Quality sockets and spanners

[Smallfry]

I am still using the Britool socket set and spanners my father had, and he checked out forty five years ago, also King Dick and Gordon. All gone now though, except Britool which is just badge engineered average stuff now.
I honestly don't know what I would buy these days, especially as it all seems a bit bling. Shiny and slippery if you have oily hands, or gloves nowadays I suppose.

 

[grim_d]

i've been on a set of Halfords Advanced spanners for a good ten years if not longer

Gearwrench rebranded back then, like almost their whole range. The old rollcabs still had "made in USA" stamped on them, tools were made in Taiwan.

Quality is different now, presume different supplier.

I have loads of gearwrench socketry and spanners, can't fault it. 1/4 drive set worked on aircraft for 8 years and is as good as the day it was bought, Just recently replaced a couple lost sockets from my metric sets and the quality appears the same as it ever was.

Pliers and snips etc were rubbish tho...but so are most brands that aren't knipex.

 

[8ob]

Same here, I don’t generally abuse stuff. I do have a Britool breaker bar with a slight bend in it which resulted from desperate measures though!

Same here, as a general rule on sockets/ratchets I use 1/4" drive up to 10mm, 3/8" to about 19mm and 1/2" to about 32mm before going up to the 3/4" or 1" drive gear.

Bob

 

[SierraV6]

I honestly don't know what I would buy these days, especially as it all seems a bit bling. Shiny and slippery if you have oily hands, or gloves nowadays I suppose.

You have options:

(Facom 440s are borderline blingy I suppose).

Right, I need to get them off the dining room table before the missus sees them!

 

[grim_d]

(Facom 440s are borderline blingy I suppose).

And are unbelievably uncomfortable and awkward, how they sell these is beyond me, however that seems to be preference.

 

[Agrismith]

And are unbelievably uncomfortable and awkward, how they sell these is beyond me, however that seems to be preference.

I find the complete opposite. They are the most ergonomic and comfortable spanners I've ever used and make others feel like they are cutting your fingers off.

 

[SierraV6]

And are unbelievably uncomfortable and awkward, how they sell these is beyond me, however that seems to be preference.

I find the complete opposite. They are the most ergonomic and comfortable spanners I've ever used and make others feel like they are cutting your fingers off.

I find them comfortable enough, the angle of the open end can be a blessing or a curse though!

For comfort I find the Elora 205s are the best of the lot.

 

[MetalMonkey]

And are unbelievably uncomfortable and awkward, how they sell these is beyond me, however that seems to be preference.

I think they are the most comfortable combination spanners I own... albeit on the shorter side.
In terms of grip the Stahlwille 14 series are my close second (mainly due to the length), and then probably elora 205 and Stahlwille 13.
It’s really a personal preference thing.

 

[brightspark]

i have a 3/8th drive set of metric sockets up to 22mm made by bergen got em cheap from autojumble been using them on spring hangers and suspension on old rusty cars and cant kill them

 

[SierraV6]

I think they are the most comfortable combination spanners I own... albeit on the shorter side.
In terms of grip the Stahlwille 14 series are my close second (mainly due to the length), and then probably elora 205 and Stahlwille 13.
It’s really a personal preference thing.

It is personal preference as you say.

I do generally prefer longer spanners. The Unior No.129 in the photo above is the same length as a normal (i.e. with a conventional open end) No.120, and they dwarf the equivalent Facom 440. You get the benefit more as you go up the sizes obviously. The shorties have their uses though!

 

[jsf55]

i have a 3/8th drive set of metric sockets up to 22mm made by bergen got em cheap from autojumble been using them on spring hangers and suspension on old rusty cars and cant kill them

That's what i carry in the hot rod, amongst many other bits !

 

[Rannsachair]

You have options:

View attachment 396708

(Facom 440s are borderline blingy I suppose).

Right, I need to get them off the dining room table before the missus sees them!

I do like those Geodore Whitworth spanners, I use mine a lot.

These can also be handy:

My trusty old Britool spanners came from my dad:

Also have these, were a present, keep forgetting I have them:

 

[premmington]

I been in the motor repair trade 40 yrs in June.

I got too many spanners.

Good makes - shiney ones - narrow ones - offset ones. And some cheap s#ite

What I can tell you is - if you gonna do a job - you need a good selection to find one that fits...

 

[Trevorleach]

Always be wary when you see a mechanic is selling their snap on gear, it will be because it is totally worn out, and the warranty does not cover fair wear and tear!

Snap on is the mutts nuts, but the prices are now proper mad, if you ever see any of their brochures you will understand, latest one had fixed head ratchet spanners in 3 sets that covered 8 to 25 I think, with the vat over 800 quid

Flank drive spanners 10 to 19, 375 plus the vat.

 

[Richiew]

Always be wary when you see a mechanic is selling their snap on gear, it will be because it is totally worn out, and the warranty does not cover fair wear and tear!

I remember an old Doubleboost video. It went something like this, "This is an old Snap-On 12mm spanner, these days it's a good fit for half inch."

I see Gearwrench got mentioned above too. I bought one of their tap/die sets, circa 100 quid from memory. The jaws on the tap wrench are like chocolate. The stuff is cleverly designed and looks pretty, but the product I've bought has been rubbish, IMHO. I don't own their spanners, to be fair.

 

[Bornfree]

Elora 205 are the strongest I've used and a nice length.

 

[brightspark]

Elora 205 are the strongest I've used and a nice length.

got a full set of elora combo metric spanners given in real good nick. wasnt going to bother go get them along with other tools getting thrown out to the scrappy . thought he was getting rid of old crap in a tin box . good job i saw him the week later chucking them out . scrap man would have been rubbing his hands

 

[Trevorleach]

I remember an old Doubleboost video. It went something like this, "This is an old Snap-On 12mm spanner, these days it's a good fit for half inch."

We have blokes at work who use tools just like that daily, pretty much everything they touch turns into a mission and takes ages.
Always amazed how people who have been earning good money for decades will not buy tools to make their own life easier.

 

[SierraV6]

These can also be handy:
View attachment 396781

I have the Unior equivalents. I don’t use them often but when you need them you need them. I have an assortment of different brands in the larger sizes somewhere too.

 

[keithski122]

We have blokes at work who use tools just like that daily, pretty much everything they touch turns into a mission and takes ages.
Always amazed how people who have been earning good money for decades will not buy tools to make their own life easier.

I've got to the point of why should I be spending my money to make my life easier to earn my boss more money.If the job takes longer or is of poorer quality due to his lack of investment then so be it.