Ive got 3 Norbars. Small, medium and large. The large was added to do the pani rear wheel. The Clarke rattle gun is an awesome godsend. Worth the £50 all day long.
As I’m pretty much having to start from nothing I’m tempted to buy a cheap tool set. Most of the ones I’ve seen have metric and imperial spanners / sockets / Allen keys etc. Not sure I’m ever going to need the imperial ones - though I seem to remember using 3/8 spanner’s on knackered 10mm bolts. The more I look, the more gutted I am at how much the tools I lost have cost over the years. That will teach me
Buy cheap, buy twice I'm afraid Alan. You don't have to go down the full Snap-On £9k tool chest route, but there is some good advice on here for tools from other sources. Halfords sockets, spanners, screwdrivers etc are top quality and come with a lifetime guarantee. You also see them on offer quite a few times through the year and couple that with a trade card discount, are great value. Some of the Machine Mart stuff (Clarke impact wrench, bike lifts, welders etc) are decent. Just my two penneth.
These should get you started https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Halfords...=item4b50d5cbd6:g:A8MAAOSw0rBb1Emb:rk:44:pf:0
^ "cheap" needs defining though i reckon, or maybe products not up to scratch listed. I bought another "spare" set at Lidl on a whim a couple of years ago at around half the price of a Halfords set and the quality/robustness is every bit as good so far.
Beta is my marque of choice. Afrer having years of mis-matched tools I’ve finally started to replace everything with these. The difference in quality is dramatic, particularly the storage cases, which come in Ducati red also!
I also think the amount of use is a factor. In theory all I will be doing is service / maintenance on the SS. I don’t touch our cars or my wife’s bike. I can understand buying quality tools such as snap-on if they are constantly in use, especially if it’s your job, but for what I need I think the Halfords stuff sounds ideal.
I have 3, low medium and high range. 1/4,3/8 and 1/2 drive. Cheap tool have their place. I have shed loads of tools, ranging from unbranded to Snap on. It's quite obvious the difference in quality. Cheap tools have their place, Neilson and Bluespot for example, for stuff that hardly gets used infrequently. I would highly recommend a really good set of pliers, as they are one of the most commonly used pieces of kit I have. I have a Facom and a Snap on set for different uses.
I use PB Baumann (Swiss Tools, now) for top quality Allen keys and punches. https://www.pbswisstools.co.uk/
What’s the capacity of your compressor to run that please? Tank capacity & bar. I just want to check mine will do the job as I’ve benn thinking about getting an air wrench. Thanks
The core of my tools is a Draper Expert set from 1994, still under guarantee, and i have had broken Bits sent to Germany free of charge.. still well priced, and i think the quality is still the same(?) but i have some Snap-on Torqz and Allen bits sets as worn ones will just eat bolt heads
its an electric one. https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...t=&hvlocphy=1006609&hvtargid=kwd-302680245071
But you you could take that in a complimentary way Arquebus Then there’s my dial gauge called ... As it says on the box I believe we should all strive for “perfectness” when fettling our machines.
I understand if you have gone/are going the compressed air route, but if you haven't then you simply CANNOT go wrong with one of these meanwhile:- https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/clarke-cew1000-electric-impact-wrench/ this is only me saying this but I think around 20-30 people on this Forum probably have one by now.
+1 for the Wera keys. I buy basic stuff normally, but I have now bought a tool roll, where I will put all the tools needed for my bike maintenance. This I will then take with me on longer rides. For example for removing the fairings, I need 3 and 4mm hex, and for this I got Wera bits and bit-holder. It's just so much nicer working on the bike with proper tools, and as the tool roll is compact, you only have a couple of tools to choose from. Of course I have for example torque wrenches, but those are not taken on the road...
I find the bit sets a pain - keep losing the bits and end up having to get more. Been clearing out the last bits of my shed ready to put the bike in and found a few more ruined tools ☹️, though I’d forgotten I still had them ( pillar drill and MIG welder)
