Technical HF Professional Tool Line

Jimmy six...

Good deal on decent AN wrenches..
Summit house brand , in a nice roll up pouch.

I had to replace my expensive MPD racing set when the lowlife broke into my shop..
They stole my 1.5 ton Hein Werner floor jack , my complete snap on solus scanner kit and the AN wrenches..
They left a half full can of beer ...
Guess they ran out of hands...
Cops got fingerprints off the beer...

4 + years ago...

Dave

Sent from my SM-G973U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

I try to buy only professional grade tools. I have a Solar mig welder that I bought over thirty years ago. Just this year, I bought a Miller mig, hobby grade. I have regretted it every day. I know it's hard to justify the money, but I find it's hard to argue the quality.

 

When you work at a shop there’s a mentality that if you don’t owe the tool guy at least one of your testicles your not really a tech..my Brother In Law works at one of the largest Caddy Dealers in the US....he wanted a bigger box, but wasn’t paying the 4K or more off the Truck. He went to Harbor Freight, bought their best one, popped their badge off, put a snap on badge in its place, rolled it in at the end of the day on a Saturday...all for the sake of not hearing the BS from the other guys...I do know this...those tool truck guys are hurting...many of them have gotten out of the business, the warranty’s they used to be so proud of have become deluded, many times it’s not a one for one...it’s a send it back...and wait..I can drive to HF and grab another off the shelf...and yes their quality has gone up..it’s just another one of those things that have changed in our lifetimes..hell the 2 sears stores by me are both going away....

 

Just because someone offers a lifetime guarantee, doesn't mean the tool is good. Craftsman offers it, but the amount of times their tools break, often ruining a nut or bolt, (or my knuckles!) is not worth the aggravation. Then the trip to the store, and trying to explain it to the dopey clerk behind the counter...…..

 

I always wonder how they define "lifetime"

 

Not every person who uses tools for a living buys from the tool truck. I haven`t for 24 years. It`s just the fact that HF sell low quality tools. So I go elsewhere. When I was a kid. I was told to do your best. Work hard and be proud of what you do. When HF started. They sold cheap tools that broke. Not a business motto I live by. The bitterness of low quality sets in long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.

 

HF Professional Tool Line

Oxymoron - An oxymoron is a rhetorical device that uses an ostensible self-contradiction to illustrate a rhetorical point or to reveal a paradox. A more general meaning of "contradiction in terms" HRP

 

Snap On makes great tools...........they just rip off everyone with not just high prices, but rediculously high prices. Since HF is going to have a "life time" warranty and prices that are reasonable and affordable, I think you are going to see a big downturn in Snap On sales over the next two years.

 

You think people who have bought Snap On Tools for years are gonna start buying HF tools. That`s like saying people who drive BMW`s are gonna start driving Kia`s.

 

I bought more HF tools today.

 

I hope so.

 

I remember when I was a line mechanic and the Snap-On guy came to the dealership . The guys that had a bad week would find it time take a long test drive so he would be gone before they got back.
Some guys were afraid for their wives to find out how much of their check the toll man was getting.
Some guys were just tool whores and what ever was new they had to have.
I went to work for the govt and we had govt contracts and the Snap- On guy was only there to handle the warranty claims. He made nothing on his stops. So he vanished. We started buying Craftsman on contract and I could take my broken tools down to the Sears store and they would happily trade them for new tools.
We would equip each mechanic with the big black boxes with a complete set of tools. All special tools were in a tool crib.
when Harbor Freight first started selling tools on the east coast I bought some impact sockets and a set of Pittsburg wrenches. That was in the 80's. I still have those impact sockets and those wrenches and none have broken.

 

I walk in with good intentions but always walk out empty handed.
I have all hand tools and power tools covered, being a line mechanic for 42 years.

 

Is it true Snap-On tools are made in Spain, ? BIG secret !!!

 

I'm a geezer, I've spent over fifty years accumulating good pro quality tools, many brands. I value them highly, look after them well. I also have tools that were my father's and my grandfather's, and I often think of them when I use their tools. You can't buy that from HF, or Snap On, or anywhere else.
I would advise anyone to buy the best quality tools you can afford. If that's cheap tools, so be it. Learn to take care of them, tune them up to make them better where possible. You can get away with mediocre hand tools, IMO cheap power tools are not worth it. No $10 grinder is as powerful, runs as smoothly or will last as long as a Makita or Milwaukee.
Here in Canada, Princess Auto is our Harbor Freight. PA now has their "Pro Point" line, some of those tools are pretty good. Most of the Power Fist stuff is junk. Things like tool boxes might be ok, you can buy things like axle stands, floor jacks and sandblast cabinets in many different colours from many different dealers that probably all came out of the same plant in the far east...

 

Many of them will.........and in the next couple of years if those tools work well for them they will buy more. First thing to go will be those overpriced toolboxes. Guy has a choice between paying $2000 or $10,000 for a toolbox......many of them are gonna buy Harbor Freight.
Something I have always found is that a person's ability will establish their reputation......not necessarily the label on their toolbox. Been many an outstanding mechanic that turned nuts with Craftsman wrenches . HF says they want to upgrade and I think you are gonna see a lot of people give em a shot because they are tired of being ripped off. Look at Toyota these days, and Kias are selling more cars than BMW.
1182"]HF Professional Tool Line

 

I was a MATCO Tool distributor in the '80's. Tool boxes were made by MBC then. Boxes were good and the profit for me on a box was 60% and more.

 

I was a professional mechanic for 40 some years. I buy HF tools I have been using the same set of HF impact sockets since the 80s, before that Snap On, and I used to get 3/4" sockets two at a time so I would have an unbroken one to use until the dealer came back. I have a US General tool box from HF, and a Snap On about the same size. The Harbor freight box drawers work better than the Snap On. I haven't been in a Sears for 15 years.

 

I happen to have a HF store within a short distance of where I live so I stop in there and look around all the time.
I want to thank everyone for posting who purchased one of there larger roll around tool boxes because the next time I visit the store I am going to take a much closer look at them.
I did not notice the bright colors they now come in but I never really checked out the draws and things like that.

Jimbo

 

You won’t be sorry when you buy a HF roll cabinet. Great quality and low price

 

I have been working on heavy trucks for over 25 years. Look at my avatar, that’s my box at work. It’s full of 75% Craftsman, with Mac and SnapOn making the rest. Before my son was born 10 years ago, I was a self proclaimed “tool snob”. I would not even look at something made in Asia. When money got tighter, I had to look around, this is also about the time that Craftsman went oriental, thanks you fucking greedy executive pricks, then the mobile tool truck brands followed. Look real close at Mac, a bunch of their stuff is Taiwanese, and they still want big money. Weather you want to admit it or not, The Harbor has really upped their game. I looked at the Icon boxes just yesterday and they are completely comparable to my Mac box. Oh, and my Mac box cost $15,000. The Icon big bottom is 4999.99. God forbid, if anything would happen to my Mac box, I’m buying an Icon.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The only thing go to walk out of HF with is the cash register

 

I charge an hourly rate. A "lifetime" guarantee doesn't mean squat when you have to take time out of you day to take and get it replaced. I'll buy quality up front, knowing I won't be aggravated because a"lifetime" guarantee has just cost me money.

 

As you have seen mentioned above, when a Snap/Mac breaks, you have to wait for the truck to come by and then wait again while they send it off for repairs. One fellow even mentioned that he kept spares in his box to use while the "warranty" item was broken. My son used to maintain a tool crib as one of his duties in the Air Guard. Said Snap On did a lot of selling but were a**holes about repairing anything.......and they spent a lot of money with Snap On.
When you buy HF, you can probably buy double everything and still spend less than you would on Snap On. You can also just walk in and exchange a warranty item if you really need to. No waiting...........
I'm a confessed tool-aholic........but I ain't a tool snob.

I also don't mind modifying my cheaper wrenches with a torch to make them fit a situation. Bought a couple sets of Sears "Companion" wrenches just for that purpose. Probably spent $25 total for both standard and metric wrenches. Made a little special tool to reach up under a dash by welding a Craftsman 1/4 socket on the end of a long rod.
Have an OT truck I'm putting a V8 in. Couldn't get a wrench to tighten the rear pass side header bolt. Whipped out my torch and in a few minutes had a wrench that cleared everything. Bet ya can't/won't do that with a Snap/Mac.............

 

Harbor Freight will have the last laugh............I hear their tools will me made from Kryptonite

I don't care what it says on the tool as long as its decent quality and does what I want it to do. Here is my used Craftsman workbench ($75 Craigslist) with a pegboard system that makes going from a standard to a metric size simple. Hang up the one in your hand that doesn't fit and grab the size next to it. If its a socket, just look at the wrench size and see which socket is a little bigger/smaller.
Bought all those drafting cabinets at an auction . Ten of them cost me about $100. No roller slides, but I been using em for over 20 years. I have lots of odds and ends like handles and knobs, brackets, switches,different size wire,clamps, I can't even remember all the stuff thats in them.
Had 4 new Craftsman top Boxes. One for metric wrenches, one for standard wrenches, one for metric sockets and one for standard sockets. Gave two of them to my son and put all the sockets in the drafting drawers.
I don't organize by a set of wrenches, I have a drawer for each separate SIZE ......cause I have a lot of them and they are all different brrands. I filled in the sizes on my pegboard by ordering from Ebay the odd sizes that sets don't have. How many of you Snap On guys have every size wrench from 1/4 to 32mm. I also have some larger wrenches up to 1 3/4. Names don't match but they all do the job when I need them.Tell me about all the money you spent for a tool box and tools and I bet I have far less money in mine and far more tools than you do. If I break one, I have a dozen more waiting to replace most of them. No warranty and no waiting......just grab another one.










I spend my money on stuff that works and I don't give a hoot about high dollar tool boxes and over priced s**t. If you use em they get scratched and dinged and dirty and broken.

 

glad to hear that

 

LOWES Just put in a TREMENDOUS inventory of Craftsman tools, boxes, the whole men-yaw-na !!

At Gilbert Az. store.. Last Week !!!!

 

A few years ago my wife had a project for me that required me to get a nail gun. I looked at all of the options at lowes and home depot, really pricey stuff for something that would sit in the shed after I was done with it. I worked across the street from Harbor Freight and took a close look at the one that they had. Darn if it didn't look identical to the passload that was at the big box stores. So I used my 20% off coupon and about $75 later I had nail gun, nails and was on my way. I've used it off and on for 15 years now. Even dropped it off a roof, it always works fine and I don't mind it sitting in the shed as its more than paid for itself.
Now about those 4"grinders with the black plastic that they sell for cheap, don't waste your money they won't last the evening.

 

After 30 years of craftsman, little snap on and some cornwell in my life... I was in the market to upgrade tool boxes for a full garage revamp, my15 year old craftsman 40" bottom roller was worn and drawers sucked bad, my 5 year old top was already having some issues in the slides... SO went to good ole HF, Home depot, Lowes, and talked to a few tool truck guys. Searched CL etc also... Cheapest 56 to 60" box I could find to do what I needed to do was a Cornwell 60" used at 2800 bucks and had some wear. So after alot of soul searching, some internet browsing, Went to HF bought a 56 Us general box. Only bitch is the latch being on one side of the drawer only, got a 12" hang on end cabinet also, all this out of there for under 900 bucks and they loaded it in my truck for me.... I have a few of their tools, not too much honestly since my collection incorporates my grandfathers old tools, I have JC penny sockets, Early snap on sockets too. Ratchets I buy craftsman , snap on and matco.

The ICON stuff they are selling at HF looks to be nice quality, better than the new crapsman by stanley...

Some people in this hobby have limited funds, fixed incomes, and do what they can with what they have, just like the guys working out of a flip top box on the curb keeping their hotrod running with some adjustable wrenches and screwdrivers... So think about that next time you cast stones on someone working with cheap tools... Some people are just cheap to save money, others are cheap cause they have no other way.

I guess all I am trying to say.... Stay HUMBLE my friends...

 

The whole "tomorrow"?