Thread: Cheap tools v Good ones

The tools dad Bought for his rover, and gave to me when he gave me the rover..

He paid squidly for em, they were old and rusty when he got em according to him...

Not an expansive collection just a pair of pliers and the common open enders, the really heavy ones with the wierd offsets to em, and theyre perfect for series bellhousing nuts, propshafts and swivel mounting bolts (the 6 that hold the swivel to the axle housing)

Originally Posted by downundersteve

Cheap tools v Good ones

When I was about 16 I bought a socket set from a market stall it cost a whopping 5 pounds, about $12. (All I could afford at the time).
I have used it to fix my vehicles from a Leyland van, Ford Escort to the Falcon I have now.

Over the years I have bought/acquired a Draper Expert, (UK brand) and a Kamasa socket set to use after my $12 ratchet gives up the ghost.

I started using the other sets last year when I got my Rangie.
Because my $12 set is buggered, no, because I wanted to, I had them for about 6 years and never used them, they looked wrong all clean and shiny.

My 20 year old, yes 20 years old ! socket set is still going strong, all I have managed to do is loose one 17mm socket, (what good are they anyway) and broke one case latch.


How’s that for a return on investment.



So what cheap tool has gone the distance for you, what was it, how much was it and how long have you had it for ???

Ps it won’t count if it just lays in the draw, you have to use it.

17mm fits the oil filter on the County!
I have several cheap sets of ring - open end Chinese spanners that I have used for years - occasionally I break one, but most things are not ridiculously tight anyway, and if you look after your gear they don't get rusted up. And if it IS tight, use a socket anyway. My sockets are a weird collection of mostly good quality collected from garage sales, clearing sales and op shops. But the ring open enders get lost more often than broken, plus having cheap ones I can have one set in each vehicle, one in the workshop and one in the house - these are the spanners you mostly use, and a lot better on the nuts and bolt heads than using a shifter.
John

My mum and dad gave me a Fuller Toolbox for chrissy the year I started my apprenticship,,
only recently replaced the ratchet,,
all sockets doing well
not many originals spanners left now though,,,


couldnt count the number of things a 17mm socket has fitted over the years,,
isnt the sump plug on the D2 17mm??

Originally Posted by Pedro_The_Swift

isnt the sump plug on the D2 17mm??

Yes it is


So guys whats the conclusion?

To me all will do the job but, do you spend a couple of hundred on the tools now and replace in a couple of years time or spend the big biccies now and have a nice set to loose, then still have to replace them in a couple of years.

i have a Ozito cordless drill

that i bought about 5yrs ago and still going strong

it came with all the fancy little drill bits and stuff and 2 batteries with indicator lights on the batteries to tell you how much charge is left

18volt power as well and the grand total of $40 with carry case

It kinda depends if you ask me. I had a supercheap socket set, which did ok, but I snapped 3 sockets in simple stuff, spon the lug on the ratchet handle around and the sockets themselves were only just the right size. Recently I saved up and got a sidchrome set, and haven't looked back.

Same problem with my cheapie pliers, wouldn't cut things cleanly, wouldn't grip things properly. Got some stanley ones and they work on everything from car bits to pulling up carpet and floors. Mind you, some things that I have are cheapie tools that will probably last forever. But whereas untill I started doing a bit of mechanical work, I figured that the cheapies will do, now I save up and get at least middle of the range.

Power tools seem to be an exception though, the cheapie oens seem to last as long as the regular ones. That reminds me, I must look at how much it is for a small grider. Dad snapped the handle on his the other day and I need one to use for some cleaning up of some rust on Grover. I guess i'd better check my account.

I bought a torque wrench on special at K-Mart as store damaged goods(torn cardboard box over the plastic case) - only cost about $45... it was only later when I got home that I found someone (not me!) had swapped the contents of the cheap packaging for a kinchrome wrench worth a few hundred... not quite cheap, but the purchase price was!

socket sets - well I bought cheap and nasty from McEwans many, many moons ago and have so far replaced the ratchet and the 12mm and 14mm as they are the most heavily used and the only ones to have become damaged.

I took the recommendation of an old metalurgist friend who tested these things to failure and his words were to buy from big chain stores as they must test things like tools, trolley jacks etc according to Aussie standards and they must pass to be allowed on sale... those that fail end up in markets or landfill! (note I aint talking about electrical tools here, just those mechanical items like spanners, sockets etc)

Originally Posted by hiline

i have a Ozito cordless drill

that i bought about 5yrs ago and still going strong

it came with all the fancy little drill bits and stuff and 2 batteries with indicator lights on the batteries to tell you how much charge is left

18volt power as well and the grand total of $40 with carry case

I got one of those, (not cordless) with a 2 or 3 year warranty, I used it for a year then tried to drill through my towbar.
I burned the motor out in seconds and got an exchange on warranty from bunnings. I burned that one out as well the same day.
I took it back and paid a bit more and got the 'Daddy' Ozito drill

It weights ton, drills, hammers, chisels and went throught the towbar like butter.
I don't think I'll be wearing this one out in a hurry.