sp tools have some good packages available. my mate whos an automotive machinist bought a $3200 tool box and he loves it. i will however recommend the wurth rattle gun, its a bit pricey $600+ but its an excellent bit of gear
Hi Haydz, I’m a diesel mechanic for Scania. As an apprentice at Transperth we were supplied with Repco tools. I find that Kincrome and Repco are great but their ranges are limited for the more specific tools snap on can supply. You will do well to buy the "long" series of combination spanners from Repco, they are a godsend. As tree cutter said the Ingersoll-Rand brand of half inch rattle gun is pretty damn good. I have a 1000 foot pound (1350nm) one and there's not a lot it can't undo if you oil it regularly. I paid 495 for mine about 4 years ago but they will be cheaper now. I often lend it to people whose snap on/blue point rattle guns can't undo certain nuts/bolts. I’d be buying the 1/2"socket set and ratchet from Repco (one with deep sockets and normal sockets, ratchet extensions and uni-joint) I’ve never broken a socket but my 17mm copped a flogging until I found out snap on sell double hex impact sockets. Kincrome toolbox as they are a bit heavier duty and often cheaper than Repco, Things like hammers, pry bars, air blower and hack saw I’d get from Bunnings and just go cheap. Screwdrivers, the Sidcrome and Repco are pretty good. I’d still buy the long 1/2" breaker bar from snap on. It’s about $150 but I've done amazing things and I’ve seen other people abuse them to no end before they break, then you get a new one free. 1/4" and 3/8" drive stuff kincrome is good. Kincrome do a great digital multi meter for a decent price. If you are looking at getting ratchet spanners, get the kincrome ones but make sure they are flex head as they come in really handy. All in all I still think snap on make great tools, but to start out I’d try avoiding them because you will do better to replace anything you break with a snap on item instead of buying them up front. That way if you never break some things, you don't have to fork out massive amounts of money unnecessarily. If you need any more help on this just pm me.
All awesome information there guys. i did consider repco for tools as they have the exchange in store warranty. but i find the new series of toolboxes dont seem too strong and or have the flexibility to add on side benches and cabinets as i have seen other manufactures do. Im going to keep looking out for tools. and see what is on offer before i make up my mind. this is definitely giving me a good idea as to the brands to go for and what everyone else has done. re: wurth rattle guns work just bought a 3/4 wurth rattle gun and it is amazingly strong. there hasnt been a nut or bolt that thing cant undo yet. and if any one of you are interested im doing my apprenticeship with Toll Fleet. and we cover all sorts of Trucks, Trailers, Plant and Cars.
oh, just another silly thing. the snap on plastic mallet is the BEST THING EVER! no crap. its full of shot (bits of steel like in a shotgun shell) so when you need to knock off stuff like brake drums it impacts and really does the job. AND you can walk around shaking it like a maracus doing the samba all day everyday. (ok, im done now)
+1! i've been helping a mate pull apart a TC cortina, super works gold tools are all we've used the entire project. farkin awesome tools for a good price. i also agree with whats said earlier, buy something of good quality now, and as it breaks replace it with better. you'll be suprised as to what you won't replace for many years. dad has some no name tools 25+ years old, outlasted sidchrome stuff easliy (including a complete no name socket set you couldnt kill with a big stick)
exactly correct bluepoint is snap on just with a different stamp i believe alot of snap on things come with lifetime warranty aswell the only difference is that blue point doesnt.
yep, its the snap-on card or something like that, you buy what you want, then a certain amount is direct debited from your account each month. i think you have a minimum monthly spend though. snap-on dead blow hammer FTW. great for hitting things, and making music lol. dunno what i'd do without mine
yeah snap on dead blow hammer that is ari. the thing with a dead blow is that sharp edges and crap wear the face away and eventually the lead shot comes out. snap on will replace when this happens. not sure about many other brands. you can make repayments via eftpos, credit card or cash. they also have a trade card but that costs interest so i've never had one. depending what you buy, what you owe, how often you buy your minimum payment varies. usually its about $20 a week if you don't owe much but it depends on the dealer.
hey guys well after checking out all that was on offer i had made up my mind that snap on was not worth the money for a first year apprentice and seeing as i didnt have lots to play with 3 grand would have given me an empty box. i searched around and had come to a conclusion to buy kc tools as they seemed good quality and the local dealer was the biggest dealer for them in aus. but then in my findings a bargain came up it was a 390 odd kincrome set that had been bought and never been used by some rich dude who intended on working on his car but never did. he wanted 3200 and the retail was 6600 i got it for a flat price of 3000 and it included everything all in the boxes etc brand new. so that was how i ended up choosing my tools. and so far so good here is a quick snap of what it looks like sitting at work.
Pretty much identical to my setup at work. Except i've got one big draw in the middle of the top box instead of the two singles. Nice pickup!
Think you answered your own question, you already know what tools you need, now just get your own. I don't think any of the brand names you have mentioned will let you down if used correctly but snap on will generally take more abuse than the rest.
Snap on- massssssively over priced sidchrome is bloody good, but fairly expensive also... what will you be working on the most? im in agriculture, and a basic top box kit.. about a grand usually plus a stacker with bigger spanners is about all you really need to get started,, 1500 bucks covers you pretty well to start off with dont worry too much about air tools as yet,
my 2 cents, i've used sidchrome for everything whilst i've been at home..all my dad's stuff is sidchrome so thats all i had...along with using them when i worked at holden they were very good and reliable...it is an excellent brand, not sure if these are an aussie brand or not..but they're bloody good, lifetime guarantee..and they look nice n pretty when they come outta the box haha...they're not as expensive as some and are still very tough..never had a problem snap on is another good name mentioned but i think are very overpriced...maybe tools like a torque wrench and air gun etc will be good..but 900 bux for a torque wrench is rediculous..i don't think you'd like to go to work and say hey guys guess what i bought with my tools for your trade allowance...A TORQUE WRENCH haha..bugger that..i'd only be buying big stuff that you reallllyyyy need relibaility for, or specialty tools (torque wrench, air guns, air accessories, girly spanners(they're the really long ring spanners) and so on). my experience with other brands on the other hand like kincrome, just using an 8mm allen key on my push bike, it snapped..my dads sidchrome barely flexed..i paid **** all for these koz i worked for bunnings at the time so i thought, why not...i've used brands at holden such as calibre, T&E etc...i wouldn't recommend calbire, i stripped 2 torx bits and bent a ring spanner...T&E tools i would only buy things like hex heads for sockets, torx bits, air impact sockets...these are verrryyyy reliable..at holden these would go through a beating...i worked these torx bits to the bone when me and another technician had to pul out the entire interior of a brand new ve ss and it held up very well...as fo rthe impact sockets, all the guys had them. sidchrome have a nice offer im thinking of getting, it's 1500 bux i think..176 sidchrome tool chest..go on the sidchrome site and look under the apprentice kits section...you get a 176 piece tool chest withe a free 8 drawer trolley..its a sweet deal and if i have the funds right now i wouldn't let it slip but mate, if ur funds are 3 grandish, i wouldn't go past a decent sized sidchrome tool kit, and if it doesnt come with some things you need, then use ur snap on and T&E Tools brands...as soon as i get some money that's exactly what i'll be doing cheers mate
snap on- 900 odd bucks for a rechargable 1/2 inch drive impact gun but **** me they are torquey as. didnt end up buying it but i sure was tempted lol
hello guys, i know this thread is fairly mature but i felt the need to add my two cents worth, My brother worked for snap on for 12 years and has been in the tools and equipment business for over 25 years so i have had a fair bit to do with tools at the trade and professional level and can give you a little more insight into who makes what where and how well. I can tell you that the majority of your better known brands are made by the wolrd largest OEM tools manufacturer Stanley tools, the make the vast majority of the repco, Kctools, Kinchrome, Supacheap Autos Superworks , Sidchrome,JBS and just about any taiwanese meduim quality out there.the reason is that they purpose built a factory in Taiwan and recently china (8 times the size of the taiwanese factory) just for OEM manufacturing. the end result is that they can design, manufacuture and ship sockets and spanner far cheaper than any stand alone brand could ever hope to do on their own by a large margin. the net result is that most of the common mid range brands in australia are all made by the same manufacturer under different labels for obvious reasons. the only real difference in performance is how well they back their product and look after their customers. none of this is to say that Taiwanese tools are not good, in fact they have come leaps and bounds in the past ten years and insome cases, they make some items that are better than the long estalbished snap on products, case in point, snap on cannot make an allen key socket to save their lives and most taiwanese versions of the same at 1/4 of the cost are far stronger and longer lasting, there are many others like this where the comparison does not do Snap-on any favours. I will close by adding that if you are at a loss for good advice, please contact my toolshop of choice Toolworks in Mcgraths hill in Sydney and ask for Henry Porte. the best thing about toolworks is that they ocarry all of thre major brands and also have all of the mojor American and Canadian and german tools so they can give you a choice of trully professional gear. they are also very well priced and have just launched a new website at Toolworks - AUSTRALIAS BEST RANGE OF QUALITY TOOLS. i know this sounds like a sales pitch but I know who they are as my brother works there and can cattegorically state that their moto of "if we can gurantee it, we wont sell it" is not just lip service.the boos said to me they welcome a warranty as it gives toolworks a chance to show off why they are different to other toolshops, anyways...good luck with your searching and i hope my information was helpful..Darren
I dont mean to burst the Snap-on myth but all "professional" grade Mechanics tools carry the same warranty as Snap-on..the difference is the fact the guy is there every week assuming he's doing his job well. Snap-on is a decent product but very expensive and there are many good alternatives at half the price or better..Canadian and Japanese tools such as genuis and Koken tools are a fair example of high quality tools with similar warranties with a far better price pont. For apprentices, I would highly recommend you avoid Snap-On for chrome tools such as ratchets and spanners. just too expensive and the ratchets are seriously not that good...they use and old single pawl design that is broken easily and requires contstant maintenance unlike the koken or Genius double pawl design which also gives you a much tlighter reverse torque effect therefore you are not fighting the ratchet once the bolt is undone. The simple point is to finda tool store of van vendor that knows his stuff and has a solid " I wont ever leave a customer with a broken tool" attitude..I could easily go on about why and what around snapo-on and other brands though Ill leave it at that unless anyone wants a broader perspective on this issue..I worked for snap-on for 12 years and can tell you there are better products for les coin and t really does pay to do your research...just avoid the guys who say " all tools are much of a muchness these days...they do really not know their stuff..!!
thanks for bringing this thread up again. ive found a pretty good tool store in smithfield VEK tools. and ive been buying bits and pieces from them and also professional tool sales. which is a bloke in a truck that comes around to my workplace every week. ive been trying to add a piece or two each week so that ill have everything ill possibly need by the end of it. i just had to purchase a side box to store my cigweld welding helmet that wouldnt fit in any of the other drawers. but to anyone else in this same situation id suggest getting a decent set from a decent brand then building on it with the specialist bits and pieces that make your life easier. andi havent even ventured into the snap on truck. the way i look at it if i break a kincrome etc brand of tools and use it all the time then itd be worth the money to buy snap on but till then ill stick with the general stuff.
