Best long 0' Offset Spanners

[Tonyuk]

Hi There,

Just looking for a bit of advice,

I'm looking to pick up a set of long double box end spanners with zero offset similar to below (possibly called aviation spanners) and was hoping someone could recommend a good make to buy that can be had in the UK. A few have came up from Sealey etc.. but they're quality can be a bit off, would rather not put too much money into these at the moment, but might upgrade to something a bit better later on if i like them.

It doesn't need to be a complete set, but ideally it would go from 10mm to 24mm

Budget is about £120 which rules out snap-on etc.. as they're extortionate over here and i'd rather not buy on fiance. Any help is much appreciated.

 

[bimmer630]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/111682028391?chn=ps&dispItem=1 Can you get genius tools there? These wrenches (Spanners?) Seem to be copies of the MAC stuff.. But they are priced reasonably and look like high quality. (I havent used them however)

 

[Tonyuk]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/111682028391?chn=ps&dispItem=1 Can you get genius tools there? These wrenches (Spanners?) Seem to be copies of the MAC stuff.. But they are priced reasonably and look like high quality. (I havent used them however)

They dont seem to be sold by any UK based company, i could order them from the US, the only problem is they're wanting £45 ish for shipping before any import tax. They look well made however.

I've found a set of 7 for just under £120 from here they're a uk based seller but i've never used any Beta brand tools before, does anyone have any experience of them?

 

[dutchgray]

Beta stuff is generally good unless its their cheap Chinese made Easy range. Which I don't think those are, but cant be sure. Prime tools are good btw.

 

[pozidriv]

Ultimate Handyman's from England and recommends these bergens:

I don't own them myself, but the guy's not a full-on tool reviewer and the few things he has recommended in the past that I bought have been really good.

 

[LXCam]

Have you looked at stahlwille? I'm not sure if they offer a 0 degree offset but I got my set 8-32 in the US for $130~ shipped from Germany.

 

[Tonyuk]

Ultimate Handyman's from England and recommends these bergens:

I don't own them myself, but the guy's not a full-on tool reviewer and the few things he has recommended in the past that I bought have been really good.

I have a few set of bergen impact and chrome sockets and for the cost they've been excellent but the last spanners i bought (Set of flarenuts) felt like they were made of cheese and spread easily, although that could of just been a bad set. They're set of 3 ball pien hammers for about £12 delivered is very good.

Have you looked at stahlwille? I'm not sure if they offer a 0 degree offset but I got my set 8-32 in the US for $130~ shipped from Germany.

I can get them over here but they're coming in at about £35-40 per spanner so a bit more than i'm looking to spend, don't seem to come in many sizes either. The Beta's are looking the best so far, i've messaged the seller asking where they're made, i'm hoping either somewhere in Europe or possibly Taiwan.

 

[marcone]

Nepros Metric Flat Type Box-End Wrenches - Extra Long (12pt.) maybe?
http://www.nepros.net/?cat=3&grp=15

Quite pricey but shipping from Japan seems reasonable.
Honestly I would not buy every size as for regular use there are much cheaper alternatives but just the ones I know for sure I will use.

 

[Sal Bandini]

I can get them over here but they're coming in at about £35-40 per spanner so a bit more than i'm looking to spend, don't seem to come in many sizes either. The Beta's are looking the best so far, i've messaged the seller asking where they're made, i'm hoping either somewhere in Europe or possibly Taiwan.

Stahlwille doesn't make them in zero degree long. The ones you see are likely 15 degree.

 

[JohnDeere1]

I have the metric Macs and Sae Snap ons I never use or needed either one the are only handy if you have a lift otherwise they hit the ground. I bought mine used $200 us for the Mac's and $150 for the snap ons.

 

[bonneyman]

Yes, they were used in the aviation industry back in the day. That design is particularly useful on jet engines, which have recessed fasteners that need to be tightly and uniforming wrenched on. That's why the box end have the "lip" on the inside.

Since then modern cars and their very tight clearances have prompted manufacturers to take another look at this 0 offset design.

I have a partial set of Bonney Loc-Rite wrenches in this style. SAE only unfortunately. Very nice on rusted-on, out of the way fasteners.

 

[Tonyuk]

Just a quick update, the seller messaged back saying that the betas are made in Taiwan which i'm happy with. I'll probably go for these since im sure they'll be up to the job, working on VW's all day the clearance between parts in the engine bay is tight, too tight for a hand + spanner to fit in, where as these long thin spanners looks like just the job. We're a dealership so lifts aren't a problem.

 

[T45]

Stahlwille doesn't make them in zero degree long. The ones you see are likely 15 degree.

Maybe try facom. I thought the hpq were 0 offset or had the option but I can't find them readily on search either.

 

[Wakefield]

Nepros Metric Flat Type Box-End Wrenches - Extra Long (12pt.) maybe?
http://www.nepros.net/?cat=3&grp=15

Quite pricey but shipping from Japan seems reasonable.
Honestly I would not buy every size as for regular use there are much cheaper alternatives but just the ones I know for sure I will use.

I think these such as NM11L-1719 should be good

 

[shawndp]

Have you looked at stahlwille? I'm not sure if they offer a 0 degree offset but I got my set 8-32 in the US for $130~ shipped from Germany.

Sorry to jump in on OP's thread, but may I please enquire where you bought those wrenches from? Thanks.

 

[jessesandy]

The way the Genius set has doubled up on three of the four popular sizes is... genius

In the one set they give you two 12mm, two 14mm and two 17mm.

 

[Wamsutta]

EBAY LINK

How much is $90 in British pounds? The seller is a member here on GJ. Contact him and see if he's willing to ship to the UK. I don't see why not.

 

[drtyler]

The TOPTUL set linked below doesn't include 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, or 21 mm. They may be nice wrenches, but many sizes are missing from this set.

EBAY LINK

How much is $90 in British pounds? The seller is a member here on GJ. Contact him and see if he's willing to ship to the UK. I don't see why not.

 

[tonyciambrone]

There is only one....TOPTUL

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TOPTUL-GPAP...624202&hash=item1a341a2d1a:g:7H4AAOSwdzVXsLxa

 

[Wamsutta]

Well, there's BOXO in the UK. I don't know what their prices are though.

BOXO LINK

 

[Tonyuk]

Thanks everyone all good suggestions. I'm going with the Beta brand spanners at the moment since they seem to be the best value, i'll let you know what they're like when they arrive.

 

[johninct]

I really like my Snap-On's. Got a few off Ebay cheap because they weren't described properly.

 

[dnschmidt]

TOPTUL, which I know is available in the UK, makes a really nice set but it does have skipped sizes. Here's a link: https://www.toptul.com/s/2/product-...-Long-Double-Ring-Wrench-POUCH-BAG-BLACK.html

The problem with this set is that like many of TOPTUL's sets it doesn't contain 13, 15 and 18mm wrenches as it's geared toward the Japanese market which doesn't use these sizes. Normally, how I handle this as an American seller, where these sizes are mandatory as they are used extensively on domestic vehicles, is that I buy separate wrenches in these sizes and add them to the sets I sell here in America, but, in this case TOPTUL doesn't even make these sizes so I can't do that to add them to the my sets. That's sad because I'm sure I'd sell a ton of these sets as they are a very popular style of wrench.

Another quality Taiwanese manufacturer that does make complete sets of these types of wrenches is Hans Tools.

 

[Samuel D]

Bump.

I'm going with the Beta brand spanners at the moment since they seem to be the best value, i'll let you know what they're like when they arrive.

Are they still in the post?

The way the Genius set has doubled up on three of the four popular sizes is... genius

In the one set they give you two 12mm, two 14mm and two 17mm.

TOPTUL, which I know is available in the UK, makes a really nice set but it does have skipped sizes. Here's a link: https://www.toptul.com/s/2/product-...-Long-Double-Ring-Wrench-POUCH-BAG-BLACK.html

Maybe the car guys here can tell me why these sets often do that. The Toptul set above skips a bunch of sizes in favour of doubling the 10, 12, 14, and 17 mm sizes. What’s the thinking behind this?

 

[Fedwrench]

Bump.
Maybe the car guys here can tell me why these sets often do that. The Toptul set above skips a bunch of sizes in favour of doubling the 10, 12, 14, and 17 mm sizes. What’s the thinking behind this?

Purely a guess but, doubling sizes allows you to hold a fastener head, while loosening the same size nut on the other end.

 

[dnschmidt]

TOPTUL is the absolute bomb but as has been stated above, and as I've mentioned about 1,000 times before TOPTUL does not make this style of wrench in 13, 15, or 18mm which greatly pissed me off when I was selling them as I could have sold hundreds of these sets if they had.

If all you're working on is Asian stuff the sizes included are all you need. If you're working on any American or European stuff. You're out of luck with TOPTUL. As I mentioned many times before their tools are absolutely great and as far as I'm concerned the best buys on Earth but their marketing is horrid.

 

[Mr_B]

on lower cost range Welzh does 8pc set 8 to 24 only skip is 20 .
No idea why toptul skip so many sizes, they big in europe and these sizes used a lot on euro cars .

 

[Bighead38]

I have the long double box gear wrench set but one side is a ratcheting box. I use them all the time. Would you be interested in something like that instead?

 

[Samuel D]

Purely a guess but, doubling sizes allows you to hold a fastener head, while loosening the same size nut on the other end.

I guess it must be that, but it’s strange that most spanner sets don’t double sizes – you just buy two sets if that’s important to you – but sets of these long zero-offset spanners often do.

And that’s despite these long spanners costing more than any other spanner type, so you’d think there would be more incentive for the manufacturer and customer to not want to buy sizes twice.

Skipping sizes is a slightly different thing (related, probably).

There must be a common use case for overlapping sizes (e.g. 10x12, 12x14, and 14x17 in one set) that most people who buy long zero-offset spanners really want. Otherwise you could drop the 12x14 and save a lot of money on these expensive-pattern spanners.

 

[CR888]

Thanks everyone all good suggestions. I'm going with the Beta brand spanners at the moment since they seem to be the best value, i'll let you know what they're like when they arrive.

It would be good to hear what you thought of the Beta set you got. I like Beta tools.

 

[Samuel D]

I just had a look at the XDHFM606 set of Flank Drive High Performance 0º Offset spanners in the new Snap-on catalogue (though these aren’t new). Spanners included are:

XDHFM1011
XDHFM1213
XDHFM1415
XDHFM1516
XDHFM1719
XDHFM1820

So even at Snap-on prices, it looks like people want two 15 mm spanners in the set.

What do car people do with a pair of very long zero-offset 15 mm spanners?

 

[MrNatural]

I just had a look at the XDHFM606 set of Flank Drive High Performance 0º Offset spanners in the new Snap-on catalogue (though these aren’t new). Spanners included are:

XDHFM1011
XDHFM1213
XDHFM1415
XDHFM1516
XDHFM1719
XDHFM1820

So even at Snap-on prices, it looks like people want two 15 mm spanners in the set.

What do car people do with a pair of very long zero-offset 15 mm spanners?

I have had this set for years, along with the offset and similar sized torx. All bought off the bay, though I notice recent UK snap on prices are nuts.

Never noticed that doubling up before, but the offset set lacks a 16mm which is annoying as it’s so common on European cars.

They are my go-to spanner’s for all chassis work as they are the perfect length for breaking lose and tightening larger bolts gutandtight. I have a set of Mac’s which are nearly identical to the zero offset snap ons, the long gearbox ratcheting gearwrenches are also good.

I noticed with the 0 offset snap-one the other day that you can twist them 180 degrees and get a different bite on the fastener ( I must have read about it here sometime.)

I don’t have anything bad to say about any of them.

 

[Mr_B]

Ican't see any logic in toptul set sizes, I can understand pairings for japan common sizes and euro/US common sizes but to only have those in production for a set seems pointless .
Biggest let down with toptul is size coverage followed by not greatest tools selection and poor spec ratchets , They got a lot of gems but miss huge market requirement and no idea why .

 

[Samuel D]

I noticed with the 0 offset snap-one the other day that you can twist them 180 degrees and get a different bite on the fastener

Yeah, that’s a useful feature of zero-offset ring spanners, provided they’re broached at the correct rotation.

Biggest let down with toptul is size coverage followed by not greatest tools selection and poor spec ratchets , They got a lot of gems but miss huge market requirement and no idea why .

For me, a problem is the lack of stores that stock Toptul. Not a lot of buying options in Europe.

Agreed on Toptul ratchets. Most are uninteresting and pretty old-fashioned. They don’t even make a properly long flex-head drive ratchet (CJKN series) in 3/8" drive, for example.

Poor choice of bit sockets in 1/4" and 3/8" drive sizes too, though the 1/2" selection is decent.

 

[dnschmidt]

Mr. B. That makes two of us my friend. Greatest wasted potential in the history of hand tools. Wrenches, sockets, pliers and screwdrivers on a par with anybody's. Frankly, I think they make the best screwdrivers in the world. Ratchets really are run of the mill and completely ordinary. No innovation either. OH! WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN.

 

[nicks78camaro]

I cannot buy socket or wrench sets with skipped sizes. Maybe its OCD, but I work on everything, and will likely need the size eventually.

Plenty of brands out there that offer sets with no skips.

 

[Samuel D]

I cannot buy socket or wrench sets with skipped sizes.

But what counts as a skipped size?

It doesn’t make sense to say you need all whole-number sizes in millimetres across any range whatsoever, because many whole numbers are not part of any metric standard and should never be used.

I know designers of machinery sometimes make daft choices, but many of the daft sizes that do exist are thankfully pretty rare. So do you really need shallow, mid (semi-deep), and deep chrome and impacts, plus a bunch of spanners, in 20 mm?

Insisting on every whole mm size would be like insisting on every whole-number numerator with a denominator of 16 for SAE sizes. (So every **/16" size where ** is a whole number.) Does anyone do that?

The no-skip obsession seems to be mostly a metric illness that only arises because people like natural counting numbers and have trouble imaging others.

For example, there are some fractional sizes that are standards: 3.2 mm and 5.5 mm are common ones. But for some reason the no-skippers aren’t asking for a 10.2 or 10.5 mm spanner.

Many sets come with sizes I would rather not pay for, at least not more than once or twice in a toolbox. Examples include 20, 23, 25, and 26 mm. Often you can save some money (and lots of space and weight) by building your own sets rather than buying sets that include a bunch of sizes you’ll literally never use.

 

[Mr_B]

Yeah, that’s a useful feature of zero-offset ring spanners, provided they’re broached at the correct rotation.


For me, a problem is the lack of stores that stock Toptul. Not a lot of buying options in Europe.

Agreed on Toptul ratchets. Most are uninteresting and pretty old-fashioned. They don’t even make a properly long flex-head drive ratchet (CJKN series) in 3/8" drive, for example.

Poor choice of bit sockets in 1/4" and 3/8" drive sizes too, though the 1/2" selection is decent.

Europe coverage is strange, ireland and UK have some options yet bigger EU markets really poor.
Assume it just down to luck on independent vendors in your area as toptul did do marketing throughout europe to some extent but they done nothing to get tools into parts stores or a retail chain and they not greatest deal with direct as a reseller .

 

[nicks78camaro]

But what counts as a skipped size?

It doesn’t make sense to say you need all whole-number sizes in millimetres across any range whatsoever, because many whole numbers are not part of any metric standard and should never be used.

I know designers of machinery sometimes make daft choices, but many of the daft sizes that do exist are thankfully pretty rare. So do you really need shallow, mid (semi-deep), and deep chrome and impacts, plus a bunch of spanners, in 20 mm?

Insisting on every whole mm size would be like insisting on every whole-number numerator with a denominator of 16 for SAE sizes. (So every **/16" size where ** is a whole number.) Does anyone do that?

The no-skip obsession seems to be mostly a metric illness that only arises because people like natural counting numbers and have trouble imaging others.

For example, there are some fractional sizes that are standards: 3.2 mm and 5.5 mm are common ones. But for some reason the no-skippers aren’t asking for a 10.2 or 10.5 mm spanner.

Many sets come with sizes I would rather not pay for, at least not more than once or twice in a toolbox. Examples include 20, 23, 25, and 26 mm. Often you can save some money (and lots of space and weight) by building your own sets rather than buying sets that include a bunch of sizes you’ll literally never use.

Skipped sizes means skipped sizes in a certain range, obviously not all possible sizes ever produced.

I don't think it's a stretch of the imagination to need 1/4"-1" in 1/16" increments and 6-19mm in mm increments.

 

[Mr_B]

Mr. B. That makes two of us my friend. Greatest wasted potential in the history of hand tools. Wrenches, sockets, pliers and screwdrivers on a par with anybody's. Frankly, I think they make the best screwdrivers in the world. Ratchets really are run of the mill and completely ordinary. No innovation either. OH! WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN.

Yeh screwdrivers are proper nice .
I got the 6pc hammer thru set and within 2 months had the long set, torx set, precision set and a spare hammer thru set .
pliers are decent too and have quite a few but not so cheap compared to the drivers and long combo wrenches .
Socketry never met my needs as not wide or innovative range, always expected them gain an edge bit like Koken but they never expanded range or made good set options .
What they done well was truck quality with good usability design but at HF pricing
I really enjoy using the Toptul I have, don't think too much about what could of been as I spoilt for choice on tools but Rotar Group seem to of missed easy growth in europe and built easy brand reputation that could of got it into US/world market and been a historic tool brand and put taiwan a step closer to Japan in product quality perception .