complete tool chests

[laam999]

Hi guys. I currently have a bunch of tools I have in a tool set I bought that is great for travelling around however being only 211 peices there are often sizes of tools I'm missing. I'm not looking to set my garage up with a full tool set that will have almost everything I need for working on my car, both simple tasks like chaning brakes to more complex things I want to be able to do in the future.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest a chest set that is complete with tools like the ones below

http://www.teng.co.uk/tcmm1001p-teng-tools-1001-pc...

http://www.tool-hut.com/product_info.php?cPath=284...

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/...

I'd like to spend around £1000, obviously less if I can get away with it but I want the best quality and most complete set I can afford. The Teng seems to be the most comprehensive buy by far the most expensive.

If anyone has any set like these could you advise me on what's good?

Thanks

Liam

[Harpo]

I thought about something like this myself a while ago.
I only work on Italian cars so AF tools in the kit would never get used.
I bought a tool chest and just got what I needed in the metric range. A right mix of brands, but all good quality i.e. Draper Expert, although some here don't rate them!

[Condi]

I dont rate the Clarke ones at all, the tools are shyte. Proper shyte.

That Teng one should be fine - usually decent tools are Teng. Its about right money too, quite simply you cannot supply a semi decent tool chest full of tools for £500. My boss bought a much smaller Clarke one, tool chest + tools for £100, and they were crap. Didnt stand up to hardly any use and was a waste of money.

The other way would be to buy a toolchest and then fill it with what you need. You might find that you can stock one out well enough for £1k with Halfords tools or similar. Do you really need a 120 piece crimping set, for example? Or 3 4 piece circlip plier sets? For the household user, some of that stuff will be used once in a blue moon or never at all.

[voicey]

I would echo the suggestion of buying the tools separately. When I was younger (and more stupid) I would buy Snap On tools but these days I buy Halfords Professional - they are just as good for the home mechanic and have a lifetime warranty at a national network of stores (pretty amazing for the price). Their flexible head rachet spanners are my most used tool - http://tinyurl.com/2e49zfn They also sell them in singles so you can expand the set.

For the less used stuff I take a different approach. If I need a specific tool to do a job that I'm unlikely to use much in the future (eg: I needed some circlip pliers the other day) I'll go to Screwfix and buy one of their cheapest.

I also drop in on places like Lidl and Aldi every now and again and buy cheap stuff even though I don't need it. I bought a tap and die set from one of them, didn't use it for a year but managed to cross thread a bolt and it came to the rescue - well worth the £8 it cost.

[davepen]

Sort of did both. I went for one of the Sealey ones that always appear to be on offer, especially for Xmas. Got just a top box set and then added the BSF spanners, sockets and taps. Later added a Halfords chest when it was on offer.

[sjj84]

I'd echo the statements above, buy the tools seperately. It'll be lovely unpacking a huge toolchest filled with new shiney tools, but you'll find you'll probably use less than half of them. If it were me, I'd buy a toolchest and then buy tools as and when I have a use for them.
I've got one of the Clarke ball bearing toolchest, for the money it's good enough, no idea what their tools are like though.

[petercam]

voicey said:

I would echo the suggestion of buying the tools separately. these days I buy Halfords Professional - they are just as good for the home mechanic and have a lifetime warranty at a national network of stores (pretty amazing for the price).

I was just browsing Halfords website, and this set of Pro spanners looks like a bargain at only £8.00 (£21.99 off the original price and a lifetime guarantee):

http://tinyurl.com/2a2mg8p

[voicey]

petercam said:

I was just browsing Halfords website, and this set of Pro spanners looks like a bargain at only £8.00 (£21.99 off the original price and a lifetime guarantee):

http://tinyurl.com/2a2mg8p

good spot - I went to reserve a set but the computer says no...

Halfords said:

We are very sorry, but no UK store currently has all of the items you require in stock

ETA: Perhps a thread should be started so we can post up good finds on tools?

Edited by voicey on Friday 5th November 13:11