Technical The best brand of tools for someone who just works on his own cars?

Go to yard sales and flea markets. That is, if you have more time than money. Lots of older US made tools can be had cheap that way. Fleabay can even be a good source for some items, especially if the seller is nearby. Some folks just aren't interested in old looking tools, even if they are higher quality.

 

I have a set of Craftsman tools I bought in 1968, still good most of them. I never liked their 12 point sockets though.

But in the last 10 years there has been a great improvement in cheap tools. I buy Canadian Tire store brand all the time, the other day bought a set of swivel extensions for $18 must have had at least 10 pieces. I also have a lot of wrenches, pliers, screwdrivers. I don't use them a lot as I no longer work in the trade but these cheapies seem well made and I haven't broken any yet.

Quite a change from 30 or 40 years ago when the cheapies were made in India from case hardened mud and compressed tin foil.

The point is, if you can only afford cheap tools there are some good ones out there. Wish I could have filled my tool box this cheap when I was starting out. If you have the money and use the tools every day to make a living then Snap On is the leader.

 

I have a lot of Snap-On. Very little was bought off a truck. If it is, pay cash. The Independent truck owners will give you a deal. The Company ones not so much. Most was bought at flea markets and pawn shops and a little off Ebay. I have some Mac and Matco, also from flea markets and pawn shops. The feel and tolerance of a high quality tool may just be the difference in rounding off a bolt or getting it out. I have some Craftsman from the 70s and 80s, but really don't use any of it any more. When it breaks the replacements are junk. They don't even rebuild your ratchet anymore, they just swap it out. No thanks! Also the last few Craftsman screwdrivers I have had the tips broke way too easily. They replace them no problem, but you are out a tool when you need it and a trip to Sears. I have some Harbor Freight for 1-use-in-a-lifetime type jobs. I don't expect much out of them. I have Ingersol-Rand air tools that all have held up very well. I have a die grinder from Big Lots that just won't die. It sounds like it has rocks inside, but it keeps going. I have genuine Vise Grips, have had horrible luck with other brands of locking pliers. So my take, even for a home mechanic, is buy good tools and take care of them.

 

I have Challenger and Craftsman tools. The Challenger tools I got in College 50 years ago. I search swap meets for Craftsman tools then take them to Sears and swap them for new ones. The best thing about Craftsman is if it breaks you take it back and get a new one no questions asked.

 

Worked with a guy that went to flea markets looking for broken snap-on tools. Bought them for a song, then got them replaced by the snap-on truck for free.

 

I am a professional mechanic.

For ratchets. I use a mix of them. Mostly Matco or snap on, with 1 large 1/2 inch craftsman with a 20 inch handle (not used very much). For my impact sockets, Matco. All of my non impact sockets are craftsman. I have a older but nice and complete set of craftsman screwdrivers in all sorts of lengths and sizes that I use frequently. I also have one small Matco screw driver set that is magnetic that I use on special stuff.( mainly interiors) my pliers and such are a mix of snap-on or other older American brands. I have a ton of stuff that I have bought at garage and estate sales or inherited from my grandfather. I have plumb and proto stuff that I use almost daily as well. I could go on and on, but really I have to many tools and brands to list.

Many of these tools have been in service by me for almost 15 years. Many were used when I got them. I think you'll be fine with craftsman

I've been working on

Sent from my SM-G900T using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

yep

BIG difference. Tried using HF line wrenches and they just spread apart; had one wrench where one-half of the jaw just fell off. Took them back for a refund.
Now have both S-K and Craftsman versions of Line Wrenches; one set is metric.

Also, GearWrench brand has "lifetime warranty" (whatever that means)
And their wrenches are very nicely made, and priced within DIY budget.

 

Don't go nuts or broke over all the options and opinions! Buy stuff to start with in current box store sets so you are ready to work, upgrade and replace with the high price spread if you need to or just have more money in the future.
There are tricks, like spinning every ratchet on the shelf and choosing the slickest clicker.
I used and abused a smallish circa 1962 Craftsman set for decades, making do for anything specialized that I couldn't afford and driving the ratchet with a rock if a fastener was too tight! Still have it, everything still works fine, and I never managed to break any of it even when I did stuff like putting a 4 foot pipe over the ratchet to move a killer bolt.

Now, I'm a complete nut, and being a tool nut as well as a '32 Ford nut is expensive and eats time that should go into cars...but I now try to use nothing but Plomb or Snap-on roughly contemporary with '32-48 Fords. Feels right, but of course is absolutely crazy.

And, don't forget, when working on old cars there will likely be odd stuff that can only be found by hunting, funny valve tools, kingpin reamers, that sort of thing. Save those efforts for the necessary!

 

And...as noted above...line wrenches need to be Snap on or Plomb! The others are made of rubber.

 

All I own is craftsman stuff. Nothing fancy but for me to piddle at home to change the oil in mine and the wife's cars and the occasional fix they do the job. Low buck hotrod is being built with low buck tools. Plus if I bust a cheapo rachet, I dont get too upset, just run to Sear's and grab a new one haha

 

I'll agree with many others that Snap-On ratchets are worth the extra money. Little by little I'm phasing in Snap-On racthets to replace my older Craftsman -V- and Proto ones. They're significantly better.

I'd recommend buying sets of good, old, used tools like USA Craftsman -V-, Proto, Mac, S-K, etc.

As far as new tools go, I think S-K is probably the best value for hand tools. They're more expensive than Craftsman, but they're also significantly better. Snap-On is hard to justify if you're only a night/weekend mechanic.

The preference should always be for USA made tools (though Knipex pliers are German made and are magnificent), but if you're going to buy off-shore tools, the preference should be for Taiwanese made rather than from China. Kobalt tools are Taiwanese and decent. Craftsman china is literally worse than Harbor Freight, because they're the same quality but the Craftsman stuff is still priced like it's made in America.

 

Any brand, they all work. What's the best car to drive to and from work, old pickup, Porsche?

 

My stuff is all Craftsman and SK, plus a few tools of various other brands that I've found in old cars or picked up at yard sales. Most all of my Craftsman and SK stuff was made in the early 1970's.

 

As a professional mechanic for hte last 15+ years I have always lusted over the snap-on tools and have owned many tool truck tools be carefull of harbor frieght wrenches nothing worse than lossing a night of work because a cheap wrench stripped a fastener. For decent home tools with a warrenty it all depends who is around you to get the tools repaired my snap-on stuff is garbage when it breaks because we dont have a supporting tool truck . I would look at the kobalt or husky brand stuff who ever is close to you not much more money than harbor frieght and a better product .

 

I turned wrenches on heavy equipment for a living for 15 years. I had a little of everything, Snap On, Mac, Matco, Proto, Cornwell, SK, Armstrong, and a lot of Crafstman too. I still have most of them. There is no doubt that Snap On makes the best tools, using the best steel, but they are very expensive and hard to justify for a home mechanic living on a budget. The other brands are also very good, and there is nothing wrong with them. But there is one thing about Snap On sockets and box end wrenches that sets them above the others, and that is the flank drive design; they grip the flank of the bolt head or nut in the middle, not at the corner, so they are far less prone to slip. I've even removed nuts with a Snap On socket that other brands had slipped on and rounded off the corners. When it comes down to it, they can save your ****.

 

I bought my first tools in the late '50's, S-K and Craftsman. Still have and use them. Spent the last 20 years of employment as a mechanic. Company supplied any tools I needed. Never bought snap-on, even on the company dollar. Can't remember ever breaking a hand tool. Most expensive tools I ever bought were Proto. I've worked with guys who spent half their paychecks at the snap-on truck buying pretty stuff they didn't need.

 

Still have all of the S-K wrenches from 3/8 to 1 1/4 that I bought in '67
Never lost or broke any of them; even subjecting them to cheater pipes/bars and using another wrench's box-end to hook onto the open end to get more leverage.
Although a little dull, the chrome is still on them; has never flaked off.

Found a very nice old Barcalo 9/16" wrench at a swap meet. 1st quality.
This line of tools is from the same company that makes Barcalounger reclining chairs.
Interesting history;

http://alloy-artifacts.org/barcalo-buffalo.html

 

I've got quite a few older Craftsman ratchets & sockets - Snap-On for tubing wrenches (almost all bought at swap meets) - a few Bonney tubing wrenches (they're actually 12 point so they work better in tight places) - My Tahoe has a Challenger boxed set with three sizes of ratchet, etc. and if you can discipline yourself to put them back in their spots in the box, you'll always have what you need for emergencies. Nothing wrong with Blue Point wrenches either, mostly picked up at yard sales, etc.

 

32, I am 70 years old and the vast majority of my tools that I have collected over the years are made by Craftsman. Easy to purchase and easy to replace if one breaks. Once I was in a bind and put a 4' pipe on a 3/8" Craftsman ratchet and I broke the gears in the ratchet. Just for the heck of it I returned it to my local Sears store and they replaced it with no questions asked. Can't beat that.

 

I have had good luck with the Husky professional series wrenches from home depot. From what I've been told they are from the sane factory as mac/matco. Not sure if its true or not but I have not had issue with them. I have craftsman sockets and a few snap on ratchets that I have gotten at garage sales. The screwdrivers I have picked up are all snap on that I have gotten at swap meets. My very first set of screwdrivers were a Snap on set that I was given fror graduation. I still have them.

 

i'm not BRAND specific / loyal ,
i have never bought a tool i didn't need,
and have modified MANY to accommodate the NEED.
Wright
S&K wayne
Craftsman
and NOT in that order...
i'm sure if ya was to go DIVE in LQQKin there's probable EVERY name brand ever made out there in the tool box.

 

My Dad p***ed at 92 this past March. I helped him and my uncle some in their garage in the late fifties and early sixties. I can remember Dad telling me to buy Craftsman because they would always replace them at Sears. He left me his old Craftsman box and tools and I was really glad to get them, mainly because it was the first time I had seen some of the tools that helped me rebuild the old 265 and get it into my 40 two door that I drove to high school. Still don't know what I am going to do with that 2 ft. long pair of tin snips. What the heck did he use those for?

 

I have had Craftsman tools from the 60's and for the cost you really cannot beat them.
My 1/2 drive socket wrench finally let go but it was 42 years old and when I told it back to Sears they simply handed me another one so I have zero complaints with Craftsman Tools.

I guess if money is not abject Snap On is the way to go but I never had that choice.

Jimbo

 

I have mostly craftsman that I got for birthday's or Christmas in the 70's-80's. I had to get a rebuild for the 1/2" rachet, and my 3/8" was acting up. Took that apart and just cleaned and greased it and it is working well now. I look for name brand tools at garage & estate sales. Buy up old namebrand body hammers which I can usually get pretty cheap since they usually don't know what they are used for. I did buy several newer pliers (needle nose & side cuts), and got channellock brand, which states they are made in PA.

 

The problem with Craftsman tools with a lifetime guarantee is they replace the broken tool for one made in China as their tools are no longer made in the USA.

Gary

 

teng tool life time guarantee

 

You're absolutely right, and there is a difference. I'm lucky (& old enough) that my Craftsman stuff is pre-China. One of my sons bought a vehicle a while back. Found a couple of Craftsman 3/8 ratchets in it, China made. Big difference from my old stuff. FWIW I never was too fond of the Craftsman ratchets of any era really.

 

I got tired of having to replace Craftsman ratchets about 15 years ago...bought a new Snap on at that time, it still works fine. I used to wear out sears ratchets in less than a year when I was working part time taking apart and fixing cars.

 

Sad part is that you return good old Craftsman and get cheap China stuff back......if your lucky they rebuilt a USA one so you only have to worry about the inside. I stopped using my grandfathers Craftsman at work because of that, now it's just for home use.