Tools

Big hammer, job sorted. @El Toro you can close this thread now.

 

there should be no issue buying the cheaper sets, you can get quite a whack of tools reasonably priced, replace the common stuff, certain sockets you use regularly with better quality tuff as you go along. i wouldn't scrimp on allan and torex bits tho

 

A cheap, ill fitting allen key is the tool of choice if you enjoy rounding off your Ducati OEM, cheese based, allen head fasteners.

 

Halfords tools are top quality these days, subscribe to get a trade card on the forum.

https://www.ducatiforum.co.uk/pages/Supporter/

 

i still have and use my first set of halfords sockets that made it out of aberdoom without being nicked. coming on 25years old now, perfectly good gear.

 

This is pretty blunt I am afraid.

Within reason, it doesn't really matter how cheap your tools are, it is all down to how shit the Ducati fasteners are.

 

I agree with finm on the Allen keys. I’d definitely go the extra and buy a good quality set, especially 3, 4 and 5 mm. I’ve used Facom and Bahco for years and they have been great. I regularly refinish the ends to keep them sharp and square. I recently picked up a set of Snap-on T-handles up off the local van as they were on offer and the difference in fit and purchase, even on rounded screw heads has been really impressive. Guaranteed for life to....
As for the rest of your tool kit, the Halfords professional stuff is really good, especially for the money. Wait on the offers on the kits and you cant go wrong with the trade card.
Last off, buy a couple of decent torque wrenches.

 

I’ve got a mixture from halfords, teng, bergen, facom, stahwille, snap-on etc.
One thing i do every year (last week in fact) is coat them all in a thin oil before winter. I used ACF50 this time. Been there before and allowed some stuff to rust. It’s a pisser!
I’m not lucky enough to have a centrally heated and de-humidified man cave

 

you will get a good enough compressor for tyres and cleaning (compressors are great for this) from aldi or the other one thats gone completely out head. sure i have seen them for around 50 pounds
for tools i have gone battery. sealey tools have an offer on at the mo, a drill, ratchet, 1/4 and 3/8 drive impact guns, 2x battery for around 180 plus the usual.

 

Nice to see the revolution growing....i think i can safely say there are no more standard fasteners on mine apart from the custom ones....theyre absolute fucking shit. They need to take a page out of aprilia's book.

 

Forgot to say. I’ve got a green parkside compressor from Lidl. Had it a few years and been great. I think it was £150, but is big enough to power an air rattle gun i already had. 3 year guarantee aswell.
Just remember to drain after each use.

 

I would say the same as others. I have a mix of tools and for the money Halfords ADVANCED stuff is really good. I also love Facom, have a few Snap on, Britool, Tang etc. As regards air compressors it depends what you are using it for as some tools use a huge amount of air. Things such as rattle guns for example sandblasting. Think of the capacity too, min 50ltr I would recommend for any serious use.

 

I have a quite old Airmaster 24 litre 150psi electric compressor which I have used for no end of jobs, but mainly I use it for airbrush artwork. I have had it for over 20 years and it was already secondhand when I was given it.

Nothing ever gone wrong with it until this years hot summer - even though I released the pressure when I last used it about 2 years ago, I accidentally closed the outlet. The extreme summer heat caused the pressure to build up enough to force the regulator control knob out of its housing - a good clean up and a bit of hard plastic glue sorted it out and now it is working OK again at least to 125psi.

I have a condensate bottle fitted to the outlet which can drain itself , so when in use it doesn't bugger artwork up.

For a rattle gun I use the Clarke 1000 watt electric one - hang on tight or it will either knock you out or flip you over.

Although I rarely use torque wrenches on older nuts and bolts, I have two Draper ones - small scale and large scale.

I also have a good pop-rivet gun which can do at least four sizes.

Sockets - I have a mixture of sets which I have had for a long time including Gedore and Snap-On, plus unbranded and obscure makes.

I also have a set of 1/2" and 3/8" long and short bits allen, torx and spline - these are all above 6mm drive ends.

I have so many allen keys of varying sizes I have never looked at the makes apart from some have Britool and Unbreakable on them - because many are duplicates (and triplicates) the short leg on some has been reduced to very short, so I can work on restricted room bolts and screws. Some have also been cut to provide average length bits which I use in appropriate sockets.

I once had a full cabinet and top boxes / sets of Snap-On which I bought from the Snap-On guy as it was a fairly well used display item - a the cabinets a bit battered, scratched, wheel missing with dirty tools. I got it for about £500 in the early 80s. Some b*****ds got into my garage after my Guzzi, but as it was well locked up and their bolt crops wouldn't do the chain, they had the cabinets and tools away instead, along with my arc welder.

I wonder what the Snap-On stuff would be worth now, because it all cleaned up well when I got it.

 

Two torque wrenches. Isn't that a bit greedy?

 

Needed for different torque settings, ie high or low