what socket set?

[gti-90]

hi all.

im looking to buy a socket set. a good one.

went out the day and split 4 sockets on my old draper one. i put it down to the cold!

so whats good and how much?

i have a small teng tools one and a teng torque wrench, think there great.

but what else is good?

price rougly £100

many thanks jack.

[landroversforever]

I have the big halfords one. Lovely set, and usually at £99 when on offer IIRC

[Anderzander]

I have Teng socket sets - I really like them and they have stood up to a fair bit of abuse too. They come up on offer sometimes too.

[jad]

http://www.justoffbase.co.uk/64-Piece-1-2-Square-Drive-Combined-Socket-Set-18975-Draper-H65AM

I have had this draper one for 3 years. I have not managed to break anything yet. The bolts always seem to give up first. and im not really too kind to them. one of my favourite games is to hammer a socket onto a rounded off bolt

[M&S]

I'd go for the Halfords set on offer if it was me, well worth the money.

[longlandy]

In my workshop I have snap on mac etc, but for mobile work pound for pound you cant beat the big halfords set it does everything on a small car like a landrover, they are more honorable than snap on with their lifetime warranty ,no question no arguments. The only downside is up to 19mm the sockets are 3/8 which can be hard with the little short 3/8 ratchet.

[outdoor_ian]

Halfords one to chuck in the landy with facom stuff that stays at home.

[FridgeFreezer]

I've got one of the big £150 (always on offer at £99) Halfords sets and it's very good for the money, covers almost everything in one box and decent quality.

Teng / Facom are better quality but they're also (usually) stronger money.

[tychoS]

I've got one of the big £150 (always on offer at £99) Halfords sets and it's very good for the money, covers almost everything in one box and decent quality.

Teng / Facom are better quality but they're also (usually) stronger money.

Facom or Stahlwille if you want something that will last.

[crclifford]

Halfords professional set for me, as previously stated, normally on offer for about £99.

[forkrentfitter]

don,t laugh but lidle supermarket have a 1/2" drive set on promo at the moment,about £30,plenty good enough for diy use,i bought one of there 1/4 drive sets 6 years ago,still going strong,used most days.

[garymorris]

I've got one of the Halfords sets normally on offer for £99 have also got a couple of Teng sets cos as we all know you can never have enough tools

[Briarston]

A friend of mine, maintenance fitter at a large engineering company,so assumed to know abit, bought a Halfords set. He managed to split one of the larger sockets ( he admitted to using an extension pipe )Halfords swapped the complete set, not just the damaged socket. He's happy with it.

[zim]

I bent my halfrauds 3/4 breaker bar yesterday...oops But got lots of their tools

[gti-90]

thanks for the replys.

it seems the halfords one is a good buy. though it does worry me that up2 19mm you have a 3/8th ratchet. has anyboy had problems with that being smaller?

been looking at this one? any good? - http://www.teng.co.uk/ak694-sealey-socket-set-64pc-3-or-8”-and-1-or-2”sq-drive-metric-or-imperial_4701_pd.asp

thanks.

[zim]

Get the halfords set. Then buy a britool 1/2 ratchet + socket set for about £30.

G

[Retroanaconda]

I have had the Halfords 150-piece set for a couple of years now, not let me down yet.

That includes several hanging-off-a-scaffold-pole-slid-over-the-1/2-rachet moments

[outdoor_ian]

There are 4 impact sockets in the halfords set which I think of hand include 17 & 19 mm these are the black ones and are 1/2" drive.

To be honest with you no one off the shelf socket set will do everything, I'd just add a few extra 1/2" drive sockets mainly 12,13,14 (9/16) and 15mm. Many of the very small sockets will be very rarely used on a Landrover.

I would also buy a 52mm socket (£15 ish) or box spanner (£10 ish) for when you do wheel bearings and a prop nut special tool (£15 ish) these will both make life easier and quicker.

Edit: Use a breaker bar and touque wrench when your ment to and the tools should last you a good while.

[ballcock]

my halfords pro set cost £70 a few years back on offer, 1/2 drive all sockets up to 25mm I think in metric and equal in af also deep sockets and star sockets presently on offer at £109 (Halfords 55 piece Advanced Professional Socket Set 1/2" Cat code: 169466-0) broke a 17mm socket and they replaced it no problem but said I should have kept the reciept can't fault it

[longlandy]

Facom or Stahlwille if you want something that will last.

A very european responce!

[FridgeFreezer]

thanks for the replys.

it seems the halfords one is a good buy. though it does worry me that up2 19mm you have a 3/8th ratchet. has anyboy had problems with that being smaller?

been looking at this one? any good? - http://www.teng.co.uk/ak694-sealey-socket-set-64pc-3-or-8”-and-1-or-2”sq-drive-metric-or-imperial_4701_pd.asp

3/8th is plenty, makes access that bit easier too. Quite a few people I know use 1/4" most places (up to ~14mm) as it's easier to handle, and only bring out the bigger stuff if something is being stubborn.

I would class Sealey around or below Halfords on overall quality, I've had both and I reckon the Halfords is nicer kit (it's only someone else's stuff re-badged). The Sealey set I have I exploded the ratchet handle 1st outing, so replaced it with a Teng one and haven't had a problem since. The Teng ratchet is a bit worn, lots of lump hammer marks on the handle these days

[nicks90]

another big supporter of the halfrods pro tools - been using mine for about 10 years now and the only thing that let me down was the ratchet and they replaced that for free.

Its great for pretty much most jobs, but i picked up an ancient set of kingdick 1" ratchet + sockets from a car boot a few years ago for £10 in perfect working order! They look impossible to break so i use them for the really tight stuff nowadays.

[Jeff Young]

Well, not everyone is like me, but just to provide a different perspective:

I wrench on my cars for enjoyment. Nothing kills enjoyment faster than having a tool break and having to interrupt my plans to go out and source a replacement. (It doesn't help that I'm in rural Ireland and that I often can't get a replacement on a weekend.)

That also means that if I'm in the middle of something, and it turns out that I need to improvise (say, with an extension pipe or lump hammer), then I expect my tools to handle it.

So I buy second-hand Snap-On, Mac, (older) Kind Dick, (older) Armstrong, (older) Britool, etc. Probably doesn't fit within the OP's budget, but to me it's worth saving up for.

Jeff.

[missingsid]

I have a Mannesmann (German) Socket set, 10 mm (3/8"), 61 pcs. Chrome Vanadium, dull chromium plated in a plastic carry case which I bought in Holland 10 or 12 years ago and it is still great. The sockets drive on the flats not the corners.

The only problem was that in a very short time the tangs that keep the box closed fell off.

Otherwise I am very happy with it.

Marc.

[longlandy]

I forgot about kennedy cheapish and industrial rated(fords used their stuff on maintenance and production line duties)

Ive never broken it, so as a toolkit id go halfords as a dedicated socket set kennedy every time