Christmas Prezzies - Who's Gettin' Tools!?

happy days said:
Problem I have found with pump pliers is after a while they snap closed while tightening things up, also alot of pump pliers have teeth for a better grip, not good when tightening chrome ie radiator valves, hence adjustables. For the first time and possibly only time, I disagree with Harvey, adjustables are very useful
Click to expand...

I have one pair of these pump pliers and if you put any pressure on them at all, they just shut completely taking skin and flesh with them.

I think they may just be FUBAR. Buy cheap tools, and you get what you pay for.

Richard
 
If you nip up the pivot bolt a bit, you may resurrect them, but they are never
great to begin with. The better quality ones have the adjustable bits ground
to allow a better fit and that does improve the tool, but once they get old, it's
blood blister and swearing season....
 
I feel that I have to stick up for pump pliers now :) .
I have a set of decent quality Channellock US made pliers and find them very useful on occassion. Usually, to grip things like pipes or shock absorbers to stop them rotating while trying to loosen a nut. These ones have never slipped on me and I usually just wrap some clean rag around the pipe/shock/nut to stop any marring on their surface. I have seen some really cheapo pliers that are an accident waiting to happen though :D .
 

Attachments

  • channellock.jpg
    channellock.jpg
    5.9 KB · Views: 1,360
I think Screwfix sell an open-end spanner to fit 15mm and 22mm plumbing fittings
A 24 mm spanner is good for 15mm couplings
 
JVY said:
I have a set of decent quality Channellock US made pliers
Click to expand...

I have also Channellocks that are more than 40 years old now (actually my dad bought them!). They are used in odd jobs and they are still going strong!
 
I just gave the boss a list of special tooling we need for field maintenance
that runs to a few grand in US$, does this count as tools for Christmas?? :p
 
unstable load said:
I just gave the boss a list of special tooling we need for field maintenance
that runs to a few grand in US$, does this count as tools for Christmas?? :p
Click to expand...
Definitely! The best tools are one that someone else pays for :D
 
I got a decent vacuum gauge for balancing the carbs from my missus, and a degreasing gun. Oh and a Halfords Gift card.. Quite pleased really, all useful stuff. The degreasing gun is especially good, as it has a long nozzle, just right for getting into chassis sections, and can be used to spray oil, or whatever to keep the rust at bay.
 
Are you sure you weren't supposed to use the degreasing gun for washing the dishes. You know, to keep your Missus in balance :D :oops: .
 
I did end up with one or two little items from the Snap-On man.

The smallest (and dearest) adjustable spanner, and a rethreading kit thingy.
 

Attachments

  • 07. Adjustable.jpg
    07. Adjustable.jpg
    94.7 KB · Views: 1,849
  • Anaheim-Santa Ana-Garden Grove-20120115-00015.jpg
    Anaheim-Santa Ana-Garden Grove-20120115-00015.jpg
    110.7 KB · Views: 1,849
So Cal V8 said:
rethreading kit thingy.
Click to expand...
that looks interesting. Rather than the usual tap & die kits you get, it looks far more practical. I am guessing the taps can be operated using sockets and a ratchet drive? Rather than messing about with with die holders, you can just pop on one of the "nut die" things and away you go! Is it imperial? What's the significance of the different colours (black, bronze, siver)?
 
JVY said:
So Cal V8 said:
rethreading kit thingy.
Click to expand...
that looks interesting. Rather than the usual tap & die kits you get, it looks far more practical. I am guessing the taps can be operated using sockets and a ratchet drive? Rather than messing about with with die holders, you can just pop on one of the "nut die" things and away you go! Is it imperial? What's the significance of the different colours (black, bronze, siver)?
Click to expand...

I have the same,although mine is something like 10 years old now,it's for restoring existing damaged threads,you still have to use the more traditional taps and dies if you want to cut new threads, :D
 
Are Snap-On tools really as good as legend has it ?
I had someone tell me the main atraction was that you buy them on credit
 
They are top quality, no question about it, but also they're lifetime guaranteed, and if you've got a garage where they come in the van every so often, they'll just swap any broken stuff pretty much no questions asked. So for the pro's it's probably worth it.

Same pretty much applies to Mac tools too though.
 
Looks very nice indeed. Looking at Richard Webmaster's link, I couldn't believe how much cheaper the the Snap-on stuff is in the US. I did a quick comparison on the rethread kit.

US Price:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=1148&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

UK Price:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...48&group_id=1148&supersede=&store=uk&tool=all

US $119.00 = £77.65
UK Price = £96.48

I'm lucky enough to have a few Snap-on tools and they are very good (spanners & sockets I use all the time). I would maybe just about stretch to 70 odd quid for the above kit but at just shy of £100 I probably couldn't justify it for occassional DIY use?
 
I'd expect to pay more here being an American company.

I think they've been forced into being more competitive over the years with other firms upping their games on quality and others vans like MAC with good guarantees, plus the other firm which escape me now which pop round from time to time :)

They are worth the money but only if you use the stuff hard enough to break/ wear out lesser tools IMO or you have the money spare and like to own a tool chest and contents the price of a house :LOL:
 
I've heard it said you should start out with cheapish sets of spanners , socket sets etc and replace the ones that break with better quality items .That way you don't spend money on tools you rarely use
However I've still got Hilka and Kamasa socket sets I bought 30+years ago and I've not broken many bits except the odd rachet
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top