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by Peter Brett - March 2007
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& Striking Tool Set
Breaking up is easy to do
The logic behind the marketing of the new Rolson Tools wrecking bar set is a useful antidote to my experience. Firstly it aims to be a comprehensive set with a wrecking or prising tool for most situations encountered on a daily basis by building professionals. Secondly, and many of us can guiltily hold up our hands here, we do not always use these tools correctly and with the proper safety gear. This is largely because the safety gear is in the loft/ shed/ van or broken, missing or otherwise unavailable.
For a very reasonable price, Rolson Tools has come up with a solution that will eliminate many of these silly objections and perhaps the people responsible for health and safety on many worksites could breathe a little easier.
Fortunately for me, Rolson Tools sent me two sets of the bars for review and I was able to place one set with the ideal pair of wreckers. They have been called Bodgit and Scarper and all the other names that wreckers are, but they are very good at wrecking.
The set consists of 8 pieces. The safety gear included is a pair of latex coated builder’s gloves and a pair of flexible, therefore comfortable, goggles. I quite liked the gloves, despite the fact that they are clearly not expensively made. The latex covered palms give good grip and they are quite comfortable to use over a long period of time. Some of the ham-fisted builders I have seen may struggle with the average sizing, but they will stretch to fit most hands.
When it comes to the actual tools themselves, I think they will cover most eventualities. The 250mm nail bar has claws at both ends and will cover nail lengths of up to 50mm or so. One end is bent gently at 30 degreeish angle for easing out nails, while the other end is bent at a 90 degree angle for serious leverage on difficult to pull nails.
A 300mm long nail puller has a similar function to the tool above, but has a head like a claw hammer, making pulling nails easier and less likely to mark a wooden surface.
The so-called 450mm long Turbo bar is getting into real wrecking territory. It has a nicely goose-necked end for pulling out serious length nails with ease, as well as a well shaped wedge end for lifting and prying up floorboards for example. I liked its compact proportions because the wrecking bar I have actually managed to keep hold of over the years is really just a bit long for many domestic operations.
Next up is a 610mm long T-Type bar. This one was the favourite for Bodgit and Scarper because it was deemed most effective at breaking and lifting things quickly with the least effort. The T-Type head has two nail claws, one on each end of the T. Additionally, the bar is also bent at an angle to provide extra leverage when the nail is up against a wall for example, and space is limited. A nice little lifter is at the other end of the handle.
Finally, for wedging and prying those more sensitive things, where it is important to minimize damage, there is a 270mm long Nail bar with a 45mm wide pry end. This has a good gentle curve on it and is most effective on floorboards. It also has a claw hammer type nail puller at the other end.
Because the club hammer also seems to go missing or is being used by someone else, a 1Kg fibreglass shafted club hammer is also included in the set. This has a good rubber grip and practically shaped head.
Bodgit and Scarper, or Mick and Vic, to give them their real names, were very pleased with the Rolson Tools set. For professional wreckers, the tools were ideal. They did not manage to break or bend any of the tools, although secretly I was hoping they would. Hopefully, not all tradesmen have such poor reputations and would be able to use the tools more in the spirit of helping to create rather than to destroy. I used all of the tools in real-life lifting, prying and wrecking situations and found them to be pretty effective. I particularly liked the T-Type bar and the 450mm Turbo bar, and they are mentally being put on one side for future use. What I am trying to do though, is to find a way of keeping all the tools together in a bag or box, so that I can find them when I want to use them in the future.
To help the retailer, Rolson Tools has packed the set in a large yellow open box. All the pieces in the box are held in with cable ties, but are at the same time open to examination for quality and shape, so potential buyers can check what they would like to buy. The boxes are quite flat so can be easily stacked on top of each other to minimize retail space used.
There is a guide price of £19.99 which translates into good value for end users, as well as a reasonable margin for retailers.
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Airstream Communications