m73m95

I have a good mix of everything. Back when I thought I wanted to be a mechanic, I would hit up the snap-on man weekly. Then I realized that craftsman was 1/4 the price, and 3/4 the quality. I have only broken 1 craftsman ratchet, and that was with a 4ft. cheater pipe on it. It was replaced no questions asked. To me, just that is worth buying craftsman. PLUS, craftsman has their own line of industrial quality tools that most people don't know of. http://www.commercial.sears.com/csc0...thantools.html They also have a commercial sales catalog that the dude behind the counter at the store doesn't know about. This catalog is as thick as a phone book with hundreds of tools they don't have in the store either. Its for "commercial" customers only, but if you call them they will sell to us regular people as well. I have ordered from them several times.

I also have a great selection of harbor freight tools. When I need a screwdriver bent in just a special way to use as a pry bar, or I need to cut off a drill bit, or I need to modify some tool in some way, harbor freight saves the day. Their brand of power tools also isn't bad. I've have a drill and grinder of theirs that have both lasted me a few years. Can't ask for more when they cost 15 bucks lol.

DarylJ

I absolutely agree. It just hasn't made enough of a difference for me to track down the damn Snap-On guy instead of taking a 10 minutes trip to the Sears Hardware up the street

Luis de Prat

I use a Craftsman metric ratchet, socket and open ended wrenches set, but my torque wrenches are Hazet.

Tried a Craftsman torque wrench but bought another Hazet after the plastic handle disintegrated during storage and there was no replacement warranty on it. Everything I buy now is Hazet.

JohnKoaWood

Thanks for all the input, lets keep it rolling, good information cannot be a bad thing, right?

Most of my tools are older than most of the Rennlist members, I have tools that saw use pre-WWII, and a few Pre WW-I hand tools handed down from my grandfather and great grandfather... I am the only one in the Family who can use them, so I get em all... one day I will be the recipient of a full wood working shop full of OLD tools and Machines... If it wern't that my GP would have to kick the bucket, I would say I can't wait, but in reality, the wait is OK...

nickg

i have about 65000 in tools
tool box? snap on
tool cart (rollaround) cornwell
air tools? Ingersoll rand, cornwell matco or snap on(ingersoll is the best)
cordless impacts? ingersoll or cornwell (snap on is nice too)

hand tools?
wrenchs matco..hands down
ratchets? snap on is great, but as are facom, matco or hazet
sockets? matco or snap on
screwdrivers? hands down snap on...matco is close
torque wrenches? snap on only

I have piles of craftsman stuff. it is cheap and does the job, but if you use them everyday, buying the better stuff from cornwell, snap on or matco is gonna make your life alo easier. If you look around, you can get the good stuff cheap right now due to the dealers closing and all the out of work mechanics. used snap on is WAY better than new junk tools . a good tool make the job so much easier it is amazing, bad tools just make it harder
If you buy the good stuff, if you need to sell it, you will get $$ back (like 75%)...craftsman? like 5-10%

marky522

I use Snap-on for all my tools at work, I am a tool ***** in training... $10 grand in 2 years... It sure aint cheap. I used to use Craftsman, I just cant have a tool brake on me, and i havent had any of my snap on tools brake except for a screwdriver that was more my fault.. My air tools are all IR though... I love my 1/2 impact. For anyone that works on there car at home, and doesnt have access to an air compressor, I highly reccomend the snapon 1/2 electric impact, I know every brand is making one now BUT my Electric is easily twice as strong as any other battery powered impact i have seen. I regularly break Boxster/911 axle nuts off with them which are torqed to like 400NM... I use it everyday for wheels etc. but it is $500

Mark

M758

I have mix of tools that I either purchasd or obtained from my father. He is a retired auto tech and worked on MBZ for 20+ years


My core tools set consist of the following

Husky sockets and wrachet set. I got this from my father back in 1998 or so.

I have used it since then and built multple motors and a complete race car. Never one have I had either a socket or wrachet break. I like them since they work and I have a full set. There are some sockets I never have used in there, but by having 90 piece set I have just aobut everything I might need.

I also have a set of Husky professional combo wrenches. Both in metric and standard. These work really nice and I got them in 1999 or so. Again a full set is nice to have an they really work well.

Next is a set of Hazet offset box end wrenches. These came from my father and are nice tools. However being offset box end only I tend to use them less than the husky's. Even so that offset can be critical at times.

next is Hazet open end wrenches. Again nice and hand me downs, but I use them less since I prefer not to use open end wrenches that much.

Next is a set fo 1/2 drive Mac impact sockets. These are good and hand me downs, but the 17mm got lost. I replaced with a husky impact back in 2000 and for my needs it works great too.

I use a snap on torque wrench - Hand me down
I also have spare floopy head mac 3/8 wrachet. The narrow head and pivot allow it to be used in certain places to great effect. However the floopy nature limits is use in most places. Still very nice tool to have
18" long 1/4 drive swivle extension. Snap on or mac (I forget). Nice too.

I also have an assorment of hex sockets. These are Hazet, Mac or snap on mostly and really what could gather from father.

5 screw primary screwdrivers all snap on I think.


Overall I have been very please with my late 90's husky tools. I do thing thier quality has gone down since then however. Craftsman tools are always bulky. They are heaver and not as good in the hand as Snap on , Mac, Hazet or eveny Huskys. The are also often harder to work with due to thicker metal making access harder. I do have a few craftsman items, but relatively few.

My thinking is you need good core tool set. Then you add on tools as you go. Some tools are use sparingly and can be cheap. I got a 10mm and 13mm wratching combo wrench from ACE hardware and their in house line. They work fine, but I never use them to break things loose. I only use them when a standard wrench or socket will not do the job. That is why I have only 10mm and 13 mm. There are a couple places these tools are very hand.

I probably used the same 3-4 sockets, and wreches 90% of the time for most stuff. A few jobs I do often so I have tools just for them. One example is a 19 mm 1/2 drive socket and extension that is always attached. These are used with my large snap on 1/2 wratchet and torque wrech for the wheels. I rarly used the socket /extension for anything else. I also use my hazet offset 7mm and 8mm box end wrenches for bleeding the brakes. My only iritation is I would love a 7mm and 8mm box end on the same wrench rather than two.

Ahh...

whalebird

Over 60k in tools - mostly snap-on and thats my "work" box, I have a similar box at home. I have a fair amount of Hazet and Stahlwillie with a little SK thrown in. I still use a few craftsmen things like standard(SAE)1/2 inch sockets. There are lots of opinions and I certainly have mine, but you get used to what you have. The point here that we can all agree on is that it is very important to use the proper tool for the job at hand. Pry bars and hammers have their place, but not for setting points if you know what I mean.

JohnKoaWood

WOW, nice throw back..setting points... you get points for that one...

Dougs951

I guess I'm a little spoiled, my father gave me all his Snap On tools and roll box from when he was a full time mechanic. But my "go bag" of tools is mostly Craftsman tools. You know you have too many tools when you buy new top boxes every month to house new tools...

But I do have some odd tools, like the original lead hammers to knockoff's for Triumphs, made by Triumph and full set of british motorcycle tools and some other odds and ends.

And I've never had a problem with the SnapOn guy being hard to find or refusing to take back tools.

JohnKoaWood

But does he suck your ***** like some folks I keep hearing about?

Dougs951

No but he said that they are working on an air tool....

944Ross

Exactly! I live in a town that was originally a retirement area, and garage sales and estate sales routinely provide me with Crescent, Plomb, S-K, Snap-On, and OTC specialty tools, at prices you wouldn't believe. A couple weeks ago I picked up an 8" Wilton forged steel vise for $5. I've gotten a couple of WWII-era British tools that are fascinating if not real usefull.

My main toolsets are Craftsman, and I have no complaints with them. My old eyes especially like how their newer sockets have laser-etched sizes on them.

My father left me a near-new set of Starrett mikes, calipers, cylinder gauges, etc. The wooden chest they came in cost him $250 in 1975. It is a work of art in itself.

Mark944na86

I try not to go too nuts buying tools... like anyone, I'd love all my tools to be pro quality, and I'd _love_ a set of Snap-On racheting ring spanners, for example.

But I'm not surprised to hear of people with serious money (like a couple of nice P-cars worth) in their tools. It would be easy to get there -- and fairly easy to justify if it was what you did for a living. But I'm trying to save some money here with all this home wrenching -- at least that's the theory!

So I love a good cheap tool. Trouble is, "cheap" and "good" can be a challenge to find in the same tool. However, I've recently discovered a place that sells their own brand, and while undoubtedly of Chinese origin, they are actually pretty good quality! Certainly better than the usual shoddy self-destructing junk you get -- although not much more expensive.

I usually buy a few new tools every job -- usually out of necessity, e.g. specialised tools for a belt job or something like that, but sometimes because either I'm stuck because I just don't have the right tool, and sometimes because I break a cheap tool. If I break a cheap tool, I buy a better quality replacement. So I have a Darwinian tool collection in that sense.

One thing I've found that's cool is that as I slowly acquire more tools, the more choices I have to tackle a particular task, and often I find a tool I bought for a special purpose for an earlier job is paying for itself all over again in ways I hadn't expected. It's almost enjoyable when that happens...

jstand22

I have a huge mix of tools...most important stuff is SnapOn, such as the torque wrench, breaker bar, and ratchets. I work part-time at AutoZone so I use some of their tools (they actually aren't that bad), the Duralast open-end ratcheting wrenches, and some sockets. I use Craftsman for the hex-head and triple-square bits and regular open-ends. And I have a set of Husky sockets they are pretty good for the money. Don't buy brands that you've never heard of (never buy the GreakNeck brand at AutoZone.)