T
The Brain
Firstly, apologies if this has been covered elsewhere but I had a quick scout around and couldn't find anything so here we go..........
I'm about to embark on a bit of a career change and am starting a Level 2 Plumbing & Heating Course shortly.
I'm going to do this two evenings a week in College, help out with a Plumber (friend) and Gas Fitter (family) for hopefully at least a day or so a week, whilst still fitting my bread and butter self-employed drawing work around it all.
Over the years of renovating our house from bare shell upwards (did all Plumbing & C.H. work myself - still works!) I have bought a fair amount of tools and already have a tidy amount of Plumbing specific tools that will hopefully be put to use when I eventually get to grips with my new career.
I've always tried to buy the best tool I can afford for the job and gone for a better quality/name, always shunning anything that would be classed as cheap and cheerful.
My first of two questions would be "What would you recommend as a bare minimum of tools required to cope with most jobs I'm likely to come across?"
As mentioned above I may well have a lot of the basic tools, but am hoping to buy a bit here and a bit there as I go along ready for when the big day comes.
My second question would be "On the subject of quality - Are there any tools that needn't be of such high quality?"
I only ask as my friend and family differ somewhat on that, with one saying that some tools can just be cheap and cheerful as they're either not used too often or when they're shot it's just as easy to go out and buy another. The other train of though is buy as best as you can afford; but is this really cost effective if that particular tool is sitting around for ages only getting used every now and then?
Apologies for going on, but if anyone's still awake at this point and help/advice on what you reckon I'll need would be gratefully received.
I'm about to embark on a bit of a career change and am starting a Level 2 Plumbing & Heating Course shortly.
I'm going to do this two evenings a week in College, help out with a Plumber (friend) and Gas Fitter (family) for hopefully at least a day or so a week, whilst still fitting my bread and butter self-employed drawing work around it all.
Over the years of renovating our house from bare shell upwards (did all Plumbing & C.H. work myself - still works!) I have bought a fair amount of tools and already have a tidy amount of Plumbing specific tools that will hopefully be put to use when I eventually get to grips with my new career.
I've always tried to buy the best tool I can afford for the job and gone for a better quality/name, always shunning anything that would be classed as cheap and cheerful.
My first of two questions would be "What would you recommend as a bare minimum of tools required to cope with most jobs I'm likely to come across?"
As mentioned above I may well have a lot of the basic tools, but am hoping to buy a bit here and a bit there as I go along ready for when the big day comes.
My second question would be "On the subject of quality - Are there any tools that needn't be of such high quality?"
I only ask as my friend and family differ somewhat on that, with one saying that some tools can just be cheap and cheerful as they're either not used too often or when they're shot it's just as easy to go out and buy another. The other train of though is buy as best as you can afford; but is this really cost effective if that particular tool is sitting around for ages only getting used every now and then?
Apologies for going on, but if anyone's still awake at this point and help/advice on what you reckon I'll need would be gratefully received.
unk: Lol. Spanners need to be decent, I have aload of Bachos Ive collected over the years. Grips I have a bacho set that are super wide, great for pumps and large back nuts. I also have a set of Forged Steel ones from screwfix, were originaly a cheap 2nd set but I quite like them. Pipe Slices, ive tried many many types. Ive had expensive Rothenburger ones and Kopex ones, neither which I found lasted particularly well, So I tried really cheap ones from my local DIY shop. Which were predictably rubbish. In the end I tried, again, Forged Steel from screwfix. both 15mm and 22mm in a box was £15. Ive had them 18 months now and they are still great, all be it with a wheel change. Bender wise I prefer Irwin/Hilmore. good floorboard lifter is a good move, good tap spanner, set of monoblock box spanners, good wood chisel, a blunt old wood chisel to flatten pipes with, decent hammer, nice heavy lump hammer, good solid cold chisel, and good set of screwdrivers should do you.
