Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...
Discussion
SlimJim16v said:
Just ordered a set of 6 point ring spanners, Britool. The only other ones I could find were some Capri ratcheting spanners at twice the price, or some cheap Chinese ones.
I used to buy britool combination spanners everytime i got a bonus at work when i was an apprentice , I’m now 58 and still have them and they still get used regularly , never had one break or bend . Tools for life .skwdenyer said:
Common parlance can be dangerous.
Many years ago when I worked in theatre, I found a venue where every lantern had been wired with a trailing plug socket. Meanwhile the internally-wired lighting bars had dangling tails of flex, each with a plug (in theatre speak we call them plug tops to be specific). If you didn't connect all the lanterns to all of the tails, when a lighting channel was run up (made live), those dangling pins would go live... Very reassuring when working up metal scaffolding adjacent to them... The guy who'd wired it all up (a Geography teacher, if memory serves) was oblivious to the danger - following "common parlance" he had wired up the tails with "plugs"...
Imagine this bar, but with trailing plug tops...
I was working an event once setting up a coffee bar in an exhibition centre. The stand builders were German guys and they were doing everything from erecting the booth to wiring it up. My coffee machine had a 32 amp C-form plug on it, so I showed the guy and said I need to plug this into its counterpart (yet to be run in). He came and told me he was finished and showed me a male end hooked up to their distro box Many years ago when I worked in theatre, I found a venue where every lantern had been wired with a trailing plug socket. Meanwhile the internally-wired lighting bars had dangling tails of flex, each with a plug (in theatre speak we call them plug tops to be specific). If you didn't connect all the lanterns to all of the tails, when a lighting channel was run up (made live), those dangling pins would go live... Very reassuring when working up metal scaffolding adjacent to them... The guy who'd wired it all up (a Geography teacher, if memory serves) was oblivious to the danger - following "common parlance" he had wired up the tails with "plugs"...
Imagine this bar, but with trailing plug tops...
thankfully not yet live! 
bimsb6 said:
I used to buy britool combination spanners everytime i got a bonus at work when i was an apprentice , I’m now 58 and still have them and they still get used regularly , never had one break or bend . Tools for life .
Unfortunately they've been bought out, so though good, I've heard they're not the same quality.I have a old 3/8 ratchet I got used 40 years ago that's still going.
amateurdad said:
Where'd you order from?
https://www.primetools.co.uk/product/britool-hallmark-12-pce-hexagon-ring-6-point-combination-spanner-set-8-19mm/Edited by SlimJim16v on Wednesday 7th July 17:21
Ended up getting a new keyboard and mouse (£200 or so of Logitech MX keys and MX Master 3) rather than buying tools this week for my birthday. Given my trade is slinging software, I figured some new tools for that would be a good purchase.
Still might buy myself the plunge saw as well though, although right now it'd probably just be sat in my garage for a while!
Still might buy myself the plunge saw as well though, although right now it'd probably just be sat in my garage for a while!
SlimJim16v said:
https://www.primetools.co.uk/product/britool-hallm...
Ordered those, cheers! Need to start filling this with decent tools:Edited by SlimJim16v on Wednesday 7th July 17:21
Ynox said:
Ended up getting a new keyboard and mouse (£200 or so of Logitech MX keys and MX Master 3) rather than buying tools this week for my birthday. Given my trade is slinging software, I figured some new tools for that would be a good purchase.
Still might buy myself the plunge saw as well though, although right now it'd probably just be sat in my garage for a while!
Good point. In that vein I bought myself a new old (2015) Macbook Pro 13 and it has made doing my job (building web front-ends) much easier than the Windows gaming laptop I was using. Multilingual stuff is a breeze now I just have to hold a key down to get all the accented variations.Still might buy myself the plunge saw as well though, although right now it'd probably just be sat in my garage for a while!
akirk said:
Technically plug sockets 
Or shorten it to….
Common parlance often sees it called a plug - agree that is technically inaccurate but it is even there in the Collins dictionary as an informal usage
I'm not sure I'd place much credence on a source that thinks a plug only has two or three pins.Or shorten it to….
Common parlance often sees it called a plug - agree that is technically inaccurate but it is even there in the Collins dictionary as an informal usage
Considering some of the tools on this thread and some of the ones I own, a humble 2ton vice was hands down my best tool purchase and I should have bought sooner.
This doesn’t really qualify, but I bought a dremel set about 5 years ago and never used it, during the first lockdown it became my go to and I wondered why I hadn’t been using it
This doesn’t really qualify, but I bought a dremel set about 5 years ago and never used it, during the first lockdown it became my go to and I wondered why I hadn’t been using it
Technically not a "Tool" but WAGO'S, just discovered push fit Wago's, the bloke who invented these needs a medal. All the years I have struggled with screw terminals and junction boxes, stabbed myself with the screw driver, slipped with the knife and I discover these now.
If you want to join some wires get some Wago's, simples and job done.
If you want to join some wires get some Wago's, simples and job done.
Teddy Lop said:
BlackWidow13 said:
Serious suggestion (although it won’t seem like it is): for a bit under £100 the best thing I bought recently was a Bosch Professional torch. I thought it would be something I’d use once in a blue moon, but it’s genuinely been one of the most useful bits of kit I’ve bought in ages. Never underestimate how useful it is being able to flood whatever you’re working on in very bright light.
Sure I said it before but machine mart make an 18v floodlight with adapter plates for all popular makes for £40 - much better value than the brands overpriced efforts.SlimJim16v said:
bimsb6 said:
I used to buy britool combination spanners everytime i got a bonus at work when i was an apprentice , I’m now 58 and still have them and they still get used regularly , never had one break or bend . Tools for life .
Unfortunately they've been bought out, so though good, I've heard they're not the same quality.I have a old 3/8 ratchet I got used 40 years ago that's still going.
amateurdad said:
Where'd you order from?
https://www.primetools.co.uk/product/britool-hallmark-12-pce-hexagon-ring-6-point-combination-spanner-set-8-19mm/Edited by SlimJim16v on Wednesday 7th July 17:21
Britool Hallmark branded tools are still U.K. made though, and are not the same company any more.
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