Tools you wish you'd bought sooner...
Discussion
How heavy is the car? I have a set of mobile axle stands I used for building my caterham, they were really useful as you can move the car around but all the weight is on the axlestand.
https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/storage-and-handling/d...
I have normal axle stands too, which work pretty well and are easier to use for quick things
https://www.zoro.co.uk/shop/storage-and-handling/d...
I have normal axle stands too, which work pretty well and are easier to use for quick things
RacingPete said:
M11rph said:
Hub Stands?
Just bought some of these as they appear to be robustly made compared to some of the imported versions.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286093648934?itmmeta=01...
Alternatively just some decent timber and an appropriate rubber puck/sill guard to protect the underbody.
The above are a neat and reasonably priced way to leave your wheels off. Handy in winter if laying the car up, and makes it a bit less easy to steal.
These are very interesting, thanks... shame I have a Classic Subaru and a Mk1 Escort in the garage at the moment and I would need to buy one 4 and one 5 to cover both.... thinking I may need to just buy cars with the same configuration in the future Just bought some of these as they appear to be robustly made compared to some of the imported versions.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286093648934?itmmeta=01...
Alternatively just some decent timber and an appropriate rubber puck/sill guard to protect the underbody.
The above are a neat and reasonably priced way to leave your wheels off. Handy in winter if laying the car up, and makes it a bit less easy to steal.
Axle stands are fine if they're good ones and you've got a nice concrete floor although I'm very wary if I'm working on a car, I wouldn't have it on four axle stands
I'm frequently working on less than ideal surfaces. I've got some offcuts of Oak sleeper and 6x2 between 12" and 18" and I much prefer using that, particularly if I'm forced to use it under the sills as it spreads the load a lot better
I'm frequently working on less than ideal surfaces. I've got some offcuts of Oak sleeper and 6x2 between 12" and 18" and I much prefer using that, particularly if I'm forced to use it under the sills as it spreads the load a lot better
M11rph said:
Hub Stands?
Just bought some of these as they appear to be robustly made compared to some of the imported versions.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286093648934?itmmeta=01...
Alternatively just some decent timber and an appropriate rubber puck/sill guard to protect the underbody.
The above are a neat and reasonably priced way to leave your wheels off. Handy in winter if laying the car up, and makes it a bit less easy to steal.
These seem pretty pointless, you need a jack to start with possible with axle stands and the faff around with a spanner. Why?? Just use axle stands. As for ‘stretching bushes’ ffs what happens when you drive over a pothole! - cars are designed for suspension droop it will NOT damage the car by jacking and letting the wheel drop!!Just bought some of these as they appear to be robustly made compared to some of the imported versions.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286093648934?itmmeta=01...
Alternatively just some decent timber and an appropriate rubber puck/sill guard to protect the underbody.
The above are a neat and reasonably priced way to leave your wheels off. Handy in winter if laying the car up, and makes it a bit less easy to steal.
GeneralBanter said:
These seem pretty pointless, you need a jack to start with possible with axle stands and the faff around with a spanner. Why?? Just use axle stands. As for ‘stretching bushes’ ffs what happens when you drive over a pothole! - cars are designed for suspension droop it will NOT damage the car by jacking and letting the wheel drop!!
I agree, obviously letting the wheel drop will not damage bushes as it's exactly what they're designed for but after months it does make difference. I'd use these over extended periods of time but probably not for service work, although I can think of occasions where they'd be useful. No big deal to spin nuts/bolts on/off with an impact wrench, haven't used a ratchet for that in years.GeneralBanter said:
These seem pretty pointless, you need a jack to start with possible with axle stands and the faff around with a spanner. Why?? Just use axle stands.
I assume that re more for when you're leaving your car for a while with a wheel removed, rather than for when working on. I have them for my caravan, they are referred to as winter wheels and I use them when removing the caravan wheels for tyre replacement or if storing the caravan wheels over winter. When using my trolley jack on the designated part of the caravan axel, there's nowhere to put an axel stand.As for my car, it has specific jacking points and wandering an inch or so away could mean squashing/crimping a gap in a seem that allows water to drain out, so I need to be pretty exact as to where I place the jack. Ideally I would place my axel stand at the jacking point, but I cant when the jack is already there. Whilst there could be other areas to place the axel stand men are quite tall and I would need to jack the car really high to get them under, the above tool would make for an easy extra method of supporting the car along with the jack, or when needing to remove the jack. So I can see their uses.
Edited by The Gauge on Friday 29th November 10:13
KTMsm said:
I'm frequently working on less than ideal surfaces. I've got some offcuts of Oak sleeper and 6x2 between 12" and 18" and I much prefer using that, particularly if I'm forced to use it under the sills as it spreads the load a lot better
A big lump of wood at least is a nice benign support, can take a lot of load & impact and unlikely to topple or yield. Though I've only ever used it as the fallback catch support in case something else went wrong or broke. I have no doubt we've had these before, but finally got myself a crimping tool for setting up a hifi and preparing the speaker cable. Only a basic one but wow - to think I spent years mucking around with side cutters...
https://www.diy.com/departments/magnusson-280mm-cr...
Turned a 15-20 minute job with lots of swearing and wasted wire into a task that took seconds.
https://www.diy.com/departments/magnusson-280mm-cr...
Turned a 15-20 minute job with lots of swearing and wasted wire into a task that took seconds.
bodhi said:
I have no doubt we've had these before, but finally got myself a crimping tool for setting up a hifi and preparing the speaker cable. Only a basic one but wow - to think I spent years mucking around with side cutters...
https://www.diy.com/departments/magnusson-280mm-cr...
Turned a 15-20 minute job with lots of swearing and wasted wire into a task that took seconds.
Those are much better than bodging it with side cutters or whatever, but for a little bit more money the ratchet or die ones are more consistent & easier. https://www.diy.com/departments/magnusson-280mm-cr...
Turned a 15-20 minute job with lots of swearing and wasted wire into a task that took seconds.
JoshSm said:
bodhi said:
I have no doubt we've had these before, but finally got myself a crimping tool for setting up a hifi and preparing the speaker cable. Only a basic one but wow - to think I spent years mucking around with side cutters...
https://www.diy.com/departments/magnusson-280mm-cr...
Turned a 15-20 minute job with lots of swearing and wasted wire into a task that took seconds.
Those are much better than bodging it with side cutters or whatever, but for a little bit more money the ratchet or die ones are more consistent & easier. https://www.diy.com/departments/magnusson-280mm-cr...
Turned a 15-20 minute job with lots of swearing and wasted wire into a task that took seconds.
From what I've seen ferrules are all the rage for electricians installing stranded cables these days, I don't know if there's an electrical advantage or if it's just a way of being able to ensure no loose strands and make connections more easily in tight spaces.
donkmeister said:
I don't know if there's an electrical advantage or if it's just a way of being able to ensure no loose strands and make connections more easily in tight spaces.
Ferules are usually just ease of fitting compared to loose strands plus looking fancy, they don't add much if any robustness to a clamped connection. Electrically don't think there's any benefit even if perfect, but risk of it being an issue if badly crimped. Does depend on the fitting, ferule & crimp method though. Ring, fork or spade terminals are a slightly different matter, you might use bare stranded on the screw/clamp but the terminal is better.
Despite a stupidly well kitted out workshop I have an incredibly poor selection of cobbled together pliers, all of which are cheap, most of which are broken through use or untouched because they are s
te.
Recommendations for a mid range set or individual selection for general house bashing and car fixing please!
te.Recommendations for a mid range set or individual selection for general house bashing and car fixing please!
Electrical advantage. The single or multiple points where a correctly sized and applied ferrule is crimped on are compressing the cores to make a near-perfect contact. The screw-terminal clamp then has a single soft metal tube full of copper to grip onto.
When you’re talking about puny spring clamps on sound equipment though, perhaps it’s better to present the softest material possible so they can bite and that would be the carefully twisted copper I guess.
When you’re talking about puny spring clamps on sound equipment though, perhaps it’s better to present the softest material possible so they can bite and that would be the carefully twisted copper I guess.
RSpiston said:
AW10 said:
otolith said:
I wonder what the Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending (James Timpson) thinks about this? I suppose her falling on her sword sidesteps the question.
¿Que? 
UpTheIron said:
Despite a stupidly well kitted out workshop I have an incredibly poor selection of cobbled together pliers, all of which are cheap, most of which are broken through use or untouched because they are ste.
Recommendations for a mid range set or individual selection for general house bashing and car fixing please!
Knipexte.Recommendations for a mid range set or individual selection for general house bashing and car fixing please!
Huntsman said:
UpTheIron said:
Despite a stupidly well kitted out workshop I have an incredibly poor selection of cobbled together pliers, all of which are cheap, most of which are broken through use or untouched because they are ste.
Recommendations for a mid range set or individual selection for general house bashing and car fixing please!
Knipexte.Recommendations for a mid range set or individual selection for general house bashing and car fixing please!
https://www.knipex.com/products/pipe-wrenches-and-...
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff