Length of scaffolding for those hard to crack nuts
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Scaffold pole to the rescue. We got a puncture in the fishing clubs Ford Transit minibus and used a length of scaffold pole to crack the wheel nut but only managed to crack the stud not realising it was a left hand thread.
@slow-ride Re-invented as the extendable wheel wrench it is now a must have in every car boot or tool kit. Screwfix offer this Extendable Wheel Wrench which comes with 17, 19, 21 & 23 mm sockets and can be be used with other 1/2" square drive drive sockets. Wheel nuts and axel nuts will never be a problem again.
I have an extending wrench too. As well as a hammer. Though mine only came with a double-sided 17 / 19in socket. The wrench, not the hammer.
I also bought one of those digital torque adapter things, thinking I could use it with the extendable wrench, but I only tried it once and it beeped before I expect, the display not show the torque I set, and I have no idea what was going on.
Probably my fault, but when I had to do the sprocket and chains I went back to the old twisty torque wrench. Which has never let me down, I only bought the digital adapter because of the lower range. I suppose I should give it another chance, but more likely I will end up buying one of those bicycle set ones.
I had a similar experience with a crew who came out to fix a puncture on a lorry in France. My french isn’t that good. “A gosh. non a dwat” I said. The looked at me but I couldn’t bear to watch two of them bouncing on a scaffold pole so I walked away. It was a happy ending though - they did fix it while I was gone. They must have worked it out for themselves because I’m sure they couldn’t have understood me.
Anglais fou, sauter dessus à nouveau Jacques
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In college we would be tested to tighten bolts by hand without the use of a torque wrench. Mostly the settings were low 2, 4, 6 or 8 lbf ft with the occasional setting up to about 80 lbf ft thrown in (no Nm back then) the idea was to get a feel for varies settings. The only occasions I recall using a torque wrench were on the likes of cylinder heads where there was risk of warping the head if bolts were not progressively tightened in sequence to the correct torque. Nobody cared how tight wheel nuts were so long as you’d given them a good heave on an 24" bar.
As this seems to be a thread that is still running, any thoughts re brand preferences outside of the Pro stuff? Outside of Halfords I see Draper, Brittool, Teng, Hilka, Sealy, Laser line come up. Which would you recommend for someone building up a toolbox.
FYI I’ve already got a 2kg club hammer of no particular brand for particularly awkward stuff😂
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My most recent tool purchases have been Halfords and Sealy brands which I’d recommend to the home mechanic but avoid the bigger Halfords tool kits as they tend to include many tools you don’t necessarily need. Of the US Pro tools I recently purchased a set of their screwdrivers which I was a little disappointed in because the soft grip handles and the tips were both a little too soft, used with care they’d probably just pass muster for home mechanic use.
I’d be lost without my club hammer it makes a great door stop. My hammer of choice for all things mechanical is an ancient 3/4 lb Stanley ball pein hammer.
Mine in order of choice:
Facom (not expert by facom)…a bit expensive but nice.
Teng… a bit less expensive
Bahco…a bit less expensive again
I’ve got a few Koken bits as well…nice but hard to get hold of.
Stick to Knipex for pliers, cutters, grips etc and you won’t regret it.
Isn’t that a little over the top for the home mechanic looking to save some hard earned on servicing costs?
It might be if you only use your tools every now and then, but if you get into it having a decent set of tools is a good investment I reckon.
Bahco stuff isn’t that much dearer than Halfords Advanced (which doesn’t seem as good as the old Halfords Professional).
I believe you can have decent tools on a budget. For example about 15 years ago I had three pairs of pliers stolen, just happened to be in Wickes when I noticed a three piece pliers set for about £10 so I got them as a stop gap until I could afford some ‘decent’ pliers. Not exactly THESE but similar. Here we are 15 years late and they’ve had some proper use in that time and they are still fit for purpose.
For the home mechanic on a budget Halfords Advanced is expensive when compared to their standard hand tools range or tools purchased from High Street stores such as Wickes, Screwfix, Euro Car Parts etc which can be more than fit for purpose.
Yes, if your a bit skint then you haven’t got much choice and you might get lucky.
I’ve tried a few items from bergen/hilka/silverline and some have been ok.
Sockets can be a bit sloppy and even split.
A Bahco 3/8 socket set for 35 quid doesn’t seem too much to me but if you’re on your uppers then it’s a fortune I suppose.
My tool collection is made up of Draper, Teng, and Sealey
My hammer is from Wilko.
Having or being on a budget is common sense and has nothing to do with being skint or being on your uppers. If I had to replace my socket sets I’d probably start off with a Halfords 50 Piece 1/4" & 3/8" drive metric socket set. It includes most of what the home mechanic needs from a 1/4" and 3/8" set although no set will ever cover all your wants and needs and over time will have to be added to. It’s my opinion based on home mechanic use, price, quality and experience of the brand/supplier, not on personal circumstances.
I bought this set about a decade ago from a hein gericke shop for what felt like an ok price at the time. Never heard of the brand before but came in a solid metal box so I liked it. It was very compact which also appealed and at the time I was doing very few jobs at home on the bike.
For the little odd jobs on the bike (and home) it was great although I have had to top it up with some bigger sockets and bought odd tools around it when needed to do more. I had odd spanners, pliers and allen keys from previous years so was ok on that front
In Germany they are quite popular I gather, saw them in a couple of stores. Το a novice like me, they seem very decent quality.
I’d recommend this as a starter set to anyone although spanners are required
Mate of mine works in a post office sorting centre and they use bahco kit. I just bought a small underseat set and I’m happy with it so far.
Well that’s your choice and as long as you’re happy with it then that’s what matters.
Some people will be happy with a basic TV from Tesco, others would rather spend a bit more and have a Sony/Panasonic etc.
We’ve all got different budgets and priorities and spend our hard earned as we see fit.