Thursday, June 30, 2011

Toy Box

Hi All,

I am a member on the Garage Journal website, all sorts of useful tool and mechanical related info.
One of the long running threads is "Show me you Tool Box" so this is for my entry there.
I will also keep adding in new toys tools at the bottom as I get them.

I have to work in my carport so all my tools, in fact my entire "workshop" has to be portable and will roll in and out of the house.
Here is it all out and ready for work, these are the tool boxes.

These are supplemented by two workmates, one with a pillar drill and grinder. The other with 6 tonne vice and a pipe vice.

Also a compressor Jack and stands, compressor is shortly to be upgraded.

Firstly on the side of the big box, all my air tools.
Home made storage with 2" angle and lots of female connectors.

1/2 impact, 1/2 ratchet, 3/8 impact, 3/8 Ratchet, Blower,  Hex driver impact.

Grinder, Die grinder, side grinder, Random Orbital.

Air drill, buz saw, staple gun.

So whats in side the tool boxes. . . . . In no particular order.

Hammers, including brass lump and 1.5lb dead blow, the odd one on left is a podger from my days on the high steel.

3/8 draw, metric and SAE, normal and deep as well as impact.
Toque wrench, small, long and angle flex head ratchets.

3/8 plug and square drive set.

Swivel sockets.

Impact extensions (Wobble).

1/2 draw, metric and SAE, normal, deep and impact. Torque wrench and break bar at back.

SAE spanners, gear wrench ratchet, flare nut and random normal spanners.

Flare nut spanners (home made holder).

Great for busting out soft flare nuts etc. no round off !

Metric Gearwrench ratchet spanners, flare nut and normal spanners.

Tapes and Dies as well as stud extractors etc.

Drill bits.

Quick change drill, counter sink and driver bit.

PPE, googles gloves etc..

Heat sleeves and gloves for working in hot engine bays.

Allen keys and torx.

Electrical / soldering.

Gas soldering iron, great in the garage on the car under the dash, no cables needed !

More electrical, fishing tools, wire strippers and jumpers.

Closing tool for Lucas Bullet connectors.

Sharpening stones, stone, diamond and ceramic.

Spyderco Super fine ceramic, if you use it right gives amazing smooth sharpness.

Measuring and marking.

Pens, markers and chalk.

Knives and scrapers (but my favourite knife a Buck and leatherman wave live on my belt). 

Lights. I like my head lights as most of my work is at night.

Pliers

Favourite needle nose vice grips and safety wire pliers great improvement on twisting wire by hand.

Screwdrivers.

Impact driver

How to store all those silly little bits.

Scrapers, files and pry bars.

Adjustable seal puller and hook picks.

Car tool draw.

Compression tester.

Serpentine belt tool.

Great for getting at the pulley's. Low profile, thin wall, pass through sockets as well.

Pickle forks and ball joint separator.

Brake calliper piston tool.

3 leg pullers.

Cheap and nasty torque multiplier, but got me out of a few binds.

Best type of filter wrench !

Okay, not car tools but a few pop rivet guns in there too.


Quality tire pressure gauge.

Tool draw (okay I took the tools out to photograph).

Mutli-Meter, not a fluke but a 100$ Radio Shack.

Power Probe - Best diagnostic tool ever !
Laser thermometer.

Dremmel, every bodies got one !

Label maker, I use this a LOT.

Dial Gauge and stand.

And this is where it all has to live, packet away in the study.

edit : New toys added. Yes I know I'm an addict.
Set of lug (wheel) nut impact sockets and torque sticks (blue box) and a set of lock nut sockets 55mm to 2-2/3" size (red box)

edit :-
Yet more stuff, this time a birthday present. Ingersol Rand cordless impact. 19.7v, 360 ft/lbs torque.
Very powerful, zip's lug nuts off like butter !

edit :-
Another Birthday present, 
My first snap on ! Its a 3/8' drive, 7' handle chrome handle quick release ratchet. Impact for speed, this for finesse ! 
Thanks to Snap-On franchise system being rock tight I couldn't buy direct so this one is second hand but a quick polish and touch of red and comes up nice.

edit :-
More new toys.
A drill to match the impact, very good quality, all metal chuck with carbide teeth.

And a slide hammer set. I've wanted one for ages, pulling bearings, seals, bodywork, anything in general. Like having a BFH you can pull with as well as hit !



edit :- 
Yet more toy buying, I've been after a thread repair set for a while, finally got one after needing one for the radiator and not having !
This one has
Normal Coarse -USS
1/4"-20, T&D; 5/16"-18, T&D; 3/8"-16, T&D; 7/16"-13, T&D; 9/16"-12, T&D; 5/8"-11, D
Normal Fine - SAE
1/4"-28, T&D; 5/16"-24, T&D; 3/8"-24, T&D; 7/16"-20, T&D; 1/2"-20, T&D; 9/16"-18, T&D; 5/8"-18, D.
Metric
6x1.25, D; 7x1.00, D; 8x1.00, D; 6x1.00, T&D; 8x1.25, T&D; 8x1.50, T&D; 10x1.00, T&D; 10x1.25, T&D; 10x1.50, T&D; 11x1.50, T&D; 12x1.25, T&D; 12x1.50, T&D; 12x1.75, T&D; 14x1.50, T&D;
Thread Files,
Metric : 0.80, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 1.75, 2.00, 2.50, 3.00
Standard : 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 24 tpi
Happy to see that these were made in the US (even the case) so should hold up okay.
Also the little cube in the front is cunning little tool for modern brake callipers to wind the piston in on handbrake incorporated brakes.
(Hmm, Blogger / Picasa seems to be not happy rotating ! sorry.)

edit :-
I promised to keep updated, so a few more toys !

Pressure / Vacuum diagnostic gauge.

Compression gauge, now added a diesel rated gauge (up to 600 PSI).
 This is the trick, you need connectors that go into the glow plug holes so are maker specific. This is a BMW / Bosch specific.

More diesel tools, this is a leak line (spill valve) monitoring set for common rail diesels.

Vacuum brake bleeder, even had to use to suck out diesel of a cylinder recently after
a leaking injector.

Parts washer, very useful, especially to wash and sand out of parts when rebuilding.

 OBD code reader, OBD-I and OBD-II and some CAN stuff, not maker specific but very helpfull for MIL.

Collection of electrical fault finding bits is growing, WHY ! I don't like electrics.

Cooling system pressure tester, assorted caps and a mytivac pressure pump.

Special tool for undoing those spring loaded hose clips, it's fantastic, much better than a pair of pliers.

Brake pad spreader, almost lorry sized but very handy and can also be used for other prying jobs.

C spanners, mainly for shocks but the Moroso is adjustable.

Gas powered collection is growing, now have on to use as blow torch for heat shrink as well.

Two and Three leg pullers.

Pickle forks with air hammer connection and air hammer smoothing head hammer great for busting out suspension parts.

Automatic centre punch, wanted one for ages and they are great.

Cobalt left hand drills and stud extractors.

Recent trick, large magnets taped to the common spray cans, easy to grab and always to hand. Only problem doesn't work on the fibre glass panels on the race cars.

And there have been a few additions in the socket draws, the 1/2" is overflowing and the 3/8" is also now full to bursting.

Hope you like !
Coments, questions and abuse welcome as always.
Cheers,
Richard B.