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Recommend a good socket set

JTC

JTC

PFM Villager...
Existing (cheap) set is a PITA. Want a decent - i.e. “set for life” replacement, ideally pretty comprehensive range of sizes. Either 3/8” with down-adapter and 1/4” sockets as well or vice versa. Thinking stuff like Milwaukee, but maybe better options exist. Flexible budget but not *too* pricy as it’s only going to see occasional use. Ta.
 
JTC said:
Existing (cheap) set is a PITA. Want a decent - i.e. “set for life” replacement, ideally pretty comprehensive range of sizes. Either 3/8” with down-adapter and 1/4” sockets as well or vice versa. Thinking stuff like Milwaukee, but maybe better options exist. Flexible budget but not *too* pricy as it’s only going to see occasional use. Ta.
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Halfords advanced, no need to go more upmarket for occasional use, and easy to replace sockets when one rolls down the drain...

https://www.halfords.com/tools/hand...lfords-advanced-100-pc-socket-set-735948.html
 
Had my Halfords set for many years, still no signs of wear on sockets despite much abuse
 
I've a big enough Halford's 'Pro' socket set. Good quality kit, but the plastic box is naff. I also made the mistake of leaving the set open to the elements over the weekend in the shed at one stage, and it has picked up some annoying but not too intrusive surface rust.

If the budget can stretch - Teng sets are a lifetime job, and both look and feel top quality.
 
I’d keep my eyes on local eBay sellers for used tools. Sometimes chests or top boxes can be had, with tools, for great prices.
 
Agree with above, Halfords Advanced in my garage...

If you are not in a desperate hurry, suggest wait until they have a (regular) sale, they often have 50% off the socket sets.
 
Just a shame that Halford's charge twice the price compared to everywhere else selling the very same thing (minus any Halford's logo).

An observation rather than recommendation, as my socket set was bought around 40 years ago - Draper, although I'd have to drag it out to see where it was made. The half inch drive ratchet has failed, but otherwise all OK from 1/4 to 1/2 inch drive with adapters and Lord knows what, including going down to an adapter to take hex driver bits.
 
Draper still seems ok, the ratchets are ok but oil regularly and use a T bar or similar for initial crack or final tighten.

My 3/4" set has been on the end of a scaffold bar a few times and survived with a slight bend.

for extra torque get a small impact set, you can get six or so hex sockets per set.

It's worth keeping the set clean; you'll appreciate that every time you open the box. Light spray with WD40 and wipe over when you put them away.
 
Draper have always been a bit like Pinnacle, or Zaerix in the valve world - they look for tools of good quality at a competetive price, all over the world, and stick their name on whatever is what they consider the best deal.

I'd never recommend any Draper edge tool, but anything else - fine.

Mine all sit in a very shallow pool of sump oil with a piece of oily cloth draped over the top
 
As others have said, Halfords advanced is a very good call
They used to be made by Sykes Pickavant (not sure if this is still the case)
I've had a 1/4 inch drive set for years and it's still going strong

For work I use Bahco and Wera stuff which is also very good, but if it were my money I was spending it would be at Halfords
 
So, Halfords in the lead. Any thoughts on Milwaukee, though? I use their SDS drill bits and have a set of their screwdrivers and have found them to be very good for the money. And I can get a 1/2” socket set for about £90, which is quite reasonable given the quality of their other stuff. My current (cheap) socket set is okay but the ratchet is iffy and it lacks a few useful bits that some of the better sets offer. I like the idea of looking on eBay etc. but - like you say - that might or might not come up with a decent deal. Away to take a look now :)
 
JTC said:
My current (cheap) socket set is okay but the ratchet is iffy and it lacks a few useful bits that some of the better sets offer.
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So why are you looking to buy a set rather than adding to and replacing as required?
 
JTC said:
So, Halfords in the lead. Any thoughts on Milwaukee, though? I use their SDS drill bits and have a set of their screwdrivers and have found them to be very good for the money. And I can get a 1/2” socket set for about £90, which is quite reasonable given the quality of their other stuff. My current (cheap) socket set is okay but the ratchet is iffy and it lacks a few useful bits that some of the better sets offer. I like the idea of looking on eBay etc. but - like you say - that might or might not come up with a decent deal. Away to take a look now :)
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I like Milwaukee tools a lot, mainly their battery stuff but I have a few hand tools as well. I have confidence in them as a brand but no direct experience of their socket sets. I would look at Facom if I needed a top set. My brother trained as a Marine mechanic and they were to dogs danglies back then.
 
Vinny said:
So why are you looking to buy a set rather than adding to and replacing as required?
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The current set is shit. I think it cost me £20 about 20 years ago. I will give it away. I’m rapidly coming round to the conclusion that life’s too short to put up with inferior products, such as this is.
 
JTC said:
So, Halfords in the lead. Any thoughts on Milwaukee, though? I use their SDS drill bits and have a set of their screwdrivers and have found them to be very good for the money. And I can get a 1/2” socket set for about £90, which is quite reasonable given the quality of their other stuff. My current (cheap) socket set is okay but the ratchet is iffy and it lacks a few useful bits that some of the better sets offer. I like the idea of looking on eBay etc. but - like you say - that might or might not come up with a decent deal. Away to take a look now :)
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Milwaukee is made by the same company as Ryobi in Hong Kong - just another brand name these days.
 
JTC said:
Update: liking the look of this - https://www.bahco.com/gb_en/1-4--an...-combination-spanner-set-l-keys-pb_s106_.html - which gets good reviews. Anyone got it? Any idea how it stacks up against a similarly priced set from Halfords, say? (I must admit, I’m shallow, I like the orange colour scheme ;-) )
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Bahco have a good name - originally Swedish-made, but now............. 130 notes plus p&p though...

Trivia - I just love how metric spanners etc. get labelled in mm, and imperial get labelled as AF. They are both AF measurements - across the flats.

As for Ryobi getting involved in metal-bashing in Hong Kong.............................. sounds spectacularly unlikely. Mainland Chinese would seem FAR more likely.
 
@Vinny The first standardised nut and bolts were the Whitworth ones. My Whitworth spanners are marked with the nominal size of the bolts not the A/F size. I'm unlikely to use them these days as I no longer work on the farm. Whitworth bolts were used on new farm grain augers as late as the 1980s which was a bit of surprise when I came to assemble a couple of augers back then! At least I had a full set of Whitworth sockets and spanners.
 
@cctaylor - same here - but I never suggested otherwise. I just said that imperial AF get labelled as AF, not even imperial, whereas metric AF get labelled as metric, not metric AF.

Whitworth tend to get labelled WW or whit.

Don't foget BA spanners/sockets etc..
 
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