Socket Set

[Tatey]

After spending time taking apart an MLRS, 432 APC's and Chieftain tanks, I've learned how invaluable a socket set can be.

So I am looking to get my first set. Although I am not sure which one would best suited to me.

I want to get a good quality set for £20 or less. I think I'll be going the Halfords Professional route since they have a lifetime warranty. There are two which seem to be in my price range:

36 piece, 1/4" which go from 3.5-14mm, but also has extension bar, ratchet and various screwdrive bits for £15:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_17 7537_langId_-1_categoryId_165572#dtab

18 piece socket set, 3/8" which goes from 9-20mm with 4 deep sockets and ratchet for £20:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_52 5109_langId_-1_categoryId_165572

So which one do you feel would be best suited for general use and working on my Haynes Roadster?

Any advice will be much appreciated.

[HandyAndy]

out of those 2 sets i would go for the second set,
BUT
if you can stretch your budget a bit more then i,d suggest going for a more comprehensive set, with items such as flexi extensions & if poss a set that also has a set of spanners too, as there will be a time where you need to hold a bolt whilst tightening the nut with the socket set....example ...suspension bolts ;)

you have seen the set i use & it cost me £50 but worth it.

andy

[Tatey]

Cheers for the advice Andy. It looks like I can buy a 3/8" flexi handle for £8.60 from Halfords, so i could buy it in the future when required. I bought myself a spanner set a few months ago, so im set on that front.

If anyone has any other advice feel free to add it :D

[HandyAndy]

look at this item on ebay

390086532853

as you already have a spanner set, this socket set looks like good value, tho its not the halfords pro range but i would think its perfectly good enough for the "home mechanic"

this set also has things like spark plug sockets & various extensions & a range of larger sockets,
its when you need those bits that you wish you had them .

andy

[Tatey]

Cheers for that Andy. I think I'll wait a day or 2 just to find out how much the donor parts are going to cost me, and then if anything on my car needs fixing as its in for its MOT tomorrow morning.

There's no point rushing out to buy a set when it'll just be sat in the garage for at least a week doing nothing.

[deezee]

I'd go for a grown up :rolleyes: 1/2" set and I think you'll also need a torque wrench. If your yet to strip down your donor, your going to need some severe leverage on some fittings so a buster bar might be useful, plus the whopping 42mm socket for the driveshafts. I imagine you'll want something like 8mm - 24mm (all of which I've used on my build so far). Like Andy says, spark plug sockets (long sockets in general) are also really useful.

I've never liked the smaller drive stuff, I've snapped a few smaller sockets trying to undo bolts on cars. Personally I'd get a set from Machine Mart or maybe a brittool set from screwfix.

[Tatey]

What about:

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/pro155-19pce-1-2-drive-socket-set

Buy that to start with and then get other bits as needed? E.g. breaker bar and spark plug sockets, i could get them individually from Halfords, again with the lifetime warranty.

Then I'll still have the lifetime warranty that I'm after, ill have a 1/2 drive socket set which goes from 8-32mm with a reversible ratchet and i can slowly build up my tool collection, it will possibly cost a bit more than a larger set, but it means i can spread out the cost and only buy the tools i actually need.

I'm not too keen on buying a socket set on-line with a lifetime warranty as it'll be much harder to take the bit back to get replaced.

[AshG]

wouldnt bother with that clarke set the rubber handle will get in the way in tight spots

all my stuff is either hlafords pro, facom, or britool

if you only have £20-40 buy only what you need but buy good stuff. cheep tools are a false economy. you can allways buy more good tools when you have more money.

[Tatey]

Do britool have a lifetime warranty? If so screwfix are doing this set for £50:

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/76174/Van-Car-Accessories/Sockets-Hex/Britool-Metric-Socket-Set-1-2-26Pc

Which i could wait a while and buy.

Edit, just noticed it has a rubber handle.

[deezee]

I wouldn't worry about having a lifetime warranty. I mean, do you bother to try and get a lifetime warranty with your cutlery? Or with a cupboard? I used my dads socket set for years stripping down MGB's and Fords with no problem and its still in use now. It must be over 25 years old and still brilliant. You buy a good set, you'll have it forever.

If your worried about a socket set, your going to cry when you start having to buy all the little tools and car fittings you forgot to allow for. Pipe bending tool, pipe flaring tool, pipe cutting tool, nylon hammers, scribes, rules, centre punches, big hammers, squares, axle stands, jacks, wire wheels, wire brushes, chassis paint, paint brushes, drills, more drills, riveter, pliers, snips, taps, dies, pullers, torx sets, combination squares, hacksaws, files, calipers.... oh and lets not forget something to put them all in.

[HandyAndy]

whilst i acknowledge that a top of the range/lifetime warranty is nice to have,

but as deezee has said, there are SO many tools that one builds up to having, the way i look upon buying tools is to buy a middle of the range type quality as i can then buy other tools within my budget,
if you damage "a socket" etc then they can be replaced quite cheaply on an indvidual basis, rather than spending lots on a top quality set but unable to afford other tools as you,ve spent up,

the socket set /spanner combination set that i have has so far lasted me 4 years for the cost of £50 & the only broken part was a screwdriver bit that snapped the tip which was my own fault.


andy

[adrianreeve]

I have to agree, I bought my socket set when I was 16, that's 19 years ago now (god I feel old suddenly!). It was just a generic middle of the road set, 1/2" and 1/4" drives, with extensions and spark plug sockets etc. Over the years, I've added to it when I've needed an odd size, or occasionally broken something. I actually had to replace the 1/2" drive about 10 years ago, but replacing as and when things break does spread the cost out somewhat, and I reckon one ratchet every 10 years (with some pretty nasty abuse - 6' scaffold tube on end of drive to shift beetle rear hub nut!) is pretty good.

If you were a professional mechanic, and your living depended on your tools (and they were to be used 8 hours a day, 5 days a week), I would get expensive stuff with lifetime warranties, but for the home mechanic, I don't feel it's worth it.

Cheers

Adrian

[londonsean69]

My best mate used to be a tyre monkey at Kwik-sh1t. His tools kept going 'walkies' (mostly Sykes Pickavant - they can get a set when they start and spread the cost).

He got a really cheap and nasty (£4) set off the local market. Even though they weren't impact sockets, the 17, 19 & 21mm spent most of their life getting the living hell smashed out of them day in day out. A bit of flaky chrome was the biggest problem!!

A high price does not always mean a quality product either

He kept his nice tools for home.

Sean

[Tatey]

Right we'll after reading all of your posts I've bid on the set that HandyAndy posted earlier, so we'll see how that goes. Cheers for all of your help.

[alga]

From my limited experience, a 1/2" set is just right for suspension work. I even use sockets from the set with a bar type torquewrench when doing and undoing wheel lug nugs. The long torquewrench makes it quite effortless and exact.

However, 1/2" sockets and extensions are too clumsy for stuff like hard to get to intake manifold nuts (10mm-ish), something more nimble and compact would be useful. I suspect a 3/8" set would be ideal here.

Also, apparently even pro-grade 1/4" ratchets are not too durable, I've seen car mechanincs buy them several at a time, like pencils. Probably it's because they are too easy to abuse.

[AshG]

just for info it is Sykes Pickavant that make the halfords pro stuff.

also just a bit more info. draper pro stuff is not bad and can be found very cheeply on the likes of ebay etc

[HandyAndy]

Right we'll after reading all of your posts I've bid on the set that HandyAndy posted earlier, so we'll see how that goes. Cheers for all of your help.

:eek: gulp :D

good luck with your bid, not long to go either , hope the set is ok for you:cool:

andy

[Talonmotorsport]

Some body once told me that you only need two tools to fix things. If it moves and it's not supposed to use gaffer tape and if it don't move and it's ment to use wd40. I think that he had 3 tools though as the 3rd 'tool' owned the other two.

[deezee]

However, 1/2" sockets and extensions are too clumsy for stuff like hard to get to intake manifold nuts (10mm-ish), something more nimble and compact would be useful. I suspect a 3/8" set would be ideal here.

Thats the joy of a 1/2" drive, that you can just pop a 3/8" adapter on the wrench and use smaller socket if required...... save on a 2nd set of extension bars, wrenches. But I admit I have a 1/4" for bench work (carbs and the such)

[flyerncle]

Tatey if you get stuck just let me know.

"Halfords Pro" Who is kidding who ! (not directly pointed at you Ash)

[Tatey]

Cheers flyerncle, i won the socket set on ebay for £30.90, so i'll see what its like when it arrives, if its rubbish we all know who to blame :p

[HandyAndy]

if its rubbish we all know who to blame :p

:eek: :p

andy

[flyerncle]

This will peeve Andy no end, I have a new toy to play with, an 08 Blade!.My boss has just bought it yesterday,just wait till he's not looking !!!!!!

Speaking of tools and stuff anyone local in the North East is welcome to contact me if they want brake pipes made to save buying flaring tools etc.

[HandyAndy]

This will peeve Andy no end, I have a new toy to play with, an 08 Blade!.My boss has just bought it yesterday,just wait till he's not looking !!!!!!

:mad: :p do you need a test pilot to show you how to ride it????:D :D

andy...........i,m not biting

[flyerncle]

Only in the dry Andy ! and only after warming the tyres up.

[HandyAndy]

take it to the biggest roundabout you can find & get it on its side with your knee on the deck :cool: :cool: ;)

andy

[flyerncle]

Must have belonged to a girl, the little rubber tits are still on the sidewall.
He's going to Croft with it next week to watch the racing.
He had an SP1 years ago and it flicked him off at about 20 mph on the round about at Kenton Bar so he is a bit wary,He went to Holland on it and promtly sold it when he got back, I rode it once and did not get back on it !
I prefer my knees where they are,stopping my ar5e from touching the floor.

[HandyAndy]

i was thinking of going to croft too, tell him to book a track day, he,ll love it;)
it,ll get rid of the tell tales on the side walls.
i like the blades more than the R1,s, not so flighty on the road:cool:
if he wants some one to scrub the tyres in for him you know where i am:D

andy

[flyerncle]

He would fall off big style,he is fast in a straight line.

[andyuk697]

hey guys
i just read this thread and thought id add, dont be fooled by lifetime warrantys
i bought a good socket set from halfords a few years ago id not had it long and one of the little screws in the back near the direction switch came out and got lost and they would not help me at all, they said they dont cover general wear and tear
what did they think i was going to do leave it in the box and not use it :confused:

Andy

[Bonzo]

Go to your nearest Halfrauds & Erm, Um sort of borrow a new screw :eek:
No need to take a screwdriver with you, you'll find plenty on the shelves :D

On a serious note. My local store are as good as gold & have allways honoured the warranty on their tools :)

The screws on some of my Draper rachets had a habit of becoming loose, a dab of Loctite soon sorted that problem out ;)

[Tatey]

My socket set arrived today, its made by Am-tech. The sockets etc all seem to be really good quality, so all in all im happy :D