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| Thud Member Since: 21 Jul 2012 Location: London Posts: 667   
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Which size set would be more Defender suitable 1/2 or 3/8? If I buy a small Snap-On set I could only afford one size.
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11th Dec 2012 9:39am |
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| udderlyoffroad Member Since: 18 Jul 2011 Location: Bristol Posts: 124
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3/8” more portable and better suited to keeping in your truck. ½” gives you more ‘leverage’. Most pros will use 3/8” where they can and only reach for the ½” where necessary. Personally I prefer ½”.
As others have said, Snap-on wildly over-priced and for amateur use just not necessary. Same quality can be had for less money. Bahco, Beta, even Facom is cheaper! I too have found Halfords Pro range to be good in terms of bang-per-buck for amateur use, although the majority of my socketry is Bergen (which can be had on ebay for £20 a ‘rail’). A little tip though, spend £40-45 on a cheap (ebay special) ¾” drive socket set – the difference it makes in undoing tight fasteners is amazing. You’ll never again abuse ½” or 3/8” tools trying to get a stuck bolt off. Obviously you still need a decent ½ or 3/8” set, but frankly for what a snap-on set in a single calibre would cost, you could get a comprehensive (multi-calibre) set from a lesser brand AND a ¾” set and still have enough change for a 52mm socket. Real trucks don't have spark plugs |
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11th Dec 2012 1:03pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 16892 
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Generally I use 1/4" drive on fittings (that is thread size) up to about 3/8" or 10mm diameter, 3/8" drive on fittings up to 1/2" or 13mm diameter, 1/2" drive on fittings up to about 1" or 25mm diameter, 3/4" drive on fittings to about 2"/50mm diameter unless really tight, and 1" sq dr or larger above that.
On the Defender I probably actually use the 1/4" drive most, but if I only carried one size it would be 3/8" drive. There is relatively little that you can't do on a Defender with a good quality 3/8" drive set. You are more likely to break fasteners, strip threads, and generally damage things with a larger drive set. |
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11th Dec 2012 1:54pm |
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| Supacat Member Since: 16 Oct 2012 Location: West Yorkshire Posts: 11018 
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Had a Halfords ratchet for nearly 30 years, used regularly and never had any issues; but then again I nearly always crack a nut with a slide bar extension rather than the ratchet. Enjoy buying Snap On for the specialist jobs. Best things from them are my long nosed & linesman pliers. Other key tool is my torque wrench - it's good to know I'm tightening bolts correctly rather than just nipping them up tight - usually too tight. |
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11th Dec 2012 3:15pm |
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| Go Beyond Member Since: 30 Jan 2012 Location: Headcorn, Kent Posts: 6676
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The garage still needs a bit of tidying 
 Click image to enlarge Admin note: this post has had its images recovered from a money grabbing photo hosting site and reinstated  |
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11th Dec 2012 4:17pm |
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| Thud Member Since: 21 Jul 2012 Location: London Posts: 667
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Thanks for all the replies and advice.
I've ordered a Snap-On Ratchet head and handle. Two sockets and two torx bits. Cost the dollar equivelent of £240 It might be the smallest kit ever but at least I can add to it one socket at a time. I can still (hopefully) use all my old sockets in the mean time. |
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11th Dec 2012 4:36pm |
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