Tools

[widman]

I love all my Craftsman stuff and most of it is 37 years old. In that time I've returned a screwdriver and a couple of ratchets that got abused by someone.

But lately I needed a bunch of other stuff for my project car and picked up "lifetime Warranted" stuff at Harbor freight super cheap through email coupons and mailers. So far I haven't been able to break any of it.

 

[Black Bart]

I prefer Snap-on tools they are high quality but not cheap.
Some of the cheap wrenches look and feel like war clubs

 

[tom slick]

I've used Snap-on, Wright, Armstrong, Easco and a few others, mostly Snap-on, as a full time aircraft mechanic in the USAF. I've broken all brands. My roll-away at home is full of Craftsman. Why? because the stuff I work on at home doesn't require premium tools. I don't have a tool ego. They've rebuilt engines, transmissions, dirt bikes, lawnmowers...
Premium tools are certainly nicer and they offer specialty tools that craftsman doesn't, but for the casual mechanic Craftsman won't let you down. try getting the snap-on truck out to your house on a Saturday to replace a 1/2" socket, the dumb kid at sears doesn't care what you want to exchange.
For a pro this is a completely different subject, premium tools are required because of the service that they see. The snap-on truck is available to replace anything you want because you are going to buy more anyway.

 

[paulo57509]

Originally Posted By: doitmyself
Those sets can be had for $70 to $80 dollars on the net. Here's just one place (hope it's o.k. to post this link):

http://www.penntoolco.com/catalog/products/products.cfm?categoryID=5950


I have the 148 piece set, which I don't believe is available at Costco anymore. I think the larger set is, though.

They came in real handy yesterday. I lost my Craftman 8mm, 1/4" drive socket.

Walked over to the other car and opened up the Crescent set. Paid for itself right there. I still need to drop by Sears later on, though to get a replacement.

 

[LexusAussie]

Metrinch and Sidchrome generally along with some VBW tools from Germany that were my Dad's when he was alive. He swore by them and he was a Mechanic.

Always buy the best you can afford

 

[tangojetta]

Originally Posted By: XJ1100
Originally Posted By: oilnoob425

They are:
Home Depot - Husky
Lowe's - Kobalt, Task Force
Menards(Midwest chain of HD like stores) - Allen Tools, Tool Shop
Walmart - Stanley
Target - Durabuilt Tools
Adavance Auto Parts - AmPro
AutoZone - Great Neck, Duralast
Napa – Evercraft


Home Depot: Made by Stanley (Mac)...seem to be great quality for the price. Great for a weekender. I am sure they will exchange in store for warranty, so that is a benefit.

Wal-Mart: For the money these are really good tools. Been using a 1/4" socket set in a small engine shop for years without any problems...they are holding up great. The only problem is you have to mail in the tools to get warranty, I don't think wal mart will exchange...so kind of a pain.

Napa: I have some of Napa's Professional line of tools and these are made by Danaher (Matco, Craftsman Pro). The professional line seems to be of the same quality as Matco and for less money...also the warranty is very easy to get. The local store will deliver replacement tools with parts orders to the shop...or you can just stop by any napa store. I believe the evercraft line is a lower quality tool...I have only used the gasket scraper so I am not a very good judge for this.

I don't have any experience with the others on the list. Out of the ones I discussed I would choose Husky for the value and ease of warranty.



Took me 8 weeks to get a replacement from Husky, and lot of run around from Home Depot. I'm sticking with Sears with their replacement policy.

 

[oilnoob425]

Originally Posted By: paulo57509
Do you have a Costco near by?


No, but my sister has. She's got membership too. It's a first Costco in Wisconsin, they just got opened recently and I've never been there. I never considered it, thanks for the advice.

 

[oilnoob425]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
i have a very large collection of tools. i have some craftsman in my backup set, but my main set consists of MATCO and SnapOn. once you use the good stuff, you dont want to go back to the cheap stuff.


What would be the difference between cheap and expensive ratchet, except build quality and durability? Would it ratchet better? I got a Kobalt tool set from Lowe's and not too thrilled with ratcheting mechanism. Later I bought spare Allen ratchet from Menards, I think it's the same as Kobalt. Ratcheting is not that great either. AmPro ratchet from AAP looks great for the money. It's cheap so I don't hold many hopes but will buy it anyway, just to check it out. Sears polished ratchets are very expensive if you buy just one.

 

[The_Jeff]

Ratchets are one of the things they can make nicer. The real good ones have more teeth so you can get more clicks in less working space. Plus if they have a stiff spring like the cheap ones you wind up unscrewing stuff you're trying to bolt down, b/c of high internal friction.

My favorite ratchet right now is a $6 stubby I bought on impulse next to the cash register at an auto parts store. Has 1/4" on one end and 3/8" on the other. Great for spinning stuff down though I need a longer handled thing to break stuff loose.

The display looked just like this down to the foam cubbies.

 

[ffracer]

I've used cheap tools and good ones. NAPA and Sears Craftsman are great and relatively cheap for home. You want stuff that doesn't break easily or is out of tolerance. Sears' return policy is great too.

Snap-On, MAC, Beta, etc. are great, but cost a lot more. Just spend the money at Sears. Join the Craftsman club and you'll get deals mailed to you, along with a free calendar.

You pay for what you get in this case. Just spend the money. I've been back to Sears for replacements 1-2 times in 15 years.

 

[2000ltdken]

For years I have used Craftsman. Recently broke 2 ratchets and got them replaced. The new replacement policy is to give you a refurbished one from the drawer. Not good. Also looked at upgrading to Craftsman Professional. Ratchets still marginal according to the sales person. I am in the process of mixing my tools. Going to try Snap On ratchets for durability. Wiha screwdrivers because of machined tips and better molding on the handles. Craftsman will still be my sockets, universals and extensions and wrenches because of cost and ease of replacement.

 

[firemachine69]

Craftsman and Mastercraft for me. I bent some needle nose pliers hulking a crush-pin down, and I cracked a socket attempting to loosen up my trailing arm from my rear shock with a 400ft/lbs impact wrench full-tilt. Read: severe abuse.

 

[milwaukee]

Craftsman for me. Most affordable made in USA tool. They are also the same price as the china [censored] at home depot and walmart and way better.

I would love a set of snap on tools but they are a huge waste of money. If snap on did not finance tools they would go out of business in a month. They sell so many tools to "pros" because they finance people with bad credit. If they didn't finance they wouldn't sell anything.

 

[wavinwayne]

I use mostly a basic set of Craftsman stuff I've had for years. Whenever I need a new tool, I usually buy whatever brands they sell in AutoZone, Advance, and O'Reilly. Everything I've purchased from those 3 stores carries a lifetime warranty. I've never broken any of the stuff, though. In fact, the only tool I've ever "broken" was when I let my Craftsman wrench fall onto both of my car's battery terminals at the same time. Part of it melted, but I didn't ask for a replacement.

 

[TexasHonda]

I must be the exception, but I've failed very few tools and those I have failed were either overloaded or wrong size. I've broke a couple of cheap breaker bars (Calhawk I think), but I had a 3-4 ft cheater pipe on them at the time. You can hardly blame the wrench for that.

I failed several 3/4x1/2 drive reducers trying to use a 1/2" drive socket w/ a 3/4" breaker bar (Craftsman). Again a cheater pipe was required. I failed several Calhawk and one Craftsman reducers before I decided this simply was'nt going to work to break loose a Honda Accord crankshaft pulley bolt. Probably 600-800 ft-lbs break-out torque was eventually required. I was eventually successful w/ Craftsman 1/2" breaker bar and cheater pipe to gain enough leverage. I've since found that use of anti-sieze on bolt threads and washer reduces breakout torque on future removal.

I've failed two sockets that I can remember, a 15mm-12 pt Stanley on a cylinder head bolt (should have been a 14mm socket, my mistake). I simply wore out a 10mm-6 pt, very cheap socket from frequent use/abuse.

BTW, I have a set of ratchets purchased from JC Penny's in 1970 that have survived 38 years of use and abuse; cheater pipes and hammer blows. They are Penncraft brand. I still have most of the SAE sockets that came in my first tool kit. (Tears of nostalgia here).

So how do you guys manage to break so many tools?

Regards

 

[AcuraTech]

+1 TexasHonda.

I lose way more tools than I break. Stuff falls into the nether worlds of the engine compartment or gets left on the cowl and forgotten about. I don't know that I've ever broken a socket, even as a professional mechanic. But then again I don't use chrome sockets with an impact gun or a 7 foot long cheater bar.

Common sense makes tools last a long time. Yes, I've gone through several 1/4 and 3/8 ratchets, but eventually the gears just wear out or get jammed. No big thing. Most sockets should be a lifetime purchase, though. Same with wrenches. I'm still using the same 19mm Snap-On impact socket for lug nuts that I did 10 years ago. Granted it's getting a bit worn, but still works fine. And that's after loosening and tightening hundreds of thousands of lugnuts with an impact gun.

IMO, the only reason quality sockets and wrenches break is because of outright abuse.

 

[XCELERATIONRULES]

I lose more tools tahan I actually break.
ever since harbour freight opened locally,its my favorite store.
I can stock my tool box with some pretty decent stuff relatively cheap and not worry about loaning or losing them.

 

[punisher]

Originally Posted By: milwaukee

I would love a set of snap on tools but they are a huge waste of money.


For the home/casual tool user, you are right. For the pro who relies on his tools for a living then no. Stripped ratchets, broken/belled sockets and rounded bolt heads due to sloppy sockets and wrenches cost time. Time is something a tech values highly.

 

[demarpaint]

I have some Snap-On tools but mostly Craftsman Tools. I think for the money you can't beat the Craftsman Tools. Since I'm not a FT mechanic I can't justify the prices of the Snap-On tools, and returning something that breaks or is defective is a 5 minute ride to Sears.

Sears is also good to their Employees who are in the Military and were called to duty.

Frank D

 

[NYEngineer]

When I was repairing diesel gensets full time, Snap on was the only tool I used. Now, I basically have a desk job with occasional wrenching. No way I'm leaving Snap on tools here, so I bought some Husky stuff. It's fine.
Also, there was a guy that worked for me at the diesel shop that used only craftsman tools. I gotta say, they served him well and he spent a fraction what I did.
I have a friend that sells Cornwell tool. Quality is great and prices are between Craftsman and snap on. Maybe for specialty stuff...