The Cool Tools Thread

[wedge_r34gtr]

This was an interesting morning. Def some cool tools i need to get.

And I was a few jack stands short so a few bricks took care of that.

+1 for the bricks. lol

Now for some high tech stuff....The first two are not really for the household, but i still think they are pretty sweet.

3D wax printer: Prints objects in wax, which you then send to an investment casting foundry to get made out of steel, aluminium or whatever. Extremely cheap (relatively) for those one off custom jobs.

Desktop CNC milling machine & lathe: Doesn't do steel, but works great in aluminium, rubber, tooling board etc. Great for making cheap moulds for plastic/polyurethane components. Made some custom urethane washers for my mates forrester. Worked a treat.

UV chalk: Great for noob's who cant weld straight like me

[MrStabby]

I'm thinking about a set of flex head ratchet spanners like these: http://www.vektools.com.au/kincrome-7pce-flex-lock-gear-spanner-p-1806.html

Other ones dont have the angle lock - is it important?

Can the angle lock be left disengaged on the kinchromes? I'm thinking that in some cases you might want it to swing to get around obstacles.

[benm]

Duncan, I have an engine stand sitting in my garage you coulda had, only used it one time. I'm gonna bring it to the next SAU event and whomever gets it first can have it.

Couple of new tools for the garage...

Crescent wire strippers; Craved is right, these wire strippers are absolutely brilliant, work perfectly every time and save a heap of time. If I knew how good they are I would have bought them 10yrs ago.

Kincrome screw extractors; won't take long im sure before they will be needed.

Irwin marples chisel set; no use just yet but i'll find a use for them now that they are in the toolbox.

[Crackfox]

I have started an industrial electrical apprenticeship about a month ago and its getting to the point where I really need my own spanner and socket set.

I need a 1/2" drive ratchet with ~10-25mm size sockets, and 5-25mm spanners.

Hex key and screwdriver type socket attachments would also be very nice aswell, as would a 1/4" drive ratchet and some smaller sockets (but not necessary).

Although I want to get the best value I can, I am also armed with enough money for a house deposit and want to get real top notch tools that will last me a while. Can anyone point out where I should go, any good sets that are available, brands I should look for or any online toolshop that is good?

[benm]

www.transquip.com.au is probably the best online toolshop i've seen (discovered by Neil on here).

I can't see why a Kincrome set wouldn't do the job for you, very reasonably priced too! I can't think of a Kincrome tool that i've actually broken (but have broken many other brands before buying the equivalent Kincrome tool).

[Crackfox]

www.transquip.com.au is probably the best online toolshop i've seen (discovered by Neil on here).

I can't see why a Kincrome set wouldn't do the job for you, very reasonably priced too! I can't think of a Kincrome tool that i've actually broken (but have broken many other brands before buying the equivalent Kincrome tool).

Well I actually just bought a kinchrome 3 drawer "add on" toolbox from bunnings today, it had a big scratch so I returned it for another, and the new kinchrome drawer sets lock is f**ked so its not a very good first impression for me. Everyone else at work has sidchrome tools, and they all get their tools mixed and and then argue about it so I would prefer to not get that brand either.

I'll have a squiz at transquip now

[Duncan]

I don't think you should write off kincrome so quickly.....I have used them heaps.

Unfortunately sidchrome is like snap-on, just not quite as expensive. Very much overrated today, although they did have much better tools years ago.

One option you should consider, some tool brands sell blow mould cases with spanner and socket sets in them. Each has a set location so you can see what is missing. And it closes up to be easily portable

[Duncan]

http://www.transquip...47%7D2%22-Drive.

http://www.transquip...-Kit-in-MS-Case

[Crackfox]

Well I tried to reason with myself and buy a nice sensible ~$300 set of sockets and spanners, I really did.. Yes, warranty will be easier to deal with, I won't have to watch out for them being stolen as much, they are good enough for what I need and they cost alot less.

I just couldn't help myself in the end though, and now there is 565 euros of stahlwille tools leaving germany and heading to Australia.

[Crackfox]

Don't know if this will be useful for anyone else, but as I am an apprentice electrician I have been looking at gettting a bunch of 1000V rated pliers, crimpers, multigrips/vicegrips and whatnot. I stumbled upon this website which I thought had pretty good prices and reasonable shipping costs: www.chadstoolbox.com.

Out of curiosity, I handed the list of tools I wish to purchase, which came to about $436 incuding shipping from this site, to one of our sales guys at work and asked him to see what the cheapest price I could get locally was with our trade discount from 3 different shops. The cheapest he could find for the same knipex tools was $884, ranging up to $1200. My boss and another bloke at work also ended up ordering some gear off the site as well, so postage cost me even less .

[Beer Baron]

good choice. the stahwille tools are good. hazet is good too. I'm still pretty fond of snap-on and have had tools that I got second hand and they have lasted me 15 years plus how ever long they lasted the first owner. and I've always had warranty honoured. all the mechanics I've worked with have all used snap-on and they use their tools a lot more often and harder than I do. any problems they have had have been replaced under warranty regardless of how old the tool is.

I do agree though that snap-on quality has dropped a little bit in the last 5-10years though they are still one of the top tool makers in the world, and certainly not rubbish. they are definitely over-priced though. 20 years ago there is no doubt their tools where streets above the others, especially if you work with hand tools every day. now they are good but not so clearly 'the best'. if you can afford them though snap on still make great gear and have good warranty support in aus.

for side cutters and pliers Knipex are the go. they are the best i've used and their designs are often copied.

I've found the kinchrome stuff to be a little bit hit and miss. some of the stuff is fantastic. some of it is a bit average. but they do offer good value for money and most of their tools are certainly good enough for home/hobby use. I will say I don;t think I've ever had a really bad experience with their stuff, just some that was not 'fantastic'.

Joe was asking about thin wall sockets for wheel nuts. there aer some out there (i forget the brand) that make thing wall sockets for wheel nuts that have a plastic sheath on them too. great for using with rattle guns as the sockets won't mark your wheels (if they touch the plastic just wears down a little).

this is what they look like:

duncan is right on the torque wrenches. the deflecting beam type wrench is by far the best. they can be expensive though but they work. I've had a cheap kinchrome torque wrench and it had to be re-calibrated 3 times. I wouldn't use it for anything important that's for sure. now I just use it as a breaker bar...

some great tool ideas in here. I like the snap-on spring type hose clamp remover. very clever.

[N1GTR]

^^^ I'd love to know where to get those sockets for wheel changes!

[benm]

Heaps of places sell them, im pretty sure even Kincrome have a set. If not GasWeld sell them as a Toolex brand.

[N1GTR]

Too easy, thanks!

[benm]

Stevo they are on special at Transquip

[N1GTR]

Ordered thanks

[fatz]

17/19/22 of the thin walled socked

22... WTF am i going to do with a 22?

[Crackfox]

good choice. the stahwille tools are good. hazet is good too. I'm still pretty fond of snap-on and have had tools that I got second hand and they have lasted me 15 years plus how ever long they lasted the first owner. and I've always had warranty honoured. all the mechanics I've worked with have all used snap-on and they use their tools a lot more often and harder than I do. any problems they have had have been replaced under warranty regardless of how old the tool is.

I do agree though that snap-on quality has dropped a little bit in the last 5-10years though they are still one of the top tool makers in the world, and certainly not rubbish. they are definitely over-priced though. 20 years ago there is no doubt their tools where streets above the others, especially if you work with hand tools every day. now they are good but not so clearly 'the best'. if you can afford them though snap on still make great gear and have good warranty support in aus.

for side cutters and pliers Knipex are the go. they are the best i've used and their designs are often copied.

So far I am quite happy with my stahlwille 1/2" drive socket and spanner set. By buying it overseas it only cost me marginally more (but then + shipping costs) than what it would have cost me to go out and buy an equivalent kinchrome set here.. The spanners are brilliant, only problem is keeping watch over them because everyone else has those ratcheting spanners that break very easily. Most people at work have sidchrome ratchets, compared to them the stahlwille ratchet mechanism is abit smoother, seems to have a few more adjustment points and it will start ratcheting on a bolt that is only providing little resistance compared to the sidchrome ones (so you don't sit there doing up, then undoing a bolt). My only concern is that the ratcheting mechanism inside the head fits abit loosely, and I can wobble it around by a good 2mm. it has done this since new and i'm not sure if this is a problem or an indicator of a problem in the future

Now the next bit of gear I need is a cordless drill (preferably 18v and one with hammer function). It funny, everyone at work is a diehard fan of a different brand and is absolutely convinced that their drill is the best drill by far. Theres the dewalt guy, the milwaukee guy, the bosch guy and the makita guy all in my ear about which brand I need to get. For this reason, I have been looking at the hitachi range hahaha.

i have ordered all my knipex gear from America, some components of my order arn't ready yet so i hope it ships soon. I also bought a 10" IREGA brand shifter for around $26 from that same site, strangely it is made in the same country as Snap-on shifters (spain) and it bears a striking resemblance to the snap-on one. i think i found which company snap-on source their shifters from. Also looking at some grip on locking pliers, another OEM supplier for snapon at a fraction of the price. How many more of their products are just rebranded stuff from other companies?

Edited March 18, 2011 by Crackfox

[skins]

[Craved]

speedglas 9100xx

Ebay'd one of these for $400 delivered - local cost was $670