Show your new tool arrivals

[rust in the eye]

I'm amazed Tekton runs 1/4 drive impact sockets out to 17mm.

They also make a 1/2" drive # 0 Phillips bit, for when you need that extra bit of leverage only a two foot breaker bar can apply.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

Lots of new tools for the new year. Starting off strong by updating some stuff at work.

I ordered a 9/64” ADV hex bit socket and ended up leaving the Matco truck with the master 1/4 OptiGrip set. I’m still searching for the best hex bit sockets and I’m hoping either one will perform better than the ones I’m currently using.

Also ordered the Wiha hex and torx keys. The 8mm is jacked up and Wiha won’t warranty it so I’ll probably have to just buy a replacement. As with the hex bit sockets, I’m still searching for a great hex key set. These Wiha seem promising.

 

[lund]

I'm amazed Tekton runs 1/4 drive impact sockets out to 17mm.

Well ... I guess they want to have a lot of warranty requests for ratchet breakage if people are using their 1/4 drives for 17 mm on car suspension work!

I guess large sizes on 1/4 drive can legitimately make sense in very limited situations where you have an access issue on a low torque 17 mm. Sometimes I use 1/4 drive to snug thing up before applying final torque with a larger drive-size ratchet or torque wrench. The smaller size on 1/4 drive ratchets can help accessibility and speed things up.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Saltus 1000 combination wrenches 17, 19, 24mm
New old stock, local. On the long side but not specifically long, to complement my Facom 440s (which are a bit short) just in these bigger sizes. The 440XL range does go up to 19mm, but these have certain attractions so it'd be a shame to have a lone 24mm. There is a 7-24 set but I've no need for it and there are better designs available nowadays. The choice of skips in that set seems a little odd for nowadays; 9 & 15 are included but not 16 & 18 (nor 20 & 23).

 

[four.cycle]

but not 16 & 18

Germans don't have to work on Fords.

 

[casualtyper]

Some new additions to my tool box.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Germans don't have to work on Fords.

May be to do with ISO 4014 only being set in 2011.

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

Some new additions to my tool box.

Gotta appreciate a company still handing out stationary in 2026! Very cool!

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Monte]

 

[netbrad]

Got this for Christmas. Gonna make removing tires and engine mounts faster I hope. Now I need to shop impact sockets.

 

[rust in the eye]

Lots of new tools for the new year. Starting off strong by updating some stuff at work.

I ordered a 9/64” ADV hex bit socket and ended up leaving the Matco truck with the master 1/4 OptiGrip set. I’m still searching for the best hex bit sockets and I’m hoping either one will perform better than the ones I’m currently using.

Also ordered the Wiha hex and torx keys. The 8mm is jacked up and Wiha won’t warranty it so I’ll probably have to just buy a replacement. As with the hex bit sockets, I’m still searching for a great hex key set. These Wiha seem promising.

What am I missing here?

 

[mdrawde]

Ko-ken RSAS2405A, got the set for 74 NZD (~43 USD). Better polish and chrome, and a few thou smaller OD compared to the standard sockets.

Comparison to a standard 2405A socket:

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

What am I missing here?

it’s cosmetic. The finish is completely different (it’s like sandpaper) instead of smooth like all the other Wiha keys. And like all the other German brands I have interacted with, Wiha told me that if it works and if it’s in tolerance then they won’t warranty it for non-detrimental cosmetic reasons.

The keys are really nice though beyond the 8mm and the holder is unbeatable for someone like me who is always using my hex keys. I’ll overlook the cosmetic stuff because of how much I like the keys overall.

 

[rust in the eye]

it’s cosmetic. The finish is completely different (it’s like sandpaper) instead of smooth like all the other Wiha keys. And like all the other German brands I have interacted with, Wiha told me that if it works and if it’s in tolerance then they won’t warranty it for non-detrimental cosmetic reasons.

The keys are really nice though beyond the 8mm and the holder is unbeatable for someone like me who is always using my hex keys. I’ll overlook the cosmetic stuff because of how much I like the keys overall.

Got it. I find it tough to refrain from casting aspersions.
Judging by price they they are quite proud of their product so the lackluster(no pun intended) Q.C. here surprises me, their attitude not so much.

 

[lund]

I have something very similar or identical to this. It is easy to use and helps narrow down poor start or battery life issues (I also write the install date on my batteries and become suspicious around 5 years). To me, it was worth the low cost not to need to lug a battery into an auto shop for a free out-of-car test. Usually when I work on one of my family's cars, I am also home with only the car that I am working on to make that a pain. So this is convenient.

 

[neophyte]

Got it. I find it tough to refrain from casting aspersions.
Judging by price they they are quite proud of their product so the lackluster(no pun intended) Q.C. here surprises me, their attitude not so much.

Wiha has had the occasional quality control issue since the 1990s.
I never tried to warrantee the items, so have no clue how that would have gone.
I purchased from an industrial supplier, and didn’t want to bother the supplier over small items.
I just stopped buying Wiha for a while.

 

[Steel_Rain]

Gotta appreciate a company still handing out stationary in 2026! Very cool!

Kind regards,
Olli

The Japanese are masters of stationary, even in 2026 Olli .

And they make damn good tools to boot.

 

[rword]

fb marketplace score. $100 and came with quite a bit of tools

 

[Monte]

I have something very similar to this. It is easy to use and helps narrow down poor start issues. To me it was worth the low cost not to need to lug a battery into an auto shop for a free out of car test. Usually I would also be home with only the car I am working on making that a pain.

for a quick check its a good tool





Cheap chamfering tool from Amazon

 

[CoThG]

Just got back home from visiting the Mobile Man Mall... Continuing my orange collection.

 

[Brandon_Lutz]

Cornwell JRF120L that I found on Ebay. I feel like I stole it for $59 and some change. It is my first Cornwell ratchet and it is smooooooooth.

If it was ever used, it doesn't look like it was, as it is absolutely flawless.

 

[rmack898]

for a quick check its a good tool





Cheap chamfering tool from Amazon

SWAG off road makes a table for that tool. My son bought me the table for a gift and I thought I would never use it, but I was wrong.

I have not taken the chamfer tool off the table since I got it and I use it a lot.

 

[pfbz]

I've had one of those for a couple of years... Has worked great.

 

[pfbz]

Got this for Christmas. Gonna make removing tires and engine mounts faster I hope. Now I need to shop impact sockets.

Got that one too! One of my favorites!

 

[ThePostman]

HF haul Friday, the icon ball joint kit, the mayhew dominator, a new compression tester kit, and a pneumatic fan clutch nonsense kit, which now that I've bought, probably won't see anything in a year. There's been so much more, for example vim bcs-1800, and its polyhedral design.

 

[Beerhippie]

Today's mail:



I threw away the bills and kept the good stuff.

The nut drivers are very clever:



I think they'll be a game-changer around the plant. I can't believe I hadn't known of these until last week, when someone posted this style here.



As blow-molded cases go, this one is nice. Metal hinge pin, over-centering hasp. Unfortunately, it's likely bound for the dumpster as I just don't have room for a case that's 80+% unusable space. I have some nice socket rails on the way.

All of this but the nut drivers is heading into the road tools bag.

 

[LanceMc]

I needed some 6point metric sockets in the shop box. I was looking at Tekton then realized I could get another set of these and have a ratchet, extensions and a universal for the same money.

 

[rword]

Warrantied my older 1/4 and 3/8 craftsman ratchets for the updated thinner head ones… quite a difference !

 

[rust in the eye]

Warrantied my older 1/4 and 3/8 craftsman ratchets for the updated thinner head ones… quite a difference !

How did the others fail?

 

[lund]

fb marketplace score. $100 and came with quite a bit of tools

I have a similar Craftsman ball bearing tool cabinet. It is good but had some annoying plastic catches that you had to push drawers hard to clip closed. The hard push required for these to latch would jostle all the tools on close in spite of smooth ball bearing drawers that slide easy under load. That was a really BAD design. On mine, I took the drawers out, took off the plastic clip catches (think I also may have ground down some parts ... it was a long time ago and I am not sure), and then I epoxy glued some + - permanent magnets (calibrated for the right grab in terms of + and - strength and orientation ... was easy to do with standard Neodymium-Iron-Boron disc magnets). Now they close super smooth without shock AND stay latched with the magnet pull in close proximity.

The "grip-latch" version of these cabinets where the drawer rails tilt up to release a latch are super with no modifications. They do not have the slam close problem and also open easily. If you can find those versions, get them in preference. But the lousy retainer clips I described can be modified as I described to make them almost as good.

These Craftsman cabinets, if you dress them up and fix the problems, are very good values. They are not super heavy duty and lighter side sheet metal and frames. So they might not hold up for all day open/closed use and getting moved around in a pro auto shop or stuff like that. But they are good for even heavy DIY use for me. I do not move my cabinets much, but I have them very overloaded (tools stacked in every drawer) and they have held up well in that context while costing relatively little compared to pro grade cabinets.

 

[rword]

How did the others fail?

They did not. I asked if could upgrade to newer ones and they said okay.

 

[MWEric]

Few things from my dealer. $100 off the wrenches because nobody wanted them.

 

[SouthernIllinois]

Astro Pneumatic kinda day.

Needle gun, blow gun and double ended 1/8” drill bits.

Went looking for a needle gun to deal with the thick a$$ undercoating on the Crusty Corvair. JB Tools had an AP on sale cheaper than the Harbor Freight Chief gun and I couldn’t say no to another blow gun and a pack of bits for $7.

Crazy fast and free shipping from JB Tools.

 

[larry4406]

Astro Pneumatic kinda day.

Needle gun, blow gun and double ended 1/8” drill bits.

Went looking for a needle gun to deal with the thick a$$ undercoating on the Crusty Corvair. JB Tools had an AP on sale cheaper than the Harbor Freight Chief gun and I couldn’t say no to another blow gun and a pack of bits for $7.

Crazy fast and free shipping from JB Tools.

I used the HF pneumatic scraper to take off the undercoating on my barracuda vert. Was loud (wore ear muffs) but it did a very good job. Helped that it was on a rotisserie.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece-pneumatic-scraper-kit-95826.html

 

[SouthernIllinois]

I used the HF pneumatic scraper to take off the undercoating on my barracuda vert. Was loud (wore ear muffs) but it did a very good job. Helped that it was on a rotisserie.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-piece-pneumatic-scraper-kit-95826.html

I bought that kit awhile back - it didn't work right out of the box.
I believe that is the only tool I have ever returned to HF.

For the price, maybe I will buy another and see if it works any better.

 

[sleutelken]

Does someone know where this sort of screwdriver is used for?It is a Wiha screwdriver that is split kn the middle.

 

[YesIHaveAHammer]

Does someone know where this sort of screwdriver is used for?It is a Wiha screwdriver that is split kn the middle.

Gripping slotted screws. Operated by sliding the sleeve.

I applaud your "buy first, ask questions later" to tool purchasing

 

[Nobody-named-Olli]

It’s called a “Klemmschlitz-Schraubendreher” in German.

Wiha: https://bw-schmitti.de/Wiha-Klemmschlitz-Schraubendreher-0-8-x-5-5-x-230/1600001836

Belzer: https://bw-schmitti.de/Klemmschlitz-Schraubendreher-Belzer-8065N-2B/1600001833

According to this polish website, the split shaft/tip is to adjust to different head (slot) sizes. If I can trust google’s translation.

https://allegro.pl/oferta/wiha-wkretak-plaski-regulowany-0-6-x-5-5-x-175-mm-17125670951

Kind regards,
Olli

 

[Beerhippie]

AKA Screw Starter. There's a thread on them over at the Vintage Tools board.

 

[pfbz]

Picked up a 'DieHard' low profile 1/4" socket set yesterday... Not bad at $42, but was hoping it would be compatible with my Astro Nano 1/4" and Wurth 1/4" lo-profile (11mm wrench style) sets. Alas it is not.

Neither the Astro's or Wurth's will even fit in the DieHard wrench (close, but not cigar) and the DieHard sockets fall right out of the Wurth and Astro. Note that the Wurth and Astro are fully interchangeable with each other.

DieHard isn't a bad set, big range of sockets (4-19), but not being compatible with my other sets makes it kind of a skip for me. The case is pretty cheesy as well, kind of a hard. likely brittle plastic that you can tell will not hold up very well.

Pictured below, Ko-ken Zeal 1/4" (for reference), Wurth, and DieHard.


Video review should release on my channel later today or tomorrow if interested...

www.youtube.com/@toolsandtwisties