OzVMX Forum
Clubroom => General Discussion => Topic started by: jimson on November 04, 2015, 02:12:51 pm
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G'day viewers just wondering how many of you spend $ on big name tools,or just get buy on the cheaper verity ? Jimson
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Personally, I like brand name tools whenever I can. But for things used infrequently or not requiring precision, I sometimes prefer to have a cheap (invariably Chineses) version, than none at all.
Example: Chinese rotary hammer with SDS bits. Works fine for the occasions I need it. My Aldi sliding compound mitre saw works a treat. (Again, for hobby use.)
I like Stahlwillie (corrected - thanks) spanners, or at least Kingchrome. (Just can not get my mind around Snapon prices, despite their wide use in my industry.) Swedish, German, or Australian shifting spanners have a different feel to Chinese equivelents.
I'd be suspicious of the accuracy of say, a no name micrometer.
Soft or poorly formed tips on screwdrivers make me frown.
I recently ordered in a "decent, not the cheapest" cross slide drill vise. It was rubbish. Returned. Payed a LOT more and bought a Dawn vice base. (Swivel and cross slide). I get a little "chubby" thinking about it...
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Yep, I am a fan of Stahlwille spanners and sockets, the midrange -Gedore, Sidchrome etc are OK, but just dont feel the same...
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Hi, bought Stahlwille open enders, ring openenders, and ring spanners 51 years ago yes 51,when I started my apprenticeship , worth the expense , also a Britool (British Tools Co)socket set, in AF and Whitworth, metric hadn't been invented back then,my 1/2 inch socket finally wore out last year, and had to replace it .I had a special short Sidchrome 17/19 mm ring spanner the broke (the ring) but the "Unconditional Lifetime Guarantee" was not .buy the best handtools you can afford.
cheers
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I have owned the same 400 pce sidcrome tool chest for 30 odd years and it is still 80% original.
I did buy some some CAT branded ring ratchet a few years ago that I love and have a few snap-on spanners in the sizes I use all the time for tools that I lost from my original chest. Cordless power tools is what I like lately.
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Things have changed a lot over the last five years let alone twenty years. I have been a tool rep for the last ten or so of them. Do you homework on what you buy. Things have changed since the good old days.
Cheers Mick
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I've got a new SP Tool kit for work and I'm pretty impressed with it. No sizes skipped on spanners and sockets which is handy.
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Things have changed a lot over the last five years let alone twenty years. I have been a tool rep for the last ten or so of them. Do you homework on what you buy. Things have changed since the good old days.
Cheers Mick
So true, I bought a heap of crap from Super cheap tool sale at the weekend just to leave in a soft bag behind the seat of the leisure trail riders ute, disgusted with the ordinariness of it. So glad this thread started, taking it all back tomorrow >:( will putt another three hundred toward it and get some decent shit instead.
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Well I'm happy I found an old amo box with spanners & sockets with VBW on them. I think my father gave them to me. I was googling up the stahlwillie tools & found out that they own the brand I found in the shed. So I'm happy I have quality tools I don't even know about lol jimson
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Well I'm happy I found an old amo box with spanners & sockets with VBW on them. I think my father gave them to me. I was googling up the stahlwillie tools & found out that they own the brand I found in the shed. So I'm happy I have quality tools I don't even know about lol jimson
I don't think "cheap" tools existed when our fathers were buying tools for us.
Everything was made properly, or not at all.
People were prepared to pay what things cost, and in return expected the tool to do the job, and last.
I remember the "no questions asked, lifetime guarantee" on Sidchrome tools. I still use the 3/8 drive metric set I got as a first year apprentice. (supplied by work, and paid off by me each week with my "tool allowance")
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I've got a mate who bought a bunnings socket set as he couldnt see the value in a proper set.
We used one socket to try and press out the pin in the swingarm that holds the rear shock.
We made a washer.
he now has the smallest 3/8 Kinchrome set they make. I suspect he thinks this will be the last bike he ever works on.
At least I might get a go at it when he loses interest.
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Things have changed a lot over the last five years let alone twenty years. I have been a tool rep for the last ten or so of them. Do you homework on what you buy. Things have changed since the good old days.
Cheers Mick
This.
I've got some brand name stuff that is lacklustre, and cheap garbage that it quite good.
I've also bought spanner sets where one spanner has broken in the first use, another never fitted properly, and one has been the magic spanner that will undo anything and never rounds a bolt...
So my collection of tools is haphazard - it's what's been good to use AND has survived.
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Teng Tools are surprisingly good. 3/8" socket set is 15 years old now and still going great.
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i have teng torque wrenches, found them good...
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Got a mixture of sidchrome ,snap-on and Armstrong I smuggled back in from a u.s trip and love the Armstrong the best
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Didn't want spend too much.
Just want something to leave behind the seat for emergency bike repairs.
My bikes and ute are all metric. Why lug a round a combo set that is half full of unrequired SAE.
Clearance table at Aldi, reduced to $49.29 Metric only.
(http://i677.photobucket.com/albums/vv132/mc125mick/20151122_124548_zpsknfpxx8l.jpg~original)
The spanners look ordinary, but everyone does fit perfectly.
The rest is way above average in design quality and finish!
The case has steel latches as well as steel pinned hinges.
Every socket and bit is Knurled for finger friction.
All Chrome Vanadium. Even the ball end Allen keys are Cr-V
All finished in satin chrome.
All internal corners of every socket are mill relieved so they don't leave marks on the corners of plated nuts and bolts, like all other six and twelve sided sockets do(except for second generation metrinch). A clever attempt to emulate but avoid patent infringements on the super expensive, but absolutely brilliant US Metrinch range of sockets.
This is the best carton of beer I have ever spent in my life!
I would still feel amazing value for money if I had paid $200.
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I got a similar Sidchrome set from a tool shop a couple of years ago. Was reduced to $99 in the cattledog, and I thought these will go quick.
Rang them and the bloke says yeah, we have heaps, will still have them in a weeks time.
I got there about half an hour after the sale started and there were 6 left. I bought two. One for my car and one for the missus car. Missus thinks I am an idiot for buying her a tool kit.
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I got a similar Sidchrome set from a tool shop a couple of years ago. Was reduced to $99 in the cattledog, and I thought these will go quick.
Rang them and the bloke says yeah, we have heaps, will still have them in a weeks time.
I got there about half an hour after the sale started and there were 6 left. I bought two. One for my car and one for the missus car. Missus thinks I am an idiot for buying her a tool kit.
;D ;D ;D ;D Yeap, strange cattle hey Fred ;D
I bought a partner a set of tools for Christmas once, I thought it brilliant idea since I was always fixing stuff for her.
I will never forget the look on her face :o ::)
And she was unwilling to listen to rational explanation ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
I bet she is still telling anyone who will listen ::)
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She still tries to get some mileage out of the story, except when something breaks and it proves it's worth again. And again. And again....
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Just to prove even handedness:
I bought my girl some huge, quality, dress making sissors.
She seemed slightly disappointed when she found out I bought myself a pair as well for "cutting up rags" in the workshop. :P
She has the cheesiest, most incomplete set of tools, at her place whenever I'm required to fix anything there. A good idea for Xmas.
I can see it now: " but baby, they are chrome vanadium!"
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Gday Mick I have some spanners from Aldi's & they had stamped on them DIN 3110 so I googled that & Bahco spanners came up with the same ratings. So they can't be that bad. Jimson
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I am an Aldi tragic ::) even though I have waaaayyy to many good quality tools at home I still cant help myself when Aldi bring out their socket sets, I have bought about 3 sets of the 1/4 inch drives and 2 of the multi size as pictured above. The long reach allan heads are awsome (especially when they are only $5.99 for the set) and the long reach screw driver sets are good as well. Told you I was an Aldi tragic :D One thing that erks me though is they have a ratcheting combination set that doesn't have a 12mm !!
Favourite spanner of all has to be my Stahwillie 8/10 mm ringy always goes in my tool kit on the trail rides.
Ollie
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I purchased a Pro-Choice (Kmart's own brand) 1/2 inch drive metric/AF socket set from K-M in about 1995, I used the set as a professional mechanic from the day of purchase till 2005 & then used it for restoring & racing VMX till 3 months ago when I started a new job back in the bike trade, My trusty PRO-Choice came out to earn me a dollar again :), I shouldn't but regularly use the sockets on a rattle gun & have never had a problem, The only failures have been the multi angle wobble adaptor pins came out (welded the pin ends years ago,been fine since 8)), And I had to replace the ratchet, it was one of the plastic wrapped dog bone type jobbies & I ruined it by using the head as a hammer over the years as I was too lazy to go get a gentle persuader, eventually the plastic wore through to the ratcheting mech & she was all over (so not the fault of the tool but the tool using the tool ;)), Yes I know, I am ashamed of myself :-[, Now I am back on the tools I needed a new set for home & the race track, I would love to find Pro-Choice stuff but K-M did not stock it for very long, I have purchased a similar kit to MickyD's from Aldi but sockets only & am so far impressed, time will tell if they live up to there older brothers reputation :)
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The socket set and spanners in my work tool kit are Bahco as are some of my engineering pliers and multigrips. My electrical screwdrivers and pliers are a mixture of Nipex, Wattmaster and a few other name brands. Most of these have been bought while on clearance special from a local hardware store who reduced the price because nobody was buying them or at trade prices from electrical wholesalers.
In the shed, my bike tools consist of a Koken 3/8"drive socket set which I bought and used back in the early '80's while working as a bike mechanic for a Honda dealer. I also have/use a Sidchrome 1/4"drive socket for fiddly jobs and tight spacesI also use a collection of T bar wrenches which were Honda tool made by Showa. for the big stuff I my 1/2"drive sockets are mainly ETC (Eastern Tool Company), which I bought while an apprentice in the 70's, supplemented with a few large Sidchome socket. Engineering screw drivers are Stahlwille, which again were bought and used while I was a mechanic in the 80's.
The Koken socket set has survived quite well, the ratchet handle is a bit dicky and slips at times but still works, and I split the 12mm socket back in the day trying to undo the cylinder bolts on a Honda XR500 engine. This isn''t too bad, because I also split at least half a dozen 12mm Sidchrome socket trying to undo the same bolts on Honda XR and XL engines. In the 80's when I bought the Koken socket set they were the brand of tool used by Toyota and a few other Japanese manufactures on their production lines.
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Part of the problem with talking about good tools is that it takes many years to really know if they're any good or not.
And by then, you can't buy a direct replacement...
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Gday Mick I have some spanners from Aldi's & they had stamped on them DIN 3110 so I googled that & Bahco spanners came up with the same ratings. So they can't be that bad. Jimson
The chinese can and will stamp fake ratings/part numbers etc on products.
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Part of the problem with talking about good tools is that it takes many years to really know if they're any good or not.
And by then, you can't buy a direct replacement...
The ironic truth!
With most quality tools, only one is sold per customers lifetime, so a limited market. Most people will throw way a number of the same "cheap Chinese version" - continued customers.!
I think the above business model is partially responsible for the demise of many "Quality" niche markets. HQ tools, HiFi, cycles, even motorcycles.
Too a greater and lessor degree many of these products have long service lives and don't provide repeat and/or ongoing custom for the retailer.
I still have great sounding HiFi components purchased from a long defunct retailer, over 30 years ago. (To be fair I've spent $1000's on upgrades/extras lately, at a local dealers.)
With less of the population placing the emphasis on traditional quality. (MP3 v belt drive Rega Planner) there are less new customers, and the old ones only buy trinkets for the next 30years.
Hence Harleys marketing strategy:
All the lifestyle accessories to spend your money on. Between "major purchases".
("You'll need some leather chaps if you want to ride with the cool kids. No, not gay if it has 'Harley' on it!")
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I had an odd bod collection of specials in my early days and hated them, then in a rare moment of sensibilty I bought a set of tools complete with toolbox with draws in 85
KC was the brand and from memory cost me around $400 for 200 odd parts. I considered it to be a mid range brand, better than some of the cheap shit that was around but not up there with Snap On etc.
They have served me well over the years, broke one ring spanner when I was heaving on it with a metal pipe over the end for extra leverage and my 10mm step ring did lose it's sharpness so I replaced it but now along with a few others over the years have gone walkabout.
Will look at buying a new set next year which will probably see me out so will consider the same brand again.
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When I was in the panel game. I bought a few Snap On tools as they let you run an account with weekly payments and no interest, as if they needed to. Wicked strong spanners. My socket sets are Koken brand (popular around the trade in NZ) and have lasted the years of abuse but some of the rachets have been swapped for Snap On items. I do have some cheap tools at home that do the job quite well. You just have to match the right weapon to the right job.
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Got a soft spot for old Sidchrome (aka Siddons Industries) tools. Here is just some of the useful ones I have over the buggering up bench.
(http://i951.photobucket.com/albums/ad360/tdee754/20151213_184403_zpsipsjoy4e.jpg) (http://s951.photobucket.com/user/tdee754/media/20151213_184403_zpsipsjoy4e.jpg.html)
Metric, SAE and Whitworth sets to cover most bases of course.
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Bought a Stahlwille selection ie corona spanners and the like 3/4 socket set a few flat ring spanners a set of open enders and a few big ring open enders hammers chisles still good after fourty years in the trade. i had to replace the 10/11 and 12/13 ring spanners in 2015 bought jap t bars Kabo maybe still going strong.. sockets a mix of sidchrome and stahlwille Kabo gearless ratchets 3/8 drive always knipex waterpump pliers and side cutters. my elder brother whos a mech at wackers is using Beta tools and i have to say they're pretty good and have a great range. i buy a fair amount of cheap stuff for sacrifices cause in my workshop you just never know what your going to have to bend or cut up when working on earthmoving equipment.. but no one ever gets in to my box with my motorcycle tools and i mean no one..........