The good Kobalt tools were the ones that have the v notch in the back of the open end part of the wrenches and a very square cross section, the newer ones aren't nearly as nice looking. They probably work fine but the old ones definitely looked much higher end and seemed much sturdier.

 

Funny, I don't have ANY Kobalt wrenches, all mine are socket sets.

 

Hmm not sure on the sockets when it comes to differentiating, it seems like it's at most within the past two years or even 18 months. As I understand it the way the business is structured at Snap-On changed or something which led to them changing the Kobalt stuff. The bigger gripe I had was the lack of selection at the Lowes by me, they were always pretty much out of everything and didn't have any good big sets for sale. With the changes to Husky going to Taiwanese I'd probably go with Craftsman now if I were buying a big set.

 

I've never seen a "big" set at Lowes. My 1/2" set came with 30 (SAE and Metric) sockets, a ratchet and 2 extensions. My 3/8" set was smaller and the impacts were in sets of 10. I like Craftsman screwdrivers above all others, so I buy those, but I'm in the market for a good set of wrenches, as mine are just a hodgepodge of various brands. I do have a couple of snap-on and Matco wrenches, and they are very nice.

 

I have to admit that when it comes to wrenches that seem to last I have to go with my Hazet offset boxend wrenches. All metric of course. Those suckers are old, nice and seem like they will be with me for YEARS. Plus the offset can be usefull in a number of tight spots.

Because I race I have small craftsman 4 drawer tool box. It is just small enough to lift in to the back of the truck full of tools. Probably 100 lbs. To me is this very important I need to take my tools to the track and to my father's house where I keep the race car. Mobilty is essential. This also means I limit my tools. Most everything I do (that includes just about everything you can do) is served by a relativly small tool set. That fits in that box and in plastic case my husky sockets came in a few year back.

There are some more unique tools I have in there for the specal jobs, (like the Porsche balance cam tool) and a long 1/4 drive swivel extension and a long (12") phillips head screw driver I use to remove the stock air box cover for an NA.

My best advice is to buy a basic set of socket and combo wrenches in metric. Then buy seleted others when needed . If you are going use it alot by a good tool. Use snap-on and expensive stuff for the stuff you can't get anywhere else or are going to use ALOT. Do NOT go in to a truck and buy everything you see becuase you MIGHT need it.

Newer Husky's make in Taiwan ehh. Well mine are 4-8 years old I like them. I have not looked at the new ones since it did not need them. I will need to look closely at the new ones if I need them.

 

Matt H and M758, you guy's are refreshing! Your statements about tools are spot-on. At the risk of sounding like a crotchety old fart, well I guess I am a bit of a crotchety old fart, it kills me to see how some of the young professionals get sucked into the tools, more is better syndrome. If I could just get my kids to listen to me. Yea, right...

 

You guys



I had no idea there were so many tool geeks over here




I buy on an 'as needed' basis all of the odd stuff.

Going today to the new harborfreight to pick up a 13pc set of impact sockets.

All I need is the 32mm for the bearing job BUT the whole set is $10.

Pittsburg tools...lifetime warranty. Sounds good to me.

 

Yeah I was surprised the new Husky tools were stamped Taiwan now considering the signs they used to have saying "Made in America, Guaranteed Forever." it does explain the price drop though.

I have picked up some new Husky stuff since then and there's no discernable difference in quality, they're definitely better than the el-cheapass stuff that places like Autozone and Checker/Shucks/Kragen sell although even that stuff is getting better admittedly. I don't think the fact that they're made in Taiwan is necessarily bad, when you think about it, 95% of all the computer parts are made there and by comparison making wrenches is pretty low tech. As long as there's decent quality control procedures in place and the materials used are good, where they're made isn't that big of a deal. Now dropping down a couple notches to the Chinese and Indian stuff that Harbor Freight sells, you can definitely see a difference there.

Like ya said though, other than a good socket set in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 with some good extensions, and a good set of open ended wrenches most of the other stuff you only use on occasion. I do like to have a couple of open end wrenches in the common sizes like 10mm, 13mm, and 17mm that get used a lot. That said sometimes having the ideal tool for the job in those oddball cases makes things infinitely easier. I got some 6" handle 27 and 32mm open end "pump" wrenches with a 30 degree offset head and on a Turbo for the external oil cooler lines they're a lifesaver (especially around the filter stand where there's not much room to maneuver).

Hazet is damn nice stuff, it's just inconvenient to buy to an extent, My uncle is a distributor since he works for Winzer and deals with primarily European car shops for fasteners and chemicals in bulk, but since he's out of state even at cost on them it's enough hassle that I don't have any Hazet tools. (They're still not cheap even at cost FWIW).

There is a place by me that sells SK stuff and I think I may consider that as an option on new tools since they're pretty reasonably priced and that way I don't have to go to the damn mall to buy tools (ahem Craftsman).

Also for good screwdrivers, check out the orange rubber handled Rigid brand ones that Home Depot sells, they're made in the US and I really like the couple of them that I have.

 

I've posted this link before for buying SK tools and I'll post it again

www.thetoolwarehouse.net

They sell at about 50% off SK retail prices and have a huge selection of other tools including lots of specialty stuff. And since I somehow got flamed before for posting the link, I'll mention that they do have a $50 minimum order but over $100 they ship for free. I get all my tools next day using ground shipping from NJ. It's great.

No affiliation, just a very happy customer and other listers have thanked me for mentioning this place. Be warned, the site is addictive and you will end up spending either a lot of time or a lot of money or both if you stay there too long.

FYI on Taiwan/Chinese tools, on a part as labor-unintensive as a hand tool (forge/cast plus chrome plate), the only way Asian tools are cheaper is b/c of cheaper tooling and cheaper material. Cheaper tooling means wider tolerances and cheaper material means they remelt bad parts and have all sorts of other crap in with the metal. You get what you pay for (unless you are buying Snap-On or paying full retail in which case you are getting ripped off aside from a few exceptions).

 

I prize my Hazet stuff, but probably won't be buying a new Hazet.

I agree on multiple combo wrenches. I have husty set 10mm to 19mm and bought an added 21 mm for some spots on my Jeep. Along with that I have set of open end hazets from 9mm to 22mm. Alot of places it is nice to have both. Like alternator & powersteer pump adjusters. Need TWO open end 13 mm or 17mm.

That said I have found that I really don't need that many tools. Even for engine rebuild stuff. Although a lon T-bar 6mm hex is very usefull for the cam housing and my father had an old volvo torque angle thing that was great in doing the bottom end of the race motor. Book called out xxxlbs torque plus 90 torque angle. That little thing came in handy.
As you work on these cars to you learn what you really need and what you don't. It does make sense to get the right tool for job in lot of cases. I remember long 3/8 drive extensions with svivels being important for re attching the torque tube to the clutch bell housing.

 

Yeah I've seen you post that before, definitely good prices, it would just depend how soon I need something although if it's substantially less I'll usually wait. I know I've seen these guys prices on the triple square pieces and it's half of what everyone else wanted.

I think the Husky Taiwan stuff is expensive enough that they haven't overlooked quality, now the really really cheap stuff, no argument there whatsoever. Stanley overseeing production should keep things decent, they wouldn't have moved the manufacture there unless it saved them a considerable chunk of change.

Sadly it's probably a result of way too many unskilled or nearly unskilled workers here in the US that were Union and making far more than a fair wage for what they were doing. Not to say all unions are bad sometimes they can be good, but in many ways they're a concept that has outlived their usefulness. I've seen many that basically put people in a wage that their skills just don't warrant such as unionized grocery store cashiers pulling in 15 bucks an hour when they're essentially doing a minimum wage job based on the required skills. Hell I wish I got paid 3 times what I do for no other reason than being in a union.

The bottom line is the bottom line when it comes to stuff like this when there are stockholders to keep happy.

 

Anybody know how to test a torque wrench for accuracy?

 

I've seen calibration gauges on ebay but they're expensive. I'm not sure where to look but there are places that will check it for you. Maybe call some aviation repair shops and ask where they send theirs to get checked.

Also on most torque wrenches, they aren't rated to be accurate in the bottom 20 or 30% of the maximum torque they measure so if it's critical and low torque you need to move down to a smaller wrench to get an accurate torque.

 

It is pretty funny but I have 1/4" items and 1/2". I find almost nothing in the 3/8th of any use. If I need the torque I use the 1/2 and for all else I use the 1/4". I love 1/4 tools they give you one hell of a lot of area to use them, usually the gears are much better, and by golly the weigh next to nothing!

FWIW, I have had pretty good experiences buying/using tools from SK
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Just picked up the impact set with the 32 mm at HarborFreight..$13

Saw 3/4in Torque wrench going up to 300ft/lbs ......... $68.00
Not going to spring for it....one day..

I also figure, at $13 if I need to weld it to a to a pole to make a lollypop, No big deal.