Taking on projects yourself instead of hiring someone to do them comes with a lot of benefits. It feels good to be able to take care of things yourself and it gives you a sense of pride, plus with some projects you can get creative and make something better than it would be if it was hired out as a standard job (I've seen some pretty innovative ideas in friends homes). Fixing things yourself can be a big relief if you have a problem after normal working hours when you can not get a hold of anyone. The other important benefit is that it costs a lot less to do it yourself.
Having The Right Tools
You can see there is a lot of incentive to do projects yourself, but to make them a little easier and to get the job done right it is important to have the right tools. Not having the right tools can cause a lot of frustration and it can make it harder to tighten, fasten, connect things etc correctly. One of those essential tools, especially if you do a lot of work on cars, is a good socket set.
The Importance Of A Socket Set
Socket sets help you loosen and tighten nuts and bolts more quickly and easily. Because you do not have to remove the socket wrench from the bolt you are loosening / tightening as you are using it, this tool is perfect for hard to reach places or for working in tight places like under the hood of your car. The ratchet mechanism makes this possible and is the key to the socket wrench, which is sometimes referred to as simply a ratchet.
If you are going to be using your socket set frequently you'll want to invest in a nice one. The point of this tool is to make jobs a little easier but if you get a cheap set and you use it regularly you have a greater chance of the wrench not fitting well or breaking. However if you're not going to use it very often, but want to have one on hand a cheaper set may work OK for you.
Types Of Socket Sets
Socket sets come in both metric and standard. Foreign cars and other products will typically require metric socket sets, while American products will require standard socket sets with measurements in inches. Depending on what you are working on you may need a set for each unit of measurement. Before buying your socket set make sure you know which one you will need.