britool spanners

[jeff g]

Hi
Britool spanners what does the "A" stand for in the number rj324 A

you can get the same spanner with the number rj324 & rj324 A

 

[Dave455]

O.K.

R is a ring wrench (Britool always used American terminology), RH being a hex or 6 point and RB being a bi-hex or 12 point.

J is an open ender, 2J being the light pattern and 6J being the engineers pattern.

RJ is a combination wrench, the figures that follow being the size of the wrench in 1/1000's of an inch, thus an RJ500 would be a 1/2 inch A/F and an RJ324 is a 2 BA!

Metric wrenchs would be RJM, followed by the size in mm!

I have no idea what an A would signify, but following standard practice this would be a modified or improved pattern!

 

[Dave455]

P.S. Be warned, if that is a current part number! then that part number will be the only thing about that wrench that has anything to do with Britool!

In case you are not aware, Britool was bought out by Facom about 20 years back, after which the quality dropped, and Facom was bought out by Stanley fairly recently, after which the quality dropped even more! The tools you get now are are generic Taiwanese ****, and are only branded Britool Expert for the U.K. market (and even then only on the packaging) in an attempt cash in on the once great name!

The original factory is long gone, and only the tools remain as a relic of this once great company!

If you want a modern replacement for the RJ wrenches, try the Hazet 610, they are remarkably close dimensionally, and also quality wise!

If it's a BA size you are needing, then Elora and King **** offer small combination wrenches in BA sizes. Quite good quality too!

 

[jeff g]

Hi
I am looking for some whitworths combination spanners.
There is Taiwanese ****, silverline Bluespot etc etc

Then there is the Expert spanners from Britool & Draper

I have some Expert bits & sockets that are ok, not great but ok,
I was hopeing that the Britool pre expert spanners would be better
than the Expert Taiwanese spanners, but Toptul is Taiwanese & are v/good.

The Britool with an "A" are 10% longer & from Taiwan
I got some BA spanners they look ok.

The Elora spanners were v/good 20 years ago, made in Germany, but now
they are with Draper, who do the Expert Line, Taiwan.
Are the Elora spanners still made in Germany, are they worth the money, 2x Britool, 4x Expert, 10x Taiwanese.

Whitworth spanners will not get used a lot,

 

[monkeyspanners]

I have some old style Britool spanners (in fact all my stuff was Britool), a friend has a set of the new style ones and if i'm honest i have to say the finish is better on the new ones, none of the chrome has flaked off like a lot of mine have. Too soon to say how well they stand up to everyday use.

Have a look on ebay if you are intent on having new old stock Britool.

 

[Dave455]

Hi Jeff!

You havn't got as many options in Whitworth as you have in the other sizes.

Britool 'expert' and Draper 'expert' are different, but both Taiwanese and neither are special! Silverline and suchlike are even worse!

If you want the best, and you probably don't but I'll mention it, buy Snap On! They are beautifully made, properly broached, and superbly finished! They are however costly!

If you can't run to those, get a set of King **** or Elora.

King **** are made in the U.K. and are pretty good indeed! They are also very nicely finished! Both Snap On and King **** only offer the shorter style of combination spanner.

As far as I am aware, Elora are still made in Germany! Confusingly, Elora are now imported into the U.K. by Draper, and a lot turn up in packaging marked 'Elora' and 'Draper'. Do not confuse these with Taiwanese stuff though. The last lot I bought was only about 18 months back and they were clearly German. Each spanner was clearly marked as such, and you can tell when you use them. These were BA sizes.

Neither King **** or Elora make combination spanners in the full range of BA sizes. Elora only make 0 to 4 BA and I think King **** do sonething similar! King **** do offer midget spanners, but they are imported. You can of course get ring spanners and open Enders in the full range, but you specified combinations!

If the above are still too costly, then do regular searches on ebay! Good quality spanners by firms like Britool, Bedford and Gordon come up fairly often, and the Whitworth usually outnumber the metric so prices can be quite reasonable! Be careful buying Britool though, and look at the photo's carefully so you know what era you are getting. The early 70 's are the best, but all but the very last of the British made are very good!

I'll post some pictures later!

 

[Monte]

Gedore makes Whitworth wrenches in 11 sizes

edit:
most Elora tools are made in Germany

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[ZRX61]

Hi
I am looking for some whitworths combination spanners.
There is Taiwanese ****, silverline Bluespot etc etc

Then there is the Expert spanners from Britool & Draper

Tracy Tools in Devon.