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[mantahatch]

My eldest is lucky enough to have got an apprenticeship as a Plant Mechanic for a local company.
I can help out with some tools but he needs a toolbox, now generally speaking they all have thousands of pounds worth of Snap-On tool box. I am not in a position to afford Snap-On. Is there an alternative he could have without being the butt of jokes from the others who have been there many years ?

Thanks Chaps.

[aaronjb]

I think being the apprentice he's likely to be the butt of all the jokes there for quite a while, at least until the next apprentice comes along, regardless of what you buy him

Halfords Pro/Advanced range toolchests are very good for the money, IMHO, especially if you get them when they have a 'buy the bottom one, get the top one free' deal on.

[CaptainZok]

Tell me about it. Tonygnome is just finishing his first year as an apprentice and his toolbox was £800 second hand.
Do you have a local van that visits his workplace?
T got his box from the snap on man and paid him in weekly installments. Still a load of money for a toolbox/tools but I'm hoping they will last him.

Alternatively Halfords or Machine mart do a range that will be serviceable and cheaper but the problem I found when suggesting them was they don't come with a snapon badge.

[Osprey]

I think being the apprentice he's likely to be the butt of all the jokes there for quite a while, at least until the next apprentice comes along, regardless of what you buy him

Best get him a long stand as well 

And a bucket of sparks for the grinder 

[metalhip]

and a reel of whitworth thread 

[henryd]

might be worth looking for a box on the bay of E or ask your local snap- on dealer if they have any trade in's,I paid my dealer £100 for my snap -on  box which was in good nick just a bit out of date

[Vamps]

and a reel of whitworth thread 

And even...

A sky hook, a left handed screwdriver or a can of tartan paint......

[Andy B]

and a reel of whitworth thread 

And even...

A sky hook, a left handed screwdriver or a can of tartan paint......

and a bubble for the spirit level! 

[Andy B]

They had a yound lad when I was at sea looking for the keys for the snooker room!     

the penny only dropped when someone explained that due to recent stormy weather they hadn't been handing them out! 

[Nathan]

Snap on or Mac tools..............

[Omegatoy]

I know they seem enormously expensive which they are,

however im now 55 years young bought my snap on kit(box as well) at what to be honest seemd to be an extortionate price and paid weekly and just kept adding the things i needed every month thought it would never end(the payments)
however apart from one 10mm 3/8 drive socket(which i broke on a buggy belt drive system other end of the 10mm was a windy gun!!! so expected really) which the snapoon man replaced without quibble last year, they have lasted me all these years and i still have them!!! and still use and abuse them, used them from car to hgv(5years of this)banger racers to classic cars, motorcycles , quad bikes, forklift trucks, milkfloats, canal boats, so they are now around 38 years old and still in damn good condition in spite of all the use!!!


you only get what you pay for is the story here expensive at the time yes, but if you break it down to the amount of years and use they have had then its really very very cheap?? and with a lifetime guarantee at snap on you will never have to buy the same tool again,
if you can possibly justify it then get the snap on gear including box,
jm2pw
p.s when i no longer use my tools they will be given to a promising young mechanic of my choosing!! however that will be years off yet!!

[Lazydocker]

Agreed... Snap On or MAC, both have a lifetime warranty and are good for it.

But... That's an investment he'll have to make over time I've used some of the Halfords Pro stuff and it seems pretty good... The downside is that it's not on the weekly payment plan

[pauls]

Dont forget the elbow grease

[hotel21]

Dont forget the elbow grease

and the glass hammer.... 

[Nick W]

Shouldn't you ask his boss what tools he's going to need to start with?

As for insisting on Snap On, some of it's worth the money straight away; ratchets, commonly used spanners and sockets. BUT, they're not the only tools of that quality, and they are seriously expensive.
I certainly wouldn't be buying a SO BOX if money's tight; it would be better spent on the tools to go in it.

I'm a big fan of the Halford's Industrial boxes(the black ones), which are frequently on offer, and to my eye as good as similar sized SO ones for a fraction of the price. I see them in garages and workshops all the time.

 I also bought a middle box to go with mine earlier this year(I ran  out of room) which Halfords don't do. It's  Britool, and exactly matches the current Halfords boxes(mine are earlier models), and that's a brand the tool snobs can't easily turn their noses up at!

I've been using a Halfords professional(advanced now) socket and spanner set every day for the last 8 years and can't fault it; only had to replace a small ratchet and sockets because I lost them - something that's easier to accept when the whole set cost £70, not just the ratchet!

I snapped one of their 1/2" breaker bars standing on the end of it trying to undo the truck wheelnuts; when I took it back the bloke looked at it and asked what I'd been trying to undo with it. When I said "wheelnuts" he just smiled and got me a new one!