Tool porn

You are the one making big man noises and hurling insults.

After all that, I'm still going to dare asking if I should bother using my torque wrench, which was a cheap planetX one, years ago; the calibration (if this is even a reliable notion on a basic tool like this) is now presumably off... I bought it because for the first time then I had forks with a carbon steerer and I "wanted to be sure"... But was that an illusion (I.e. no way the tool is accurate enough anyway) or did I still hit an acceptable/safe range (so it was worth the trouble)?
I'm sure this has been answered before, but while we're on the subject...

I also have a really old wrench (pictured), purchased at a flea market, which I've used to install GXP cranks, to "manufacturer's recommendations"... Again, was I anywhere close?

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Come on now, that's a bit one-sided.

I suppose you can totally keep your cool at the bottom of a pile-on, huh

used to install GXP cranks, to "manufacturer's recommendations"

The SRAM spec for the NDS crank fixing bolt is an oddly specific 48-54Nm (not a round number in bananas either), but then they basically tell you to keep trying until you eliminate end float. It's one of those places where a torque wrench isn't helping much, beyond getting to about 40Nm even if you've already captured the NDS bearing, just to prevent loosening.

As long as it has been stored correctly, not dropped, not used to undo stuff you should be fine. I have the same wrench but a different supplier.

I do like those type of torque wrenches, have one of these that I bought at an auction and no where near correct when I tried it. Was quite battered but I liked the look.

Can the shit stirring pile on stop now please.

Any one use kg/M or lbs/in scale?

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I've used those Clarke ones before, for wheel bolts on cars. No idea how accurate they are but they seemed quite consistent over a few years.

The preset torque keys look handy for final quick checks This set goes from 1.6-5.7nm.
This set is aimed at CNC workshops for changing tooling.

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Just in case you've got the poster on ignore, this from the last page should give you all the answers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1Y3aB94­lwU

Interesting. But ngl I x1.5 it.

According to the myth busting vid

stored correctly ❌
not dropped ❌
not used to undo ❌

Thanks for the above replies

This is for sale on RetroBike:
https://www.retrobike.co.uk/threads/abbey-bike-tools-team-issue-toolbox-and-contents.484997/#post-3636067

Not mine, but proper tool porn and big saving vs. RRP!

hmm that sure is nice

I have most of the tools from that kit, and I certainly didn't spend £1800 to get them.
I do quite want the Abbey chain tool though, but hard to justify

Might be the wrong thread but any recs for nice but not too pricey Torx key sets? Theres park tools for ~22ish or Wera for ~30ish, are Wera worth the extra?

Park Tools stuff is, for the more general stuff, not actually that great. For highly specialised things like hanger straighteners and presses I think they’re worthwhile, but for things like Torx keys I’d go for Wera/PB Swiss/Runwell/etc

If getting Wera, I would advise against the HF (Holding Function) model of Torx keys. They are super high quality, but the HF means they are too tight for some fasteners and I've found myself damaging a few T25 screw heads when not being careful. The HF Hex keys are brilliant however. PB Swiss make excellent everything.

Could anyone recommend me a good tap and die set? It's not going to be used professionally but I would prefer to buy one that's going to last most of my lifetime.

Could anyone recommend me a good tap and die set?

What sizes? What material are you going to be cutting? Standard sets may not be the best choice.
I'd probably put this one in my tool box if I had no idea what I was going to need
https://www.rdgtools.co.uk/acatalog/Metric-Tap-and-Die-Set-32pc-HSS-Pitch-Gauge-M3---M12-Craft-Pro-by-Presto-10747.html

That strikes me as not very spendy at all.

Definitely the entry level/hobbyist option, but at least with Presto putting their name on it you're not engaged in Chinesium roulette.

Mostly for bike use so M3-12 would be fine. And I guess with bikes it would mostly just be steel and aluminium. It looks like there is a flat head screw driver in there, does that mean you can drive the taps with it? That would be useful for things in tight spaces. Actually I guess that's for tightening the thing that holds the dies!

But yes 27 pounds seems like very good value, I would probably be happy to spend a bit more for slightly higher level.

I would probably be happy to spend a bit more for slightly higher level.

Just replace the cutters with high quality ones if/when you wear them out.

For bikes, you only really need M4-M6 in metric coarse taps, plus an M10×1.0 tap for chasing dérailleur hangers. Anything else you're not going to be making/repairing.

You don't need to go crazy.

Imo the sets are good because you have everything in one neat place plus they come with the thread measurer thingy. If you're doing a lot in a couple of sizes then you can buy more bling taps/die, but the wrench and die holder are not rocket science.

I'm sure tester will jump in but I'd also buy some cutting fluid while you're at it. You can however diy this putting oil and water in bottle, then shake before use.

It looks like there is a flat head screw driver in there, does that mean you can drive the taps with it?

It's for doing up these screws on the die holder

I'm sure tester will jump in but I'd also buy some cutting fluid

You don't need coolant for hand tapping, you need lubrication. An old fashioned high sulphur cutting oil works well on steel, there are specialist products for hand tapping aluminium which do even better at preventing edge build up.

https://anchorlube.com/
https://www.tapmagic.com/product/2/tap-magic-aluminum
http://tapfree.com/alumtap.html