[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by GutsyGibbon

You can also consider getting a hand drill. ... ... ...

Just like my father used for many years before his first electric drill!

Only thing is, it won't get far into a wall, and a lot of home DIY seems to include attaching things to walls. But even there there is the manual equivalent: the "drill" which is hammered into a wall: it is effective.

[Sutripta]

Am sure TEG remembers the two types used by carpenters of yore - the bow drill (for small jobs), and the brace drill (for larger jobs). Both used to work very well.

Sutripta

[Thad E Ginathom]

I remember brace drills very well. "Bow" drills I can imagine.

There is another hand drill that I used for jewellery, which I think might be called Archimedian.

[WhiteSierra]

Hi guys, my tool collection started at a very early age. I like DIY projects ever since I was a kid. I used to repair my own toys, I purposefully used to dismantle them and put them back. My Dad used to travel to Germany, Australia, London, Singapore and other countries often for his medical conferences, he used to get all the latest toys back then along with every Sunday toy shopping at Walden. Most of the purchases would be toy cars along with video game cassettes, later PC games.

I used to have a star screw driver (Philips head) and a minus screw driver along with different type of batteries, 9v batteries, AA, AAA etc which are used in various remote control cars. Replacing batteries in RC cars, toy helicopters and toy trains was a thrill and an achievement to me back then. Dad also bought rechargeable batteries and battery charger and my job was to keep a set of batteries ready at all times, otherwise my elder brother wouldn't give me chance to play after him discharging the batteries in those toys.

My liking for tools grew over the years. I first saw a large variety of tools when I visited TATA showroom for the first time. I was about 7 or 8 when I visited Jasper showroom (T.A.S.S) for a minor repair on Sierra along with my driver. I was in awe of tools in the service center. I asked my driver, why don't we have those tools, to which he showed me the tool kit in our Sierra (Different types of spanners, Cutting plier, Screw driver in a black leather-ish cover) along with a scissor jack. I used to take those spanners and screw drivers and used to fix my cycle bell, brakes, chain, etc. I used to feel happy on fixing my own cycle without anyone's help.

Fast forward, having many cars at home, most of them being out of warranty and service centers being far off and impractical (some times service centers being too far off, not enough time to pick up, drop cars at service centers, dealing with SAs, etc and not many new generation mechanics at TASS can service Sierras these days, and also majority of parts are not available in service centers anymore, same with Qualis). It was being very difficult to maintain all of them at Authorised service centers. We have a very well known mechanic called Yadgiri, he is an old timer, he used to work at Ambassador A.S.S, later moved on to Fiat, then Maruti and finally to Eicher. He is well versed with old school hydraulic systems, diesel engine cars and old carburetor petrol engines as well. He is now retired from these garages, and he now works independently. He comes home and does all the work, but he has limited tools. So my tools came in handy many a times for him while working on our cars. If there are any minor issues, I fix them myself. Thanks to all the knowledge and fiddling around with cars from childhood spending lots of time with cars, knowing their mechanism, Team-BHP DIY and Technical stuff threads and also YouTube channels like ChrisFix, Roadkill show on motor trend channel, goonzquad, Scotty Kilmerand many more.


Over the years, I procured multiple tools. I've used almost all of them. I purchased tools as and when needed. These tools are also divided into different categories. Hand tools, Power tools, Electrical tools, Automobile battery related tools, and many more. I know I'm boring you all with my words, Here are some pictures of those tools.

Hand Tools

STANLEY 8 SQ. Drive Metric 1/2'' 6 Point Socket Set (24pcs), along with other size sockets, including spark plug socket and a generic socket set

Link






Different types of Screw drivers, cutting pliers, nose pliers, strippers, Cutters, etc. Few are Stanley, Irwin, Agrico Tata, Black & Decker, Taparia, Miniso Japan, Visko, and some other generic products.




Common hand tools :


-
I have different hand tools like a Hammer, Axe, Spiral cable, Binding wire, Breaker bar, WD-40, MGP rust smash for the nagging old nuts and bolts , Visko oil can, duct tape, ABRO PVC tape. (IMHO, ABRO is the best PVC tape in the market.) WD-40 and Oil can might not be considered as tools, but they helped me a lot while working on older cars to remove rusted nuts and bolts. I often replace them with stainless steel nuts, bolts and washers.


Different types of Stanley Spanner sets, Stanley Allen key set, T- Spanners, and double end spanners of bigger sizes.






I purchased all the above spanner sets, Hex key sets from Amazon, I also made a custom T-Spanner with a 17 inch spark plug socket, once the socket got attached to the spark plug and did not come out, I thought it was going to stay there forever and if I had to open the head cover, luckily I could take it out in an angle without opening any head cover. I was scared for sometime before I got it out. I learnt it the hard way lol. I got it fabricated for future use.

-

Electrical Tools


Planet Power leaf blower:

I bought this at a shop in Ranigunj, Secunderabad, an Industrial tools supply area, this is much more powerful than Stanley, Bosch, Black & Decker in the same price bracket. This is working flawlessly so far. I use this to clean dust near the surrounds of car when I work outside, I also use this blower to clean air filters, dust in the engine bay, etc

This is now available on Amazon as well. Planet Power EBC40 Blower



Bosch Impact / Hammer Drill Machine: A must have tool for DIYers.

Bosch GSB 500W 10 RE Professional Tool Kit



Soldering Irons, Glue gun, Non Adhesive automobile grade electric tape, heat sleeves, heat shrinks, different gauge automobile grade wires, tapes etc

STANLEY 69-GR20B Plastic GluePro® Trigger Feed Hot Melt Glue Gun

STANLEY 69-031B Round 30-Watt Corded Soldering Iron (Black and Chrome)

I use Stanley 30 W soldering iron for minor electrical works, but for thicker wires like fog lights etc, I use Soldron 50 W soldering iron.




Heavy duty electrical extension box by StarTrack

StarTrack Steel Heavy Duty Extension Box with Digital Voltage Monitor

For all my outdoor electrical work on cars, I use this extension box, this is very rugged and can accommodate multiple components at once, like heat gun, soldering iron, glue gun, led bulb with power plug, leaf blower, etc. I found this very useful on my DIYs. Being a person with perfectionism OCD,there is a digital voltmeter attached to it which is very helpful during fluctuations and high voltage. The MCB switch is also very useful, it would automatically trip if there's any spark or short circuit in electrical components while working. I also bought digital voltmeters for my cars from Aliexpress (I posted that in Auxiliary lights thread here (Auxiliary Lamps) ).





Oil filter wrenches:

Different types of Oil filter wrenches used for different cars in garage




Jacks and Jack stands :

I use these 3 Ton jack stands and 5 ton hydraulic jack for repairs.

AmazonBasics Steel Jack Stands with 3 Ton Capacity



I bought my 5 ton hydraulic jack from Industrybuying website about 5 years back, I unfortunately cannot retrieve the link of that product now.

Battery tools:

Battery charger, Jumper cables, Generic Digital Multimeter, Hydrometer, Continuity tester, etc. I previously posted more on that here. (Car battery life - How long did your battery last?)






Car Tyre care tools :

Amazon Basics Tyre inflator , Generic tyre pressure guage from AliExpress, Tubeless tyre puncture kit. I have earlier posted more on this
here (Tyre pressure gauge and portable inflator pump / foot pump)



Cotton waste / rags are a must to clean after repair works. I know this is not a tool, but these always go along with tool kit, as I previously mentioned, I am a perfectionist & cleanliness OCD.



--

[sagarpadaki]

I need to drill 25mm diameter hole in a sheet metal 3mm thick. I have a Bosch 500 watts drill machine. Which drill bit should I use?

[Sutripta]

Hole saw. But a low speed higher wattage drill m/c would be preferable.
A hand operated tank cutter might be preferable.

Sutripta

[DharmeshGohil]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

I need to drill 25mm diameter hole in a sheet metal 3mm thick. I have a Bosch 500 watts drill machine. Which drill bit should I use?

Use a Titanium step drill - Very easy to use. You can buy it off Amazon (Link) or try you local hardware store.

[sagarpadaki]

Can fellow DIYers suggest be a thin shaft PH2 screw driver with a powerful magnetic tip? If frustrating to have the screw fall down often when I want to guide the screw through a narrow deep channel.

I have a set with the handle and swappable bits but the bits are not magnetic and the magnetic hex slot at the tip where the bits go into is too big for some tight slots

[saket77]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Can fellow DIYers suggest be a thin shaft PH2 screw driver with a powerful magnetic tip? If frustrating to have the screw fall down often when I want to guide the screw through a narrow deep channel.

I have a set with the handle and swappable bits but the bits are not magnetic and the magnetic hex slot at the tip where the bits go into is too big for some tight slots

Try putting a permanent magnet anywhere on the screwdriver shaft wherever your arrangement suits. This will make the entire shaft magnetic; strong enough to hold the screw till you guide it to the slot. Of course, the more powerful the magnet, the easier your job would be.

Also you can temporarily magnetise the screwdriver head/ bits by sticking a strong permanent magnet for a few seconds. The screwdriver head will remain magnetised even after removing the magnet and that should be there for sometime.

Regards.

[Jaguar]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Can fellow DIYers suggest be a thin shaft PH2 screw driver with a powerful magnetic tip? If frustrating to have the screw fall down often when I want to guide the screw through a narrow deep channel.

I have a set with the handle and swappable bits but the bits are not magnetic and the magnetic hex slot at the tip where the bits go into is too big for some tight slots

You can try getting a Magnetizer Demagnetizer instead Tool like this instead of looking for a new screwdriver. Will come in handy in the long run. I have a generic no-name brand magnetizer and it does the job well.

[pjbiju]

Has anyone bought tools off www.shakedeal.com? I was looking for a 1/2" socket drive set and saw the JK Super drive Bi-hexagonal set listed at a good price on their web site.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Has anyone bought tools off www.shakedeal.com? I was looking for a 1/2" socket drive set and saw the JK Super drive Bi-hexagonal set listed at a good price on their web site.

Have not bought from this website.

A suggestion. Go for hex sockets rather than Bi-hex. Hex sockets grip the nut/bolt along the side whereas the Bi-hex grip on the pivot thereby increasing chances of stripping

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Has anyone bought tools off www.shakedeal.com? I was looking for a 1/2" socket drive set and saw the JK Super drive Bi-hexagonal set listed at a good price on their web site.

I would stick to Taparia 1/2 drive sets. Most of the professional grade hand tools are Chrome-Vanadium which will withstand years of abuse. In contrast the so called popular hand tools are made from cheaper material and get damaged quite soon - open ended spanner jaws widening or Sockets rounding off etc.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

Has anyone bought tools off www.shakedeal.com? I was looking for a 1/2" socket drive set and saw the JK Super drive Bi-hexagonal set listed at a good price on their web site.

Originally Posted by Aroy

I would stick to Taparia 1/2 drive sets. Most of the professional grade hand tools are Chrome-Vanadium which will withstand years of abuse. ... ... ...

These are the kind of tools to buy for a lifetime, not because of an apparently cheap deal.

Others here have a lifetime experience of Indian brands. In my comparatively limited experience, I'd say that Taparia make serious tools, and do so for decent prices.

[sagarpadaki]

I would not recommend socket sets for Taparia anymore. The quality is good no doubt. But their packaging is pathetic. The metal box in which the sockets and ratchet are arranged is finished crudely with sharp edges. The locking mechanism for the box is so ill designed that I have cut my fingers multiple time opening and closing it. I do not want my fingers to get cut when I am starting or finishing a repair job! The plastic tray holding the sockets and ratchet inside is made of flimsy plastic and has already broken. In one word, the whole packaging is 'Jugaad' . If I am paying so much money I also expect the quality.

For 1/2 inch socket, Induro and Stanley is very good. A garage where i frequent uses both and it is definitely not handled softly. There sockets and ratchet have held up fine. The box/container is sturdy and easy to lock/unlock .

IF you are looking for Indian brand, then I would suggest Eastman tools

I have a Stanley 3/8 drive socket set and the quality is at par with Taparia. Added bonus is the molded box which is good in Induro, Stanley and Eastman.

I would recommend Induro >Eastman > Stanley > Taparia