Looking for a half decent toolkit, bit of home car servicing that sort of thing- Would need 1/2 ratchet, possibly 1/4 , sockets, selection of spanner’s etc..... I’ve seen the Halfords advanced stuff, just wondering whether anyone has any recommendations for all in one kit, budget up to £150 or so-
As mentioned facom, wera or teng all excellent and should last a lifetime
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teng-8-inch...s%2C202&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Teng-TT1236...3747101&sr=8-1
Just a quick mooch should cover 90% of your needs
Facom is really nice stuff, I am a big fan of Teng personally (cheaper than Facom but good tools for the home mechanic.
Halfords professional is very good and I have a couple of their sets.
https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-...et-735948.html
If you can wait, sign up to their emails and wait for the sale as they often do some stupid offers eg I bought a 120 pc set for 60 down from 160.
Facom/Wera/Britiool/Halfords advanced and Snap on are all very good
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Some good suggestions.
Bahco is a personal fave of mine.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bahco-Socke...&s=diy&sr=1-45
When you look long into an abyss, the abyss looks long into you.........
I swear by my Bahco adjustable wrenches. Another good shout, very good quality toolsOriginally Posted by Chris_in_the_UK
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After debating with myself and reading/watching loads of reviews I kept coming back to this Gedore Red set and this review;
I found it for about £100 and having now used it quite a lot over the last few months I'm so pleased and impressed with the quality and range....great value.
I hate giving money to Amazon, but they were one of the cheapest sites;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Gedore-R456...c=1&th=1&psc=1
Yeah, but none of these have the correct size sockets and spanners. They're all Metric or UNF.
Halfords 'Advanced' range have a lifetime guarantee (don't lose the receipt) and are decent quality. They do have offers on occasionally at to 50% discount which makes them even more attractive.
+1 on the Halfords advanced.
Same here and they open wider than a different makers adjustable of the same physical size (well mine does).
Halfords Advanced is great but I'd wait until some of it is on offer as it really comes down in price. That or try and find a friend with a Halfords Trade Card as you can get massive discounts on tools as well!
I've had their socket sets and ratchet spanners for years (for car servicing, general repairs, etc) and none of it has ever let me down.
My Wera ratchet screwdriver is amazing. FWIW!
What i did is buy one of the big Bahco sets and then upgrade the two or three most used sockets to Snap-on.
Also upgraded the ratchet to Stahlwille but there is no need for that, the Bahco one is fine for non pro use.
Another vote for the Halfords tools. As mentioned previously though, there are regular sales on where it’s stupidly good value.
So much so that you could end up with two or three of each set if you’re not careful.
If you get one of their tool chests, they do sets that fit in the drawers. They’re a bit pricier but often on three for two deals.
The tool chests are often on good deals too, I got this stack for about £150 IIRC
I have a set of Bahco Ratchet Spanners which are great and I use them more than individual spanners.I have heard the Halfords ones are great, when they are on offer.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bahco-S4RM3.../dp/B001DZRLXA
For an adjustable, I've just bought a Knipex Pliers Wrench, the little 125mm baby model. I'll certainly be ordering another larger one soon! I'm a convert even over the ratchet spanners.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/KNIPEX-Plie...9HA344GFRTJCQ9
For the Socket set no idea. I've a basic 3/8" Draper Set which have done me well for the last 10+ years. I've just bought a Norbar TTi50 Torque Wrench to go with it, makes more of a difference in the Wrench rather than the sockets/attachments.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Norbar-1384...7&s=diy&sr=1-4
I've a little laser set, 3/8 single hex, deep and shallow sockets and ratchet - Laser 3496 34 Piece 3/8" Drive Socket Set. Think I paid about £40 a few years ago.
I've a few larger sockets and other tools in 1/2 but I either use an adaptor on the 3/8 ratchet or a breaker bar for those.
Do you really need 1/2 drive or would a lighter 3/8 set make sense for most jobs?
Also a big fan of the knipex plier wrench. I've a large 250mm one which can be a bit unwieldy.
Teng Tools.
You're welcome.
Kennedy make one that opens wider and they are also brilliant, best feature on my bahco is the reversible jaw
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Thanks guys, some very useful recommendations! I’ve heard of most the brands, just good to know that they are actually decent and not some rebranded crap.
Whatever you choose, remember to get some spare 10mm sockets. :-)
I have Halfords Advanced. More than adequate for the home mechanic at pretty good prices with a lifetime guarantee. They feel nice in the hand & you’ll never have to pay for a replacement as long as you keep your receipt & Halfords is still trading.
Funny enough, that’s why I started to look for a new set, dropped a 10mm in engine bay changing a battery today!
For the MX-5 ?
another vote for the halfords advanced range -they are on sale on a reg basis.
The Teng kits are really good value. This kit should meet your requirements but have a look at some of the other kits Teng do. I keep one in the Tractor and it’s more than man enough for agricultural applications
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/Te...QaAhsLEALw_wcB
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Are you sure you need 1/2” for general maintenance? 3/8” might be optimal, depending on use.
In any event, I find Bahco to be great sockets; the SO ownership does seem to permeate through.
Amazing what you could do with a good Bahco 3/8 set, a snap on ratchet driver, and a de Walt bit set that includes nut drivers. I’d add in a 3/8 torque wrench, and I’d save the 1/2” for a 600 breaker bar, torque wrench and wheel nut sockets.
Yeah you could be right, I used to do a bit with classic Mustangs, so was always going full monty with beaker bars as everything had seized, hence think 1/2 I’m going to see if Halfords do a sale/offer shortly if not will go with a recommendation from here.
Yep I’ve still got the teng set I bought as an apprentice 20 odd years ago heavily used most days in work and aside from the case being a bit worse for wear it’s still perfect it’s one of the reasons I always recommend them.The Teng kits are really good value. This kit should meet your requirements but have a look at some of the other kits Teng do. I keep one in the Tractor and it’s more than man enough for agricultural applications
https://www.ffx.co.uk/product/Get/Te...QaAhsLEALw_wcB
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For the majority of car work you’re better using 3/8” drive, I learned this lesson in 1983, still using the Draper set I bought at a Shop in Weston Super Mare whilst having a weekend away at Bristol Classic Car show. A few pieces gave been replaced but its essentially the same set. I have a 1/2” drive set too, ideally you need both, but the 3/8” gets most use.
Few sets I’ve looked at have both, you’re probably right I could do with the options.
I'd support the Halfords suggestions. Mrs. B replaced my roll-around cabinets at Xmas with the Professional ones, and I've taken the opportunity to fill them with all new Halfords Pro tools.
Excellent quality and the lifetime guarantee is great.
My suggestion though, is don't wait for a sale - get a Trade card. It reduces the cost significantly and you can use it at any time. Register online and show some distinctly dodgy paperwork to qualify (I used an invoice from Cousins - apparently a watch-repairer is a recognised trade! Also used it for a Wickes trade account, incidentally).
I’m actually in the trade, not on the spanner’s but could just show an invoice easily enough- I’ll sign up and see what discounts are applied.
Another recommendation for the Halfords advanced, I actually broke one of the spanner’s - took it back to my local Halfords one day and they instantly gave me a new one no questions asked! I have had it years it’s a big set with all sorts in it, was a couple of hundred on sale if I remember right.
I posted a similar thread a few months ago.
Visited the local Halfords but was not impressed by the quality of their small roll cabs.
I went Teng in the end. They have some really nice small socket sets in 1/2 drive.
Unless you go for the top end ones they sell the roll cabs are average, I have some in my garage, will upgrade one day but the tools are superb, they replace anything that breaks, I broke a 3/8 spanner and a 20mm crows foot and they asked no questions just handed me new bits
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For my money, the pick of the Halfords advance line is their ratcheting spanners. For everything else, I’ve found better alternatives. As above, I’d prefer Bahco socket sets. And I’d have a used Snap On cab over a new Halfords one.
With remarkably good timing, Halfords sent me this yesterday:
https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand-...7-098DA9B36BB0
Looks a decent deal at £192 (trade card price)
1/2 ratchets and sockets !!! do you intend working on HGV's or industrial machinery
Not much love for ½" sets on here. Some of the things I have to undo on my Rileys were done up in 1946 and haven't moved since.
¼" sets just wouldn't hack it.
For the record I use all three common denominations, plus ¾" for the Mr. Unshiftables of this world such as Discovery crank pulley nuts.
Unless you work in a garage, most 1/2" sets will serve you perfectly.
Years ago, I bought a set of Metrinch surface drive sockets and they are absolutely brilliant on hard to budge bolts and nuts.
More recently, but still a few years back, I bought a set of spanners from them and, again, they're excellent.
I have 3/8" socket sets too and 1/4", but the 1/2" ones get the most use by far.
M
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Last edited by snowman; 20th February 2021 at 14:05.
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The term ‘Mr Unshiftables’ made me laugh! I used to borrow 3/4 drive sets from work when faced with similar jobs on the MGBs I owned, mainly because I didn’t have big enough sockets in my set.
Ideally, you need a full set of tools, I have a small 1/4” drive set that I’ve owned for years, that’s v. handy for some jobs. All my tools are a bit old and battered but they still do the job, , I’ve no urge to buy a fancy tool tool chest with all new shiny stuff.......I don’t do enough to justify it thesedays but that might change soon.
One tool I’ve had no luck with is ratchet ring-spanners, they’re either too clumsy to fit in a confined space and when I did use them they broke fairly easily so I gave up.
The Halfords Advance might hit be the last word in quality’s but they are good to their word and have replaced every broken bit etc. over years of use, for brand new.
It's just a matter of time...
Agree with all the recommendations for Halfords, facom and signet are also a good shout.
For everyday use we use snap-on but only really for the lifetime guarantee which we use very regularly.
Wera Joker are awesome, as is Halford professional and SnapOn
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Halford Advanced sets are the way to go. Lifetime warranty and very reasonably priced. Good quality tools.
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Funnily enough, I seem to use mine in an inverse square to the size - 1/4 most often, then 3/8 with 1/2 and 3/4 being used rarely. For reference, I do restore motorbikes and old stationary engines.
Of course, a decent windy gun and appropriate sockets mean that most of the unshiftables are only a temporary annoyance.
I have a couple of 18v impact drivers too, and they do a reasonable job, but again , the proper impact bits will save heartache and cost in the long run.
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Bought a nice set from Halfords. Got 10% NHS discount in addition to the 50% off offer in their Father’s Day promotion. You probably won’t want to wait until June but it’s usually a very good time to buy.
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