Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...

[Doofus]

I use the pin wrench. But I only have one grinder because I'm a pleb.

[GeneralBanter]

dickymint said:

GeneralBanter said:

B'stard Child said:

guitarcarfanatic said:

Milwaukee (and Festool) do a slightly different design for the nut that has a pop up flange you can spin.

The Festool one is £30, but the Milwaukee one is £6! https://www.amazon.co.uk/Milwaukee-4932352473-Fixt...

Thank you - three purchased and now fitted

Excellent addition to my three angle grinders - I normally set up one with a zip wheel, one with cutting and one with flap disc - so if I need a grinding disc or a different grade flap disc I have to swap out these make life really easy

Brilliant they are. Revolutionises jobs where you go through discs quick too.

I don't get! We've got 6 grinders dotted around the workshop and I can't remember the last time I couldn't change a disc without a sharp twist of the wrist. Do you guys tighten them with the pin wrench?

I’ve got two fingers that are pointed and at 34mm centres. Still a lot easier with the aftermarket collar.

[CoolHands]

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

But if any are reading! I got these very thin spanner’s today. Last weekend I changed the droplinks and as you may know, you can’t always get to the back particularly if they make the nut narrow. So these are for jobs like that and will make the job 10 times easier next time with no struggle hopefully

[B'stard Child]

CoolHands said:

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

But if any are reading! I got these very thin spanner’s today. Last weekend I changed the droplinks and as you may know, you can’t always get to the back particularly if they make the nut narrow. So these are for jobs like that and will make the job 10 times easier next time with no struggle hopefully

Lovely - however I'm never going to buy them

For removal I always reach for the angry grinder with a slitting disc - for any suspension part - life is too short to fk around with spanners to remove rusty crap that's going in the bin and bolts that have been underneath the car for way too long

For tightening if the spanner is too thick then the angry grinder gets a flap disc and a spanner from the spares box is selected for weight loss

[MBVitoria]

Piersman2 said:

pquinn said:

Doofus said:

Looking forward to using a vacuum oil pump?

Blimey. I thought my life was dull.

Guess it depends on how creative you are in (mis)using it...

I use my vacuum pump for changing the oil in my cars, they're both designed to be vacuum emptied, with a suction pipe in the oil filler aperture and the filter mounted on top of the engine, takes about 10 minutes altogether.

I also use it to empty the toilets pan u-bends of water when I give them a thorough clean.

Haha Doofus yes it does come across a bit sad but then again my day job is writing letters all day long so I relish any manual action, especially anything involving a good pump (ooh err missus!).

[Sporky]

CoolHands said:

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

This is the homes, garden, and DIY section. Home Mechanics is where the working-on-cars content mostly lives.

[B'stard Child]

Sporky said:

CoolHands said:

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

This is the homes, garden, and DIY section. Home Mechanics is where the working-on-cars content mostly lives.

Or Readers Cars for projects from start to finish

[Mikey G]

But this thread is for TOOLS, and they can be used on both cars and homes in some situations

I can see the use for a thin spanner set, but like someone else said a grinder has been helpfull in both cutting off the offending part or shaving off a few mm's from an old spanner

I have a thin spanner in my work maintenance kit and we normally use it on a set of locking nuts on a specific piece of equipment as getting 2 full size 24mm spanners on some half height nuts is impossible, and the company would take a dim view of us grinding down our expensive kit

[AW10]

CoolHands said:

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

But if any are reading! I got these very thin spanner’s today. Last weekend I changed the droplinks and as you may know, you can’t always get to the back particularly if they make the nut narrow. So these are for jobs like that and will make the job 10 times easier next time with no struggle hopefully

Spanners for push bikes are often thin enough for these types of tasks.

Edited by AW10 on Friday 26th May 10:03

[snotrag]

snotrag said:

10% off Milwaukee at forum favourite PowerToolMate from tomorrow - and they already usually always have the best prices in the first place.

Code "MIL10" .


And its payday...

[Sford]

CoolHands said:

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

But if any are reading! I got these very thin spanner’s today. Last weekend I changed the droplinks and as you may know, you can’t always get to the back particularly if they make the nut narrow. So these are for jobs like that and will make the job 10 times easier next time with no struggle hopefully

I have a set of cone spanners for push bikes that are really slim and perfect for this. Otherwise I'd probably buy some.

[Slow]

Can tell you guys don’t live somewhere rusty!

I don’t even attempt to take drop links off these days, just out with the grinder from the start. One winter in north of Scotland and there’s no saving them.

[christalfa]

Firstly - Milwaukee (or similar) impact driver of course. It changes your life - no more rust-buster spray, heat application and angst. Anything stuck is done in seconds with the Milwaukee - on demand it applies max torque at start up then slows down so you don't lose the nut. But has 1-2-3 torque settings too if you need them. Can't recommend one highly enough. Just buy an impact wrench if you are working on a car. You're killing yourself otherwise.

Secondly - just bought a 550mm long ratchet screwdriver with multiple bits. Have not used another screwdriver since. No bending of back over engine bay. Awesome for one of my cars (an Alfasud to adjust in-board brakes) and hose clips, dash screws. Again, a no-brainer that will change your life.

Third - gloves. Good quality nitrile gloves are so important to resist brake-cleaner and other oils from contact with your skin. And the grip gives you 10% more strength.

You're welcome.

[GiantEnemyCrab]

christalfa said:

Firstly - Milwaukee (or similar) impact driver of course. It changes your life - no more rust-buster spray, heat application and angst. Anything stuck is done in seconds with the Milwaukee - on demand it applies max torque at start up then slows down so you don't lose the nut. But has 1-2-3 torque settings too if you need them. Can't recommend one highly enough. Just buy an impact wrench if you are working on a car. You're killing yourself otherwise.
Secondly - just bought a 550mm long ratchet screwdriver with multiple bits. Have not used another screwdriver since. No bending of back over engine bay. Awesome for one of my cars (an Alfasud to adjust in-board brakes) and hose clips, dash screws. Again, a no-brainer that will change your life.
Third - gloves. Good quality nitrile gloves are so important to resist brake-cleaner and other oils from contact with your skin. And the grip gives you 10% more strength.

You're welcome.

You can't say that and not post a link

[NextSlidePlease]

10% off everything Milwaukee today on powertoolmate, use the code mil10 at checkout

[Spurry]

NextSlidePlease said:

10% off everything Milwaukee today on powertoolmate, use the code mil10 at checkout

They are quoting £59.99 for s single 5Ah Makita battery, but you can pay an extra tenner and have three for £189.99...Mmm.

[S6PNJ]

christalfa said:

Good quality nitrile gloves are so important to resist brake-cleaner and other oils from contact with your skin. And the grip gives you 10% more strength.

Recommendations? The last box I bought was these - Black Mamba Super Tough Disposable Gloves - from Toolstation. I wouldn't say they were that much better than the boggo standard ones from any motoring outlet.

[GeneralBanter]

AW10 said:

CoolHands said:

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

But if any are reading! I got these very thin spanner’s today. Last weekend I changed the droplinks and as you may know, you can’t always get to the back particularly if they make the nut narrow. So these are for jobs like that and will make the job 10 times easier next time with no struggle hopefully

Spanners for push bikes are often thin enough for these types of tasks.

Edited by AW10 on Friday 26th May 10:03

If anyone knows who does sets of thin AF spanners let me know. Keep needing them !

[CoolHands]

Pretty rare I reckon - there’s hardly any choice even for metric!

In other news I spotted a small pry bar that looked nifty, and ended up buying all 3 you can get a generic set a bit cheaper on ebay but these look nice and I like the handle end shape you can put a spanner on to twist if necessary.

[skwdenyer]

GeneralBanter said:

AW10 said:

CoolHands said:

There never seems to be many automotive fixers on this motoring website :/

But if any are reading! I got these very thin spanner’s today. Last weekend I changed the droplinks and as you may know, you can’t always get to the back particularly if they make the nut narrow. So these are for jobs like that and will make the job 10 times easier next time with no struggle hopefully

Spanners for push bikes are often thin enough for these types of tasks.

Edited by AW10 on Friday 26th May 10:03

If anyone knows who does sets of thin AF spanners let me know. Keep needing them !

https://www.amazon.co.uk/YIYEIE-Super-Thin-9-Piece-Vanadium-Ultra-Slim/dp/B09MHL212S?th=1