Is a torque wrench really necessary ?

[Pale Rider]

Cheers, here's my response.

At the top is my impact finish half inch matador and sockets, 1/2" drive and six sided to tackle the really tough stuff.

The two little sockets are interesting.

One is a spinner, the knurled wheel gives you just enough torque to spin up a nut that won't quite spin by hand.

The other socket is a wobble end, it gives flexibility to any socket you attach to it.

Not as much as a universal joint, but often enough to get to where a regular socket would not.

Both the pliers are excellent tools, in particular the red handled ones with which I've twisted stuff that no plier ought to be able to

In the middle of the pic is my other 1/4" drive mini ratchet converted to 3/8".

The yellow handled tool is a hex driver for hose clips - again a good time saver if you are doing a few.

Yellow handles means budget in Snap-on speak.

Lastly is my Snap-on scraper, proper blade for preparing gasket faces.

 

[keithmac]

All good tools there, the "spinner" looks interesting!.

Plenty of times I've been tightening bolts up that you can't even see, just do it by feel.

Had a set of Snap-on Lineman's pliers for years, probably one of the 1st tools I bought, they are a beasty set of pliers.

 

[Pale Rider]

The Spinner used to be almost permanently attached to my ratchet so it was always to hand.

I'd never heard those pliers called Lineman's.

On the website they come up as heavy duty which is certainly correct.

The other tool I have which I couldn't put my hand on is a screw starter.

It's shaped like a pencil, and has a grip for a Philips screw one end and a flat screw the other.

Handy for aiming a screw in confined places.

Its grip on the screw clicks off after a few turns.

https://shop.snapon.com/categories/Lineman's-Heavy-Duty/675114

 

[keithmac]

I've got a little "magnetiser", you put the screwdriver tip through it a few times and it turns the tip magnetic, that coupled with a 2 foot long number two philips screwdriver has had a lot of use!.

Those look like mine, very heavy will cut through anything and grip very well (ideal for rounded Philips screws etc!).

 

[Pale Rider]

My pliers of that type are not Snap-on.

Not quite a waste of space, but they will hardly cut anything.

We used to have a couple of long shank screwdrivers as part of the workshop kit.

Very handy for hose clips on bottom hoses.

 

[keithmac]

The were called Linemans because Linemen used to use them up the telegraph poles etc from what I've been told.

You can cut with them, grip and use as a small hammer if needs must.

 

[Pale Rider]

The were called Linemans because Linemen used to use them up the telegraph poles etc from what I've been told.

You can cut with them, grip and use as a small hammer if needs must.

That reminded me, I've used my slip joint pliers to whack things a few times.

I seem to recall a couple of my screwdrivers were lightly magnetised.

Not sure if they were designed that way or some how became magnetised knocking around the toolbox.

And that reminds me of my toolbox.

It's a Snap-on cantilever one which one of the mechanics gave me after he'd finished with it.

Unfortunately he ran it over, but as he was a panel beater he put it straight and gave it a respray.

Needless to say, none of the cantilever hinges broke when it was flattened, and it's still going strong despite being about 50 years old.

 

[keithmac]

That's mine in background, a quick wipe over and it's good as new! (16 years old).

 

[Pale Rider]

Very smart.

To function well they need to be well made because they carry so much weight.

I got my cantilever one when the mechanic bought his first chest, which was a lot smaller than yours.

It was a very similar to the top chest in your pic, although in Snap-on red.

He bought a wheeled base chest, again like yours, a little while later.

We were very impressed with his smaller one because it was the first we'd seen.

 

[keithmac]

Yeh I had a red top section/ chest first, then a red roll cab to go under it.

They offered me a cracking deal on that one in the picture with my two as px so I went for it.

That one has roller bearing drawers, "lock 'n' roll" draw slides (but I've took those off), lid lifters on top section.

Use it every day so another investment!.

 

[Pale Rider]

Aye, roll cab, that's the term I was looking for.

As you say, the drawers have the type of quality you might see in an operating theatre.

The mechanics where I worked were a little concerned about theft.

When you get to that size of tool chest there's little alternative but to leave it permanently at work.

 

[keithmac]

Yeh what can you do though?, it's locked to ground anchors and fully insured.

It would be the loss of tools owned and used over 20 years that would be the kick in the nuts really!.

 

[Pale Rider]

Absolutely, there is a strong attachment to your tools when you use them for a living.

Also I bet you couldn't get direct replacements for all of them even if you had a big insurance payout to spend.

That, and you'd be bound to forget to buy some of the little used ones that are crucial when you need them.

I reckon it would probably take six months to a year to get straight again.

 

[keithmac]

Yeh you're probably right, there's tools in there I've made for jobs (screwdrivers ground for connector pin removal, modified filter tools etc).

Still hopefully it'll never happen (fingers crossed!).

 

[randynewmanscat]

I detect the onset of a wall peeing contest.
The Beta cabinets stay in the house because they are full of metrology equipment as I don't heat my workshop in the winter. I use Lista in the workshop, they are the boss of all cabinets.
I have some more torque control gear but it's sat in storage back in blight.