The Cool Tools Thread

[benm]

A doctor might be better at fixing that problem...

[Neil]

All of the mechanics I know all say the words "Steer clear of Snap On" when buying tools these days.

They used to be great, they really did, these days, they're rubbish.

My fathers business was originally buying snap on gear (About 9 years ago now) for these special allen key pieces that go on a breaking bar, they were listed as "Unbreakable, with a lifetime guarantee". We used to send them back every month for replacement.

In the end, brand name change (KingChrome), haven't broken one since.

I have "repco" tools personally myself, they have a lifetime guarantee, and I'm about to send back my ratchet, and my extension... The extension is bending, the ratchet has gone "floppy" and no longer sits at 90 degrees.

Well,,,while I would never give "Snap On" my money,,,I would never ever say they supply rubbish. You might have mechanics but my guys are high quality BMW technicians that love their tools,,,we have our "snap on/stahwille/gedore and Hazet loving boys. They will all argue with you till your black and blue in the face mate. 3 Germans and 1 yank. But THERE is another supplier now making a mark and they are Japanesse "Kokon".

Repco don't make tools anymore my good man,,,these days they are just another supplier,,,you have sidchrome maybe???.

Cheers

Neil

[MBS206]

Well,,,while I would never give "Snap On" my money,,,I would never ever say they supply rubbish. You might have mechanics but my guys are high quality BMW technicians that love their tools,,,we have our "snap on/stahwille/gedore and Hazet loving boys. They will all argue with you till your black and blue in the face mate. 3 Germans and 1 yank. But THERE is another supplier now making a mark and they are Japanesse "Kokon".

Repco don't make tools anymore my good man,,,these days they are just another supplier,,,you have sidchrome maybe???.

Cheers

Neil

Oh, I agree that Repco is just some other manufacturer with "Repco" writing instead of their own brand... But they have take some abuse, and are starting to give up a bit now...

The Snap On stuff we had, well, it was rubbish. Haven't tried their ratchet sets etc, but the pieces we were buying, we sent that many back from snapping them cleanly in half...

[mid life crisis]

i have thousands of dollars of snap on tools that have seen many hrs on the workshop floor and i cant say Ive seen to many failures they feel nice in the hands and are comfy too hold .

we did have a faulty snap on rattle gun that was replaced no questions asked once we showed the rep what it was doing when used .

i also have a sidchrome wall cabinet full of spanners and sockets that i bought when i was 18 I'm 51 now and there hanging in strong . buy quality tools and not the crap from bunnings and you will get many yrs of good use out of them .

cheers dean

[benm]

Bunnings are actually the easiest place to get Sidchrome and Kincrome tools and at reasonable prices too

[Neil]

Bunnings are actually the easiest place to get Sidchrome and Kincrome tools and at reasonable prices too

Come on Ben,,,they stock tons of shit and the absolute bare minimum or is your bunnings shop internally 3 acres hge.

Cheers

Neil.

[oweban]

4 years later you emerge dishevelled, dehydrated and a different man...

[RBLUV]

can anyone tell me where i can buy a decent breaker bar for a decent price? sorry just saw its in nsw section lol, willing to buy online though

Edited October 25, 2010 by RBLUV

[Ruxis]

What I was saying is that I own original sidchrome and since the change of hands they will no longer warrant my tools. Pack of Arseholes.

I didn't know kinchrome and sidchrome were made by the same company,,,but what I will say is kinchrome is better quality.

Sparkies don't use spanner and socket type tools anywhere as much as mechanics,,, so your sidchromes will be fine mate. But I'll bet in years to come the only sidchrome you will use will be the tool chests.

Isn't the apprentice tool system cool,,,you get tools for basically nothing.

Cheers

Neil.

Ah righto then.

Umm I had to buy my tools for work because you can't get the tool allowance until you've been working for 3 months, so I got my sidchrome set for home . My crappy bag of tools is at work hah.

I understand about the warranty for you now, that sucks!!

[zebra]

I have an old sidchrome one, was my Dads for about 30 years, still going strong, even the plastic handle is in good nick and i give it hell!

[siksII]

I have Minimax. They are all made in Japan or Germany - got one set as a gift 5 years ago, heaps of abuse and nothing has broken.

Friends have mostly Kincrome, we have not had any problems with them and they are always nice to use.

Recently bought a 1/2 inch set so I stop using my 3/8 set to do 1/2 inch jobs Have not used it much yet.

Last pic shows the ratchet with 32mm socket attached.

[evil_weevil]

repco have a good sale on at the moment....I just have to take a different road home to avoid spending money this arvo LOL

[benm]

Come on Ben,,,they stock tons of shit and the absolute bare minimum or is your bunnings shop internally 3 acres hge.

Cheers

Neil.

3.95 acres actually

They have a decent range of tool trolleys, socket sets and spanners, enough to keep the backyard mechanic satisfied and like I said reasonable on price too!

[GTRsean]

I have an old sidchrome one, was my Dads for about 30 years, still going strong, even the plastic handle is in good nick and i give it hell!

+1

Dad gave me his old 1/2 inch ratchet years ago, still good after I don't know how many decades lolz!

[SECURITY]

anyone know where i can get some thin-walled sockets? preferably a 17mm?

[Duncan]

many of the brands have thin walled impact sockets, normally for fitting in tight wheels. I got the size i needed at a local auto one but most places with a decent range should carry something.

Tools online, including kincrome....this place is cheap, fast and has great specials from time to time: www.transquip.com.au

[Deano45]

many of the brands have thin walled impact sockets, normally for fitting in tight wheels. I got the size i needed at a local auto one but most places with a decent range should carry something.

Tools online, including kincrome....this place is cheap, fast and has great specials from time to time: www.transquip.com.au

I buy heaps of tools from there, as Duncan said, they are cheap fast and easy to deal with.

[SECURITY]

thanks for the info guys. i compared prices on the same thin-wall socket set with ebay's, the site was $30 more expensive than ebay.

if i cant find it at repco or autobarn ill just order it off ebay.

[Pezhead]

It's a real shame that no one imports Craftsman tools here in Oz. Craftsman is Sears & Robuck brand in the US. They've always made good quality spanners and sockets at really competitive rates. I've still got a lot of my sets from when I lived in the states 10 years ago. When I go back next year I plan to bring back a fair bit.

[Duncan]

re ebay tools.....I look at it the same as a lot of things on ebay.

If you are certain what you are buying is the same and genuine, buy it on there and enjoy the savings. eg you see a kincrome spanner set and you have cross checked the prices. But I would always stay away from unbranded or potentially non-genuine brand tools because I value my knucles too much.

The only other consideration for me is warranty. When you are buying something and you know warranty wont matter (ie the item is too cheap to bother, or not important enough), go for it. But if you might need it fixed, buy in Oz from a proper shop that you know will honour the warranty. In this case the extra you pay is just for knowing that warranty will exist if you ever need it.