down and has never rounded anything off either. I also spotted a set on eBay for a bargainacious £25 delivered, so I snapped it up as a spare for work. I rate it much more highly than Halfords ones; it just feels a lot higher quality all round.

 

 

3. Clarke 150TE Mig welder

 

I bought this on recommendation about 10 years ago and it has been a really reliable machine. I'd probably go as far as to say it has transformed my life from struggling with repair work to not having to think about it twice. It was a big outlay for me at the time but it has paid for itself many many times over.

 

 

4. Draper 10mm x 11mm spanner

 

I don't know where this one came from. I don't remember buying it for sure, but it's one of the most used spanners in my set. It gets used on everything and is such a handy size because it's short. There's no need for 10mm and 11mm spanners to be long because you can just wrench the heads clean off bolts with most spanners anyway. Can't find a pic but it looks a lot like this little fella except a bit shorter:

 

[shite_meister]

I bought it with my second wage from the garage (I bought a bass with my first weeks wage)

 

That is, without doubt, THE most expensive pint I've EVER heard of.....!

 

I rather think he meant one of these:

 

Agree about those Sealey AK692 3/8 sets, I had one but it got knicked, very good quality set that and I liked the old school metal box.

[whitevanman]

Arrrgh....I couldn't pick just one

 

Cebora Mig Welder

Clarke lathe and milling machine

300ltr Compressor

Britool combi spanners

Halfords pro 1/4" - 3/8" socket set

 

though as I have just splashed out on a plasme cutter I suspect it may go to the top of the list once I get a chance to play with it

[RoadworkUK]

 

Soooo much better than laying on the floor under a car and getting a stray bolt jammed into your spine.