TOOL PURCHASING

Andy G · Post by **Andy G** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 3:45 pm

HI Guys

Anyone got any good ideas or contacts for this?

Wanted to get my garage reasonably kitted out (not quite in Lawrence syle) as due to my time out of the country i seem to have lost more tools than i currently have.

Anyone got any ideas about the best places to get them etc?

Trying not too spend a fortune due to LOTRDC expenditure!

cheers

Andy

ps. I've got some SE special deals for May which Shug will be posting -

Titanium S1 111S (gla) · Post by **Titanium S1 111S (gla)** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:18 pm

Iâ€™m a believer in quality over quantity when it comes to tools.

95/100 jobs I do are done with a 3/8 Snap-on general purpose socket set which has a ratchet, a selection of extensions, a line of 12 point metric sockets, a lie of 6 point metric sockets and a set of torx sockets. Also a snap on Â¼ inch set with 6 point sockets.

I have a half inch set which was made by Britool. They are pretty good but not as good as snap-on but then I donâ€™t use them as much.

Set of big snap-on metric combination spanners and a set of small ones.

Also a toolbox full of odd screw drivers, pliers, hammers etc etc.

Other than that I have to borrow the old mans kit which is pretty substantial, air tools, machining equipment, welder etc etc.

My philosophy is buy top quality for the stuff you use most often. Go for more reasonable prices for the rest and avoid Sh1t altogether, better to borrow than waste money on stuff which will just make your life harder.

Will be interested to hear if anyone has a supplier who does good stuff at good prices

2p

Ps Think Halfords Professional are fantastic for the money

mac · Post by **mac** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 4:31 pm

Another vote for halford pro range.

Found the other ones to me "ish" sizes - like 17mm ish - some are too tight others too loose on the same sized bolt head.

I need to start collecting imperial size kit again now that I have the se7en

Mac

woody · Post by **woody** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:18 pm

Halfords pro range 3rded

Excellent VFM and the qualitys good with it; i use snap on everyday at work, and imo halfords pro is 97% there with quality (i've broken plenty of snap-on stuff) but at 1/4 of the price of snap-on.

thinfourth · Post by **thinfourth** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:32 pm

Teng a bit pricier but damn high quality

Due to a minor boo boo with a nieghbour and an order form i got instead of a £300 set i got the £4K

set but got it for £1.5K and it is fecking huge

robin · Post by **robin** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:34 pm

BTW, these days on the elise I start with the 1/4 inch set for all jobs <= 13mm and usually switch straight to the 1/2 inch for tight 13mm and beyond (I have snap on six sided impact sockets).

So many bolts are in silly awkward places that a tiny 1/4 inch ratchet is really handy, as is a 1/4 screwdriver-like thing and an assortment of 1/4 inch extensions.

Ratchet spanners are ace, though you would be surprised the number of elise bolts that cannot be undone with them because the fat ring end won't fit ...

Having an assortment of long and short sockets is also handy.

Oh, and a good book of swear words

Cheers,
Robin

Rich H · Post by **Rich H** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:47 pm

Halfrauds pro!

.

The only thing extras you will need is a decent set of screw drivers, a breaker bar and a hammer. Covers most jobs.

Dominic · Post by **Dominic** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 10:10 pm

Hammer,

Saw,

Drill,

Angle Grinder (of course)

And occasionally a big JCB

Failing that; a mechanic's phone number

RDH · Post by **RDH** » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:09 pm

[quote="robin"]

Oh, and a good book of swear words

/quote]

And a wide assortment of plasters for the skint knuckles

fd · Post by fd » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:06 am

http://www.primetools.co.uk

decent prices on good quality tools . . . don't buy cheap or you'll buy twice and wreck whetever you're working on . . .

I mainly buy from my local tools guy in Stirling (hymal tools) where the price of everything is decided over a cup of tea and a blether, but guys like that are very few and far between . . .

Fd

rossybee · Post by **rossybee** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 12:39 am

Dominic wrote:Hammer,

Saw,

Drill,

Angle Grinder (of course)

And occasionally a big JCB

Failing that; a mechanic's phone number

I go even simpler than that:

White Armani suit & Visa card

hendeg · Post by **hendeg** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 9:18 am

We sell Beta Tools which are a high-end tool from Italy. There lifetime warranty means that the tools should last for life. Unlike some companies who charge more and will just replace them when they break.

They are heavily involved in motorsport and have been for the past 40 years. They have been the official supplier to the Ferrari F1 team for the past 3 years and are official suppliers to a few of the MotoGP teams (including Yahama and Rossi), WSB, etc. Most people that have used them love them. Their main problem is that their marketing has been rubbish in the UK.

Our website at http://www.grampianfasteners.com is in the process of being upgraded and should be in tip top shape by the end of May. It's not ideal , but you'll be able to get prices from there. If you want to see the tools I would suggest going to http://www.procarestores.com which is the US site. Just PM me and I'll sort you out with a good discount. Once our new site is operational, I'll post something in the offers section.

I agree with the quality route, but we also sell Silverline tools which are very well priced. Products and prices are available from http://www.silverlinetools.com.

That's my sales pitch done - happy tinkering!

roadboy · Post by **roadboy** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:59 pm

Teng.

Lifetime guarantee which is absolutely quibble free. Tools are excellent quality and very reasonably priced.

HTH

Dan@JPS

woody · Post by **woody** » Sat Apr 28, 2007 6:32 pm

should have mentioned halfords pro also have a lifetime guarantee. The once i needed to use it (broke a ratchet mech stripping a 20 year old mini without a breaker bar

) it was no bother at all.

I can also add, don't even consider stahlwillie, and Britool aren't what their reputation would suggest.

Scotty C · Post by **Scotty C** » Sun Apr 29, 2007 10:54 pm

PM me if you get a list together. I have a contact

Scotty C