Tools

[hiline]

my 2nd eldest boy has just started a Diesel Mech Apprenticeship
well 4 months now..........

his 1st tool allowance is coming through soon i think around the $600 mark
so what he's after are some good tools

does anyone on here have any contacts in this field or know of anyone that can point him in the right direction.........

no point wasting his money on cheapish tools that wont last

any help would be greatly appreciated

[Blknight.aus]

as hes only just starting out Id suggest he aims for kingcrhome. a nice compromise between quality and price (he will likely abuse loose and damage some of these initial tools)

he should have a feel for what he needs but I suggest he spend his dough on decent socket sets.

a combo 1/4 3/8th inch drive metric/imperial socket set and a 1/2 inch drive combo metric imperial socket set with a good torque wrench should be high on the list.

decent R-O/E, R-R and O/E-O/E spanners should also be on the list.

I theres a few online places that do good deals for appies but IMHO he should be looking at matching his grants dollar for dollar if he wants to tool up with tools that he'll be buying today and still using when he retires.

If you like I'll get you the numbers off of my tool sets and the order in which I purchased them.

most of my tools are sidchrome, or kingchorme and my most commonly used kit is the 1/4-3/8th kingchrome socket set. (now about 6 years old)

I've just recently blown about $800 replacing all of my impact sockets and my 1/2 inch drive kingchrome socket set (now 7 years old and abused with reckless abandon) with a sidchrome set.


PM if you need to.

[long stroke]

I'm about 7 months into my appreticeship as a mechanic, i got an $800 tool allowance and another $200 for cloths and boots etc.
I ended up going with SP tools. i got a full kit from Bursons, they have an apprenticeship toolbox special going, you get a full toolbox with 6 draws plus the area on to where the sockets etc are, and if you spend an extra $100 you get a rolla cab thrown in with two extra draws and a shelf down the bottam, with the toolbox plonked onto of the cab it's an awesome kit for the money IMO.
I paid about $820 with the rolla cab included, i think it is around the $900 mark at the moment.

In the kit you get.....

A full 1/2'' multi hex socket set from about 10mm through to 32mm, with 1/2'' ratchet, two extensions and a breaker bar, and about the same amount of socket sizes in imperial aswell.

A full 3/8'' socket set from 8mm through to about 22mm or something, with a 3/8'' ratchet, two extensions and a breaker bar, same amount of sockets in imperial as well.

A full 1/4'' socket set from 5mm through two i'm pretty sure 19mm, with a 1/4'' ratchet, two extension and a breaker bar, same amount of sockets in imperial as well.

A couple of spark plug sockets and some 1/2'' to 3/8" to 1/4'' addapters.

A set of ring/open end spanners, sizes up to 19mm and 3/4''.

6 screw drivers and 1 metric and 1 imperial allan key set.

1 set of side cutters, 1 set of bull nose plyers, a hammer, a shifter and probably a couple of other things i can't remember:angel:

So far i havn't been able to fault any of the SP gear, seems to be quality stuff!!
I have also just bought an SP rattle gun, it's great as well, has plenty of balls:cool:

CHEERS TIM.

[alien]

Proberly wouldn't hurt to get some ring/open ended spanners too.
Cost could be a prohibitive while on 1st year wages.
When I was in this boat the service manager arranged a kit for me.
Paid the allowance as a deposit and then paid a bit each week to the company.
This way they new what I had would do the jobs they wanted done.
Don't forget to engrave his name on them too, handy for retreiveing them from others.

[SPROVER]

G'day Ray,
Up near the Carribean market,off the Ferntreegully rd side there is a Kinchrome factory.They have a little store on the side of the factory where they sell tools at a good price.Ive been there a few times and picked up some good bargains.If you want the exact address let me know and i will find out for you.I cant remember it at the moment;)
Cheers
Chris

[4x4x2]

Hi Fellas-when i brought mine brought a large box with basic good quality kit then added to it as i found out or was advised to get - be carefull lending it and make the time to clean it up.
also for goodnes sake use air stuff on big stuff -dont go belting spanners with your hands or else you will certainly pay for it later on!
hope i dont sound like and old fool

[drifter]

My stepson got all his initial kit at trade prices through Repco - well, in truth, I paid for them and he paid me back as money came to hand.

The initial spend was a tool box on castors with ring, open end, sockets and a selection of screw drivers, pliers and cutters. It was a deal Repco had going at the time and cost around $900

[Tank]

my 2nd eldest boy has just started a Diesel Mech Apprenticeship
well 4 months now..........

his 1st tool allowance is coming through soon i think around the $600 mark
so what he's after are some good tools

does anyone on here have any contacts in this field or know of anyone that can point him in the right direction.........

no point wasting his money on cheapish tools that wont last

any help would be greatly appreciated
When my son started his Mechanic's apprenticeship we approached a local Auto parts seller who had a comprehensive tool range, Kingchrome, Sidchrome.
We brokered a good deal with a good discount on the promise that we would buy more tools as needed, it has worked well, keeps the money local and my son got a great deal, Regards Frank.

[Vern]

my BIL got his stuff from Blackwoods, the JBS stuff seams quite good value for money. I've had one of there socket sets for 15 years, i belt the ratchet with a hammer, and use a 4 foot pipe on it as a breaker bar, no problems at all with them. All the fitters at some of the big plants i work/worked at use this brand

[LandyAndy]

Good on him Ray.
Teng Tools do some good quality gear.
Would be worth checking with the Tax Office to see if there are scemes to help apprentices with expensive tools of the trade.
Andrew

[woody]

I don't know if this is any good or not but I came across this catalog/promo for Kingchrome tools aimed at apprentices.

hope it helps

KINCROME Tools & Equipment - Promotions (http://www.kincrome.com.au/web/support/promotions.php#88)

[akelly]

When I was an appy I used my tool allowance to buy second hand tools at auction - not sure if you can still do that but it was a great way of getting quality tools very cheaply. I used to bid on whole boxes and just take out what I wanted and re-sell the rest.

I did buy a few things like ratchets and air tools brand new.

A quality box is a good start - White International are good, so is SP.

[Stuck]

Keep an eye out for garage sales too. I've scored quite a few old Stahwille, Gedore, "made in Australia" Sidchrome etc. tools for a dollar or two each over the years.

[long stroke]

Forgot to mension, the SP kit comes with metric and imperial ring/open end spanners as well, they go up to 19mm and 3/4''.

CHEERS TIM.

[DEFENDERZOOK]

i agree with second hand stuff.......

if only i thought about it back in the day......back then it was more important to have all the name brand stuff......

i could have had 2 or 3 times the amount of tools right from the start if i got second hand stuff.....


look on ebay.....closing down workshops......classifieds in the papers......even garage sales and deceased estate sales......

its more important to have all the tools you need to get a job done properly using the right tool.......
rather than not having the right tool and destroying things by using the wrong tools......such as using vice grips or shifters and rounding
off nuts and bolts because you dont have that size socket.......

with the dollars saved on the second hand tools.....you can replace any that are worn or missing.......
but look at what you buy so you dont end up with a boxfull of useless crap......






and dont throw out old or broken tools.......they get used to make up special tools.......as they can be bent.....ground........cut and abused
without ruining you proper tools......

[It'sNotWorthComplaining!]

my 2nd eldest boy has just started a Diesel Mech Apprenticeship
well 4 months now..........

his 1st tool allowance is coming through soon i think around the $600 mark
so what he's after are some good tools

does anyone on here have any contacts in this field or know of anyone that can point him in the right direction.........

no point wasting his money on cheapish tools that wont last

any help would be greatly appreciated

Ray good to hear your boy's going to learn a trade.
My youngest is going to go along the same lines , but in the ADF. No apprenticeships there, they go in as Adult trainees and get full pay and all allowances instead of the $6 per hr that Civvy apprentices get. If your son was inclined to put up with the Drill etc, the pay's better and he'll get to work on more stuff

[sniegy]

and dont throw out old or broken tools.......they get used to make up special tools.......as they can be bent.....ground........cut and abused
without ruining you proper tools......

Very Very good idea..from Defenderzook.

So many times that i have needed a tool that was 1/2" shorter or needed to be bent to get at something that some manufacturer has designed/re-designed.

At home i have on my wall a Kingchrome double door toolkit.
At work i have a mix of Kingchrome/Sidchrome/Repco & Snapon.
Yes Snapon, expensive but they do make some excellent tools.

Again as Defenderzook has said, it is quite amazing what you can find at auctions, ebay, garage sales, trading post & deceased estates.
If you have the time look around, ask what deals can be done as an apprentice, but be wary, lots of people out there that arent trustworthy.

All the best to the young fella, you must be proud;)

[John W]

For a short time in my youth I was in the trade and my box is full of a real mix. Some top shelf stuff like Stahwille & Snap On , some middle of the road like sidcrome and some bargain basement stuff from india and taiwan. There have been some disappointments over the years but some of the basic stuff from india & taiwan like sockets and spanners continue to serve me well some 35yrs on. The only thing about top shelf stuff is they handle better (usually). I mean by that , the sockets are easier to change or the ratchets have less backlash and are smoother. In general developing countries mostly seem to have a good handle on tool steel now days.

[zuno555]

I got this with my $800 voucher.... the SP Tools kit as mentioned above.
Great quality and decent range of sockets. Spanners are top quality as well but only go up to 19mm which is pretty poor, I revert to cheapy bigger spanners until I build up SP collection. They also miss a 15mm spanner which I can not fathom, its pretty common! I coughed up and bought a SP 15mm to fill the gap....

I was tossing up between the SP and the Kinchrome set. I have a little 3/8 Kinchrome set that has done some pretty heavy work, its also very good quality for the price.

Govt used to give you a voucher, but now they just dump $800 cash into your account which is much better! On my second $800 I went and bought a Waeco fridge :twisted: haha.

For $800 you could probably pick up a fantastic 2nd hand lot of quality tools. Thats what I would be looking for first, better value for free money :)

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/07/219.jpg

Good luck for your boy, hope he sticks it out.

[JohnF]

Working on the principle that some one else told him, that you cannot have too many tools, my boy has purchased several tool boxes of tools very cheap at a local Pawn shop. Sadly most other pawn shops are not cheap, but this one often is, so he regularly checks what is available. My son should sell of what he does not need at a later date, often buying a whole tool box for just a couple of its tools, at less than those couple of tools among the others would be worth new.

As an example at this pawn shop I purchased a brand new SP 1/4 drive socket set--both metric and imperial, for just $10-- .
Yes and watch garage sales and local markets for bargains.

Good quality tools are a worthwhile long life investment [and I am not saying this cheap brand new 1/4 drive set is the best quality].

Mark them. I had lots of Sidchrome tools stolen a long time ago. I found a guy with them who had bought them at the pub, and went to police--I had marked them with fluorescent yellow paint. But the stepfather of the guy who had stole them claimed they were his, so the police said as they did not my name on them I could not prove that they were mine, hence I did not get them back.

I used to buy very cheap non-working Sidchrome Socket Wrenches, etc., some years ago and took them back to Sidchrome who replaced or fixed them under their Lifetime Warranty Guarantee.

That no longer works today, but at the time gave me some very good cheap socket wrenches.

[BMKal]

My young bloke is a diesel fitter and did his apprenticeship here in Kal.

When he started his apprenticeship, his employer purchased a basic, but fairly comprehensive tool kit and box for him through their normal supplier. It included pretty much all the basic tools required for the type of work that his employer specialised in. He contributed his tool allowance to this and paid off the difference over about the first 6 months of his employment there. He has since added to it, mainly through the same supplier, as he gets a good deal through them.

Some of the tools that he has got are pretty specialised - it depends a bit on what area of diesel fitting you are specializing in. Shaun works mainly on underground mining gear but occasionally works on some of the larger surface mining gear. He used to service and maintain all the Cat and Komatsu loaders on a site that I was running a while back, but now prefers to drive down tunnels and crawl around under the grotty underground gear. :D

His latest torque wrench that he showed me the other day has digital readout, beeps and plays tunes, and even vibrates through the handle when you achieve the desired pre-set torque. Way too flash for my simple abilities. :p