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/s...Id_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/s...egoryId_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

[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 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/pr...ive-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/...t-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.