Socket Sets - what brand?

[camskizook]

Im a tad sick of breaking cheap shitty socket sets so i am going to become a man and buy a decent quality set. Ive become pretty fond of hypolux's sidchromes and my dad still uses my grandfathers sidchromes so i am leaning towards them....

Any ideas what are good? crap?

Cheers

[Maddog]

I use Sids and Kings....Not that I do a great deal of work on my truck.

[spazbot]

ive got a craftsman set of sockets from the states, they are very nice

if ya get sidchromes make sure you get the ones that are made in au not the newer shitty ones from tiwan of where ever they are made these days.

[purefmx]

Ive always used either kings or sidchrome, however JBS tools seem to be ok for the money

[getdirty]

I use Metrinch.... a bit hard to find now days. They are designed to work on both imperial and metric and slightly rounded nuts/bolts.

I haven't broken any yet. Although I also have a larger drive old old sidchrome set that I use for any big stuff.

[bubs]

i use kinchrome

[Ferwoaza]

I use a Stanley set, got them 2nd hand from Cash Converters, good quality, have taken everything I've thrown at them so far

[mickrangie]

I got a good set from Repco about 2 years ago the
Everybody has a good laugh when they see my Repco set but i'll tell you one thing we had a wheel nut stuck from some dick putting it on with a big rattle gun and there were 3 of us standing on a jack handle attaced to the driver and the nut rounded and the poll was shaped like a banna but the tool is ok. I also use my sockets on ratle guns when i get a chance and have never had a problem with them at all. At one stage I was thinking that Repco re badged a better brand like Sid or King but never found any proof...

[Ruggers]

most tools that have a lifetime warranty are good unconditional is even better. best bang for buck are minimax they are cheap but rates with sidcromes old stuff. kc tools are good but stay away from the kc pro am a guy at work has them and we reckon kmarts stuff is better. if you want the be all and end all then snap on but they arnt cheap. minimax are on the net and are getting more and more popular around the workshops in my area.

[antt]

i use a combo of snapon and sidchrome.....the snapon tools are DEFINETLY worth the moneyif u can spare it, never broken any of em

[DAZZ]

i use a combo of snapon and sidchrome.....the snapon tools are DEFINETLY worth the moneyif u can spare it, never broken any of em

Yep, definatly worth the $$$$. I have An old set of sidchrome sockets and they are great . HAve seen good second hand sets at Sunday markets for good $$$. But my Snap On stuff is the best tools i've used.....

[taziiy]

ive had my sydchromes for about 12 years now use them every day at work not a problem yet with them

[hypo]

sids or kings r gr8 i got a set of both and i have used JBS and repco and all these brands r the go mate gimme a yell i can get trade price on alot of tools 4 u :wink:

[A1]

Hey cameron you will be lookin 4 a set that comes with instructions on how to use


I use siddys :wink:

[Goodsy]

Use JBS myself. John blackwoods and Sons. Don't know how they are made by but they are good quality.

[ozy1]

i use good old sidchrome, ive heard good things about kingchrome also,

this may sound stupid, but supatool, you get em at super cheap, are good to, if u take a look on the back of a supatool package, it says "Made to Kingchrome" which means they are both made in the same place, to the same standards, and pretty much the same, just different logos and stuff,

take a look for your selves.

Shawn

[Ferwoaza]

this may sound stupid, but supatool, you get em at super cheap, are good to

Yeah I have a supatool torque wrench...works a treat and was a good price at supercheap.

[camskizook]

Thanks all the for the replies! Thats brilliant....

[dansTOYOwagon]

i use good old sidchrome, ive heard good things about kingchrome also,

this may sound stupid, but supatool, you get em at super cheap, are good to, if u take a look on the back of a supatool package, it says "Made to Kingchrome" which means they are both made in the same place, to the same standards, and pretty much the same, just different logos and stuff,

take a look for your selves.

Shawn

Too true. I am close to spending some dollars on Supatool. They are in the same parts catalogue as Kinchrome, and AutoOne sell them side by side, but cheaper. Same warranty, but cheaper. Auto one next door to my work, tell me they are the "weekender's" version of Kinchrome. I will prolly buy them :wink: Just buy them from Supercheap. They are open on Sundays (when you work on ur rig) and I have rorted supercheap so many times for warranty!!! Just go to that stupid girly guy behind the counter at Kotara, and tell him what happened, and he has a new part for you in no time!!!

Or take up Ben's offer..... sounds like a better proposition His car always kicks our arses, so he must be using the right tools for sure!!!

Dan

[camskizook]

Hey cameron you will be lookin 4 a set that comes with instructions on how to use


I use siddys :wink:

Your lucky u have gotten rid of the zook then.....coz when i had figured them out i would of come over in the middle of the night and started unbolting stuff off it!

[tritonasuras]

Its hard to go past snap-on stuff...They do the job, lifetime warranty(98% of the time), user friendly.... BUT they r pricey....
I have alot of snap-on stuff from spanners to screwdrivers,torque wrench to sockets, etc etc....
i also have sidchrome, metrich, blackhawk and other assortments...

with sockets it will also depend on what u r actually doing with them.. R they for impact work, thick wall, thin wall, standard or deep type, what drive size etc etc....
U cant really expect a 10mm standard socket to last if u r swinging a 1/2 inch drive bar (say 400mm long) with a 1/2 inch > 3/8 inch adaptor on it..

Its a matter of 'right tool for the job'

Rob

[Trickster]

Hmmm..... Snap-on.... Grr... Dribble..... Drool....

[Daisy]

i use good old sidchrome, ive heard good things about kingchrome also,

this may sound stupid, but supatool, you get em at super cheap, are good to, if u take a look on the back of a supatool package, it says "Made to Kingchrome" which means they are both made in the same place, to the same standards, and pretty much the same, just different logos and stuff,

take a look for your selves.

Shawn

Supatool - ive broken the whole lot. ratchet came apart after 3 months of hard use in stripping my commodore. bent an open end spanner after a few months usage from supatool.

Then i invested 2 grand in a repco set. lifetime warranty. Break it.. get it replaced free.

Tom

[camskizook]

I tried the supatool brand and they are going back tomorrow....THEY SUCK...the ratchet kept getting jammed and the sockets kept getting stuck on the end coz the release mechanism failed after one go....they may be made in the same kincrome factory but the quality isnt the same

[Beaast_paj]

I'll back mickrangie up on his wrap about repco tools.

When I was buying my SIDCHROMES, I approached a mate of mine that works at repco. He said that they used to sell SIDCHROMES but then they had warranty hassles or something then they got stanley tools to badgge their tools REPCO. Sidchrome is made by Stanley tools in australia anyway.

If I had to buy more spanners or socket, i'de probably go with the Repco ones cause they feel good in your hand (i know where this is going to end up ) and they have a lifetime warranty too. And I can get em cheaper too. Mates rates.......

[Beaast_paj]

Yep, I get heaps of use out of my Sidchromes too.

Probably got something to do with owning a pajero i think !!

[beebee]

I have only ever had sidchrome before for spanners, 1/2" and 1/4" socket sets but today I bought a 3/8" Metric Repco set of spanners. I was looking at getting the 'better' of the supercheap brand of sockets but I got the repco roughly the same price. Sure it was only metric as opposed to the metric/af supercheap set, but it only had 8 or so less components and I added a breaker bar to it and came out at roughly the same price.

I've pulled my front axle apart today as well as the rear so as to swap diff centres and they performed well. Maybe a bit slow and clumbsy but that could be due to some other variable?

[Beastmavster]

Any rattle gun rated socket set will be tough enough....

Better tools equals more money.

I worked as a mechanic but I dont buy supatool or siddys for home use.....

Me I use the principle buy cheap shit, and if you break it buy a good replcement.

Half the stuff in a kit you hardly ever use - it depends on what bolts are on your truck - but 10, 12, 13, 14 and 17 are essential.

[BeZeRK]

i use T&E from USA, Havnt brokena thing. i got a few kingchrome, sidchrome and KC.. The KC stuff is pretty Average..

Snap on is by far the best, but not for the price you pay!

[Paul]

I have a combo of Snap-On, Craftsman, Proto, Sid and SK and my advice/caution would be:

1. 1/2" Repco stuff is large and "I" find it cumbersome to use
2. 3/8" quality gear is smaller, easier to use and get into tight spots and more that strong enough for the (sensible) home user.
3. Look at how you handle a ratchet (ie, I find that if I am spinning something in or out that is just a bit to tight to use your fingers, I will grab the ratchet by the head end and depending on how the reverse switch works, you can keep bumping the switch over).
4. Be careful with cheap flank drive (Metwrench?) stuff as you can have a fair bit of slop before the socket/spanner bites, and if you are in a tight spot you may not have the spare room to swing.
5. Get a ratchet that has a fine step size (ie, minimal handle swing for each ratchet step) for the same reason as point 4.

That’s my two cents, hope it helps.

Paul.