Ha, asked parents for 2 ratchet ring spanners for Birthday (an 8mm, 10mm) and told Dad 'dont get me the yellow ones from SuperCheap, theyre horrible'. One set of yellow ratchet ring spanners later and I was on my way to Repco to buy my own ones
Ha, asked parents for 2 ratchet ring spanners for Birthday (an 8mm, 10mm) and told Dad 'dont get me the yellow ones from SuperCheap, theyre horrible'. One set of yellow ratchet ring spanners later and I was on my way to Repco to buy my own ones
"If life gives you a shit sandwich..." someone please complete this expression
I don't see a beer fridge anywhere in any of that lot.
Zen wisdom: No matter what happens, somebody will find a way to take it too seriously. - obviously had KB in mind when he came up with that gem
Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity
And a padlock..... that is for those blessed with a son (or 2...)
Because if you can't lock your tools away...you have to buy the same ones again..and again...and again....
Opinions are like arseholes: Everybody has got one, but that doesn't mean you got to air it in public all the time....
Avoid new Sidchrome like the plague. It was made in Melbourne up until a few years ago, now it's the same as 15 other Taiwanese generic brands but more expensive. The warranty & spares (ratchet kits etc.) service is crap.
Fuller Tools offer a full replacement warranty, second (only coz they dont deliver) to Snap Off. Fuller is a small Kiwi company that has "jumped onto the back" of Fuller in North America.
Other tools I wouldn't consider anything else;
Hex Keys- Bondhus
Inhex sockets & ratchets- Koken
Ratchet Screwdriver- Snap Off
Specialty tools like Torque Wrenches require quality. The accuracy of a cheap Torque Wrench will give you a guide, a more critical application would deserve a Warren & Brown or Norbar, $$. Sykes-Pickavant is now French owned and a lot of Snap Off & Blue Point is actually K.D, the latter being cheaper.
Pro-built tools are good?
(the ones sold at Repco eh?)
"If life gives you a shit sandwich..." someone please complete this expression
has anybody dealt with www.sulco.co.nz ?
Im looking to get a set of inhex sockets shortly
Something like this:
http://www.sulco.co.nz/Product?Actio...roduct_id=9720
Would be a good purchase for someone looking to work on there own bikes, genius brand are not too bad aswell
Couple of points.
Screwdrivers. You can get 'em wiv very soft tips. They're crap.
You can get 'em wiv very hard tips, wot break. They're crap too.
Once in a long time you find one just right, not too soft an' not too hard. Buy more of 'em. With screws of a difficult disposition it helps if you use a wee dab of fine grinding paste on the tip, improves the traction, and the success rate. Helps if you do it first, not after you've fucked the head.
Ezy-outs. With a lot of experience and care they work maybe one in 3 times. Look for a set of left handed drills, if you find a decent set buy 'em. Drilling carefully up the exact centre of (say) an 8mm bolt stub with a 6mm LH drill will yeild a success rate of 2 in 3, usually when the drill breaks through the bolt end the remains will just spin out. For the other third you gota know the right words, the ones they omly teach at hairy-arse-fitter school. That, and the location of the nearest spark eroder.
6 sided sockets are good for impact drivers, or if they're lowish quality. Otherwise get 12 sided ones, much thinner wall, will fit over bolt heads in counterbores, rebates, or just in tight spaces.
May want to check that metric spanner/socket set, they're made to different standards. Some have 16mm and some have 17mm, not many medium priced sets have both, what does your bike need?
Go soothingly on the grease mud, as there lurks the skid demon
Well that's a lot of reading but I wanted to make sure I didn't say something that's already been said.
Vices - buy a good one, I'm on my second one having broken the first, $100 buys you a good vice.
Add a battery drill, mapgas torch (for getting stubborn things out) and a selection of hammers. As one of my old bosses used to say "there's no such thing as rough practice, just rough tradesmen" .
Good lighting is essential as you get older, and a few pairs of the $2 shop glasses scattered around the workshop - they have plastic lenses so double as safety glasses! I just added a sink to the workshop too so now I don't have to go back to the house everytime I want to wash some paint stripper off my arm.
And as for socket sets, buy Bahco. That's the new name for Sandvik you might remember from the early eighties, very good gear an under-rated in this country so a bargain. I haven't broken any of them yet and I use a lot of force on occasion. I got me a 3/8 and 1/2 inch sets and that does just about everything except the big nut on the end of the crank on some bikes but you can always buy a one-off socket for that sucker.
Shopping at M10 or super crap is OK if you are buying heavy items like pinch bars and hammers, even some other tools if you shop by brand. Buy your screw drivers, circlip pliers and tools requiring precision at a proper tool shop and pay for the better quality.
Keep an eye out for a set of Koken stud removers ( they the only people who make them)
They come in a box of four, and look like sparklug sockets
they are the bees knees for removing studs from anything
will fit 6,8,10,12 mm studs and are servicabile if they get worn.
6 sided tube sockets 10-17mm all you need
A set of pin punched
a set of wad punches, ( for making your own gaskets out of weetbix boxes!)
Dont forget you need three 8" g cramps, wonderfull rear tyre bead breakers
And a cuss jar on the wall for all those wonderfull words you will say often!
To be old and wise, first you must be young and stupid.
I like the bit you say about the half inch drive socket set in metric
I just a few weeks ago got a Bahco set
thought its great ,probably wont ever hardly use it but have it when i need it
i also have a spanner set ring open ender in sizes from 6mm up to 19 and i brought the 15mm 16mm and 18 mm seperate so as to have a compleate set
have a imperial metric allen key set from M10
second time i get the socket set out to change a tow ball on the car i find the 27mm to small and the 30mm to big
so now im ordering the 25mm 26mm 28 mm to basicly compleate this set to
gee i get sick of what you want you dont have
i think its time a spanner set or socket set didnt over lap in size and it had all the sizes
I also have a set of tapered wrenches size from 9 mm to 22 mm
and all imperial inbetween all in just 4 wrenches
there basicaly a tapered socket
When I take power I'll standardise all the motor bikes so they only use 3 or 4 different size nuts and bolts for the whole bike, lets say 10mm, 14mm, 24mm and 32mm. Just add a few more bolts here and there if the strength is needed. And about all those different oil filters ...
As someone who has invested more in my tools than most of you have in your bikes,make that several bikes - I don't really care about quality or brand names anymore.I'm just as happy to earn my living with crap tools - quality is over rated....but if it makes you feel good,go for it.
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