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Etrips posted:Okay tool thread, help me decide what to buy because I'm being completely indecisive. Want to pick up some tools to work on my car, so I primarily need metric tools. But I cannot make up my mind if I should just buy a large tool kit like Crescent 170 piece kit or something similar from harbor freight OR just buy smaller pieces as I go along with what projects I am currently working on. My only issue with the last option is... what IF I need a certain tool right then and there but I don't have it but could have had it if I went with a bigger kit! You're not going to have a kit suited to every specific need, and buying too big just means paying for things you might not ever use. You will always need to add to a kit and that's OK. Start with something that gets you 70-90% there, then buy a bigger hammer (E: meaning things you find out you need later). You can shop around for odds and ends. With regards to the crescent kit, it was mentioned before by someone else and me. Someone with that kit said quality wasn't really good, but I had a slightly different one and had zero problems for a decade or longer, (one without the crescent shifter). I worked out later that mine was an older design made in Taiwan, while that kit is a newer cheaper one made in China. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 10:37 on Aug 3, 2017 |
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Aug 3, 2017 10:33
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I was the other one with that kit. I think the quality is actually pretty good with the exception of one of the ratchets getting past QC when it shouldn't have. That was easy enough for me to fix but I'm sure Amazon would have replaced it if I asked
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Aug 3, 2017 14:38
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Still, - and it's a shame it had to come to this, I'd go Taiwan over China any day. Ever since many aussie and US brands moved to asia that's the choice we have to make. Taiwan is way ahead because most manufacturers moved there first. Sadly it's Taiwan for premium, China for cheap stuff and that's just, I mean, well gently caress, that's the state of affairs and worth keeping an eye out for when picking cheap tools. I did for a short time switch to minimax. Most of their stuff was well priced and made in Germany or Japan. I gave up on that when I broke my minimax hammer way too easily. (What is it with me and hammers?) Fo3 fucked around with this message at 15:59 on Aug 3, 2017 |
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Aug 3, 2017 15:56
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I'd additionally recommend that your first set be 1/4" drive. I can't think of anything a beginner is going to be doing that will require the heft of 3/8" drive tools, and 1/4" drive are generally a lot easier to get into tight places.
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Aug 3, 2017 17:58
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What's your budget? The Gearwrench 1/4 and 3/8 sets are excellent quality for the price and you can find them for sale with bonus sets. Tekton is another decent budget brand. Edit: Part number here http://m.ebay.com/itm/GearWrench-57...a%257Ciid%253A1 Harbor Freight Pittsburgh Pro line has some gems too, buy what you need from HF and replace it with better quality tools when it breaks. Bulk Vanderhuge fucked around with this message at 18:16 on Aug 3, 2017 |
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Aug 3, 2017 18:09
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MrYenko posted:I'd additionally recommend that your first set be 1/4" drive. I can't think of anything a beginner is going to be doing that will require the heft of 3/8" drive tools, and 1/4" drive are generally a lot easier to get into tight places. no no no no no no no no
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Aug 3, 2017 18:17
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MrYenko posted:I'd additionally recommend that your first set be 1/4" drive. I can't think of anything a beginner is going to be doing that will require the heft of 3/8" drive tools, and 1/4" drive are generally a lot easier to get into tight places. You need 3/8 for anything over 12mm really. Get 3/8 first, then 1/2 when dealing with stuff that is stuck or rusted. It's really easy to buy a 1/4 with hex bit set as a side thing, it should be the last size you buy. Really only if you deal with small fiddly stuff or find yourself only using 10mm or lower sockets on things that aren't even tightly done up. Ever replaced a sparkplug with a 1/4"? I have never seen a 1/4" spark plug socket. And even if there was such a thing they aren't common in the small and cheap 1/4" sets you can buy later, after you get 3/8" and 1/2" sockets that actually come with the sockets usually as standard Fo3 fucked around with this message at 18:25 on Aug 3, 2017 |
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Aug 3, 2017 18:20
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Yo man, gently caress 1/4"
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Aug 3, 2017 18:34
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Or buy something like the Crescent kit that has 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 in all the common sizes and never worry or fret about it again. I went down the road of trying to build up a set piecemeal over time and just ended up throwing all the crap away and getting a proper all in one set like the Crescent kit. Way easier to manage and store.
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Aug 3, 2017 18:37
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Yeah, I'm still going for that. Specifically this one https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000BQMLLY/ref=olp_product_details?_encoding=UTF8&me= It's the one I've had for over a decade, and I think it's the better one made in taiwan. It's not my go to. I have 25 y/o+ made in aussie sidchrome for 1/2" sockets, combo and ring spanners. Plus minimax side gripping 1/2 sockets and 1/4" socket set. As well as a bunch of flexi-head ratchet spanners that are getting more use recently. But I use the crescent set every time I need a 3/8" and it's never let me down. E: you'll probably need to at least buy some extensions and flexi joints, as well as a sliding t-bar or breaker bar though. Fo3 fucked around with this message at 18:50 on Aug 3, 2017 |
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Aug 3, 2017 18:45
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Fo3 posted:You need 3/8 for anything over 12mm really. Get 3/8 first, then 1/2 when dealing with stuff that is stuck or rusted. All cogent points, but I don't see a new guy under the car with a 3/8" breaker bar trying to get rusty suspensions apart, hence my recommendation. You're right about spark plug sockets, though; They are always 3/8" drive, despite the fact that it just encourages idiots (and also new guys who don't know what 14ftlbs feels like, yet,) to put ten times the required torque value on them. I will echo the sentiment that whatever you get, get a set. Then, as poo poo breaks or gets lost, replace it with better stuff. That way when you need a 9/32" socket, you have it, but you can still spend a little extra to get a good quality 10mm after you Also, all you guys have never had to carry your tools to the job, have you? Half inch stuff can get hosed.
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Aug 3, 2017 18:56
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Yeah, up ladders, on roofs, often jumping across levels and trying not to break tiles or whatever. Didn't notice the 1/2" socket weight because of the weight of the oxy acet tanks, the refrigerant reclaim machine, the vac pump, the 30kg of refrigerant cylinder or the compressor I was carrying. 
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Aug 3, 2017 19:01
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MrYenko posted:I'd additionally recommend that your first set be 1/4" drive. I can't think of anything a beginner is going to be doing that will require the heft of 3/8" drive tools, and 1/4" drive are generally a lot easier to get into tight places. I'll Nth comment that you shouldn't do this. IMO, 3/8" is the best all around for most auto work. That's probably 80% of what I use, 5% being 1/4" and 15% using 1/2" drive. Half inch is a lot nicer for busting lug nuts and messing with suspension stuff. Anything in the engine bay will be fine with 3/8" tools.
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Aug 3, 2017 19:07
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I would also recommend a torque wrench. Sometime you just need it, but if you are new to working with this stuff there is a tendency in my experience to way overtighten eveything and you need to get a feel for the pressures you are dealing with and what it feels like imo. I would highly recommend an magnet and a mirror on an extension and a flexible grabber. You will drop something at some point and you arent going anywhere when it happens.
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Aug 3, 2017 19:41
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Astonishing Wang posted:Yo man, gently caress 1/4" no, gently caress CHEAP 1/4". I absolutely love my Snap-on and Matco 1/4" ratchets. But seriously, I don't know what you WOULDN'T use a 3/8" on. Telling someone not to get a 3/8" drive is just bad advice. particularly since I have a couple 3/8" ratchets that I'm willing to bet are smaller and tougher than any 1/4" this guy is gonna buy. If you really need it for tight spaces, Matco makes a solid 3/8" shorty, swivel head ratchet that has done me right for several years now.
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Aug 3, 2017 21:41
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There's always the Wright 3430 for tiny 3/8 drive wrenches. Not that I'm collecting cool 3/8 wrenches or anything lately, no sir.
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Aug 3, 2017 21:47
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:no, gently caress CHEAP 1/4". ~clicks like on u~
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Aug 3, 2017 23:27
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mekilljoydammit posted:There's always the Wright 3430 for tiny 3/8 drive wrenches. I can get a really good deal on Wright Tool through my work and was about to buy the 3490 as my " use forever and pass it on to my kids" kind of ratchet. Never noticed the 3430 before... now to justify buying both. I actually toured their factory last year, which was really cool. Super nice people and it was really neat to see the entire process from steel being delivered to wrenches being chromed and everything in between.
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Aug 4, 2017 02:30
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My dad got me this Task Force kit 14 years ago and it has just been the best toolkit, has held up to a lot of abuse and I've managed to keep track of most of it: https://www.lowes.com/pd/Task-Force-155-Piece-Professional-Tool-Kit/1038691 Something like that is a great begging set I think
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Aug 4, 2017 02:37
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WashinMyGoat posted:I can get a really good deal on Wright Tool through my work and was about to buy the 3490 as my " use forever and pass it on to my kids" kind of ratchet. Never noticed the 3430 before... now to justify buying both. I feel like Wright is one of a few mid-range manufacturers that haven't let things go to pot. I'm using SK for my basic stuff which also seem good, but as soon as I found out about the 3430 I knew I needed one. The head is literally the size of the socket. It's amazing.
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Aug 4, 2017 02:42
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Goddamn i wish i hadnt looked up what yall were talking about. The long 1/2 is nice too. gently caress. E: is the long one even worth it? With such a small head can it handle it? DogonCrook fucked around with this message at 03:06 on Aug 4, 2017 |
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Aug 4, 2017 03:01
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mekilljoydammit posted:I feel like Wright is one of a few mid-range manufacturers that haven't let things go to pot. I'm using SK for my basic stuff which also seem good, but as soon as I found out about the 3430 I knew I needed one. That looks so... out of proportion. I want to buy it just to see it in person. It looks like a really lovely 3/4" ratchet with no scale. edit: WHAT 
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Aug 4, 2017 03:04
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 https://www.google.com/search?site=...1.0.nBy-aBBIlYs gently caress your lovely kits and hard cases.
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Aug 4, 2017 03:22
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EightBit posted:
do you have a minute to hear about our lord and savior the magnetic rail?
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Aug 4, 2017 06:48
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StormDrain posted:That looks so... out of proportion. I want to buy it just to see it in person. It looks like a really lovely 3/4" ratchet with no scale. I know! It looks like what I've been missing my whole life, but I'm just not sure about that 45-tooth action. I guess they can't miniaturize the double pawl design enough to fit it in that lil beastie.
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Aug 4, 2017 07:22
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1.7° or bust https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7VO0mO_Nsg
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Aug 4, 2017 07:25
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I'm partial to Three hundred Sixty Five Degrees Burnin down the house!
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Aug 4, 2017 09:29
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Am I the only one that thinks that once the engagement angle becomes too small things become kinda uncanny? Anyways, on the 1/4" vs. 3/8" vs. 1/2": 1/4" is needed for small fiddly stuff, gets into most spaces, and generally nice to have. Also doesn't cost much, and with a screwdriver handle and specialty bits you can have the equivalent of a bunch of screw drivers. 3/8" covers maybe 90% of all use cases for the rest, but it's kinda close to 1/4" and there tends to be overlap. 1/2" is great for brakes/wheels/suspension plus everywhere where there's enough room. I have very little 3/8" but it's been creeping in as many specialty sockets have that. Also I inherited some 3/8" stuff, although mainly imperial. I guess my take away is: If space and weight are limited, get a nice 1/4" set and a nice 3/8" set. If not, go 1/4" + 1/2". On that note, I got a good deal on a used 3/4" set, and that's definitely a once-a-year-or-less thing, but when you need the socket size or the leverage...
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Aug 4, 2017 10:17
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I need to remember to take a picture of mine when I get home. I have an SK 7mm socket on it right now - so the body of the socket before it necks down is a tiny bit smaller diameter than the head of the Wright ratchet, but ... yeah. To me anyway, it mostly obsoletes 1/4" drive stuff because what's the point when this thing is literally the size of a 1/4 drive ratchet in about every dimension? However, the action on my Wera Zyklop is nicer. (look, I know, but I had to suffer through decades of using my dad's "whatever's on sale" tools and having to try to remember which ratchet actually still ratchets. I'm overcompensating in the direction of nice stuff)
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Aug 4, 2017 14:37
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Raluek posted:I know! It looks like what I've been missing my whole life, but I'm just not sure about that 45-tooth action. I guess they can't miniaturize the double pawl design enough to fit it in that lil beastie. um... why not? 88 teeth here:  
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Aug 4, 2017 16:11
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bolind posted:On that note, I got a good deal on a used 3/4" set, and that's definitely a once-a-year-or-less thing, but when you need the socket size or the leverage... Using it for wheel lugs I thought it was broken at first. There's so much more leverage over the 1/2" one I have that it seemed too easy hitting 100 ft/lbs.
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Aug 4, 2017 16:36
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Personally, I'd start with the 1" drive because it doubles as home defense.  Is there any way to identify old welding lenses? I've got a stack of them I inherited from my great-gpa, and I can tell they're different shades from looking at a bright light, but they've got no markings at all. I don't expect there to be any shade 14s here, but we're in the eclipse path, and all the welding shops have sold out. Just hoping I might get lucky.
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Aug 4, 2017 16:44
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:um... why not?
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Aug 4, 2017 16:47
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eddiewalker posted:Personally, I'd start with the 1" drive because it doubles as home defense. That socket would be useful to "snug" on the oil cap for the next owner.
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Aug 4, 2017 16:49
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C-Bangin' it 
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Not everyone has a hard on for flex head stuff, and I personally don't like teardrop heads with the direction lever. I dislike it more than I like flex heads, if you get what I mean.
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Aug 4, 2017 16:50
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All these years later I'm still wondering about what happened to minimax. It was only sold in Australia I think, but their gist was only German or Japanese made gear, trying to stand out when most manufacturers were moving to Taiwan. I want to know who they actually are, because my tech college had their tools (where I first heard of them), but later on their website disappeared and could only buy on ebay. Then their ebay site disappeared so looked gone for good... Now search again (it's been 6 years since I bothered), they're only on facebook with a shopify link. https://minimax-precision-tools.myshopify.com/collections/all/ratchets Who the gently caress are they? They have a huge range but not sure about their hammers. Only linking for science and the fact they seem to have small ratchets too. The only minimax ratchet I have is 1/2" and weighs 2kg or something ridiculous because I picked the biggest one! Fo3 fucked around with this message at 17:16 on Aug 4, 2017 |
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Aug 4, 2017 17:13
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GnarlyCharlie4u posted:um... why not? I dunno, that Snappy head design looks like it has significantly more volume than the Wright one, and I dunno why else they would be selling a 45-tooth ratchet in tyool 2017  Especially because you need a tiny ratchet when you are working in tight spaces, and that's when you want as many teeth as you can get.
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Aug 4, 2017 22:32
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Thanks to all the 1/4" ratchet chat, I picked up a new one from HF. drat you, thread. (I bought it to stash at my desk at work, but it's nicer than my Craftsman, so I'm keeping it here and leaving the Craftsman at work.)
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Aug 5, 2017 00:02
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Raluek posted:I dunno, that Snappy head design looks like it has significantly more volume than the Wright one, and I dunno why else they would be selling a 45-tooth ratchet in tyool 2017 I'd argue that the ability to angle the wrench slightly (or a great deal) is far more important than size, once you pass the threshold of "it fits", which these wrenches have never failed me on. Edit: maybe better way to put this: I've encountered far more problems with the swept area of the handle than the size of the head. Oh, and then take into account that the Snap-On versions are almost unbelievably strong. I'd not hesitate for a second to stomp on them if the bolt were an appropriate size. Krakkles fucked around with this message at 00:38 on Aug 5, 2017 |
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Aug 5, 2017 00:21
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Krakkles posted:This post is great for two reasons - the superior 88 tooth mini design, and THE GODDAMN FLEX HEAD. There are an awful lot of people drooling over fixed head ratchets in here, which is just wrong. Have a look at these. Best of all worlds, IMO. Adjustable head angle, that locks in place and doesn't flop around. Or you can lock the slider in the released position to have a normal flex head. I don't think I'll buy another ratchet that doesn't have this feature. As far as head size goes, I think there's a point where less metal = less strength, so I would be worried about them breaking. I feel like if it were possible to make the head smaller while keeping the same torque rating, then they would be more common, simply for the fact that it means reduced manufacturing costs.
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Aug 5, 2017 05:34
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