Recent content by Dave455

Got a 12V Bosch and an 18V Makita. The Makita is a superb tool, but honestly, for most things I need, the Bosch works fine, and it’s small and light. In fact, I’m pretty amazed at what it will do. Drives most screws I need to, including some relatively large coach screws / lag bolts. Works as...

Some people seem to really hate the shape of the handle. Personally, I don’t mind it. I think it just depends on your hands. But the soft inserts just don’t work. I overcame my prejudices and bought a couple with stainless steel blades. Superb blades. Maybe the best of the stainless. Great for...

Interesting! What you seem to have are effectively miniature linemans pliers. I must admit I didn’t know such things existed. I could see those being very useful for automotive wiring applications, or even for a road box where you don’t want to carry too many small pliers. I don’t think they...

Ball hex drivers are seriously useful. For the size of screws I tend to work with, they are pretty much my “go to”, and if you are working with screwdriver handled tools, the ball tips prevent any bending if the driver is not perfectly aligned For ball hex generally, my first thought tends to...

Yes, I was aware of that, and I think it’s a bit of a shame as they are superb tools. The later ratchets are lovely to use, but they are conventional ratchets, and I’m not a huge fan of the soft Swissgrip handles. The slightly harder Swissgrip Evo handles are probably an improvement.

It’s worth noting that the stainless model can handle solid core copper up to 1.3mm diameter, but the regular steel can handle 1.6mm. To put that into perspective, in the U.K. that could handle single core for lighting circuits, but not for sockets. In the U.S, with 110V, I suspect not even the...

These seem to have reached U.K. and European dealers now, and one electrician friend already has a pair. Gut feeling is that you will have to be a little careful what gauge of wire you cut, although they will handle most single core wire commonly found in domestic installations. The reality of...

Wera offer quite a lot of bit drivers that accept those “E6” style bits. Not a bad idea, as the bits (particularly the longer ones) are fairly readily available, and the Wera bits are quite good quality. The main issue with all of the current Wera drivers is their handles. The soft inserts I...

There are indeed, but I was thinking of the European companies that Willf650 was referring to. The business model has always been different there. I think there were, originally, patent issues with the modern style of ratcheting wrench. Such patents have run out now, but it’s a convenient...

I would say much less so, but that’s the difference between being a manufacturer, or just a brand. Most of the bigger manufacturers actually make their core products in their own factories, in their own countries. I’m thinking here of companies such as Hazet and Stahlwille. But bear in mind...

I have both the 20 and 23. They are both good designs, but I find myself using the No.23 Corona’s all the time. They have pretty much become my “go to”. The size, balance, everything, is just right. I have them up to 32mm and love using them. Sure, there are some situations where you haven’t...

Yes, you’re right. Even the European companies, historically, who offered a wide variety of patterns never offered these, as far as I can recall. I don’t know the reason. It may be that the relevant standards didn’t allow for a situation where they would be needed, but any amount of...

They definitely have their uses, but care is needed.. In the U.K. these are known as a “podger”, which is a very old name. A “podger“ normally incorporates an open ended wrench, but one incorporating a box end (or ”ring spanner” here) therefore becomes a “ring podger“. So, if you were to...

You are exactly right. You essentially have two options in the same tool, one being a deep open ender, which is really for round fittings with flats milled on. and the flare nut end. The merits of Snap On, and the relative value, can be debated at length, but these particular tools are superb...

I think I would broadly agree with that. Particularly ISO metric The old guys, from all the countries involved (despite spending their lives working with other systems) who drew it up knew exactly what they were doing and conceived a system that’s relatively easy to work with, from a threading...