Britool, What is in your box?

[gaz1]

I have been aware that i had some britool sockets never used them as of yet

however i have my dads socket set and its as old as i am or around that area for the socket set



there sockets ww and also metric i believe

the others that i have are standared sockets and spanners and now i have some halfords pros spanners that i wasnt aware i had until the sort out on another thread

 

[brightspark]

the concesus is old britool is much better than new britool which is made for a price to suit most punters who wont pay over the odds for good stuff but think there getting it by brand name

 

[Bill Edwards]

Britool made some good quality tools, no doubts there.

But some (at least) of the stuff you can now buy with their name on is utter rubbish and isn't fit for use. Not many years ago I bought a ratchet which failed quicker than a Draper one I had, spanners which were rubbish - I won't buy anything from them now.

It's another case where it's sad to see such a decent (perhaps never top end, but decent) brand down to the lowest of the low such as Silverline.

 

[ronan]

But even Teng isn't what it was, i used to buy a fair bit of it as the local car parts place did it and discounts were usually given. But i don't think it is now what it once was.

 

[daleyd]

ive never been a fan of Britool spanners of all variations and all i can say is they just never felt or looked right enough to be classed as quality...Now there stuff like pullers ect i have no problem buying but its got to be early stuff before Asia made stuff came on line..

A lot of the earlier stuff is more "functional" than fancy in my opinion, the ratchet set we had was pretty old and had been thoroughly abused, still worked like new.

Their older spanners ( I think I've got a couple somewhere) are the same, not the nicest to use or look at but they did seem to take some abuse.

 

[ronan]

So we've established Britool is now like silverline. What is really good quality, buy it once and have it forever type stuff ?

 

[Bill Edwards]

So we've established Britool is now like silverline. What is really good quality, buy it once and have it forever type stuff ?

Well isn't that the million $ question...

I don't think there is anything other than possibly one brand, Snap-on. They still seem to do good stuff but you certainly pay for it. I suspect that it's possible to get much of the same high quality items from a different brand name for a lot less, but SO (I think) have the best stuff available gathered under the one name.

With that said, I know nothing about Mac tools so can't rule them out - I guess SO is the only one I know that seems to always do good gear.

 

[244t]

Well like most folks say, the later gear is not a patch on the older tools.

I have essentially the same spanner made at different periods all stamped Britool, but the finish etc. Differs widely.

taskmaster, that was a brand marketed by Brown Brothers, I recall buying one or two items when my exwife worked for their Middlesbrough and Preston depots, but now they are no longer.

I will endeavour to get some pictures up of one or two of my items.

King Dick, I feel like supporting them for the items I struggle to get in the original Britool brand Such as torx bits etc.

Thanks again for your comments etc regarding Britool.

 

[armalites]

I've got a couple of breaker bars and a 1/2" ratchet.

I like the breaker bars because they have a satin finish and a nice rubber handle, unfortunately I snapped the end on one recently. The local supplier swapped it no problems but sadly the new is a bling shiny chrome thing and it's just not as nice.

I like the ratchet but I do find that the direction lever is too easy to operate by accident and I've had many an occasion where I've been ratcheting away only to find I just undone a nut I spent ages trying to get in place!

 

[Cobbler]

I've still got some of the Britool spanners I bought when I left school in 1965, in those days it was the best you could get, sad really to come down like that. I've still got a few of the open enders & some of there mini rings. Not used much now as they are imperial AF. I've also got a 24" breaker bar that I found middle of a roundabout on the A40 one day, I couldn't leave it there as it was a safety hazard, in could bring someone off a motorbike, so hazards on, block lane & retrieve it, purely for safety reasons you understand. It's a decent bar with a plastic handle, seems a quality one, it must be older than the fall in quality stuff. Oh and a torque wrench, bought second hand in about 1971 for a fiver, nearly forgot that.

 

[Richard.]

There is only 1 "britool" and it is long gone. The old hammered chrome finished britool England stuff was awesome. It was made for engineers who were setting them selves up for life. They were ugly looking spanners with slim bodies, wide backs and thick rings but you'd need to be related to hulk to break one. There is no comparison nowadays with this hallmark/expert highly polished crap. Pick up the two together and the weight alone will tell you which is the real British tool.

 

[ronan]

Same as moore and wright then, their old stuff was good, i was looking online at their micrometers and they are very cheap. Probably ok for model engineering or occasional use, but i'll buy mitutoyu in future.

 

[brightspark]

Same as moore and wright then, their old stuff was good, i was looking online at their micrometers and they are very cheap. Probably ok for model engineering or occasional use, but i'll buy mitutoyu in future.

why woudl u say ok for model engineers use . they probably use them more than most others as with things being a lot smaller need to be more accurate than larger stuff

 

[Bill Edwards]

why woudl u say ok for model engineers use . they probably use them more than most others as with things being a lot smaller need to be more accurate than larger stuff

True, but I should think that the average model engineer will treat them a lot differently to most people for whom time is money and want to get jobs out the door.
Far less drops off the bench and being used to tap things into place because it's nearby from a hobbiest!

 

[Swift&Bold]

The first spanners I ever bought (not the torque wrench) BRITOOL
........and my everyday assortment.

 

[bricol]

I've got a hex drive socket set. Lost the ratchet when in was 17 when I think I left it under a bonnet and drove off. Its annoyed me for the last 29 years!

 

[rory1]

My favourite out of all my Britoolgear is an old 3/4 drive ratchet. It's had some abuse and it's still going strong. They had an identicle one in a place I used to work that was used like a flogging spanner! The handle was mashed from being hit with a small flogging hammer but the ratchet mechanism was still going strong.

 

[octo0072000]

My nicest Britool 'item' is a hex drive whitworth socket set in original tin case - pics later

ive got a smaller version must be classed as 3/8 drive set but mine is AF seven sockets all 6 sided, ratchet push through type,
two hex bars, in a tin case no paint left on the case now

 

[Chris Stevens]

Same as moore and wright then, their old stuff was good, i was looking online at their micrometers and they are very cheap. Probably ok for model engineering or occasional use, but i'll buy mitutoyu in future.

New MW stuff seems very poor cheaply made ROC now. Bought some old (but appear never or little used) MW micrometers from Ebay a few months ago, and very nicely made and still work perfectly. Cost a good deal less than new ROC as well!

 

[Swift&Bold]

I bought a lovely old Starrett micrometer recently, made in Scotland.