Tool purchases.

[McSwede]

As I'll be buggering about with the Mazda I decided that I needed some new tools so bought the following ratchets and sockets. Why do shiny new tools elicit such excitement?

It's all Yato stuff and looks nice quality and price was decent too.

YT-14451 1/4" 72 tooth ratchet socket set 4-13mm deep and standard.
YT-38671 1/2" 72 tooth ratchet socket set 10-24mm
YT-38861 1/2" drive deep sockets 10-24mm

Keep contemplating an impact driver too

[Orange Cola]

I’ve been collecting Halfords professional stuff. Yet to have one break to test out their warranty but I appear to be getting a lot of use out them and they get to live in the house!

[Sundayjumper]

Get the impact driver ! Very useful to have. One of those tools you end up using a lot more often than you expected.

It takes a lifetime to amass a proper tool kit. There’s always more things you need.

[McSwede]

Get the impact driver ! Very useful to have. One of those tools you end up using a lot more often than you expected.

Thought it may be useful when trying to remove 30yr old nuts and bolts.

[Swervin_Mervin]

I managed to break an impact driver bit a couple of weeks ago. Trying to remove an old bolt that I'd slotted the head on. Corner pinged so far (about 15ft) that it hit my 4yo's forehead only a couple of cm above his eye. Fvck me I was reliving that for days at what could have been.

The cocking bolt wouldn't budge. Required Dremeling and then drilling out.

My new tools were the Dremel, 150pc Dremel accessories set (already bust a grinding stone ) and a tapping set to tap a new thread. All to fix an old shredder

[mr_jon]

28mm hole saw, used for 2 mins to modify a sump, never to be used again

[jamcg]

It takes a lifetime to amass a proper tool kit. There’s always more things you need.

Never a truer statement than this, tool theft should be punished much harder than it is

[Swervin_Mervin]

It takes a lifetime to amass a proper tool kit. There’s always more things you need.

You can speed things up considerably though if you buy something old and french/italian.

[V8Granite]

Medical pliers, picks, angled head spanner’s, long spanner’s, small impact guns, electric ratchet etc etc etc

The best thing I did last year was to massively increase my 3/8 kit as it’s what I mainly use on the car apart from suspension work as 1/2” is just a bit clunky I find.

Next tool will be some Knipex wire cutters as my last pair was broken.

Dave!

[integrale_evo]

A modest size battery impact gun is a wonderful thing and massively speeds up most tasks.

No need to spend huge amounts on something massive which will snap hubnuts off unless you're regularly working on suspension.

Mine copes fine with wheel nuts but will struggle if they've been over tightened, yet I use it all the time. Even on big stuff that needs a breaker bar to crack off it still saves an awful lot of arm twirling.

I've had an air one for years, but rarely used it as the airline always seems to be in the way, without the luxury of a large workshop and a lift letting you just zap everything from underneath.

[V8Granite]

A modest size battery impact gun is a wonderful thing and massively speeds up most tasks.

Very much this. I have an 80nm 3/8 drive sealed one, it’s small and light and perfect for doing up things like Ny-loc suspension nuts etc. It will nip them a bit but not over-tighten anything.

Dave!

[integrale_evo]

Infact, I'll say modern battery tools in general are brilliant. I rarely use a mains angle grinder any more and haven't used a mains jigsaw since getting a battery one.

[jamcg]

I still use a mains angle grinder at work as the battery isn’t heavy enough for a lot of what we do, but everything else is amazing. I have a full makita kit with combi drill, impact driver, sds drill, jigsaw, circular saw and a grinder, 3x5amphour batteries and a double charger. It’s my second lot of tools, I replaced them after starting to get a few issues after about 6 years use but mine get absolutely abused 5 days a week, I wouldnt be without them now. Last one I got was the combi drill as what was in the kit was crap- it’s their latest brushless motor one and it’s rediculously powerful

[Mito Man]

Brushless and lithium is great but annoying that the batteries wear out pretty fast. Milwaukee 5 ah batteries used to last a full day of work 2 years ago, this year I got an 1 hour out of each one and 20 mins with the circular saw. Killed the impact and drill so ordered another set with 2 more batteries. Dewalt batteries seem to be better built as I can’t notice any degradation, then again I think they’re all the same batteries inside and I’ve probably knackered the Milwaukee by using it more.

[Rich B]

I went back to a cabled circular saw - I found they only worked with the big 5ah batteries and even then didn’t last too long. I had several occasions when doing heavy sawing jobs (boarding loft, cutting thick worktops, etc) that the battery died and because I don’t have lots of the big batteries I had to wait for it to charge.

I happily use batteries for most other hand power tools though - stuff like the recip saw is great because it’s the sort of tool you need when you’re away from a power scourge). Even my strimmer is a ryobi battery one too!

[integrale_evo]

Yeah, a bit like LCD screens I think there are only so many manufacturers of the actual cells, it's just the cases, chargers and control circuits the individual manufacturers make.

[Mito Man]

I went back to a cabled circular saw - I found they only worked with the big 5ah batteries and even then didn’t last too long. I had several occasions when doing heavy sawing jobs (boarding loft, cutting thick worktops, etc) that the battery died and because I don’t have lots of the big batteries I had to wait for it to charge.

I happily use batteries for most other hand power tools though - stuff like the recip saw is great because it’s the sort of tool you need when you’re away from a power scourge). Even my strimmer is a ryobi battery one too!

Yeah I also find with the circular saw that once the battery gets half way it doesn’t make clean cuts and stalls much more. I used to think the battery mitre saws were cool but reckon they’re just trouble now plus they need 2 massive batteries.

[integrale_evo]

Yeah, I've picked up loads of kit because I already had batteries / chargers so made sense to carry on, I've been doing quite a bit of work away from power sources which is why my initial cordless grinder purchase has spiralled.

I don't have the need / space / budget for petrol powered stuff so have battery strimmer, hedge trimmer, pole hedge trimmer with chain branch lopper, and chainsaw. Was tempted by a battery mower too but didn't want to spend the money then find it was crap. I'm sure it would cope fine with out garden though and be a lot quieter and more manouverable than our petrol one.

Circular saw is one thing I haven't got yet, still use my mains one quite a lot, wasn't convinced by the cutting depth or whether battery would have the power. Recip saw and jigsaw are fine for general cutting stuff up away from home.

[Mito Man]

I do quite a lot of work in the woods and one person who helps out has a battery powered Dewalt chainsaw, I thought it was a gimmick at first but I think it’s much more effective than my petrol one. The only bad thing is that it takes a brutal scary weapon of a tool and makes it seem much more safe and gentle when it’s just as dangerous. You lose the fear and then you get sloppy and that’s when bad things happen!

[teacherboy]

I have a bunch of Ryobi one+ stuff
Combination drill/hammer drill/driver
Impact driver
Impact gun with proper 1/2 inch head
Reciprocating saw
The larger of the 3 inflators that they do - does car tyres to specified pressures on one side of compressor but also has attachment on other side to inflate and deflate airbeds/beachballs etc.
48v cordless lawnmower - needs some tlc as part of the handle broke
Strimmer

Coming today - the ergo screwdriver with the interchangeable heads for right angle and offset work - i lost my 4v screwdriver in house somewhere and couldn't find it so treated myself for my brithday this week

Also have a bunch of halfords pro stuff - have broken sockets from it and got a no quibble swapover - can't recommend enough