Your thoughts on electrical tools

[bonfield]

anyone suggest some good quality and decent priced tools for an electrician, this is pretty offtopic and might get flamed for not googling first but i tried and i dont want to buy cheap and nasty tools that will last a month of two

also i remember seeing a thread about spanners, and someone mentioned good quality ones but i cant for the life find it

[wagon_vs]

im a first year sparky and i am starting to build up my set of tools as well. i have found that being a total tools 'insider' has been really helpful as they send you the catalogs and there are some really great deals in there.
brands wise i would say your best bet is to try some of your bosses tools and see what you like, and ask him his opinions on them.

[T-rex]

Pliers will have different feels to them I like the Channel Lock ones from the US with the blue grips, as for screwdrivers I like Wiiha ones the best even though I own different brand. Spanner wise Sid chrome are exy but good quality thats all I really got from that thread, if your looking at meters as well Fluke is the best by far, but buy them from 'merica cause their way cheaper. A decent knife is tricky, I got a Kincrome flip out and broke its locking latch almost instantly, but some of the box cutter style ones have more annoying faults though. I don't know what else you would classify as electrician specific apart from the screwies, pliers and meter though.

[Drawnnite]

it depends what you would need and what electrical work you would be doing.
ie. if doing massive 630mm mains you may want some parrot beak cutters.

personally i have a pair of "Marvel" pliers. they are the orange handled ones and are just oh so sharp. and can cleanly cut up to 4mm flat tps with ease.
sidchrome sideys are also awesome. get a second small pair for the cable ties aswell if you can
cresent conduit cutters that cut up to 42mm conduit are also good. only cost about $20 and are awesome.
velo, or stanley screwdrivers. make sure to get the insulated ones. no point not having insulated, even though you arent ment to work live.

you had better have a plaster saw aswell, they are pretty much all the same, get whichever you want. if you dont have this, you are not an electrician =P
and a 2nd average pair of pliers is very good for doing catenary wires. no point busting up your good ones.

a small set with shifters and spanners and so forth it good aswell. bahco have a set of 3 ratchet spanners with 4 sizes per spanner, about $80 but worth it.
having a shifter or 2 is also helpful, you will use them a bit.

make sure to get a volt stick, personally i have a fluke one, has never let me down.
along with a good multimeter, get a clamp one if you can, much more useful then the regular ones.
kyoritsu do sell a fairly good meggar,clamp and multimeter kit, and are a pretty good brand aswell.

i could go on and on, naming my whole toolkit as an app sparky.
but pretty much it depends on what you do. commercial, industrial, domestic etc it does vary a bit.
and depending if you work for a small/big company or for yourself will depend if work supplies alot of tools, like power tools.

check out some places like "sydney tools" and other toolshops, you can normally find some awesome deals on these sites.

[one_and_only2004]

I use SP tools insulated screwdrivers - they have a lifetime replacement warranty, wattmaster guillotine pliers, majortech meters (made by an ex fluke owner), and Makita power tools.

[bonfield]

it depends what you would need and what electrical work you would be doing.
ie. if doing massive 630mm mains you may want some parrot beak cutters.

personally i have a pair of "Marvel" pliers. they are the orange handled ones and are just oh so sharp. and can cleanly cut up to 4mm flat tps with ease.
sidchrome sideys are also awesome. get a second small pair for the cable ties aswell if you can
cresent conduit cutters that cut up to 42mm conduit are also good. only cost about $20 and are awesome.
velo, or stanley screwdrivers. make sure to get the insulated ones. no point not having insulated, even though you arent ment to work live.

you had better have a plaster saw aswell, they are pretty much all the same, get whichever you want. if you dont have this, you are not an electrician =P
and a 2nd average pair of pliers is very good for doing catenary wires. no point busting up your good ones.

a small set with shifters and spanners and so forth it good aswell. bahco have a set of 3 ratchet spanners with 4 sizes per spanner, about $80 but worth it.

make sure to get a volt stick, personally i have a fluke one, has never let me down.
along with a good multimeter, get a clamp one if you can, much more useful then the regular ones.

i could go on and on, naming my whole toolkit as an app sparky.
but pretty much it depends on what you do. commercial, industrial, domestic etc it does vary a bit.
and depending if you work for a small/big company or for yourself will depend if work supplies alot of tools, like power tools.

check out some places like "sydney tools" and other toolshops, you can normally find some awesome deals on these sites.

how are the marvel pliers to use? take a long time to get used to them? will check out the sidchrome sidecutters as i am updating all my gear. i have to agree my cresent conduit cutters are pretty good for their price, yeah not meant to work live but it happens =] i have a set of ratchet spanners never used them =]


so you think volt sticks are good? i have only ever used cheap ones and didnt really trust them, good for finding switch wires, double checking etc but still a bit iffy on them

i will look at sydney tools thanks

Pliers will have different feels to them I like the Channel Lock ones from the US with the blue grips, as for screwdrivers I like Wiiha ones the best even though I own different brand. Spanner wise Sid chrome are exy but good quality thats all I really got from that thread, if your looking at meters as well Fluke is the best by far, but buy them from 'merica cause their way cheaper. A decent knife is tricky, I got a Kincrome flip out and broke its locking latch almost instantly, but some of the box cutter style ones have more annoying faults though. I don't know what else you would classify as electrician specific apart from the screwies, pliers and meter though.

im looking at getting a fluke analogue meggar and a clamp ammeter. i think i have the same knife, is it blue not the annodised one? the flip out part is the only reason i brought that knife, so wiiha screwdrivers are good? never really heard of them

im a first year sparky and i am starting to build up my set of tools as well. i have found that being a total tools 'insider' has been really helpful as they send you the catalogs and there are some really great deals in there.
brands wise i would say your best bet is to try some of your bosses tools and see what you like, and ask him his opinions on them.

thanks i never thought of that


i thought would say i am a 3rd year apprentice and need to update my hand tools, thanks for all your comments

I use SP tools insulated screwdrivers - they have a lifetime replacement warranty, wattmaster guillotine pliers, majortech meters (made by an ex fluke owner), and Makita power tools.

how are they to use? that will be one of the first things i want to upgrade


where would be the best place on the net to get prices on all this, ebay?

[T-rex]

Yeah Its the blue one, the wihas are pretty good I reckon, this is what they look like
http://wiha.de/var/wiha/storage/ilca...oss/320nk6.jpg
The soft finish is really good I reckon, I have a fridgie brand set with hard plastic and their not very ergonomic.
As for variants of pliers, I'd go insulated with long nose pliers and side cutters in case you cut something that may be live.

For price Ebays OK, definitely for the meters etc. but if you have a local wholesaler that you use lots they may hook you up. The electrical wholesaler we use gave me 25% off some of my tools I got from them before I went there lots, and the HVAC shop we use will give some of the boys who go in lots 60-70% off tools, because we use them a lot. 350 worth of manifold gauges for 130 is pretty good I reckon.

[vkberlina]

anyone suggest some good quality and decent priced tools for an electrician, this is pretty offtopic and might get flamed for not googling first but i tried and i dont want to buy cheap and nasty tools that will last a month of two

also i remember seeing a thread about spanners, and someone mentioned good quality ones but i cant for the life find it

If you are buying a whole heap, both hand and power buy O/S. I saved about $2500 on the last Spectrum Analyser I bought bringing it in from the US.

Spanners the Repco double ended multifit spanners are REALLY handy ESP when your up a ladder and take 1 spanner to undo the works, I have also found the calibre brand spanners at super cheap quite good for ones I tend to loose before I wear them out. I have a kincrome 10mm ratchet which I use ALOT and I have just about worn it out in 3 years. As for electrical screw drivers I buy the kits Jaycar sell I buy from their supplier and for what I buy them for they are centre punches, chisels pry bars, and anything else I need them for at the time.

As for piers buy the best you can I forget the brand but the blue handled ones at wholsalers are nice to use as well as the yellow marvels, you will be using them all day and live wiring with them (surely not but yes it happens :P)

Now for power tools mmmmm I use Milwaukee
They M12 Impact gun is brilliant for doing up heaps of phillips bits, small light high RPM & power
I have their SpecorAV or what ever they call it inspection camera takes pics & video
M18 cordless set as well as an older V18 drill which has been great
I also have a V28/M28 series kit are well, I have had the V28 kit for a while the 28v drill is great for boring holes down timber walls, its got serious nuts,picked up a M28 grinder kit from the US for the batteries & charger which gives the V28 more grunt &lasts a little longer.

As for auger bits the toolex brand from gasweld are quite good I reharden the tips before I use them and also fit them to long extentions (longest is 2.1m long) Also the Irwin blue spade bits are quite good.

Scott

Scott

[Drawnnite]

yeah voltsticks are probably not the best, but id rather carry that in the pocket then lug around a multimeter.
they are good to get an idea, not the best to rely on, but pretty accurate.
new fluke ones come with lights at one end, so its a torch aswell. more or less a handy instrument thats easy to carry.

as for the marvel pliers, they are good. only for copper though, but extremely sharp.
they actually cut the cable flat at the end because of their design.
it is very good when you want to strip cable as when you "imprint" into the tps before peeling back you can get an all round mark.
they look like this.


as vk has said, the blue spade bits from irwin are good. i bought some for home from total tools, was like $30 for a set of 20. not bad.

ebay prices are ok, but if your with a big company you should be able to get a fairly good deal at wholesalers.
look up a few places online like united tools, sydney tools. and im sure there are others, cant think of them at the moment.

[jesse_lankey]

+1 for fluke meters, +1 for channel lock

i bought this kit when i started and i can't say anything bad about it, their small drills but very powerful

LCT303X-10.8V Mobile Combo Kit

[fuzzy2308]

[Pub247]

if your going to get a cordless drill i recommend panasonic

[vkberlina]

I will put my milwaukee tools up against Hitachi anyday, milwaukee have battery guages on the batteries so oyu know how much charge you have left, drills have more grunt, impact driver well my 18v drives 150mm bugle screws into railway sleepers that my brothers 18v hitachi wont even look at, the milwaukee radio will drown out anything else of the market, with a modification you can make it into a charger like the dewault as well. My little M12 impact driver is great to fit wall plates off with esp if your doing a couple of dozen on a job saves your wrist alot.

Channel Lock pliers are what I was trying to think about this morning, trouble is they are expensive and if you cut through a live wire they are buggered.

I bought a new set of fibreglass rods recently which came with somde handy attachments including a flashing LED bullet head to locate it in walls.

Finally the best of all tools I have and the cheapest a Cabac Green Donkey a must have!!! they make a good pair of cable cutting pliers

scott

[Reaper]

For battery tools:

My brother owns a kitchen company and the cabinet makers there have been thru nearly every battery brand there is. Milwaukee 18v (3.0 ah) seem to last the best. I have a kit that I use for site works rectifying stuff for work and they have been great. Milwaukee Power Tools. Buy 1 or 2 batteries and then the "skins" which will save you a bomb. Whatever brand you choose, stick with the 1 brand and cycle the batteries. Most are selling skins these days which means you aren't paying for a heap of batteries and chargers that you really don't need. Don't be cheap - get the 3ah batteries. The 1.5ah just don't have the life.

Reaper

[bonfield]

yeah i just brought a 18v AEG drill with 3 x 3ah batteries, i like it haven't really heard that much about AEG though

thanks for all the pictures =]

why are channellock's so good? much of a differance compared to cresent?

[Drawnnite]

why are channellock's so good? much of a differance compared to cresent?

hand grips probably. they felt to rubbery to me.
its all personal preference really.

AEG are pretty good, i havent personally used them but ive heard good things about them.
and if you work for the right companies, you only have to supply your own hand tools, work supplies all power tools.
having like 7 batteries in waiting is awesome though. until you realise every single one of them is flat.

[one_and_only2004]

how are they to use? that will be one of the first things i want to upgrade


where would be the best place on the net to get prices on all this, ebay?

I love them. I've used wattmaster, felo and SP screwdrivers and the SP's are the better of all three. The felo's tend to break when you put a bit of pressure on them (i snapped the end of the phillips screwdriver off pretty easy), the wattmaster's tips wear out really fast too. The SP ones came in a pack of about 8 with various miniature flat/phillips and your normal sizes as well for about $90 from total tools.

I buy hand tools from Total tools - a friend has a very good account with them so I get things at a nice price. As for power tools I bought 3x genuine batteries for $300 from america, then bought an impact driver, hammer drill, torch and grinder (all 18v) for half the price they wanted in stores AND scored a tax invoice for all of it bar the batteries.

[T-rex]

I have Milwaukee, I like them and a 5 year warranty is hard to go past but if I didn't buy the Milwaukee it would have been a makita. One of the boys at work has one and its been abused pretty hard and still works perfectly, even his cordless recip saw had water running through it and still works like new.

[ToMMMaY]

Marvel pliers Are the Bomb Digitty
Personally Since my work Has All of Dewalt Im a Dewalt fan
Those Drills Have insane Power

Best grinder ive used is a Metabo By far

[PRAVX II S]

As a Auto Sparky.
Fluke multi-meter!
Snap on screwdrivers/ratchets set.
I own a Bosch cordless drill find it very good not one problem with it.
Also invest in some good flush cutters pliers
I use Cresent side cutters there not bad they do the job.
Wire strippers very good investments.
Spring type crimp tools.
Test light (my Bread & butter)

[one_and_only2004]

Yeah Metabo's are pretty decent. I've got a Metabo 240v drill and it's awesome. Wattmaster pliers are the same style as the Marvel's - They're great for cutting cables and stuff too - don't cut catinery wires though as it's an excellent way to destroy a set.

[Drawnnite]

btw just to let you know. if you buy makita stuff and your an apprentice you can get some good cashback deals.
$200 back for spending over $1000 is pretty good if you ask me.


and if you have a current pair of pliers, use those for cat wires, steel really does screw good pairs of pliers up.

[Parraeels101]

Ive got Crescent pliers, and I dont rate them. The cutting section has one flat edge and one sharp edge, so I find I have to flip the tps over to bite both sides before it will strip it. And they also rusted out pretty quick. Looking for a better set and will probably keep these for cateneries or whatever.

Other pliers include sidecutters and needlenose (Sidchrome), and JBS bent needlenose, multigrips and mini sidecutters.

Spanners, Ive got about 5 rolls of Sidchrome sets, metric and AF, ring, OE and combo. Very good quality gear.

Screwdrivers are also Sidchrome, plus I have a set of Stanleys (with the plastic handles). Neither set is insulated, however I do prefer the Sidchrome set as they are far more comfortable to use. I find the Stanley ones hard to grip if your hands are a bit sweaty or whatever.

Got a Fluke 179 meter. Its a general purpose meter but still has some good features. Highly recommended brand.

One of my favourites is me set of Cabac ratchet cable cutters, theyll cut through anything.

Other tools Ive found to come in handy are a gyprock saw, conduit cutters, pin/punch set, allen keys, hammer, etc.

We use Dewalt drills at work and I reckon they go alright. But other good brands have been mentioned like Makita, Panasonic, Hitachi and Milwaukee.

[greenacc]

Doesn't anyone use Nipex pliers ? I thought they were supposed to be the best ..

[T-rex]

People rave over them, haven't really seen them in action but I don't think their insulated so they would see a lot of use in trades where you would the insulation.