Baconsdozen Imperial Tools,for classic car and bikes.

Our spanner size conversion charts compare whitworth,AF,BA and metric bolt head,nut and wrench sizes,or compare the different imperial and metric standards (UNF,UNC,BSW,BSF,BA metric etc). Why damage fastenings on your classic with 'nearly' fitting tools when the correct imperial tools are available and affordable from us?

Open end BA spanner set for electrical fixings etc.

BA spanners

Deep Whitworth and Injector sockets

Combined vacuum and pressure gauge.

Vacuum gauges

Colortune for setting carburettos on older cars.

Gunson Colortune kit

Hand tools for professional or DIY use,quality assured.

Open end,combination,ring spanners and wrenches available in all imperial sizes plus,impact or standard six and twelve point sockets,available in sets or as individual items,some genuinely made in England,superb quality with a lifetimes warranty. We sell BSW ,BSF taps and dies,gauges,colortune kits and adaptors, specialised hub nut sockets etc.

Rubber or PVC gloves and sou-westers.

We still sell the waterproof,shoulder length or gauntlet gloves,souwester hats and clothing that we used to supply to the commercial fishing industry.These are also suitable for fishermen,farm or foresty workers,fish farmers or anyone working outside in foul weather.

Ordering and payment. We still prefer to do things in a more personal, old fashioned way,so you can phone us on 01502584575 to order with a credit card to hand.Other options here.There are some paypal buttons on the site,mainly on standard stock items inc post to UK,we also accept cheques in sterling or can send a google checkout invoice.

BA socket set.

Welding clamp set.

Thread gauge

Whitworth (BSW) Spanner set.
Second hand tools. We stock some second user surplus and old stock spanners,wrenches and sockets, servicing and tuning equipment suitable for classic or modern vehicles We buy stocks of similar surplus or used good quality,branded equipment,unwanted older car spares etc please contact us with details.

Abbreviations and definitions used throughout this site.

B.S.W.

British Standard Whitworth,an early thread standard. Threads are coarse,angle 55degrees and the pitch is measured in threads per inch.The size marked on the spanner (half inch whitworth,nine sixteenths whitworth etc) refers to the diametre of the shank of the bolt it fits not the head size and is always in fractions of an inch.. Pretty much obsolete by the 60s but encountered on earlier cars,motorcycles trucks,trains and machinery.

B.S.F.

British Standard Fine,in effect a fine version of whitworth. Size again refers to the thread part of the bolt,not the head. BSF spanners are always marked one size larger than the same sized BSW spanner so for example a 1/4 inch BSW is the same size as a 5/16 inch BSF,

B.A.

British Association,another early thread standard used on small nuts and bolts.These fixings are mainly found on smaller electrical components or instruments etc.Still enountered on some relatively modern machinery and used in model engineering etc.Unusual in the the larger the number on a spanner or socket the smaller the tool. Sizes normally encountered range from 0BA to 10BA although sizes from 11BA to 23BA are included in some text books and manuals.

A.F.

Across Flats the gap between an open ended spanners jaws and the distance across the nut or bolts parallel faces.If measured in fractions of an inch (7/16 or 1/2 etc) the spanner would normally be used on UNC or UNF fixings and is usual referred to as Imperial.If measured and marked in millimetres it is intended for metric threaded fixings and is simply called metric.

UNC and UNF.

Unified Coarse or Fine,the thread standard that superseded BSW and BSF etc. Fast becoming obsolete but commonly used on many vehicles late 50s to 80s or later . Most UNC and UNF fittings use AF (Inch based) tools.

Six and twelve point.

Sockets can be six point (shaped inside as a hexagon) sometimes called mono hex,most impact sockets are six point and coloured black.Twelve point (or bi hex) sockets are a double hex configuration. Flank drive,Hi Torq etc are different designs of sockets claimed to drive without putting force right on the corners of hexagonal nuts and bolts.

Imperial

Anything the size of which uses inches or fractions of an inch as its measurement. Thus a 1/2inch af,or a 1/2 inch whit is an imperial sized spanner or socket a 19mm is not.

There are various types of sockets that are supposed to fit everything from mm to torx and Whitworth.We don't sell them we think that for example, the correct tool for a half inch whitworth nut or bolt is a half inch whitworth spanner (or socket etc).

World wide mail order of tools for older vehicles and machinery.

We don't sell the 'one size fits all' sockets or spanners,but proper Imperial sized ones,designed to fit imperial sized nuts and bolts, we sell tools for professional workshop use (some still made in England) and some more suited for serious DIY use.