Suggestions for useful tools...

[ruston]

Never entered my mind - another tool for the list, either now or in the near future.

Vice have been taken over by Irwin ; another quality supplier. Mine are about 35 years old and still going strong.

 

[timhoward]

Great shout!

Looked at them many times, but never pulled the trigger. Didn't realise TIS made a version as I'd only seen Kewtech and Socket & See.

Just noticed Amzon themselves are £10 more expensive than other sellers and the voucher can only be used on purchases from them ?

I got mine about 6 months ago. "TIS LIGHTAD" on ebay - they are currently £50 delivered. Doesn't help you with an amazon voucher of course!
They seem to have slightly longer shafts than the Kewtech ones my mate has which helps. I have to say they are getting used an awful lot. One handed R1+R2 at light fittings is nice.

 

[Dustydazzler]

A decent set of hole saws or wood bits

 

[nicebutdim]

Knipex ergo strip, Klien conduit level if you do a lot of pipe. Small stabila level that fits inside patress', Bosch multimaterial drill bit set, keyring magnetiser, Superrod double ended supergrip (crskd-1114)

Ergo strip I've looked at many time, but could never quite decide if it would ever get enough use.
Mini level I have the Stanley 042130 - bit larger than Stabila mini, but liked that it had horizontal & vertical. Slightly wider than 1G pattress.
Drill bits coming out of my ears.
Small magnetiser is very hady - provided it's not at the bottom of a box.
Have small, cheap rods & CK Mighty set, but also recently picked up Super Rod CRSK12 (comes with 2 sizes of supergrip) as Amazon were running a bargain price.

I got mine about 6 months ago. "TIS LIGHTAD" on ebay - they are currently £50 delivered. Doesn't help you with an amazon voucher of course!
They seem to have slightly longer shafts than the Kewtech ones my mate has which helps. I have to say they are getting used an awful lot. One handed R1+R2 at light fittings is nice.

Can't believe I never saw that TIS set before and price is much better than either of the other options.

A decent set of hole saws or wood bits

Literally have thousands of Metabo holesaws, supplemented with a few cheap Erbrauer for larger sizes.

Spade bits are a subject I've never properly addressed. Currently using a cheap Dewalt set, with several brands added as replacements. Bosch speed cut seems to be highly rated, but I generally have 12v tools to hand and always felt that speed cut would be a bit aggressive for them.




Not sure if I've found anything suitable to buy from Amazon on this occasion (possibly Knipex installation pliers...), but appreciate everyone's thoughts and can now add a few more tools to that ever expanding and contracting list ?

 

[Lister1987]

Ergo strip I've looked at many time, but could never quite decide if it would ever get enough use.
Mini level I have the Stanley 042130 - bit larger than Stabila mini, but liked that it had horizontal & vertical. Slightly wider than 1G pattress.
Drill bits coming out of my ears.
Small magnetiser is very hady - provided it's not at the bottom of a box.
Have small, cheap rods & CK Mighty set, but also recently picked up Super Rod CRSK12 (comes with 2 sizes of supergrip) as Amazon were running a bargain price.



Can't believe I never saw that TIS set before and price is much better than either of the other options.



Literally have thousands of Metabo holesaws, supplemented with a few cheap Erbrauer for larger sizes.

Spade bits are a subject I've never properly addressed. Currently using a cheap Dewalt set, with several brands added as replacements. Bosch speed cut seems to be highly rated, but I generally have 12v tools to hand and always felt that speed cut would be a bit aggressive for them.




Not sure if I've found anything suitable to buy from Amazon on this occasion (possibly Knipex installation pliers...), but appreciate everyone's thoughts and can now add a few more tools to that ever expanding and contracting list ?

Dilog, beha amprove, Martindale and a few others also do them

 

[Dartlec]

The Knipex is great for flex, does a very nice job without nicking any of the cores...

Don't find the other bits that useful though - For stripping end of cores where limited space I find the Jokari all rounder pretty useful though and nice and cheap too.

I struggle to use it to strip Twin and Earth though, I think you need to get the technique just right...

 

[nicebutdim]

Never seen light test adaptors from Martindale or Di-Log and can't find htem in current ranges. Beha-Amprobe make top notch gear, but a little spendy for these adaptors. TIS looks like the best option (for me), but that'll be for another day.

Figured it'll be something my miserly mindset considers to be extravagant. Ergostrip always looked interesting, but have a Weicon stripper that does the same job, albeit less quickly. Knipex stepcut looks interesting, but have a couple of pairs of croppers that'll do for some time and, besides, Amazon seem to have trust issues about supplying them to people in NI!

Don't need them but, what the heck, I'll go with the installation pliers suggested by @Pete999 - Amazon price is as good as any for the non-sprung version (don't like the idea of spring and lock) and that £10 off helps me justify this indefensible expenditure ?


Appreciate all the suggestions and, if anyone happens to have more ideas, feel free to contribute as I'm always receptive to ideas for future tool purchases.

 

[telectrix]

knipex crimper for insulated crimps . the jaws are narrower than other makes so you can safely crimp 1 end without partly crimping the other end, and the pressure is adjustable,

 

[Lister1987]

Socket n See also do them, might have been them I meant to mention instead of Martindale ?

 

[SJD]

Do you have the Kewtech Lightmate kit? (I've got the cheaper TIS one but Amazon don't seem to do that!)

I've had a couple of the Kewtech Lightmate kits over the years, but (a) found them a bit large to fit in some light fittings with small shades, and (b) prone to damage or going intermittent esp. if dropped now and again. Then I found this Amprobe kit, where the adapters are so much slimmer and fit where the Kewtech ones don't. A bit pricy, but I wouldn't go back to Kewtech ones now:

Fluke Beha-Amprobe Lightmate Lamp/Light/Luminaire Testing Kit - 5 Adapters for Safe and Easy Light Testing - Testermans

4 mm safety socket - compatible with any test equipment that uses 4 mm safety connectors Maintenance-free - no need for batteries or calibration Finger guard safety barrier - prevents accidental contact with live parts Single-handed operation - allows you to test light points with one hand Low...

testermans.co.uk

I paid just under £67 inc. VAT online about a year ago, but you can easily pay over £100 if you don't shop carefully. They seem quite rugged but I've not tried dropping any of them, the price makes me a bit more careful!

 

[pc1966]

Just added that Fluke Beha-Amprobe Lightmate kit to my tool wish-list!

 

[Lister1987]

Striped screw extractor set, for when screw heads are stripped by Joe public using the wrong driver or Cowboy spark using an impact on EVERYTHING

 

[nicebutdim]

Striped screw extractor set, for when screw heads are stripped by Joe public using the wrong driver or Cowboy spark using an impact on EVERYTHING

Had a few sets over the years, but was never impressed by any of them. I suspect paying a little more might go a long way with screw extractors.

 

[pc1966]

I have also had limited success with screw/stud extractors. Occasionally just perfect, worst case they snap any you now have really hard steel to attempt to drill out.

 

[Lister1987]

10mm & 12mm plug cutters, for chipboard flooring.

Get around the nails and resecure with screws