[rescue] Tool kits?

[David L Kindred (Dave)]

>>>>> "William" == William Enestvedt <William.Enestvedt at jwu.edu> writes:

    William> Dave Kindred wrote:

    William> And are you slagging off Harbor Freight specifically with
    William> that crack about cheap sockets?!  :7)

Well, yeah.  But that same crap shows up at *mart, chain auto stores,
everywhere.

    William> Years back I spent $8 for a tiny set of sockets and screw
    William> driver bits that go into a finger-length ratchet handle. It
    William> looked like typical Radio Shack junk that I expected to
    William> fail in a few weeks, but I use it to this day. So you never
    William> know what's going to turn out to be a gem!

Yeah, sometimes you get lucky.  Chapman makes some nice sets like that
if you need a name brand.

    >> Make sure you buy ones you like (strippers in particular), too
    >> many don't work well (at least for me).
    William>    Want to name any good or bad brands?

Well, sometimes its subjective (maybe due to the size of your hands or
whatever) as to which are best, but typically Ideal, Klein, and Harris
make good stuff.  Klein tends more towards electricians tools and Harris
more towards telco, with Ideal in the middle.  Although I like Sears for
screwdrivers and wrenches, I've never liked their pliers.  And always
avoid the combination stripper/crimper things, you'll be happier with
separate tools.  In the same vein, multi-groove fixed strippers are
usually better than adjustable ones.

    William> - Crimper for RJ45 & RJ11 (plus jacks!)
    >> Again be careful.  Make sure you buy one you are comfortable
    >> with.
    William>    Hah! Around here, no one makes cables, they _order_
    William>    them.

If you decide you need one anyway, AMP seems to make the best, but they
are expensive.  The Ideal tool (and kits) doesn't look too bad in the
catalog, but I've never used it.



I don't think I've ever done business with them, but I have catalogs
from Specialized Products (www.toolkits.com) here.  Lots of name-brand
goodies.

-- 
David L. Kindred
Unix Systems & Network Administrator
Telesciences, Inc.