Tool Suggestions

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

Thats not really comparing like with like.

Try these sets for £40 and £45.

Facom £40 1/4 set.

Facom £45 1/4 set.

A roller cabinet at £400 will be thin steel and will flex. Mine cost about £700 20 years ago doesn't flex and weighs about 200kg before you put the tools in.
Funny thing is you would happily spend £400 on a TV for the bedroom that will last maybe 5 years, here we are talking about buying a tool box that will last in excess of 50 years so the rest of your life and you are questioning the cost of it.

I justify the cost of my tools by asking how much it would cost for a shop to do the work for me. In the case of the recent top end rebuild on the ER6 I saved over £1000 by having my own tools and the experience to do the work. Throw in the cost of tyre changes at £10ish a wheel and it was worth buying a tyre machine, when you think you can buy a shop type basic tyre machine and balancer for £1200 new let alone second hand then suddenly you may realise you can actually afford a hell of a lot more than you think you can.

Kawasaki Jimbo · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 Oct 2015 Karma :

This close to Christmas and New Year I'd be looking out for the sales at Halfords. People like to write, "Halfrauds" but these days their stuff is good quality, particularly their "Professional" tool range. Ten months ago I bought their "Industrial" range tool chest and cabinet in the sales for £299 and it is excellent. The green one is also a good colour match for the Kawasaki... which is nice.

Nobby the Bastard · Harley Gaydar Joined: 16 Aug 2013 Karma :

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

Ribenapigeon · Super Spammer Joined: 20 Feb 2012 Karma :

For woodworking tools its carboot it all the way except for electric drills. I'm looking at getting a Stanley Fatmax 18v drill as a replacement for my 12v Dewalt which is shit and dousent drill straight. Homebase have them on a black Friday deal at the moment for £70 with two Lion batteries. The Stanley Fatmax stuff is good value if your buying new.

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

Ribenapigeon · Super Spammer Joined: 20 Feb 2012 Karma :

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

Ribenapigeon · Super Spammer Joined: 20 Feb 2012 Karma :

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

331X2 · Crazy Courier Joined: 10 Jul 2013 Karma :

Going back to 1/4" drive, I bought this a while ago, the finish is beautiful and it's a fairly comprehensive set made in the UK (in the original Britool factory if the website is right), I can't really comment on the longevity as I've only had it for around two years and my 1/4" gear gets an easy ride. Bahco socket sets seem robust, well priced and not trying to 'do a halfords' by being high polished chrome, I (ab)used a 1/4" set for about 5 years without issue until it got "lost" on site.

Spanners are Stahlwille or Elora for me given the choice, I've been using a set of 'Kennedy Professional' for around 10 years and while I'd like to upgrade to a set of Stahlwille's (much nicer to use, slimmer jaws etc) I can't justify spending the wedge when I've yet to have a failure.

Tool boxes seem overpriced until you suffer the cheaper one's, we used to get supplied with Clarke at work but they're absolute shit, they moved onto Beta which are a lot better but not much (any?) cheaper than snap-on. Start with a top box on a bench, you can fit a lot more than you realise in one.

Yorkshire Geek · Scooby Slapper Joined: 02 Jun 2015 Karma :

G · The Voice of Reason Joined: 02 Feb 2002 Karma :

hellkat · Super Spammer Joined: 12 Jul 2004 Karma :

A corkscrew.
https://maggieswine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Waiters_Corkscrew_1.jpg

If none of those little fuckers work, at least you can open a bottle of wine.
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Matt B · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :

I noticed that there have been quite a few Blue Point items coming up on ebay auctions lately. This seller seems to have a lot https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/the_carfixer.

Blue Point is the Snap-on budget range but don't discount it because of that, quality is still good. If I wanted a 1/4 drive set of sockets I would be looking here.
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chris-red · Have you considered a TDM? Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Karma :

Wafer_Thin_Ham · Super Spammer Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Karma :

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

WULFSTAN · World Chat Champion Joined: 18 Sep 2010 Karma :

Agree with sickpup if you're going to spend money on the tools then its better to play safe with a good tool box you can lock. If People notice you have tools with next to no security then they won't last long and once they are in it won't just be the tools that go.
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sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

Matt B · World Chat Champion Joined: 01 May 2012 Karma :

chris-red · Have you considered a TDM? Joined: 21 Sep 2005 Karma :

Kawasaki Jimbo · World Chat Champion Joined: 09 Oct 2015 Karma :

I don't have a huge number of tools either but I bought a chest and cabinet combo because it brought everything together instead of being scattered in various boxes on the floor. It makes it all easily accessible and at a reasonable height and brings a sense of order to the new garage.

sickpup · Old Timer Joined: 21 Apr 2004 Karma :

Chris

If you don't want to buy a half decent let alone a decent tool chest/cabinet then don't but stop trying to justify why you shouldn't do it.

Simple FACT is if you get one and there is loads of space in it you will fill it by putting things such as extra oil filters, bulbs etc in it as it keeps everything to hand. You will also find you put drill bits in it, your drill, you airline bits because it is pointless having a garage that has no power and if it has power you will get a compressor and you will get air tools. You will also place your household bits like screws and rawl plugs in it, spare fuses, tap washers etc and in no time at all you will find that you need a bigger tool box. And seriously do you think you will only ever need one fork seal driver, you going to keep the same bike forever?

If you really want to go into it where are you planning on keeping your lathe bits? I would suggest a tool cabinet is the perfect place and they aren't exactly lightweight bits.

And are you planning on restricting yourself to a minimal toolkit for the rest of your life? I thought the point of having this garage was you could actually do things in it and save money.

Bottom line is your money your choice but please stop trying to justify why a DIYer shouldn't have a tool cabinet, they are cheap enough when you consider they last decades and protect your investment.

P.S Not my fault you ride an obese buffalo. Thumbs Up