Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...

[AceRockatansky]

Just bought a set of these. I spent about £25 buying the wrong bolts for my clutch cover, so could have saved a few quid knowing what they were, restoring old fords with modern parts means a lot of crossover. Theres cheaper ones, but I wanted to be able to try them individually on the car.

[Kev_Mk3]

TimmyMallett said:

markiii said:

get makita batteries then you can use Makita or ryobi tools

Is that some hack that Ryobi batteries fit Makita, but Makita don't fit Ryobi?

My makita fits my Ryobi with an adaptor off ebay fine

[Ham_and_Jam]

Kev_Mk3 said:

My makita fits my Ryobi with an adaptor off ebay fine

I think you can get adapters to fit most batteries to equipment.

I noticed an adapter on Amazon to convert my DeWalt 18v battery to fit the Dyson vacuum we have.

Great, but what a hunk of weight and size it adds.

[Car bon]

Ham_and_Jam said:

I think you can get adapters to fit most batteries to equipment.

Ryobi batteries have a big piece that goes into the tool, so you can get adapters for the slide on style batteries from other manufacturers to fit into a Ryobi - but not for Ryobi batteries to be used on most other brands.

[Sford]

Ham_and_Jam said:

I think you can get adapters to fit most batteries to equipment.

I noticed an adapter on Amazon to convert my DeWalt 18v battery to fit the Dyson vacuum we have.

Great, but what a hunk of weight and size it adds.

Great when the house hoover get's upgraded and you can take the old knackered Dyson out to the garage (happens around the 1 year mark normally) and then you have a nice handheld battery garage hoover.

[TuonoPants]

For those times when you have to use an adjustable spanner I've always wanted something decent instead of the normal slack-jawed rubbish and on a recent trip to Japan I picked this up (along with several other items I don't really need but couldn't resist) for a bargain price thanks to the weakness of the Yen.



I've checked the measurement scale against some proper vernier calipers and it's spot on!

[Bonefish Blues]

And it's got a crayfish engraved on it too?

[MajorMantra]

On the subject of adjustable spanners, is there some kind of clever super compact one for tight spaces?

I've just taken a bathroom out and as ever I despaired at having to undo bolts a 1/16th of a turn at a time behind the sink. It shouldn't be this difficult...

[Trustmeimadoctor]

Bonefish Blues said:

And it's got a crayfish engraved on it too?

Looks like a squid to me

[TuonoPants]

Bonefish Blues said:

And it's got a crayfish engraved on it too?

It's a lobster https://www.lobtex.co.jp/english/tabid/130/Default.aspx

[Car bon]

MajorMantra said:

On the subject of adjustable spanners, is there some kind of clever super compact one for tight spaces?

I've just taken a bathroom out and as ever I despaired at having to undo bolts a 1/16th of a turn at a time behind the sink. It shouldn't be this difficult...

Maybe a job for one of the thread favourites - the Knipex Plier Wrench ?

They are easy to slacken & retighten so doing a job ratchet style is easier than a standard spanner.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KNIPEX-86-05-150-multi-co...

[Bonefish Blues]

TuonoPants said:

Bonefish Blues said:

And it's got a crayfish engraved on it too?

It's a lobster https://www.lobtex.co.jp/english/tabid/130/Default.aspx

It appears to be a picture of a crayfish, hence my puzzlement

[donkmeister]

Car bon said:

Maybe a job for one of the thread favourites - the Knipex Plier Wrench ?

They are easy to slacken & retighten so doing a job ratchet style is easier than a standard spanner.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/KNIPEX-86-05-150-multi-co...

Alternatively a ratchet ring spanner or a Wera joker, depending on access.

[MajorMantra]

Would love some Knipex, although I do wonder if they'd get at the really tight stuff.

I have ratchet ring spanners but they're a no go for plumbing as you usually need an open spanner.

Wera Joker is an interesting one – any good?

[SlimJim16v]

MajorMantra said:

I have ratchet ring spanners but they're a no go for plumbing as you usually need an open spanner.

Open end ratchet spanner? Probably not great quality, don't know if there is a version made by a known brand.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006033100004.h...

[MajorMantra]

SlimJim16v said:

Open end ratchet spanner? Probably not great quality, don't know if there is a version made by a known brand.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006033100004.h...

Yeah I'm sceptical. Cheap ratchets can be worse than no ratchet if they have too much slack in them.

[sam.rog]

MajorMantra said:

Yeah I'm sceptical. Cheap ratchets can be worse than no ratchet if they have too much slack in them.

The ratchet mechanism on that will be slacker than katie prices minge.
Also look at the size of the head. You won’t get that i to any tight spaces.

[SlimJim16v]

I've had a 10mm in my basket for a while, so I've just ordered it to see what it's like.

[donkmeister]

MajorMantra said:

Would love some Knipex, although I do wonder if they'd get at the really tight stuff.

I have ratchet ring spanners but they're a no go for plumbing as you usually need an open spanner.

Wera Joker is an interesting one – any good?

I've not actually tried the adjustable/self setting Jokers, but I have the standard Jokers and they are very good spanners. TBH with brands like Knipex, Wera, Wiha and so on they simply don't sell anything that isn't good so are a safe bet.

I assumed you wanted it for the fitting screws and bolts - do you want it for undoing compression fittings and irons?

If so then you would hit another issue with any non-adjusting spanner in that the lovely folk who make plumbing fittings never standardised on hex size, and whilst I'm sure there are brands who use whole number mm figures I'm yet to find them.

For plumbing fittings, if the pliers wrench is too pricey or big, suggest you get yourself some small cobra pliers. I've used Rothenberger and Knipex, both great. You need two pairs of course, one to grip the fitting and one to undo the nut. I bet some of the knock offs are decent, they're just simple pump pliers with a slim head and hardened teeth. They don't have the manufacturing challenge and intellectual property issues of ripping off the Pliers Wrench!

[MajorMantra]

It was undoing the compression->tap fitting (not sure of the correct name) that triggered this train of thought:



These are older taps without tails so the nuts were right up in the recess of the sink. bds!

I managed with a small adjustable spanner but it was a faff.