Today's lesson, Tools : buy cheap, buy twice

mchaggis · World Chat Champion Joined: 10 May 2004 Karma :

Ah the joys of cheap tools...
Now both my 8 and 10mm sockets are rounded and won't tighten or undo a hard nut/ bolt, but then the whole set incl. screwdrivers, pliers, metric and imperial only cost me £8 two years ago. Laughing

The ratchet mechanism on the wrench is starting to go tits up too, but overall not such a great loss.

I have got spares anyway though, and umpteen ring spanners. There's something oddly pleasant about a 10mm ring spanner for some reason. Embarassed

Another lesson I learnt is that ordering things on the internet can be very fraught with difficulty. I ordered a load of fasteners, only to find that the one size I need is the one I didn't get, not knowing what the size was before I ordered. Laughing

Oh, and a "deep reach" spark plug spanner still isn't deep enough to reach the plugs on a VT500 head. Brick Wall

Another thing, while good at what they do, David Silver are fooking expensive. Shocked

____________________
I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush. Very Happy

EuropeanNC30R... · Gay Hairdresser Joined: 20 Jun 2002 Karma :

The Halfords Pro deep sockets are deep enough to get to the plugs on my VFR400, which are very recessed, if that's any help.

craigs23 · Mr Muscle Joined: 08 Jun 2005 Karma :

Lucky Dad likes his DIY, I'm still using his tools from over 30 years ago.

mattish · Spanner Monkey Joined: 09 Aug 2005 Karma :

Cheap tools are all well and good until they dont do the job atall Neutral

Tried taking the bolts out the bottom of my forks to seperate the parts and this happened: hexkey

Sorry for the poor picture but the hexkey just twisted Shocked

tintin · Traffic Copper Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Karma :

I bought a reasonable set of "Surface drive sockets" years ago and these are much better, they grip the flat edges and don't round off.
____________________
The older I get the better I was

kawakid · World Chat Champion Joined: 15 Mar 2005 Karma :

My father was always against cheap tools.

But my view is if you don't use the tools alot, then what does it matter. I'm not a full time mechanic, only once in a blue moon when I need to do something.
____________________
I've a twin and a 4.

mchaggis · World Chat Champion Joined: 10 May 2004 Karma :

Second lesson: when you've resigned yourself to an extremely minor error needing you to get the engine out to fix it, let someone else have a go.

In this case it was the sparkplug falling over and jamming itself in it's recess when I was removing it. Cue me removing the rocker cover (now I need to refill and bleed the coolant too Rolling Eyes

) and spending about 10 minutes with a pair of needle nose pliers trying to wiggle it free, but it was stuck fast. Only Honda could design something like that (or so I'd hope)...

So I'd read and reread the relevant section in the manual and was clearing the garage up in preparation for an engine out to get the head off to see if it could be persuaded from the underneath/ taken to the mechanic to fix, when my little brother wanders in and asks if he can have a go. 5 seconds with the pliers and out it comes! Dance!

____________________
I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush. Very Happy

numark1 · Scared of girls Joined: 10 May 2004 Karma :

Reminds me of trying to change the plugs on my friends R6. The two outside plugs are just under the lip of the frame. Doh!

I tried for ages to try and reach in and get them and gave up in the end. Laughing

Davo · Davo To The Rescue! Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Karma :

numark1 · Scared of girls Joined: 10 May 2004 Karma :

Thats what tool i had. A blue T shaped thing. Was such a strange angle, i swear his engine wasn't in place properly. Laughing

Davo · Davo To The Rescue! Joined: 05 Apr 2004 Karma :

bazza · World Chat Champion Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Karma :

mchaggis · World Chat Champion Joined: 10 May 2004 Karma :

Lesson three: where a 4 lb lead mallet may face defeat, a 2lb steel lump hammer may carry the day. Laughing

Oh, penetrating oil helps too.

I don't imagine the rear axle had been removed in years, the lead mallet was busily changing shape whereas the steel hammer delivered more of the shock needed.

If I could fit a 10mm ring spanner over my cock, I really would have problems. Razz

(Not that I've tried of course. Laughing

)
____________________
I must not be a troll...
Mmmm, Guinness
Discovering the delights of Hammerite and a 3/4" brush. Very Happy

tatters · Exxon Valdez Joined: 05 Jan 2004 Karma :

Ant · World Chat Champion Joined: 24 Feb 2003 Karma :

satans_BIG_helper · Nearly there... Joined: 28 Dec 2004 Karma :

I had a VT500 and fuck me them plugs go in deep.... mine was the american flat track model... ended up getting a mate to weld me up socket to use... its a complete bastard to get the pugs out of them with any deep reach socket i have ever had or seen....

On the other note buy tools from halfords excellent stuff even i cant break any of it... i had shattered numerous draper sockets in the past and snapped several draper ratchets but i have yet to manage to destroy a halfords one... best thing with halfords if you break it they replace it too Thumbs Up