Just wondering what everyone else likes and uses. My toolbox like most everyone elses is full of various manufacturers tools. I mostly buy Craftsman now. I've had good luck with Craftsman and the lifetime warranty is nice and easy to excersize if needed. I started buying some vintage tools too, Craftsman, Companion and Blackhawk wrenches, hammers, punches, sockets etc. Anyone have a brand they swear by? What tool couldn't you live without? I love the stubby handle ratchets and find myself using them quite often even when I don't need to. I would say the worst brand I've worked with is the Goodwrench stuff you can get from ORielly's. At least I've broken several of them.
Everything in my tool boxs are Craftsman and Milwaukee power tools. Well other then the knives... I think the best tool ever made has been the flat head screwdriver.
I turn spanners for a living, and I wouldnt go past Snap On. Like most things, you get what you pay for.
Here in Canada, Canadian Tire makes a nice series of wrenches and a good price...especially when they are on sale for 1/2 price.........."Mastercraft Pro Series" They have the lifetime warrenty
I saw some highly vintage FORD brand tools recently. I'm talking Ford motors here. Was told they were 30's or 40's era. Some open ended wrenches, a tire iron with an open ended wrench on the other end, and some other misc oddball wrenches. Was wondering if they came with the cars of the era kinda like the pathetic tool bag manufacturers throw in with most new cars (you know, the extremely short tire iron, the pain in the ass to use jack, the goofy looking bent screwdriver for the sunroof, the 1st aid kit, etc). Difference being these old Ford tools looked pretty functional.
I own both Snap-On and Craftsman. I have likes and dislikes about both. I have a 1/4 inch Craftsman thin head ratchet that I will morn when it dies because it has been dis-continued by Sears and I know of no other ratchet that is as thin. My Snap-On ratcheting screwdriver is the only screwdriver I use and has been for 15 years. Other companies make their own version of the ratcheting screwdriver but none comes close to the quality of the Snap-On.
snap-on for "specialty" tools gear pullers, torque wrenches, etc. craftsman professional or regular for sockets, wrenches, (except ratchetting wrenches) for the sole reason of ease of replacement.
I have whatever I find in the junk yard ... NO really ... you would be surprised at the tools you find in old cars. I worked for the " salvage yard " part time for years and I would always try to go look in the vehicles we got in. Runs all the way from Snap On to Taiwan throw aways ... I used to buy Mac off the truck ... I now buy Craftsman ... when I need something. Craftsman is good for a Hobbyist but Snap On and Mac is what I prefer. Sort of like a lot of folks prefer Crown Royal but buy Jack Daniels ...
MOST car manufacturers provided a small set of hand tools for their owners way back in the early days. Ford and a few others labeled theirs. The oddball ones are highly sought after by restorers. I buy Snap-On when I can find them used or at a decent price. I love their quality. I've NEVER broken one. S-K is also a favorite of mine, but they are getting hard tto find. Glenn
one of my favorite tools bought in a long time is the Craftsman full handle snub flat head screwdriver, i wish i could find it in a phillips Big Tony
I am a tool whore. I only buy Snap-on,simply because I like being able to use my hands. (what the heck is he talking about?) when I am at a buddies shop, and I use the craftsman set all day, It makes my hands ache when I am done. bad. The snap on stuff is like it was made for old people-great big soft handles, ergonomic stuff, and the wrenches just cant be beat. (I bought the flank drive wrenches almost 8 years ago, and STILL have not outright just stripped a nut or bolt! these things have paid for themselves about 30 times over!) Matco makes some nice stuff,too. but nothing compared to the snapper head stuff.
I am pretty much a Snap-On user, but I spin spanners for a living (or used to, now I sit in the office). But I think for average home user it's hard to beat Craftsman, good quality, unbeatable warranty and cheaper (or at least they used to be......).
I found Falcom socket set at place here at KC (try garagejournal.com for more info). . . French version of Snap-on . . . wrench feels pretty smooth. Way outta my price range anyway, especially for my backyard monkey business.
Pretty much SnapOn, but haven't bought any new Snappy stuff for 10 years. I have a lot of Mac & Matco also, some Williams, Cornwell & Vlcheck. Craftsman next. Favorite things ? Pointed adjustable dividers for layout and scribing lines, and a dial caliper & calculator for figuring centers on things and also scribing exact lines on sheetmetal & machining projects. I couldn't get by without a 6" dial calipers & small machinist square. .
I'll second that!!! A good friend once told me that he thinks that I could put together an entire car w/ a flathead screwdriver. I buy nothing but Craftsman. You break it, you don't buy it again. Take it back and swap it. Best deal ever, especially with the way I am on tools.
Being poor, we have a mixture of Craftsman, Husky, Harbor Freight and Wal-Mart. I think if it's something you use a lot, you should get the best you can afford, but something you rarely use, you should save a little and go cheaper. No sense in having a $50 tool you only use once a year when you could get a $20 that will work. But I too am a big fan of the flathead screwdriver. That and duct tape
Plomb, older Snap On. I like pro quality tools from late 1930's--WWII--mid 1960's. KR Wilson, Plomb, Snap On for pullers, specialized things...the right tool for the right job...why, just yesterday, I carefully removed a dent from the dog's plate by beating it out with a Vise Grip...oh, wrong thread. Anyway, good tools from the era described above just look and feel right for working on old Fords, and all have been well tested for durability. Anything that couldn't take it broke a long time before I needed it...
Years ago I got a few tools at Walmart -- Popular Mechanics from Taiwan . . . not bad considering the usage. I got a 3/8" SAE socket set and a metric wrench set. Now they've got the Stanley stuff, looks purty. My other stuff is Craftsman when it's on sale. Maintaining multiple tool boxes, one for home, one for junkyard runs, one for boat/lake . . . that's a pain.
I have Craftsman and Husky Tools and I am learning that Horrible Freight has a pretty decent brand called Pittsburg that hold up okay, I also make some of my own tools, Benders, P-Hammer, Radius maker.
I have alot of craftsman,my grandpa's old snap-on stuff, as well as some garage sale/auto parts store cheapies. The snap-ons are my favorite, but mostly because they were my grandpa's, otherwise the craftsman tools are just as good. I prefer vice grip locking pliers. Also, money spent on a good tourque wrench is money well invested. As for power tools I love the old stuff. I've found alot of 50's/60's Black&Decker and Milwaukee stuff for a few dollars that took little, if any work to get back into tip top shape.
Because of their no questions asked exchange policy, and bracketed by their price, I've always bought Craftsman, but I notice that every year the finish gets a little cheaper...I compare today's wrenches with the ones I've had for 30 yrs, and the recent ones just don't have the quality of the older ones. Snap-On is by far the best brand available, but their prices are just astronomic. "a tool and his honey are soon parted" dj
I work on high end bicycles all day long and some of the best tools we have are old as hell. Everything is metric now and we've had the same set of craftsman wreches on every bench for 10+ years now. Have not broken one yet. The neat tools are all down in the obsolete tool drawers. Full sets of SAE Schwinn (thats right Schwinn as in Bicycles) wrenches just waiting to be put into service on my cars. I've asked about buying some but apparently they feel the old units are too valuable. I have a set of the SAE Schwinns on my bench but they hang in the corner and I rarely get to use them. I use a digital caliper about once a day. Sometimes just to quickly convert metric sizes into inches. They are super valuable when ordering specialized part in which the millimeters count. I was out at Lowes several years ago and bought a 60 piece set of Task Force Sockets and Ratches for like $20. Put them in my daily driver and have used them quite a few times. Pretty good for $20. Favorite tool I don't own - Impact wrench with a powerful compressor behind it.
I've got a real mixture of stuff, Mac. Proto, Plomb, Williams, Snap-On, Blue Point, Billings, Bonney, Indestro, OLD Craftsman, Vlchek, Matco, Wright, S-K andmore that I can't think of the names of nowAlmost all of them have come from garage sales, flea markets, estate sales, etc. I found a Snap-On 7 drawer top box at Fathers Day swap for $80. A really nice large 60's vintage box. Also found a vintage 30's Craftsman 1/2" drive set the same day for $30. I just prefer the way the older tools seem to fit my hands ansd the fastener better. Lately Craftsman seems to have been losing their fit for the last few years. I've had open end that would spread enough to round off bolt heads. I have enough tools tha t if i happen to break one I'll usually have a bckup already and can usually find anothe at the next swap. To me warranty kjust isn't a bbig selling point. jerry
ya'll should check this out: http://www.papawswrench.com old hand tools and stuff. 'tool talk' is their forum section -W
My wife just got me a full set of (box/open end) wrenches for my birthday from Stanley... all in their own carrying case, they sure seem sturdy and all purdy and stuff... can't wait to get them greasy!
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