My Britool Collection

[Dieselman 63]

I think I had another one of these threads but I’ve lost it, so here’s another.

I’m collecting old Britool gear. It’s excellent quality for the money you can get it for, and it’ll easily outlast me.

First up, my big tool box - this has a top tray which you can lift out and there’s storage space underneath. A lovely AF and Whitworth set, with all the accessories plus a square handle and a Tipco ratchet unit for the breaker bar.

 

[brightspark]

I think I had another one of these threads but I’ve lost it, so here’s another.

I’m collecting old Britool gear. It’s excellent quality for the money you can get it for, and it’ll easily outlast me.

First up, my big tool box - this has a top tray which you can lift out and there’s storage space underneath. A lovely AF and Whitworth set, with all the accessories plus a square handle and a Tipco ratchet unit for the breaker bar.

View attachment 272570

have that set myself paid 17 quid for it donkeys years ago i hardly use them as i have a 3.8th drive set as well . half inch are clumsy on vehicles

 

[gordon stephenson]

Sixty years back when I was an apprentice, we had a big nice Britool socket set, but it was hexagon drive not square.

 

[Dieselman 63]

have that set myself paid 17 quid for it donkeys years ago i hardly use them as i have a 3.8th drive set as well . half inch are clumsy on vehicles

Agree, I have a 3/8 Koken Z Drive set for my Japanese car, the Z series sockets are smaller for ease of access - really nice socket set and I’d recommend it.

The 1/2 stuff gets a good amount of use on the tractor (sometimes the 3/4 stuff too!). Can’t beat the power of a 1/2 breaker bar especially on bolts that people have rounded with a bihex socket. Hammer a six point on and crack off with the bar.

 

[Dieselman 63]

Same with lorries.

I worked at this miserable place where we were doing chassis repairs to trailers that had transported animal hides, all the salt from the blood washed into the gussets and rotted them, it’s amazing how knackered they were as looking at them from the side you’d never tell. But lots of rusty bolts which would eventually crack off, screws I never bothered with, just cut them out.

 

[northwest]

half inch are clumsy on vehicles

Back in the day I was pleased to have a socket set of any type. It was a revelation to me, 1/4" drive was and now almost all my stuff is this. I have some 3/8" for when things get tricky.

 

[frank horton]

Dieselkid 63....
was desperate for a job as a mechanic....was offered a job repairing forklifts at an animal skin processors...
sooner starve....hahaha....
after all my Snap on kit got nicked I started back with this kit....

KennedyPro 1/2in. Socket Set, Imperial/Metric/Whitworth, Set of 70 5827995K | Cromwell Tools

Supplied in a robust, impact resistant plastic carry case, this 70 piece set is the easy way to ensure you have the correct tool and drive on hand. With an array of sockets, conver 5827995K | Cromwell Tools

www.cromwell.co.uk

not cheap but not so bad...still got it ......warranty is good ..only broke the breaker bar....£279inc.....
needed whitworth cos of all the old stuff I work on....

 

[winchman]

Winchboy has a fair collection of Vintage Britool, He found a 70 odd year old bloke selling the biggest 1/2" set they do, he bought it when he was 18!
Its really nice to use

 

[Dieselman 63]

Something a bit more scarce. Boxed (metal tins) sets of 3/8 and 1/2 AF deep bihex sockets.

 

[Bornfree]

I have a very similar set possibly a little older.

 

[armalites]

Dieselkid 63....
was desperate for a job as a mechanic....was offered a job repairing forklifts at an animal skin processors...
sooner starve....hahaha....
after all my Snap on kit got nicked I started back with this kit....

KennedyPro 1/2in. Socket Set, Imperial/Metric/Whitworth, Set of 70 5827995K | Cromwell Tools

Supplied in a robust, impact resistant plastic carry case, this 70 piece set is the easy way to ensure you have the correct tool and drive on hand. With an array of sockets, conver 5827995K | Cromwell Tools

www.cromwell.co.uk

not cheap but not so bad...still got it ......warranty is good ..only broke the breaker bar....£279inc.....
needed whitworth cos of all the old stuff I work on....

I have that set and the 3/8th one. The ratchet is pretty average(I never use it) but the set is worth having for the Whitworth and and all the extension bars. The set is quite a bit cheaper on Zoro. The price does fluctuate and if you can catch it at a low point with a 20% disount code it's a winner. I think I paid £179.99 for mine

 

[Dieselman 63]

I have a very similar set possibly a little older.

View attachment 272647

I had a chance to buy one of those. Bihex AF, BSW, Metric and bi-square. All the accessories, too, a decent set.

 

[Barking Mat]

I'm generally 3/8" kit person, rarely (never) touch 1 /4" , 1/2" is for bigger stuff, which really needs to be tight.

3/4" kit is exclusively my 7 .5 ton truck, or tractor or manitou wheel nuts and stuff.

 

[Bornfree]

I had a chance to buy one of those. Bihex AF, BSW, Metric and bi-square. All the accessories, too, a decent set.

I bought it and a 3/4 set in the early 80s off an old boy who was retiring, I think I paid £100 which was a lot of money then for 20 year old socket sets.

 

[Dieselman 63]

I bought it and a 3/4 set in the early 80s off an old boy who was retiring, I think I paid £100 which was a lot of money then for 20 year old socket sets.

The 3/4 stuff is top notch.

The sizes were as follows:

1/4 Dwarf - D series
9/32 Midget - M series
3/8 Aero - A series
1/2 Engineer - E series
3/4 Heavy - H series
1” Giant - G series

B stands for bihex
D stands for deep
H stands for hex
M stands for metric

So, if you see a socket EBM it’s a 1/2” bihex metric socket.

 

[winchman]

First set winchboy bought was a complete 9/32 set for £5

 

[droopsnoot]

A few years ago I was at a local classic car show (Cholmondeley Castle, as it happens) and was looking around the various individual entry cars. I'd already decided not to buy any more sockets as I had plenty, and then I came across this sitting behind someone's car, with £10 on it. It's about 26" wide, I forgot to add something for scale.

I mainly wanted it because I hadn't got a speedbrace and that was probably worth a tenner on its own (I forget what make it is). The Whitworth ones don't get used a lot (except the one that's exactly the same size as the ball joint nut on my modern Audi) but the rest is used fairly often. 1/2" drive is sometimes a bit big, but can be handy.

I've never figured out the colour-coding scheme - you can see that the sockets are painted yellow, blue or red down the centres. As there are metric, imperial (AF) and Whitworth you might think that would be the explanation, but it's not. The hand-written list on the inside of the cover probably isn't spot-on either, but it was on the box when I bought it. I thought it was a cracking bit of kit for the price.

 

[winchman]

Speed Brace is Britool industrial possibly from 70's / 80's

 

[Dieselman 63]

A few years ago I was at a local classic car show (Cholmondeley Castle, as it happens) and was looking around the various individual entry cars. I'd already decided not to buy any more sockets as I had plenty, and then I came across this sitting behind someone's car, with £10 on it. It's about 26" wide, I forgot to add something for scale.

View attachment 272851View attachment 272852

I mainly wanted it because I hadn't got a speedbrace and that was probably worth a tenner on its own (I forget what make it is). The Whitworth ones don't get used a lot (except the one that's exactly the same size as the ball joint nut on my modern Audi) but the rest is used fairly often. 1/2" drive is sometimes a bit big, but can be handy.

I've never figured out the colour-coding scheme - you can see that the sockets are painted yellow, blue or red down the centres. As there are metric, imperial (AF) and Whitworth you might think that would be the explanation, but it's not. The hand-written list on the inside of the cover probably isn't spot-on either, but it was on the box when I bought it. I thought it was a cracking bit of kit for the price.

The speed brace is an excellent thing, and you don’t get them in standard tool kits anymore.

 

[Dieselman 63]

My 3/8 BSW and AF set, all the goodies and accessories again.

On top, a dismal selection of metric sizes I’ve managed to pick up - metric Britool sockets are hard to find. Something else on top, the plastic spinner handle for 3/8, I’ve not really used it yet, but it’s allowed to live in the drawer with the set!