Tool help

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ChuckFinley

Filing Flight Plan
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Mar 12, 2012
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ChuckFinley
I am currently in school for a&p and I am making a list of tools I will need to supplement the ones i already have. However there's a few I have come across and I am not sure if they will be useful to me or if they will just be a waste of money. For example:

-Spline wrenches & sockets
-Stubby wrench
-Half moon wrench
-S Shape wrench
-Flex head wrench
-Elbow wrench
-Cross force wrench (ends offset 90 deg.)

any help would be appreciated!
 
I don't spin wrenches on planes, but I would never be without stubby wrenches. They are my goto wrenches out of the hundreds in my box. You can't get much leverage but you will be amazed at how much easier they are to use in tight spaces.
 
ChuckFinley said:
I am currently in school for a&p and I am making a list of tools I will need to supplement the ones i already have. However there's a few I have come across and I am not sure if they will be useful to me or if they will just be a waste of money. For example:

-Spline wrenches & sockets
-Stubby wrench
-Half moon wrench
-S Shape wrench
-Flex head wrench
-Elbow wrench
-Cross force wrench (ends offset 90 deg.)

any help would be appreciated!
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I have none of them..
 
I have some flex head ratcheting wrenches, they are nice.

I do not have stubbys but wish for them all too often.

Honestly what has worked well for me is just waiting until I need a tool to buy it after work.
 
Skylane81E said:
I have some flex head ratcheting wrenches, they are nice.

I do not have stubbys but wish for them all too often.

Honestly what has worked well for me is just waiting until I need a tool to buy it after work.
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BTDT way too many times too
 
swingwing said:
I don't spin wrenches on planes, but I would never be without stubby wrenches. They are my goto wrenches out of the hundreds in my box. You can't get much leverage but you will be amazed at how much easier they are to use in tight spaces.
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Long combo, short combo, regular combo, 15*/60* offset wrench. You need at least 2 of those sets to include 7/8", I suggest the regular combo and offset. You need a good 3/8" drive inch/pound torque wrench, nice to have lighter calibration 1/4" drive as well. I like a clicker type because a lot of the dime it's difficult to see whatever scale due to angles and access.

99% or the time I'm using 1/4" drive socket sets. Short 6 point and deep 12 point and short 12 point on a universal

3/8" drive 7/16"-1" deep and shallow 6 point. Finest tooth drives you can get. I get a standard head & handle as well as a flex head with long padded handle. Here's my favorites:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=682972&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...roup_ID=682403&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

I know they are a big spend, but when you have to work on a Mooney or a Bonanza or an Aerostar, you'll be glad you spent the money.

That's just a start for the machine fasteners, ugg.... I would suggest that for sheet metal tools you watch the Van's Airforce forums, people sell entire built sets pretty reasonably when they're finished.

There's so much...
 
Not an A&P much less an IA. Pulled wrenches on everything from a Briggs & Stratton to Cats with lots of stuff in between.

Get a good quality combo box/end wrench set. Craftsman or snap-on or similar. The end wrenches will have thinner "arms" than the cheap sets. Same with socket set. The good ones will have lifetime warranties with thin walls on the sockets. Six point are primary with twelve point for back-up. Both shallow and deep. For screw drivers, just get something with changeable tips. Change the tips often. Find a good source for tips (soft is bad). Buy other tools as needed when the snap-on guy stops by. Build tools when you need to.

All that said, I've heard the quality of Craftsman and other suppliers has dropped. Might have to shop a bit more to get quality. I know that I've split too many sockets over the past few years and I just pull on wrenches as a hobby anymore.
 
No Craftsman. If you are going to be a pro, there are the big 3 that you'll find truck support in every market, Snap On, Mac and Matco; there is also Cornwall that is worth a look. They have (had?) some specialty crowsfoot sockets that were better than anyone elses. 2 major selling about truck support pro level tools: 1, They fit into tighter spaces and with drive more worn/rounded fasteners, Snap On Flank Drive I have found to be the 'last socket grabbing' as far as dealing with stripped nuts/bolt heads. *DO NOT get the serrated Flank Drive Open End wrenches, they must be smooth wall for the FAA as they create stress risers in AN fittings.
 
ChuckFinley said:
I am currently in school for a&p and I am making a list of tools I will need to supplement the ones i already have. However there's a few I have come across and I am not sure if they will be useful to me or if they will just be a waste of money. For example:

-Spline wrenches & sockets
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Pure garbage, unless you happen to be working with spline bolts. They permanently damage fasteners. If a mechanic came near my aircraft with one, he become my ex-mechanic. BTW, same goes for Snap-On "Flank Drive" wrenches.

-Stubby wrenches
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Quite useful.

-Half moon wrench
-S Shape wrench
-Flex head wrench
-Elbow wrench
Click to expand...
Useful in isolated instances. Don't bother buying until you find those instances.

-Cross force wrench (ends offset 90 deg.)
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Gimmick used to sell tools to wives for their husband's x-mas gifts.
 
Henning said:
No Craftsman.
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It's sad - they used to be decent, and their Professional line used to be quite good. Their older Professional wrenches were made by S-K, but were about half the price. Some of my favorites. Quality has slipped in a major way.

*DO NOT get the serrated Flank Drive Open End wrenches, they must be smooth wall for the FAA as they create stress risers in AN fittings.
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Ah, you beat me to the Flank-Drive hate. I do like other Snap-On stuff, altho it is certainly priced at a premium. I've learned which local pawnshops to watch for bargains...

OP, you are better served by a small collection of quality tools than a large collection of mediocre tools.
 
Henning said:
they must be smooth wall for the FAA as they create stress risers in AN fittings.
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The FAA has no say as to what tools you use.

They do have a say over the quality of work.
 
I'd recommend getting a nice general set to start, then add as you learn what you like and need. I've been using Snap-On for 15 years and started with a small general set out of A&P school. I added to It steady for about 6 years and now I've got a big box full of useful tools. A lot of what you'll need will depend on where you're at in the industry. Some of my most favorite and prized tools are real cheap ones that I "adjusted" to handle a specific task. Huge time savers and you can't buy them anywhere.
 
slacktide said:
It's sad - they used to be decent, and their Professional line used to be quite good. Their older Professional wrenches were made by S-K, but were about half the price. Some of my favorites. Quality has slipped in a major way.



Ah, you beat me to the Flank-Drive hate. I do like other Snap-On stuff, altho it is certainly priced at a premium. I've learned which local pawnshops to watch for bargains...

OP, you are better served by a small collection of quality tools than a large collection of mediocre tools.
Click to expand...


Pawn shops, Craig's List and shop closing auctions are great places to buy tools. As a person buying tools, crack is your friend. Snap On dealer also sometimes will have trade ins and buy backs.

I am a life long Snap On buyer, but get a few things here and there, plus you'll find especially with round engines, you'll have to modify/butcher tools to fit a particular nut. The MAC guy has these extractor units that look like a miniture Devil's Tower on a 1/2" hex base. There is one that works with #8-10 drill that are invaluable for removing stripped #2 Phillip's screws from panels. Just keep one in a short socket and 1/4" drive Speed Handle and a cordless drill with a bit. As soon as you round out, just drill and drive. That rig so improved my efficiency/time opening up planes for annual.

The good thing about having a tool truck account: I can walk into any shop and get a job with no tools or money and be fully equipped and working by lunch the next day with a very flexible user friendly open financing scheme. If times are lean at the shop they work with you as well. I have twice now gone to work on a refit I knew I would be on for a year or so. I call the Snap On man, get full set out for tools, make my weekly purchase/payment, and at the end of the project I return/replace the inventory and the account is clear. They then resell the tools at a discount.
 
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ChuckFinley said:
I am currently in school for a&p and I am making a list of tools I will need to supplement the ones i already have. However there's a few I have come across and I am not sure if they will be useful to me or if they will just be a waste of money. For example:

-Spline wrenches & sockets Yep, as your 4th or 5th set, do not use on aluminum (non spline specific) fasteners
-Stubby wrench These should be in your primary 4 wrench set purchase,

Any of the following can be very useful, when you run into the requirement. My advice is buy/make them when you need them

-Half moon wrench
-S Shape wrench
-Flex head wrench
-Elbow wrench
-Cross force wrench (ends offset 90 deg.)

any help would be appreciated!
Click to expand...

You also should keep your eyes open for cylinder base wrenches.

I always watch pawn shops for long and/or slimline and double box end wrenches of good quality for making specialty wrenches out of.

Also, you can never have too many extensions. A 3' x 1/4"dive extension with a swivel socket makes pulling the cylinders on a Bonanza easy:D:rolleyes2: (ok, possible).
 
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The tools I use mostly.

1/4 drive Craftman professional set 1/4"-9/16"
3/8 drive " " " " set 1/4"-9/16"
a 3/8" drive torque wrench from snapon,
a 1/4" " "
Plug Scocket 7/8' 1/2 drive, a cheap one turned down to fit the air baffling and fins of the cylinders.
Plug cleaner, gapper, and pick.
Mag timing light, (tweeter)
2 stickpins
2 bendix mag stops.
a universal timing disk, to fit the spinner and a piston stop.
Compression tester with master oriface
A good mag light, 2 cell is good enough
a good quality mirror, flex neck if you can find one.
safety wire plyers 6' and 10"
tire tools, valve core removal, and valve stem puller.
10 each of short and medium and long drills in #40.#30, #21 plus a contractor set 1/16 -1/2"
1 set of slip joint plyers for axel nuts.
1, 6 oz and 1, 8 oz ball peen hammers
1 good quality chisel 1/2" wide 6" long

there's more you find you need but that list will get you started. buy as you go ATS tools is your friend.
 
Buy the best you can afford, and don't lend them out.

Best deal is to watch for a set for sale used. Really good tools never die. Snap-Ons just feel like competence in your hand. Craftsman used to be decent, some still are, but Sears is owned by K-Mart now, and it shows. I recently needed a flare nut wrench, figured "only need it this once, I'll go with the Aviation Tool Department at Harbor Freight.". Predictable result, unbelievably bad dimensional tolerance, so before I did any addiional damage to the fittings (this is on a car, not an airplane), I bit the bullet and bought a set of Craftsman.

Guess what... They were made in China. Appeared to be the same degree of quality as the Harbor Freight junk. Sears is a dead man walking, K-Mart bought the chain to liquidate the real estate and run out the brand while it still had value in reputation, that is rapidly depleting. Too bad.

So many American tool companies of quality gone, TRW, Indestro, Proto (name still exists, but owned by Stanley, so same deal...). Oh well.
 
I have to disagree with the nocraftsman statements. Use themm daily, no problems. I've found times where they fit and snap on didn't, same is true in reverce.

I also recomend a set or two of stanley or other cheap wrenches for sacrificial use for when you just need to cut/grind/bend/weld a special tool for a one time use.
 
SCCutler said:
Buy the best you can afford, and don't lend them out.

Best deal is to watch for a set for sale used. Really good tools never die. Snap-Ons just feel like competence in your hand. Craftsman used to be decent, some still are, but Sears is owned by K-Mart now, and it shows. I recently needed a flare nut wrench, figured "only need it this once, I'll go with the Aviation Tool Department at Harbor Freight.". Predictable result, unbelievably bad dimensional tolerance, so before I did any addiional damage to the fittings (this is on a car, not an airplane), I bit the bullet and bought a set of Craftsman.

Guess what... They were made in China. Appeared to be the same degree of quality as the Harbor Freight junk. Sears is a dead man walking, K-Mart bought the chain to liquidate the real estate and run out the brand while it still had value in reputation, that is rapidly depleting. Too bad.

So many American tool companies of quality gone, TRW, Indestro, Proto (name still exists, but owned by Stanley, so same deal...). Oh well.
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Spike, when you need a decent tool at a reasonable price, go to your local Carquest auto parts (and many other independently owned auto parts stores) and you can buy a KD tool which is a good quality tool built to pro tool tolerance for a reasonable price. Normally they also rent specialty tools and expensive large sockets and wrenches you'll use once.
 
Rite-Site inspection mirror. It has a double-mirror head which gives a right-reading image of the back side of objects, and an extensible double-jointed handle. Cheap and very handy for seeing behind obstructions and through small openings. Good (Mag-Lite) AA-size LED flashlight. +1 on "click" torque wrenches, as opposed to beam or dial type.
 
Skylane81E said:
I have to disagree with the nocraftsman statements. Use themm daily, no problems. I've found times where they fit and snap on didn't, same is true in reverce.
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I have tons of Craftsman tools, made from the early '70s through late 2000's. There has a notable change to their fit and finish, as well as general design, as time has progressed. It really fell off a cliff about 2 years ago, when they started the process of replacing all mainline hand tools which used to be domestically produced by Danaher with really low quality Chinese crapola.
 
slacktide said:
I have tons of Craftsman tools, made from the early '70s through late 2000's. There has a notable change to their fit and finish, as well as general design, as time has progressed. It really fell off a cliff about 2 years ago, when they started the process of replacing all mainline hand tools which used to be domestically produced by Danaher with really low quality Chinese crapola.
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Yeah, that.

I've got a nice set of Craftsman that my wife bought me for Christmas 28 years ago. I replaced a socket that cracked last year. Junk. If you buy older ones (garage sale, estate sale, etc.) they're good stuff. New ones, nope.

John


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
No need for Snap-on. All the dealers are independent, so you might find the only one servicing your area is an as**ole. No sense getting into debt for tools that you can find elsewhere for half the price. I've never used anything Snap-on that felt like it was worth the price. Even at 40% off while I was in school, I didn't bother.

For sockets, SK is your friend. All the sizes you need and nice thin walls. Wrenches I'd go with SK or Wright. Knipex for pliers, Wera, SK or Mac for screwdrivers.

For oddballs like half moon and such, get them from Harbor Freight. Chances are if you need one, even a good one won't fit so you might as well grind down and bend a cheapie. Get the torque wrenches there as well. They hold calibration better than a CDI/Snap-on. Anytime you walk past a bargain bin, look for wrenches and screwdrivers you can modify.

I use splines in 3/8 drive. :yikes: I really like them and I don't have this problem of damaging fasteners that other people talk about. They're not necessary so if you already have 12 points don't bother.

Ratcheting wrenches are nice to have. A Ford and a wide opening crescent (channellock brand). Tiny ignition wrenches. Lots of extensions, wobble and regular. Hex and Torx bits. And crowfoots. Maglite and a headlight. And lastly, a bunch of rare earth magnets to throw in someone's pocket while they do a compass swing. :mad2:
 
Just thought about this - Klein Tools. They make amazingly good pliers and small hand tools, nearly all still US-manufactured.
 
After about 30 years of wrenching for a living, I've found that you could buy out the Snap-On truck, and Aircraft Tool Supply. And still find that there will be something you need and don't have. There are many tools out there that simply cannot be had,
and must be fabricated. That's where Craftsman comes in handy.
As mentioned before, keep an eye on your local pawn shop. Become a regular there, after a while they'll give you a better deal than some shmo just walking in. I have a buttload of real fine quality tools, that I got from the one pawn shop that I visit regularly, for a very low price. (< 1/2 what the tag said)

Another thing to remember, when it comes to tools, "You get what you pay for".
 
Snap on man once gave me a suggestion as even he thought some of the prices were insane.

"Go buy the oldest, rustiest snap on tools you can find at a garage sale or where ever, then turn them in to me for replacement."
 
Skylane81E said:
Snap on man once gave me a suggestion as even he thought some of the prices were insane.

"Go buy the oldest, rustiest snap on tools you can find at a garage sale or where ever, then turn them in to me for replacement."
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Snap On man I had as a kid told me that and I've been doing it since.
 
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