Redliner223

iTrader: (6)

For my B-day I got a tool chest. I've been using my dad's tools and between the both of us we have misplaced and lost tools pretty bad in the past couple years, all have been found, just makes things a bit frustrating for the both of us.
I got this so I could keep our tools apart and become a little independent so I could do what I need to do without waiting for him to finish a project.
My Dad does wood work, plumbing, electrical, connections, yard work, ect. so everything gets tied up for a long time.

Here's what I got.



Pretty empty huh?



Every tool to my name, well I have a hack saw lying around too, but I couldn't find it .



Can't wait to cover it in stickers.

This is primarily for the car, and the power tool department is already covered. We have everything from grinders to table saws to a band saw imported from Italy (don't ask how much that cost -_-).
I just don't want to buy something I'll never use on the car.

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

A quality 1/2 inch drive ratchet/socket set with a nice long breaker bar will be your best friend and your most used tool. I'm waiting for my birthday to roll around in 2 weeks in hopes of getting a decent ratchet. It will be my third in 6 years. My sockets however are the ones that came with my cheap *** first ratchet. Sockets you can get away with cheap but they will rust easily compared to high dollar ones. Quality combination wrenches (the ratcheting type are super useful as well) are second on the list. Long and short sets for times when you need torque and when you need to get into a tight space. Be sure to save your pennies and buy decent stuff. I'm not saying wait for the Snap-On guy to roll through your neighborhood but something in between him and garbage. It's nice to think your saving money until the third time you have to drive to the store to exchange or replace a tool.

Rotospeed

iTrader: (8)

well... start with the basics you use all the time, screw drivers... 3/8" rachet and extentions...socket set in mm. you need 8, 10, 12,13,14,15,16,17,19, go with deep well and then add the short well as you can 1/2 braker bar with an adaptor for the 3/8" drive sockets. the same sizes for box wrenches (the racheting ones are nice if you can), you will want to have more then one of the 10,12,13,14 mm wrenches,

also, wire cutters, pliers, needle nose pliers. all in a few sizes if you can
hammer, sledge hammer, prybars, various "C" clamps

that stuff will have you well on your way. congrats on your first tool box,( i remember when i got my first box for christmas manny moons ago) you can get hand tools cheep at pawn shops some times and if you have a harber freight around its a good place to get this stuff, a little at a time and before you know it that box will be full

deadphoenix52

iTrader: (2)

apart from the basics such as a good set of sockets and screw drivers, just buy tools as you need them.

that way its filled with everything you need and nothing you dont.

wesmcbride

iTrader: (2)

Vise grip pliers. They always seem to come in handy.

Redliner223

iTrader: (6)

Thanks guys.
I'm trying to do it right the first time around, so I'm buying all high quality tools with all the right sizes.
I'm thinking next week running back down to Sears and picking up a bunch of tools to fill her up.
I'm also thinking about replacing those wrenches, they're pretty sketchy. I picked them up from Amazon when I was replacing the clutch line a while back for $12.

orion84gsl

iTrader: (5)

Keep them. They'll be useful if you ever need to put a wrench on something and take a hammer to it. It's always nice to have a tool or two you don't mind beating the **** out of in the name of speed.

DarrenTRS

iTrader: (1)

Here we go, from my experience, between my day job (mechanic) and having 2 sets of tools plus a "take home" layout of stuff I bring home from work, these are my recommendations.

#1 buy craftsman sockets, do not buy craftsman ratchets, if it comes with the set, fine, but if you can spare the coin for a good 1/4 and 3/8 flex head fine tooth ratchets, you WILL NOT be sorry. They are expensive...but they do not break easily, they are longer and provide more leverage, flexhead gives you more flexibility in weird spaces along with the fine tooth arrangement, and they will not bruise your hands.

1/4 Drive
Metric Deep Set (generally like 5.5-15mm)
Extensions
Universal Joint
Good fine tooth ratchet (I love my Matco 88 tooth locking flexhead, makes small spaces a breeze to work in)

3/8 Drive Note: I use this for just about EVERYTHING unless I have to break out my impact or 1/4 because of space.
Metric Shallow Set (6-19mm)
Metric Deep Set (6-19mm)
Extensions
Universal Joint
Good Fine Tooth Ratchet (I use a Snap-On 72 tooth flexhead with a kink on the end of the handle for doing spark plugs, and it is my alpha-omega ratchet unless space simply won't allow it)
Spark Plug Socket

1/2 Drive
19mm & 21mm (these are the two most common lugnut sizes and honestly, there isn't much you'll need other than that)
1/2 Ratchet (I honestly never use them, my 3/8 ratchets general break everything loose that I need, or I find an air tool that will)
1/2 Breaker
Cheater Pipe (yes....you'll need one at some point)
Buy sockets as you go, I have a full set of 1/2 drive sockets and I use only a few.

Hand Tools
Combination Wrenches (I have an 8-26mm set, cost me less than $60 and works like a charm)
Atleast 1 pry bar
Channel Locks
Cutters (dykes, clippers etc.)
Locking Pliers
Flashlight
Hammer set (1 small steel, 1 large steel, 1 plastic)


I know I'm forgetting stuff but I'll add more tomorrow, There is alot there to cover, but there is no rush to acquire it all at once.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

(in addition to Darren's list)
Combination stubby metric wrenches
Offset box-end metric wrenches
inspection mirror (s)
Magnet-tipped retriever
hook/pick set
at least one surgical clamp, small; for those tiny parts
magnifying visor / lamp
22-26mm 6-pt deep-well 1/2" drive sockets can be handy for a few chores
multimeter
hand vacuum pump w/guage
vac/pres guage
mill bastard file

Redliner223

iTrader: (6)

Divin, I seen a couple different styles of the offset wrenches, what style would you recommend?

I've seen some shaped like an "s" others have been been offseted to the left or right for 5 degrees, or do you mean these:
http://www.ultimategarage.com/shop/p...oducts_id=1626 ?

I really like the heavy feel of the Craftsman wrenches, so I will stick with them for that kind of stuff.
I will also be buying the Husky ratchets. I have used the Husky brand for a while now and for the price and what I use it for they do just fine. I'm just not sure if they have flex heads though.

The reason for me wanting to go back next week is so I can finally run through and rebuild my entire brake system. I've been daily driving the car for the past two weeks, the brakes were shady from the start and with the recent usage I can't be driving a car with brakes as poor as they are now.


Thank you Darren for the very detailed list please add more.

DivinDriver

iTrader: (15)

I have had a set of these (in cast rather than full-polish finish) for 25 years, and use them ALL the time:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-profe...p-00944350000P

They are just the thing for a half-thousand jobs; including this one:

Redliner223

iTrader: (6)

Alright cool thanks.

Sooo, I got pretty lucky today. I knew about this tool chest for a while but I never bothered to dig it out.(buried under power tools) There are a couple pieces missing but they are all inches so I'm fine.







One of the biggest things missing if the spark plug socket.
It was bought new by my dad about 13 years ago. The draws stick and are a PITA so get out.
(I had to lay it on its back and rip the drawers out)
He always hated it and never used anything except what he took out and never put back.
So I got it, I'm going to take out all the metric stuff and give back the inches.
It's a win win situation. I get what I need, and he gets what he needs and we save some space by getting rid of the container.
Bad day just got good.

Redliner223

iTrader: (6)

Oh and it's all Craftsman stuff so I'll be replacing the ratchets.

DarrenTRS

iTrader: (1)

I was laying out my sockets as my take home bag fought back and scrambled em all up lol figured I'd take a picture, with the set right there I can do nearly everything I need for my RX-7 sans probably 2-3 bolts/nuts.

I'd definitely suggest a locking or magnetic socket tray like what I have there, mine is an old school 3 row mag strip tray with a handle on the end, I layed some fabric tape down to keep from scratching everything to hell but you see how it goes. And it allows me to simply lift up and carry all my sockets around the car as needed without worrying about them falling about.
This should work perfect: http://www.amazon.com/Mechanics-Time.../dp/B000XSI8MG

Not pictured is my little bit driver which I have a 1/4 and 3/8 square bits for driving sockets, this makes those 10 little screws to take dash parts off or the 4-6 nuts/bolts for the fuel pump tray an absolute breeze. I'd suggest getting one with an adjustable clutch so you can go to town getting them off and then gingerly put them back on with speed and then give em an extra turn yourself. Makita makes an excellent product and their not too expensive.

But to add from yesterday:
Long pliers, easy for grabbing vacuum lines and hoses to twist as well as grabbing those old pesky clamps back on the fuel lines.
Screwdrivers, 8 piece set should do you solid, no need for one of those insane 100 piece sets.
Adjustable Wrench aka French Wrench, they're good for holding stuff in place, I don't particularly like them but they are handy.

Redliner223

iTrader: (6)

I'm a little confused as to what you are referring to, if you don't mind can you take a picture for me?

I was thinking something more like this for the magnetic trey:
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/mechanics...ype=SKIP_LEVEL

We have a couple like the ones you posted and I'm not a big fan of them. There is tons of wasted space caused by the design. They are uneven on the edges so I can't neatly put another one next to it, and they are just oddly shaped so more space has to be devoted to the trey.
Also, good to see that I got every socket that you have in your bag from the tool chest I received.

DarrenTRS

iTrader: (1)

This is the one that I have http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

Along with these two parts, these allow you to use either that driver drill or any drill that will accept a 1/4" hex bit and use it to drive sockets:
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...llow&cId=PDIO1

But basically it's a 7.2V clutched drill that drives 1/4" hex bits i.e. those bits you have in your top drawer of your box in picture. They are extremely helpful in my opinion for undoing pieces that have many bolts, all you have to do is break them loose and most of the time that drill can run em out so you're not sitting there ratcheting on em all day.

I like that drill style because it's very compact and still is strong but depending on whether this is all just for the RX-7 or you plan on doing other work Makita makes a great 18 volt package, it's a little bit bigger but packs a hell of a punch and can be used for drilling holes as well as using it for driving sockets.

This is makitas 1/4" hex driver drill like my Snap-On: http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/...aspx?ID=349737

This is their 18 volt 1/2" driver drill which will do the same job as the smaller one but can also be used to drill etc.
http://www.makita.com/en-us/Modules/...aspx?ID=349736

Redliner223

iTrader: (6)

Thanks for being awesome Darren.
I appreciate you taking you time to list and link everything for me.

DarrenTRS

iTrader: (1)

No problem I've spent the past year and a half as a mechanic/apprentice/shop porter/parts runner/service writer in a small 5 employee repair shop building up my tool box with the necessities of what I'd need for work and more importantly, the RX-7 lol. I'm always happy to help anyone else get started as tools can be costly mistakes.

XXXJ

iTrader: (5)

^This, I have a 1/4" drive Matco cordless ratchet that I use all the time at work. I would also add Gear Wrenches to the list.