Humblebee
Well-known member
King Dick are still in business, see here...
Wrenches And Spanners | Quality Hand Tools | King Dick Tools
Spanners cost??!
- Thread starter john_morris_uk
- Start date
Wrenches And Spanners | Quality Hand Tools | King Dick Tools
AntarcticPilot
Well-known member
I gave my daughter - a Marvel fan - a toolkit in the shape of Thor's hammer as a joke present at her wedding!
Momac
Well-known member
Most spanners I have are inherited.
But i did buy one earlier this year for a particular job
ghostlymoron2
Active member
I remember a similar thread to this a few years ago there was the usual 'buy cheap, buy twice ' brigade but Silverline was suggested so that's what I bought. They are a good fit and none of them have broken.
WoodyP
Well-known member
The best present to give a mechanic is an endless supply of 10mm spanners. I bought a set of quite good sockets and found two 9mm, and no 10mm.
B27
Well-known member
I got fed up with always finding 9 or 10 when I wanted 10.
So I bought a few single sockets.
I now have 8, 10 and 13 on a little wallmounted holder by the bench.
madabouttheboat
Well-known member
I used to work on the spanners in a professional capacity. Snap-on is like a cult. I don’t doubt they are good quality, and the lifetime guarantee is nice to have, but you get the same with Halfords professional and I’m sure a few others. The lads I worked with were like bees round a honeypot when the snap-on van visited. The amount they spent astounded me. We did the same job, earned the same hourly rate, and I did it all by spending a fraction of what they did on tools. I did buy decent quality, and I do rate Halfords professional stuff, but I don’t remember ever suffering from tool breakage. In fact more tools were lost than ever likely to break, and it’s easier to stomach losing a tool that wasn’t Snap-on expensive.
madabouttheboat
Well-known member
If you ever undo a bolt with a non-reversing ratchet spanner, where the head of the bolt gets close to some other component when it comes out, you appreciate the reversing action that some come with.
nevis768
Active member
I bought these for a spare set to keep on the boat, 8-19mm flexible, ratchet set for £31, great quality. I've since added a 6 and 7 mm to the pack. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0BZPF9F54/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Neeves
Well-known member
Jaguar cars, and other cars, are supplied when new with a tool kit, common spanners, a couple of screw drivers etc. Jags are not cheap, and neither are yachts, why don't the yacht builders supply their vessels with the spanners and sockets needed for common servicing needs. Historically 'we' serviced our own cars, as many now do with their yacht - but who services their own Jaguar or more contemporaneously their electric MG? - so why do Jags have a tool kit?
Our mast and boom and the various fixtures were secured with special security Alan bolts needing a fancy tool. Why was it not supplied, forcing us to bodge when the outhaul failed and we wanted to remove the boom end to feed in a new outhaul - and you only discover the omission when you are miles from anywhere in an 'inconvenient' location (in this case Wine Glass Bay on Tasmania's east coast).
We had folding Volvo props on the MD2020s. The props are secured to the sail drive shaft with a large nut recessed into the hub and secured with a reverse thread bolt + tab washer. The large nut, from memory had a 26mm head, is this a common size in a socket set? (not in ours). Why don't Volvo supply the props with the relevant sockets - its not as if the props are cheap. Buying an unusually large sockets involves an unusually large cost - Volvo could buy them by the 100s for peanuts.
In the grand scheme of things the auxiliary motor needs very few tools, again why are they not supplied as standard - including a tool to remove the filters.
There should not be a need for a thread on spanners/sockets/screwdrivers - they should be a non event and supplied with the yacht (and the importer/commissioning agent should have spares that they provide at a nominal cost). When you buy a new yacht you expect winch handles, you expect an engine manual - why not spanners.
We can supplement and modify what should be standard, like the spanners to remove a Volvo water pump - but the basics should be supplied as 'original' equipment.
But I dream, hoping windlass will have all the bolts Duralac coated.......
Jonathan
Our mast and boom and the various fixtures were secured with special security Alan bolts needing a fancy tool. Why was it not supplied, forcing us to bodge when the outhaul failed and we wanted to remove the boom end to feed in a new outhaul - and you only discover the omission when you are miles from anywhere in an 'inconvenient' location (in this case Wine Glass Bay on Tasmania's east coast).
We had folding Volvo props on the MD2020s. The props are secured to the sail drive shaft with a large nut recessed into the hub and secured with a reverse thread bolt + tab washer. The large nut, from memory had a 26mm head, is this a common size in a socket set? (not in ours). Why don't Volvo supply the props with the relevant sockets - its not as if the props are cheap. Buying an unusually large sockets involves an unusually large cost - Volvo could buy them by the 100s for peanuts.
In the grand scheme of things the auxiliary motor needs very few tools, again why are they not supplied as standard - including a tool to remove the filters.
There should not be a need for a thread on spanners/sockets/screwdrivers - they should be a non event and supplied with the yacht (and the importer/commissioning agent should have spares that they provide at a nominal cost). When you buy a new yacht you expect winch handles, you expect an engine manual - why not spanners.
We can supplement and modify what should be standard, like the spanners to remove a Volvo water pump - but the basics should be supplied as 'original' equipment.
But I dream, hoping windlass will have all the bolts Duralac coated.......
Jonathan
Metalicmike
Active member
I will only buy Kennedy combination spanners from Cromwell tools. I have never been able to break one, I bought my first set in the late seventies 6mm to 24mm in 1mm increments on special offer when a Cromwell tools rep visited the factory, I have hammered them on to bolt heads abused them with lump hammers extended them with tubing and the bolt always breaks before the spanner does. Before moving to Tenerife I had two sets of combination spanners and a set of ring spanners. Snapon are over rated and over priced, they will replace tools that brake but that's no good if your in the middle of a breakdown. I use to get a lot of black nails doing industrial maintenance work inspiring me to find a solution. I recorded a crappy video with some advice on how to prevent the subsequent suffering.
penberth3
Well-known member
Simple. I wouldn't expect anyone buying a new Jaguar to use any of the tools provided. Arguably better if they don't even try! I would expect a boatowner to have their own toolkit already, and know how to use it.
Blue Seas
Member
The best spanners in the world cannot replace the 'feel' for using them gained over decades of daily use.
Graham_Wright
Well-known member
I think, in the small print, it says they are automatic.
Neeves
Well-known member
rogerthebodger
Well-known member
If you need to use spanners daily it will not leave much time for sailing
Jonathan
Its all about your priority.
You use a spanned during the week to earn money to go sailing during the week ends. Of like you and me retire early and go sailing every day of the week if SWMBO allows