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Tools, abrasives and consumables

The vocabulary of the tool crib. Most of it is shorthand for a fitting, a material or a disc construction, and most of the money wasted here is wasted on buying the wrong version of something that looks right. The tools for the job guide maps common tasks to kit; these entries explain the terms.

Drilling and driving

SDS, SDS-Plus and SDS-Max

A hammer drill shank system in which the bit slides within the chuck so the hammer action strikes it directly. SDS-Plus is the common 10 mm shank; SDS-Max is the heavier 18 mm shank for larger machines.

Buying note. SDS-Plus and SDS-Max are not interchangeable, and the mistake is usually discovered mid-job. Adapters exist and are a poor idea - running a Plus bit off a Max machine puts far more energy through the bit than it was built for.

HSS

High speed steel - the standard material for general-purpose twist drills, holding its hardness at the temperatures generated by cutting.

Buying note. Plain HSS struggles in stainless and work-hardening alloys. If your drills are blueing and going blunt in one hole, the problem is usually material choice and speed, not the brand - go to cobalt and slow down.

HSS-Co (cobalt)

High speed steel alloyed with cobalt, giving greater heat resistance and hardness. The standard choice for stainless steel and tougher alloys.

Buying note. Cobalt drills cost several times more and are more brittle, so they punish a wandering start or a flexing workpiece. Centre-punch properly, clamp the work, and run slow with cutting fluid or you will not see the benefit.

TCT

Tungsten carbide tipped - a steel body carrying brazed carbide cutting tips, used for masonry, abrasive materials and composites where steel cutters would fail quickly.

Buying note. Carbide is hard but brittle, so TCT tooling does not tolerate impact or flex. A TCT hole saw dropped on a concrete floor is often finished even though it looks fine, because a chipped tip will not cut cleanly.

Jobber drill

The standard-length twist drill - the default proportion of flute length to diameter, as distinct from stub (shorter) and long series.

Buying note. Stub drills are stiffer and wander less, which makes them better for accurate starts and thin material. If holes are coming out oversize or off-centre, a stub drill will often fix it without changing anything else.

Hole saw

A cylindrical saw cutting a large-diameter hole by removing only the circumference, leaving a disc of waste material behind.

Buying note. Two things ruin hole saws: no pilot support, and swarf packing the gullets. Back the saw out regularly to clear it, and plan how the slug comes out - a jammed slug is the most common reason a hole saw is thrown away early.

Impact driver vs combi drill

An impact driver delivers rotational hammer blows to drive fasteners; a combi drill applies steady rotation with an optional percussive setting for masonry.

Buying note. An impact driver drives long screws vastly better and is a poor choice for precise drilling - it has no clutch, so it will keep going past the point where a combi drill would have stopped, stripping the head or the material.

Brushless

A motor with electronic commutation instead of carbon brushes, giving longer runtime per charge, longer motor life and no brush replacement.

Buying note. The runtime gain is real and matters most where charging is awkward - possessions, tunnels, remote compounds. The other practical benefit is fewer consumable spares to stock, which matters more than it sounds for a store carrying multiple platforms.

Battery platform

A manufacturer’s battery system shared across their cordless range, so one pack fits many tools.

Buying note. The platform, not the tool, is the real purchasing decision - batteries and chargers dominate the lifetime cost. Running three platforms on one site means three sets of chargers and packs, and packs that are always in the wrong van. Standardise early, and see WEEE for end-of-life packs.

Sockets, spanners and insulated tools

Drive size (1/4, 3/8, 1/2)

The square drive that connects a socket to a ratchet or bar. Larger drives carry more torque and take larger sockets.

Buying note. Drive size sets the torque ceiling of the whole assembly. Putting a long bar on a 1/4″ ratchet to shift a tight fastener will break the ratchet, usually at the worst moment. Step up the drive rather than lengthening the lever.

Impact socket

A socket made from a more ductile alloy with thicker walls, made to withstand the shock loading of an impact wrench. Usually black rather than bright finished.

Buying note. Chrome hand sockets on an impact wrench can shatter, and the fragments travel. Black phosphate is the usual finish and a reasonable first glance, but chrome-finished impact sockets do exist - so the reliable check is the marking on the socket, not its colour.

AF vs metric

Across-flats sizing in imperial inches versus millimetres. Some sizes are close enough to seem interchangeable - 1/2″ and 13 mm, for instance.

Buying note. Close is what does the damage: an imperial socket on a metric nut grips on the corners and rounds them. Keep the two sets visibly separated. Mixed sets are a false economy on any site with both imported and UK plant.

Bi-hex vs 6-point

Bi-hex (12-point) sockets engage in twelve positions, useful in confined spaces; 6-point sockets engage the flats over a larger area.

Buying note. For anything tight, corroded or already slightly rounded, use 6-point. Bi-hex concentrates load nearer the corners, which is exactly where a stubborn fastener will fail. Convenience versus grip, and grip usually wins outdoors.

VDE insulated

Hand tools insulated for live working, tested to EN/IEC 60900 for use up to 1000 V AC and 1500 V DC, with the insulation bonded to the tool rather than applied as a slip-on grip.

Buying note. Two distinctions worth knowing. A dipped plastic handle is not an insulated tool. And conformity to IEC 60900 may be self-declared by the manufacturer, whereas the VDE mark denotes third-party certification by the VDE Institute - so “60900 compliant” and “VDE approved” are not the same claim. Inspect for nicks before each use and scrap damaged tools; there is no repair.

Abrasives

Cutting disc

A thin bonded abrasive wheel, typically 1–3 mm thick, intended for cutting through material with the edge of the disc.

Buying note. Never grind with the face of a cutting disc. Side loading a thin disc is how they shatter, and the guard will not catch all of it. If both operations are needed, change the disc - it takes twenty seconds.

Grinding disc

A thicker bonded abrasive wheel, typically around 6 mm, designed to remove material with its face at an angle to the work.

Buying note. A grinding disc wears down through its usable life and must be retired at the manufacturer’s minimum diameter, not when it becomes unusable - peripheral speed falls as it shrinks and the bond is not designed for a worn-through wheel.

Flap disc

A disc of overlapping abrasive cloth flaps that wears back to expose fresh abrasive, used for blending, weld dressing and finishing.

Buying note. Flap discs cut cooler and leave a better finish than a rigid grinding wheel, and are far kinder on thin material where a grinding disc would gouge or distort with heat. More expensive per disc, usually cheaper per job.

Bonded abrasive shelf life

Resin-bonded thin cutting and deburring wheels for hand-held machines carry a manufacture date and a shelf-life limit, commonly three years, because the resin bond degrades with age and humidity. This is the disc you put on an angle grinder - it does not apply to bonded abrasives generally, since vitrified wheels carry no such limit.

Buying note. Check dates when stock-taking a tool store - discs bought in bulk and forgotten at the back of a shelf are a genuine hazard, not just poor performance. Store flat, dry, and rotate the stock.

Disc diameter and bore

Discs are sized by outside diameter (commonly 115, 125 and 230 mm) and by centre bore, which must match the machine spindle and flange.

Buying note. Two checks before fitting: that the disc’s maximum rotational speed equals or exceeds the grinder’s, and that the guard suits the diameter. The overspeed danger runs one way - a large disc on a small, faster machine, which spins it past its rated speed. A small disc on a large grinder is a different fault: the guard no longer covers it and the spindle is left exposed. Neither is acceptable, and both happen because the disc physically fits.

Grit and P-grades

Abrasive coarseness, with the P-prefixed FEPA scale used on coated abrasives. Higher numbers are finer.

Buying note. Skipping grades wastes time rather than saving it - a fine abrasive spends its life removing scratches a coarser one left, and gets clogged doing it. Work through the sequence.

Chemicals, tapes and sealants

Cutting fluid

A fluid applied to the cutting zone during machining and drilling to cool the tool, lubricate the cut and flush swarf away.

Buying note. The main reason drills die early on stainless is heat, and cutting fluid is the cheapest fix available. Note that neat and water-miscible fluids have different handling and disposal requirements - both are COSHH items.

Degreaser

A solvent or detergent formulation for removing oil, grease and contamination from surfaces and components before assembly, bonding or painting.

Buying note. Solvent choice matters for what happens next. Some leave a residue that stops adhesives, thread lockers and paint from keying, so check compatibility with the product going on afterwards rather than reaching for whatever is on the shelf.

PTFE tape

Thin unsintered PTFE tape wrapped round a male pipe thread to seal it, available in densities for water, gas and other services.

Buying note. Wrap in the direction the fitting will tighten, or the tape unwinds as you assemble. Colour codes distinguish grades - gas grade is thicker and yellow - and using water grade on gas is not an acceptable substitution.

Silicone vs MS polymer sealant

Silicone sealants cure flexible and waterproof but generally cannot be painted. MS (modified silane) polymer sealants are paintable, bond to more substrates and are generally lower odour.

Buying note. The paintability question decides most jobs. Silicone applied where paint is going on afterwards means removing it all and starting again, since nothing will key to it. If in doubt on a finished surface, MS polymer.

Self-amalgamating tape

A stretchy unbacked tape that fuses to itself under tension to form a continuous waterproof sleeve, with no adhesive involved.

Buying note. It only works if stretched hard as it is wound - roughly doubled in length - and overlapped. Applied loosely like ordinary tape it does not fuse and will unravel. Excellent for outdoor cable and hose repairs where duct tape fails.

Penetrating oil

A thin low-viscosity oil formulated to creep into corroded threads by capillary action and break down rust bonds.

Buying note. It needs time, not force - apply, wait, reapply, and tap the fastener to help it travel. Reaching immediately for a longer bar after one spray is how studs shear, and an extraction is a much longer job than waiting twenty minutes.

Site and welfare consumables

Cable tie ratings

Cable ties are specified by length, width, tensile loop strength and material - standard nylon, heat-stabilised, or UV-stable black for outdoor use.

Buying note. Natural nylon ties outdoors become brittle in UV and fail within a season, usually somewhere inconvenient. Black UV-stabilised ties cost marginally more. For anything permanent outdoors, stainless ties.

BS 8599 first aid kits

The British Standard for workplace first aid kit contents, with small, medium and large sizes, plus specific formats for vehicles and for critical injury.

Buying note. Kits need restocking against the contents list, not by eyeballing the box, and the components have their own dates. A kit that has been raided for plasters and never checked is a compliance finding waiting to happen - put it on the same replenishment cycle as everything else.

Eyewash station

Sterile saline or water provided for immediate irrigation of the eye after contamination, as bottles or plumbed-in stations.

Buying note. Sealed eyewash bottles carry a use-by date and, once opened, are single-use. Check dates on stations that have sat untouched for a year - unused does not mean in date.

Spill kit

Absorbents, socks, pads and disposal bags for containing and clearing a liquid spill, in general-purpose, oil-only or chemical grades.

Buying note. Oil-only absorbents are hydrophobic, so they work on water - which is exactly what you want on a wet yard or a quayside. A general-purpose kit will saturate with rainwater and be useless when the actual spill happens.

Standards, schemes and regulations are described here as general buyer education. Nothing on this page is a claim that any TES-supplied product is certified to a particular standard, or that TES holds a scheme it is not listed as holding on our accreditations. Where a marking matters commercially, check the product’s own certification and the wording of your own specification.

The rest of the glossary

Procurement & compliance - PQQs, assurance schemes, site paperwork and stock arrangements.

PPE & safety standards - The EN standards and markings behind hi-vis, footwear, gloves and RPE.

Fixings, fasteners & threads - Property classes, thread forms, coatings, stainless grades and anchors.

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