What Brand Of Tools are the BEST?!

[1BEATK5]

I have Gray Pneumatic socket sets for my wheeler. They come in blow molded cases. All marked. A set gets you standard+metric in both shallow and deep. With an extension and a impact wobbly. They lock tight and have a carry handle. Iirc the 3/8" drive set was about $120. The 1/4" was around $80. They are complete too.

I'm getting to the point that I wont buy anything but a snap on ratchet. I would buy a used snap on ratchet if you want to save some $$.

http://www.menintools.com/gp3812sets.html

http://www.menintools.com/gp14sets.html

 

[ryoken]

I'll also throw this out there too for him...

Snappie can be had on eghey for about 1/2 price usually if you shop... tho many douchbags are trying to get truck prices these days too.. buyer beware...

 

[wilpetty]

Okay well it worked out well today! I went with around what half you guys said and got the craftsman tool set with the box. It was 199.99 online but in the store I saw that the box I got had 169.99 above it with a pic of the box. Look in the aisle and there was a pyramid of my set and it said 199.99. The guy gave me a break and said it was their fault and that it actually should be 199.99 but since a worker didn't put the one day sale price down that he would give me it for 169.99. He said just bring them a tool by itself if it breaks and they will replace it with a new one. Saved $30 bucks which paid for most of my jack I went and got at hf for $49.99 So this weekend got camo igloo cooler and camo tackle box for christmas. Got tool box, jack, and ratchet straps all for the back of the blazer So stoked

 

[Deuling]

Bitchin. Should be pretty well set. Just get some hand tools and toss me in that top tray, then ratchet strap everything behind the rear seat, ready to wheel

 

[wilpetty]

Yeah most of you said to piece together what I need but I just really wanted to have everything at once in an organized box. Pretty excited to get it in tip top shape...Have about a week left of free time to get the blazer into shape so I can be at the lease or lakehouse every weekend

 

[BADB0Y]

Local Lowes stinks when you have to swap a tool. They sweat you over the receipt. I don't own any myself but I went to swap some for my Dad on a outing & they gave me a really hard time.

They shouldn't. It's corporate policy not to. (I work at one on the weekends). It's called a no hassle warranty for a reason. If they give you a problem on an exchange, ask for the MOD.

 

[Speedo]

I turned wrenches for a living, had tools at work and tools at home. My wife turned wrenches for a living and she had her own set of Snap-on tools. Now that we're both retired we have lots of tools at home. Almost all of our trail tools are Snappy. I never liked the idea of needing a tool to make a trail repair and having to rely on some cheap tool that I couldn't trust. I know that they all break at some point but I'd rather have the good stuff when I need it.

Gus

 

[1BEATK5]

In reality, breaking the tool isn't always the issue. I break plenty of snap on stuff, but Getting stuff loose instead on rounding off the corners is a biggie.

Let's take brake hard lines for instance. I can loosen brake lines with an open end quality tool, or round it off with a cheap flare nut (proper tool). That kinda sh!t will ruin your day. If I have to bust out the snappie flare nut wrench, 99% of the time the line will have to be replaced. Because its rusted too badly.

 

[ARAMP1]

Harbor frieght is a ****ing embarrassment. They are the lowest of the low end. If they sold illegal aliens they'd be one stop shopping for putting Americans out of work. The only self-respecting reason to set foot in one of their stores is to spill gas and toss lit matches.

I disagree also. If you're going to buy cheep tools, might as well not spend twice as much for the same quality. If you want to feel good about it because it says craftsman on it, that's up to you.

 

[ryoken]

nah, even the recent chinese offerings from Craftsman are FAR SUPERIOR to anything at horrible freight... harbor freight hand tools are complete garbage.... as is the majority of the stuff.. not that cheap cr#p isn't the option your looking for on occasion.... heck, I use my HF cheap ratchet straps all the time... paid for themselves a million times over...

screwdrivers or wrenches? he!! f*ckin no..

 

[-stew-]

I completely disagree, there impact sockets are super thick, hence they won't break, 6 point so they don't round off.

The sockets are thick because they are made out of junk metal, and that added girth renders the socket useless if it cannot get onto the fastener due to tight clearances and makes the socket heavier than it needs to be. being six point doesn't assure that you wont round a bolt off, especially with the dog**** tolerances these chinese tools have.

I have hung and bounced on a 6 foot breaker bar on their composite ratchets. Didn't break, oh yah did I mention I snapped the drive off of my Matco, thats why I was using the HF one.

OK, this. Saying you broke a Matco ratchet, then loosened the fastener with a Hf ratchet doesn't sell me that the HF ratchet is good or better, and the Matco one is bad or worse. Putting a six foot cheater pipe on a ratchet is stupid, I'm not gonna lie, I've done it; but it's stupid and I'm thoughtful when I do it. Jumping on that pipe, or hanging on it is stupid and dangerous ( I wont do that.) If you can't get it free with a six foot pipe and a BREAKER BAR, you need heat and or an impact gun. And i'll bet when you broke that ratchet it sent a shock through the nut/bolt that broke it free.

If you choose carefully at HF you can get some good stuff. You can also get crap.
Snap On, Matco, Cornwell all good tools. Great tools in fact.
The big problem I have with most craftsman sets is there is lots of crap you don't need.
I don't use 1/4 drive tools hardly at all. Mostly 1/2 drive. They need to make a set like those with only 1/2 drive tools.
Craftsman will do just fine. While there are certainly superior ( by a long ways) tools out there a weekend warrior will be fine with em

I don't feel like walking waist deep through cow **** to get a kleenex to blow my nose. I don't want to have to stop what I'm doing to replace a broken tool. When I was working on cars for a living, I used my 1/4 inch stuff constantly, now that I'm in the heavy equipment field; not so much, but I still use it regularly. I prolly have $2000 invested in 1/4'' drive. Three eighths is my go to for most things 3/4'' and under. I do agree that these Craftsman sets come with a lot of unneeded tools, (12 point, wtf?) But I think they are a great compromise between cost and quality for the average driveway joe.

I wrench for a living and can tell you my opinion is buy whatever sockets you want, even in one of those sets, if that's what you decide, but throw the crappy ratchets away immediately and go buy some good ones. I bought some Matco 88 tooth ratchets when they went on special a few years ago and now have 7 of them just at my house!! They are not cheap as others by any means but make things so much easier when you use them due to the small amount of swing required to make them click once. I have ran into lots of guys that thought Snap-on and Matco are a waste of money, but I have had some of their ratchets technically break while doing a job out in the middle of nowhere, but still finish the job for me. By the way, I have a lot of craftsman sockets that I use and I agree that you don't need spendy sockets, and I like gearwrench brand too.

You make an excellent point that ratchets are a better place to drop some coin over sockets. Not only do quality ratchets work so much nicer than cheap ones, but when that $6 ratchet from HF decides to sh!t the bed, there is a good chance you may get hurt. Ebay, swap meets, craigslist and auctions are all great places to get good deals on quality tools; but you do have to watch and wait for the deal to pop up. If you're patient you can get Snap-on tools on ebay for craftsman prices.

I disagree also. If you're going to buy cheep tools, might as well not spend twice as much for the same quality. If you want to feel good about it because it says craftsman on it, that's up to you.

Cheap tools, in the grand scheme of things, are not cheap. They cost you time when they fail, you risk injury when they fail, they damage things when they fail, and their failure is just plain frustrating. And when you are using your tools often it is for pleasure; putting a cool new part on your rig. Why ruin that with some junk tool that is gonna piss you off because it broke/don't work right/****ed something else up? Or, you're wrenching because you have to make a repair to stay or get back on the road/trail; why pour salt in your own wounds with the above mentioned frustrations?

 

[ARAMP1]

Cheap tools, in the grand scheme of things, are not cheap. They cost you time when they fail, you risk injury when they fail, they damage things when they fail, and their failure is just plain frustrating. And when you are using your tools often it is for pleasure; putting a cool new part on your rig. Why ruin that with some junk tool that is gonna piss you off because it broke/don't work right/****ed something else up? Or, you're wrenching because you have to make a repair to stay or get back on the road/trail; why pour salt in your own wounds with the above mentioned frustrations?

I agree with you 100%...couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[blazinzuk]

Seriously Stew for the OP craftsman will be fine.

For a pro mechanic hell no.

If you wanna be a tool snob and laugh at all of us guys that don't have 40k worth of tools thats fine

 

[wilpetty]

Yeah i dont think I'll have any problems as this will be my main set and even if anything were to break on the trail I have a black and decker set as a backup...Lifetime warranty with no questions asked is nice too. College kid means I have no money and since the set won't get used but maybe on the weekends I think it will do for me...Now for you guys that have to do this for a living, go buy the best stuff you can afford

Thanks for the advice guys! They weren't kidding when they said it was hard to read the sockets though. I have 20-20 vision and I had to squint...Good thing the box labels them all...Another reason I am happy I got the set with the box...My grandfather who passed away had a pretty big tool set of craftsman which are probably 30 years old...Going to compare how the tools stand up against eachother to see the quality change over time

 

[-stew-]

Seriously Stew for the OP craftsman will be fine.

For a pro mechanic hell no.

If you wanna be a tool snob and laugh at all of us guys that don't have 40k worth of tools thats fine

I'm not badmouthing craftsman. I like craftsman. I have that same set and use it regularly at my job as a professional mechanic. I am a bit of a tool snob, but I won't knock a driveway guy for using craftsman. I did state if you look and wait that you can get tool truck tools for craftsman prices, but don't take that as outing down craftsman. And I do agree that dropping a little more money for high end ratchets will make a guy a lot happier and lessen the risk for injury.

 

[Kocher93]

My GFs cousin is diesel mechanic and has been for about 12 years, he has a set of harbor freight wrenches and impact sockets and he is surprised by them in the one year hes had them he broke a wrench and welded it back. He says when something breaks for good he'll replace it with snap on, but he says they've been good to him. Personally I got HF tools for my trail kit just cause it wont get used that often, and the only hf items i have are things that are harder to go wrong (wrenches, sockets, electical tape). But my old man has had the same craftsman set since he was 17, they have survived his and my young days, I'll swear by craftsman.

 

[prairie]

Any thoughts on the Carlyle wrenches and sockets sold by NAPA?