Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: mantahatch on 25 May 2011, 12:24:13
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My eldest is lucky enough to have got an apprenticeship as a Plant Mechanic for a local company.
I can help out with some tools but he needs a toolbox, now generally speaking they all have thousands of pounds worth of Snap-On tool box. I am not in a position to afford Snap-On. Is there an alternative he could have without being the butt of jokes from the others who have been there many years ?
Thanks Chaps.
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I think being the apprentice he's likely to be the butt of all the jokes there for quite a while, at least until the next apprentice comes along, regardless of what you buy him ;)
Halfords Pro/Advanced range toolchests are very good for the money, IMHO, especially if you get them when they have a 'buy the bottom one, get the top one free' deal on.
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Tell me about it. Tonygnome is just finishing his first year as an apprentice and his toolbox was £800 second hand.
Do you have a local van that visits his workplace?
T got his box from the snap on man and paid him in weekly installments. Still a load of money for a toolbox/tools but I'm hoping they will last him.
Alternatively Halfords or Machine mart do a range that will be serviceable and cheaper but the problem I found when suggesting them was they don't come with a snapon badge. ;D
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I think being the apprentice he's likely to be the butt of all the jokes there for quite a while, at least until the next apprentice comes along, regardless of what you buy him ;)
Best get him a long stand as well ;)
And a bucket of sparks for the grinder :)
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and a reel of whitworth thread ;)
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might be worth looking for a box on the bay of E or ask your local snap- on dealer if they have any trade in's,I paid my dealer £100 for my snap -on box which was in good nick just a bit out of date
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and a reel of whitworth thread ;)
And even...
A sky hook, a left handed screwdriver or a can of tartan paint...... :D :D :D
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and a reel of whitworth thread ;)
And even...
A sky hook, a left handed screwdriver or a can of tartan paint...... :D :D :D
and a bubble for the spirit level! ::) ;)
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They had a yound lad when I was at sea looking for the keys for the snooker room! ::) ::) ::)
the penny only dropped when someone explained that due to recent stormy weather they hadn't been handing them out! ;D ;D ;D
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Snap on or Mac tools..............
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I know they seem enormously expensive which they are,
however im now 55 years young ::) bought my snap on kit(box as well) at what to be honest seemd to be an extortionate price and paid weekly and just kept adding the things i needed every month thought it would never end(the payments)
however apart from one 10mm 3/8 drive socket(which i broke on a buggy belt drive system other end of the 10mm was a windy gun!!! so expected really) which the snapoon man replaced without quibble last year, they have lasted me all these years and i still have them!!! and still use and abuse them, used them from car to hgv(5years of this)banger racers to classic cars, motorcycles , quad bikes, forklift trucks, milkfloats, canal boats, so they are now around 38 years old and still in damn good condition in spite of all the use!!!
you only get what you pay for is the story here expensive at the time yes, but if you break it down to the amount of years and use they have had then its really very very cheap?? and with a lifetime guarantee at snap on you will never have to buy the same tool again,
if you can possibly justify it then get the snap on gear including box,
jm2pw :y
p.s when i no longer use my tools they will be given to a promising young mechanic of my choosing!! however that will be years off yet!! :y
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Agreed... Snap On or MAC, both have a lifetime warranty and are good for it.
But... That's an investment he'll have to make over time ;) I've used some of the Halfords Pro stuff and it seems pretty good... The downside is that it's not on the weekly payment plan ::)
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Dont forget the elbow grease :y
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Dont forget the elbow grease :y
and the glass hammer.... :)
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Shouldn't you ask his boss what tools he's going to need to start with?
As for insisting on Snap On, some of it's worth the money straight away; ratchets, commonly used spanners and sockets. BUT, they're not the only tools of that quality, and they are seriously expensive.
I certainly wouldn't be buying a SO BOX if money's tight; it would be better spent on the tools to go in it.
I'm a big fan of the Halford's Industrial boxes(the black ones), which are frequently on offer, and to my eye as good as similar sized SO ones for a fraction of the price. I see them in garages and workshops all the time.
I also bought a middle box to go with mine earlier this year(I ran out of room) which Halfords don't do. It's Britool, and exactly matches the current Halfords boxes(mine are earlier models), and that's a brand the tool snobs can't easily turn their noses up at!
I've been using a Halfords professional(advanced now) socket and spanner set every day for the last 8 years and can't fault it; only had to replace a small ratchet and sockets because I lost them - something that's easier to accept when the whole set cost £70, not just the ratchet!
I snapped one of their 1/2" breaker bars standing on the end of it trying to undo the truck wheelnuts; when I took it back the bloke looked at it and asked what I'd been trying to undo with it. When I said "wheelnuts" he just smiled and got me a new one!
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TBH, the Halfords professional ratchets will be more than adequate. I would highly recommend the Snap on combination spanners above any other I have used but other than that ;)
Air tools and impact sockets (when he needs them), best he can afford for the sockets and Ingersol Rand are a reliable brand for the air tools ;)
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I've had most of my snap on kit since I started 20 odd years ago and except for a couple of split sockets(replaced free) and broken ratchet gears they are still in good nick,yes they are expensive and there is other kit of the same quality available elsewhere but in my experience the good stuff is always expensive
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I snapped one of their 1/2" breaker bars standing on the end of it trying to undo the truck wheelnuts; when I took it back the bloke looked at it and asked what I'd been trying to undo with it. When I said "wheelnuts" he just smiled and got me a new one!
Friend of mine did the same thing undoing a hub nut - and had the same experience in Halfords.. (I know a weak point with the breaker bars is that the threaded 'pivot' on the end unthreads itself over time - if you don't tighten it up you put all the torque on 2/3rds of the joint and it eventually gives up)
But ditto on everything really - the Halfords Pro (Advanced, now) stuff I have is every bit as good as the odd bit of SnapOn or Britool I've got, and it has a lifetime warranty just like SnapOn.
(And you're right, it's the black 'industrial' toolchests that are the good ones - I picked up the two for £350 earlier this year. Just about put my back out getting them out of the Omega, mind!)
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I would go for a Machine Mart HD or Halfords Pro. The Snap on stuff is not worth the money and I have had a case recently where a snap-on tool box failed (the welds failed) and the lifetime warranty was honoured by a refund of the costs of it 20 years ago.
The only single good thing about snap-on tools is that you can pay for them on the drip.
I have to say, I am pretty impressed with the Teng stuff, the tools are easily as good as Snap-on etc.
Its just a pity Britool stuff is now lower quality and that Stathwille stuff is no longer available
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I snapped one of their 1/2" breaker bars standing on the end of it trying to undo the truck wheelnuts; when I took it back the bloke looked at it and asked what I'd been trying to undo with it. When I said "wheelnuts" he just smiled and got me a new one!
Friend of mine did the same thing undoing a hub nut - and had the same experience in Halfords.. (I know a weak point with the breaker bars is that the threaded 'pivot' on the end unthreads itself over time - if you don't tighten it up you put all the torque on 2/3rds of the joint and it eventually gives up)
But ditto on everything really - the Halfords Pro (Advanced, now) stuff I have is every bit as good as the odd bit of SnapOn or Britool I've got, and it has a lifetime warranty just like SnapOn.
(And you're right, it's the black 'industrial' toolchests that are the good ones - I picked up the two for £350 earlier this year. Just about put my back out getting them out of the Omega, mind!)
Beware, the Pro and expert stuff is not the same.
From what I can tell, the pro stuff is actualy Draper Pro and the expert stuff is actully Draper Expert.....hence the expert stuff is lower quality :y