socket and ratcheting spanners on board

[JumbleDuck]

If anything comes through as a sort of consensus it would be:

a) if you have to restrict yourself to one large socket set, then go for 3/8". ...

b) give serious consideration to the Halfords Professional range ...

I think you're spot on there. I'll add that Norbar do a wee gem of a 3/8" torque wrench, which I have found one of the best reasons for going to 3/8" drive. It's small enough to fit in my toolbox, but does everything I need on car and boat engines.

 

[john_morris_uk]

I think you're spot on there. I'll add that Norbar do a wee gem of a 3/8" torque wrench, which I have found one of the best reasons for going to 3/8" drive. It's small enough to fit in my toolbox, but does everything I need on car and boat engines.

I’ve just realised that my 1/2” Norbar torque wrench is 40 years old!

 

[Heckler]

IIRC the 11mm one fits the 7/16" bolt on CAV 296 filters and the 15mm one the alternator bolt on the older VP engines!
Just a bit of drift, I had a favourite Snap on ratchet screwdriver, superb bit of kit, bought it 30 years ago for £70! It now resides at the bottom of Holyhead Harbour! Dont ask! A local diver looked and looked for it but because the stupid of the stupid design of the pontoon anchoring the place where it dropped in moved with the moon!

 

[JumbleDuck]

I’ve just realised that my 1/2” Norbar torque wrench is 40 years old!

I've just realised that I bought my first personal tool kit 33 years ago, when I bought my first car. I still have most of the tools, and quite a lot of the car.

 

[Leighb]

I have a very mixed bag of tools mostly dating back to my student days when I worked on car engines, mainly Jaguar, including a Britool torque wrench. Recently to keep on the boat I have bought a cheapish set of metric 1/2" and 1/4" sockets which so far have done what I need.

I am interested in these ratchet spanners, they look useful to have, not seen them before, must have a look next time I am in Halfords or Machine Mart.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I am interested in these ratchet spanners, they look useful to have, not seen them before, must have a look next time I am in Halfords or Machine Mart.

It's worth getting good ones. Cheapos tend to have (a) coarse ratchets and (b) very thick rims, both of which make them less useful for the sort of fiddly confined places where ratchet spanners are a godsend.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

I have and used to keep them on the boats two sets of Teng Tools 1/4 & 3/8ths drive with Hexagonal sockets they did virtually everything in the normal course of events. On the odd occasion it was needed I used to take my ancient Britool 1/2" drive set to the boat. I also kept a mix of Britool, Snap-On and Blue point open end and ring spanners non of which ever corroded but I used to keep them in Tupperware boxes sprayed with WD40 after use. I have a couple of Snap-On ratchet spanners in useful sizes but generally find them a little thick and am not convinced of their strength I prefer to use some open ended Snap-On spanners that have half of one lug cut short ( they are bought like that) so it is easy to slip them on and of the nut in tight spaces and they work very much like a ratchet spanner in that respect.
As it happens I have been using a fair selection of all the above this morning, changing the pads and discs on the Pajero, including the venerable Britool 1/2" drive set although the Whitworth sockets don't get used nowadays and the imperial ones not much but the metric ones and the Britool torque wrench are as good as new and at least 50 years old bought as presents by an uncle. Pity I ordered the wrong discs and will have to complete the job next week.
I may be a tool snob but I have always bought the best and looked after them and have found they last. I don't think Britool are as good as they used to be but old stuff appears on flea bay and seems to get snapped up. The Teng is still available and very good, BAHCO seems to be good as of course is Snap-On or Bluepoint.