Looking at getting one as been rare occasions I’ve needed one but never had one at hand – there’s only so much borrowing you can do 😉

Are all cheap ones utter shite?
Is there a mimimum price ‘rule’ to adhere to that won’t mean rounded heads etc?
Advice please as looking at this – reviews seem not too bad…

http://www.halfords.com/motoring/garage-equipment/socket-sets/phaze-50-piece-socket-set

What sizes will you be using? If it’s just a small range, then it’s worth spending a bit more on better quality smaller set.

I only ever use 10-20mm, so have a Bahco set. Cost me £30 from Amazon, a couple of years back, and has been rock solid.

That looks quite good Jamie…most online places seem to now be around £40…that’s what it is at Wickes…might pop in and have a look tomorrow.
Probably be using 10-20mm like yourself – I need to get the drive-side crank off my crappy pub bike to get a chain guard off and I want to do so tomorrow.
Not sure if I’m being a dumbass but there seems to be variants ie 1/2″, 1/4″, 3/8″, metric….how do I know which one to get?

+1 for Bahco sets

Had a 1/4″ set for 5-6 years and it’s been rock solid.
Bought a 3/8″ and 1/2″ set when Toolstop were doing them cheap.
There was a PSA on here about them at the time.

Definitely do not buy cheap if you can help it.

Edit:
1/4″ good upto 13mm
3/8″ from 10-25mm
1/2″ say 17mm or so upwards

The imperial size relates to the ratchet/socket drive size.
HTH

For 10-20mm sockets the 3/8 would do or 1/2 would mean a bigger ratchet. The imperial bit relates to the size of the square head on the ratchet/square insert on the sockets. The socket sizes should be in mm for most modern euro stuff.

The Halfords Advanced Professional stuff comes with a lifetime guarantee. And I’ve heard stories of them honouring the guarantee after 20+ years without even asking for a receipt. I have one and it’s very good quality.

Do bear in mind that like with the bikes, they discount them quite heavily every so often…

Not sure if I’m being a dumbass but there seems to be variants ie 1/2″, 1/4″, 3/8″, metric….how do I know which one to get?

1/2 drive is normal for bigger jobs (cars etc).

1/4 drive is normal for smaller nuts / lighter stuff (smaller bolts on cars, most bike stuff).

If you want to save money imo spend your cash on decent 1/2 stuff and add a budget 1/4 set which never gets the same abuse / torque.

My local Aldi (or was it Lidl?) still have a stock of a really good 1/4 set for around £12. 3year g’tee. Used to be sold under as Magnusson brand by B&Q for a lot more until a few years back.

I’ve had one of the Halfords Professional/Advanced ones for a few years.

I wouldn’t bother with the cheap ones they do to be honest.

6 point sockets are better than 12 point ones too.

What will you use the socket set for? cars? bikes?

How often will you use it? daily? weekly? monthly?

I’ve had the Halfords Professional stuff before and it’s good enough for hard, continuous automotive use. Relatively high torque on larger (M8 +) bolts.

The cheaper Halfords stuff I would buy if it was for occasional (once a week) use on bikes (small bolts at relatively low torque).

YMMV 😀

I picked up a Bahco socket set from clas ohseln ( or whatever they are called )
It was reduces to £99 from 250.
It’s a great set and much better quality than my previous halfords pro set

JAG – probably be used once in a blue moon TBH. Last time I needed one was 4 months ago to change a car battery which was a bugger to do and impossible without one.
The bike in question has an old-school chainset that has a recessed bolt – impossible without a socket set.
Hence while I’m aware the cheaper ones might not be great I don’t want to spend a lot on one.

Honest answer required…is this utter bobbins or worth a shout?…
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/7001837.htm

I think I know what the response will be…. 😉

Just found an old thread on here about socket sets – seems to be a lot of love for Halfords Pro range, especially when it’s half price which is apparently a fairly regular occurance.

Half price with an extra 10% off for BC members and 5% cash back with quidco. I got a load of 150 sets for £72 each.

The 1/4″, 3/8″ and 1/2″ refers to the the size of the square drive on the ratchet etc. Most of your bike and car nuts & bolts will be metric.
That set Jamie’s linked to wil do you, fine and dandy. If you get the Argos one, you’ll probably use it for years with no problems. But you’ll know it’s bobbins, every time you use it.
Edit.
Halfords Pro are good, too. One of their sets’ll probably last you forever.

Rascal, how’s the gammy leg?

If you are looking to work on your bike you might need up to a 24mm socket (fork top caps), and a lot of sets don’t go that high. Just one more thing to confuse you. Make sure that they are not too chamfered at the edges as well. A lot of socket sets won’t ‘pick up’ on shallow bolt heads like fork top caps as the internal side is often slightly cut away at the very end.

When are you expected out on a Wednesday again?

Danielson – the ‘gammy’ leg is slowly getting there…still having physio.
Feeling brave enough to do a flat 5 miler on the road bike tomorrow just to test it – TBH I think it will be a while before I’ll have enough strength in my left leg to off-road properly for a while yet, annoyingly.
Was in the Peaks in the car today feeling very jealous of the hordes of people on their road and MTBs.

Oh, and thanks for putting another spanner in the works (boom!) with other factors to consider re: bloody socket sets 😉

Yeah, it’s not the fault of the people who make the tools. It’s the numpties who make all bike parts require specialist tools. I mean, come on, what is wrong with a **** hex (allen) bolt? But oh no, let’s make them all torx bolts, with different diameters……… Oh, and yes, let’s make the bolt heads out of lead solder as well.

Good to hear you are on the road to recovery. Just pedal with one leg. It will mean you will end up with one massive leg, but hey, there are plenty of blokes with one massive forearm………..

Rascal;

Argos one is probably rubbish – I’d pay a couple of quid extra and get the one from Halfords.

you are looking to work on your bike you might need up to a 24mm socket

Probably best off buying ‘odd’ stuff like that (and the deep 10mm socket for the bolt at the bottom of RS legs) individually if the sockets between 11 and 23mm are never going to be used.

Yes, and for forks you’ll want a 6 sided socket rather than the usual ones that come in socket sets. Easy to pick up individual ones for things like that.

Used to have one of the huge Halfords pro sets (was a gift) – it was inside a car that was stolen, and I was more realistic when it came to replacing it. I don’t work on old cars or motorbikes so had never touched the imperial stuff. The bigger sockets were mostly untouched too. Got a much smaller metric set this time around which suits me fine. I have a great big socket and breaker bar for my motorbike rear axle and got a set of hex and torx “sockets” to cover the rest.

On a budget I’d probably go for something like this : http://www.halfords.com/motoring/garage-equipment/socket-sets/halfords-advanced-professional-18-piece-socket-set-3-8#tab3

The big sets are great value though – if you’re likely to get any use out of all the pieces.

Halfords stuff is OK, but watch out for the stupid sizes in some of their sets. I had to make a distress purchases recently and the set had a 9mm socket, but no 8mm. Useless.

Draper expert stuff is always worth a look.

Hth
Marko

I can recommend bahco. They are owned by snapon and made in sweden. I liked the 3/8set so much I ordered the 1/2 and 1/4 too. Get the 6 point ones as they do less damage to the hex.

Bahco aint made in sweden no more . Its mostly spanish origin except for the really top end stuff.

12 point dont damage hexes – monkeys damage hexes.

But a 6 point will have more chance to remove a stuck bolt without rounding it.

The bahco sets piss on the halfords set. I have both for different locations and both work but the rat hes on the halfords pro stuff are poor incomparison to the bahco ones.

I have a nice set of smaller sockets and ratchets from Halfords and an older set of bigger set of sockets from who knows where.

Be aware that the lifetime warranty doesn’t cover the ratchet mechanism, although I didn’t take no for an answer when my 1/4″ died so they did replace it.

Tool shops sell a set of adaptors that allow you to hop up or down between 1/4,1/2,3/4″ drives.

A ratchet rebuild kit is about 4 quid.

I’ve spent a lot of time using socket sets repairing cars. Not mechanic time, but I DIY almost everything.

Buy a normal 30 or so piece 3/8″ drive set from Sealey, Halfords, Draper, whoever. If Bahco are around at a good price, jump at it. Bahco make proper tools. Don’t go for Halfords purely on the basis of the guarantee – they moaned that the hex bit I took back looked old (it’s been in a shed, not on the mantle!) and wanted a receipt. Most thermal till receipts last for far less time than a socket set, so that’s a bit of a waste of time in my book.

The key things you want are:
[*]A decent grip on the ratchet handle. Sounds dead obvious, but the knurled bar type aren’t what you want when you’re heaving on a stuck fastener.[/*]
[*]Wall-drive sockets. Not bi-hex, not standard 6 point. Wall drive looks like a 6 point hex socket with rounded corners (use google images and you’ll see). They’re far less likely to round off a nut or bolt than standard 6 point as they drive on the side of the nut, not on the corners. Almost every decent brand 6 point should have this – my cheap Sealey set does.[/*]
[*]A complete run of metric sockets. Halfords are brilliant for missing out a size (awesome when you’re halfway through stripping something down and realise that they left the 16mm spanner out!). The only time I’ve ever used imperial sockets is when I’ve hammered them onto knackered metric fasteners. If you want some for that purpose, there will be a bloke with a load of old tools on the local car boot that he can’t get rid of.[/*]
[*]If you’re thinking of working on cars, get some wobble extension bars for working on things that are hard to access.[/*]

After that, you’ll find that you want torx bits, female torx sockets etc. when you work on different things. You’ll also find that you’re using the same sockets constantly – ie, on an old VW, you’ll be using 10mm and 13mm all the time, and you might want odd extra tools in those sizes. My advice is to buy these bits as and when you need them. I’ve got loads of odd bits which are absolutely awesome for doing specific jobs, but the crossover between extra tools I’ve bought and the ones you get in the “MEGA SUPER 400 PIECE TOOL KIT” is almost zero.

“decent grip on the ratchet handle. Sounds dead obvious, but the knurled bar type aren’t what you want when you’re heaving on a stuck fastener.”

Forget the handle – you want a breaker bar for heaving on something, that aint what ratchets are for.

I like Bahco stuff but the halfords pro stuff is decent enough for the money too especially for bike maintenance

There was me thinking ‘I’ll just get a socket set’!
Wow – there’s a lot of info to digest in there folks – thanks.

Think I’ll pop into Wickes/Halfords on whilst on my BHM tip run and ask a few questions/have a touchy-feely when I’m there. I like the look of that Bahco one I must admit…

i have a clarks set that i bought about 15 or so years ago, decent quality, i cant remember how much they cost but it wont have been mega expensive. bought to do my own spannering on a motorbike i had at the time.
they have seen plenty of use in the last decade and a half but still work like new.
i think clarks are a brand you only get in machine mart.
mate of mine swears by halfords pro stuff.
avoid anything really cheap and you’ll be right.

I’ve a 200 piece Halfords professional from the last time they were on sale – nice, but way more bits than I’ll ever use (however, I’ve never not had the right tool for the job since I got it, which is a godsend when a job suddenly takes a turn for the worse)

I do have to replace the rachet mechanism (didn’t know you could) which isn’t covered on the warrenty on the 1/2″ as it sticks pretty much from new, which had taken the shine off until the above £4 repair kit.

As for

Most thermal till receipts last for far less time than a socket set

I scanned the receipt in at work (we have this problem with some equipment printouts) and saved the file and e-mailed it to a few places so in theory I’m good for the life of the set.

+1 for the halfords professional sets – especially when on sale…

You’ll see why people don’t like cheapo sockets when your pulling bits of it out your hand 🙁

I usually recommend going for decent tools, but I so rarely use a socket set that I reckon it’s one area where you could save a bit of cash. I’ve used my cheap set a handful of times over the past 5 years and never had any problems. The only time I use it on my bikes is for undoing footnuts when servicing forks (which is, at most, a monthly job) and whipping the top cap off (even rarer). I’ve used them a handful of times for doing bits to the car and DIY.

Of course, when you need it, owning any socket set is infinitely more useful than not having one. Owning a decent socket set is a nice luxury. YMMV.

12 point dont damage hexes – monkeys damage hexes

This.

If you’re gibbon fisted, get a torque wrench too.

I’ve had the Halfords Professional and broken a few pieces. They have always replaced them without an argument. I’ve now replaced it with Bahco which like my other Teng tools have never broken.
I’d rather have the Teng or Bahco tools as nothing is more annoying than having to stop a job because a tool is broken. Also I hate chrome plated tools as they are very slippy when your hands have oil or grease on them and satin finishes are much easier to handle in those conditions.

Ended up getting a Halfords 36 piece 1/2 drive – £25 instead of £50 – pretty pleased with that.
I’m off to find some things to undo and tighten up again 😛