TOOLS, TOOLS, TOOLS Best value?

ok, Im looking for new tools, EVERYTHING! Im sick of not not having what I need.

I am a fabricator, and I do not work with general mechanics tools Every day, but often I do need the stuff.

I have looked at Craftsman (most of what I have now) snap-on, mac, matco, SK, Huskey, and cobalt, but what would any of you feel is the most comprehensive tool set for the money? I have little need for metric, but it seems that every set you can buy includes them.

also is it me, or are the mac, and Matco websites missing the master tool sets?

thanks for any input.

 

try these guys. Name brand tools at a discount price.
harbor freight

 

I've been buying Craftsman tools for 20 years now, and their quality seems to have gone downhill.

I return ratchet drivers several times a year - the last one was 1/4" drive that I only use on really light duty things. There's NO WAY I broke it.

I bought some Husky tools, and so far, I haven't broken any (although I abused the shit out of a breaker bar and only bent it). My only fear is that because the HomeDepots here are staffed by hate-filled, lazy, Pokemon speaking fools, I'm afraid that when I do break one, it'll take forever to replace it. Husky seems to be better than Craftsman.

Good luck.

 

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try these guys. Name brand tools at a discount price.
harbor freight

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Harbor Freight is great, for the prices. But I'm not convinced on the quality they cary. I'm sure they have stuff that is good quality, but most of there stuff, I have never heard of the brands. I recently pickedup a 1/2"Torque wrench there for $11. I am waitin to see how long it takes for it to let go.

 

And chances are it's not very accurate....

I have a soft spot for Cornwell myself. But I have an array of Snap-On, Mac, Facom, USAG, Matco, etc. I would suggest talking to one of your local tool guys, they sometimes have sales or overstocks. My local Cornwell guy is a buddy of mine who will bend over backwards to get me a decent tool at a good price.

 

used Craftsman my whole life ( inherited some of my grandfathers when I was 5yo). I think the quality has slipped some but it's still a trip back to the store and an instant exchange for a new one if anything breaks. It's simply a matter of how much do you want to spend. As far as I'm concerned the higher the price the shinier the stuff gets. If that is important to you, reach for you wallet and don't look back.

Frank

 

Hey Man, I miss your Elf-Like presence around my garage. I've been trying to get down to the shop, busy (yes, Miles is one of 'em).....

I have some Williams Low Buck Tools wrenches in the drawer. Are they still in bizness? I have the best set of Bastard tools anywhere. What brands are out there? Bet I have at least one in the tool box.

 

Craftsman is a great value & there's a Sears or Sears Hardware store open 7 days a week pretty close to wherever you are. If I had to do it all over again, I'd buy the gigantic zillion piece Craftsman set & be done with it. MUCH cheaper than buying small sets at a time. There's a local guy that buys the huge Craftsman sets, breaks them down into smaller sets & sells tham at swapmeets for a nice profit. WWS

 

ya jeem... get down here some time and buy us those tacos you promised four months ago!!!

I have a mixture of mostly crapsman, and generic now,
the #1 reason I want to stay away from crapsman, is that every body else here has em and they all get mixed up.

I dont want to be cheap, but 8 grand for a set of SK tools, half metric which I will almost never use (could they make it half witworth? I would use those ) is a little hard to swallow.
I need to stop by Lowes and home dump this weekend.

 

i have nothing but Craftsman , most of them are 20-25 years old. i have maybe $300 total in all the wrenchs,sockets,ratchets,etc...i use them everyday and never have any problems

 

I'm a freak about my tools. Most of them are Snap-On and I paid dearly for them. There is not one single S-O tool that I've ever been sorry I bought, and I have a double wide 6 foot tall roll away full of them.

Like I said, I'm a freak, but Snap-On tools are neater than store bought titties.

 

When I was teching with my own tools, I went balls out and bought a set of Snapon Combo wrenches, both standard and metric. They sure looked great on the truck, and in my drawer. But God bless me if I had to break something loose that was really torqued... they made the handles just a skosh too skinny, and it really dug into the palms. Also, they seem to flex a little more than my Craftsmans do. I think Craftsman wrenches are great, but agree with the above who said their rachets are shit. Unfortunately, the last couple of Snapon rachets I had were shit too. Maybe try to Garage/Yard sale and look for some older snapon/Craftsman/proto rachets, and whatever you do, DON'T trade em in on new ones... try to rebuild what ya got.

Jay

 

Have you checked to see if there's a ReTool store there. Should be. Best prices you'll ever consistantly find for used tools. You can find Craftsman and Proto wrenches for $.79 a piece. Same price for a body dolly priced $20 everywhere else. I used to buy at pawn shops but no more.
Dan

 

This is something I wrote up when this came up some time back. For the most part, for a home builder I still agree with it - though I might change how I feel about purchasing good air-tools after seeing how cheap they're going for on ebay.

Tools, this is a topic we’ve burned before. But, assuming that you don’t own any tools, and want to stock up for the sort of work that a homebuilt hot rod requires, here’s my list. Note that for the most part I’m recommending purchasing new stuff. If you’ve got work to do, hunting around pawn shops, swap meets and such takes too long. If you do find a decent tool purchase on the used market, then sell the stuff you’ve already bought at the next swap meet. I’m gonna recommend Ebay for a few specialist tools that are really expensive to buy new, but seem to have a regular presence on Ebay for less.

Hand tools. I’m gonna assume you’ve got a Sears to purchase Craftsman, web access and a phone to purchase Snap-On, a local jobshop to purchase inexpensive import tools, and a mega hardware store for other stuff.

General rule about Craftsman: Buy the pro Craftsman stuff instead of the garden-variety stuff. The exception is the sockets, go ahead and buy a multipiece set for the sockets. Expect to upgrade the rachets though.

Craftsman wrenches up to 1 inch combo
Craftsman wrenches – odds and ends to mutilate for custom tools
Cheap offshore-swap meet wrenches from 1 inch to 2+ inches

Craftsman or Snap-On or Bluepoint sockets get 6 pt short and deep 3/8 and ½ drive then fill in the ¼ drive and 12 pt stuff. Get an assortment of swivels, extensions, thumbwheels, etc…

Vintage Snap-On torque wrench off Ebay. Get it recalibrated by the local Snap-On guy. Make sure that you are buying one in the torque range you need.

Breaker bars and rachets? Buy TWO Craftsman 3/8 and ½ drive rachets and TWO ½ drive breaker bars. You’ll break one; the other is backup for late Sunday evening. Buy the combo sets to save cash, then fill in the holes as needed.

Snap-On screwdrivers. Craftsman pro series is a second best. Craftsman red and blue drivers are good for hospital visits or for use as a chisel-punch. Get two each of the medium size, and an assortment of the other sizes.

Pliers? Yes – Needlepoint and regular. Maybe a small set of each too. I really like Snap-On pliers, but you can get away with quality hardware variety or Craftsman.

Magnets from speakers and on extension rods from cheapo tool store.
Metal rulers from drafting supply. Framing square from hardware store. Carpenter squares, big ones, from hardware store. Razor blades, china markers, soapstone, pencils, and tape from art supply and hardware store.

Hammers – could fill pages on this tool alone. Get a decent hardware store ball-peen hammer for use with punches. Get a hand sledge, a tap hammer, and a few different mallets (dead blow, rawhide, rubber) as needed from the hardware store. I don’t think Craftsman will warrantee hammers and that’s the only benefit from buying from Sears.

Hacksaw and blades – get the best one you can from the cheap tool store. Should cost much more that you thought you’d spend on a hacksaw.

Punches from cheap stool store. Vice-Grip pliers from cheap tool store. Get two that are big enough to use as clamps, and two that are general pliers size. Get two 6 inch “C” clamps while you’re there.

Other stuff like side cutters, specialized wiring tools, picks, brushes, prybars, and such – you’ll have to decide how much you use them and purchase them accordingly.

Pullers – at a minimum you’ll need a drum puller. Get the wide legged one off ebay. Get other pullers from the cheap-tool store.


Hand Power Tools

#1 A drill motor. Get something decent. A mid range DeWalt, or a good Milwaukee. If you can afford two, get an expensive one with a ½ inch chuck and a cheap one with a smaller chuck. Best price is probably from the mega-hardware store. Get a metal drill index from the cheap tool store. Get the best carbide drill bits you can afford from the mega-hardware store. If you find yourself doing a lot of drilling and going through drill bits, get a plastic box with lots of little drawers and stock it with bits from one of the professional tool shops like MSC. If you’re gonna buy a lot of bits, get high-speed steel bits and a sharpener.

Taps go with a drill. No need to buy them unless you’ve got a drill. Buy a complete but cheap set with a lot of sizes. Then, replace the stuff you use a lot with better quality taps from the mega-hardware or cheap-tool store. Dies? I’ve used so few that if I hadn’t bought a huge quality die set a few years ago; I’d buy them piecemeal as needed from the mega-hardware store.

If you ever plan on using safety wire, go ahead a buy a drilling jig from an online specialty store and safety wire pliers off ebay. Lots of used ones available cheap.

#2 A Jigsaw. I like the $100 Bosch, but others have their favorites. Again, the best place to buy it is either online, or at the mega-hardware store. Favorite blades – the Bosch Progressor blades. I use the X123 blades. Superior life, good cut and not too expensive. You can buy the blades in bulk on Ebay, or in smaller packages at the mega-hardware store.

#3 4-inch grinder. Go ahead and buy a Milwaukee or Makita. Get the 90 degree second handle. Get cutting blades, grinding wheels, sanding discs, etc… and experiment with what works for you. I’ve got three so I don’t have to swap wheels as much. If you can spend a little more, get a 6 inch instead.

Shop Tools

Welder. I can’t imagine building a traditional rod without it. You might be able to build one out of the So-Cal catalog with only hand tools, but if you really want to be the builder, buy and learn how to use a welder. Personal favorite for beginning chassis builders? Miller EconoTig! Used welders aren’t discounted enough for the risk so go ahead and bite the bullet and fork over the $1200 for a setup with a bottle and regulators. Shop online for this. Lots of discount shops post Ebay auctions to funnel traffic to their websites. After that, buy the bottle and supplies at a local welding supply.

If you’re on a tight budget, get a modern MIG welder. If you’re buying cheap one, get a new machine. I personally think that MIGs are for body repair and you should stick with TIGs for chassis work, but others are quite happy building frames with MIG welders.

Buffing wheels, bench grinders, lathes, etc….buy as needed and your experience requires.

Toolboxes – get a used, older and smaller Snap-On rollaround. Then get a pair of smaller canvas tool bags too.

Workbench with a real vice.

Oxy-Acetylene setup with a cutting tip, a rosebud, and if you’re handy, get a Dillon welding torch too. If you don’t plan on ever welding with it, use Propylene instead of Acetylene, it’s cheaper and much much hotter.

 

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I have a mixture of mostly crapsman, and generic now,
the #1 reason I want to stay away from crapsman, is that every body else here has em and they all get mixed up.


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I engrave all my tools with my initials at least twice. That way no matter where I ever worked when I went looking for my tools that someone borrowed without permission there was no discussion about it. I still do it and I only have my tools in my shop. Also helps if they ever get stolen...

 

Re-reading what I wrote, I’m gonna bring some attention to some things.

This was written on the asumption that the potential tool buyer had SOME experience and had NO tools – like if he lost them in a flood/divorce/theft/fire and wanted to replace them immediately.

I didn’t mention air tools for a reason. Most are very use specific and are expensive for the amount of use you’ll get. An air compressor is a PITA to have at home. Noisy and expensive for a decent one that can also be used for sandblasting/painting/ or running grinding tools. Eventually you’ll want one, but wait untill you’ve got some other projects under your belt. Untill then, use plain ole’ power tools.

I’m still a fan of handheld power jigsaws. I still love my Bosch with the Progressor blades. I can’t express the variety of cutting jobs this tool had done that folks usually think need a bigger-better tool.

Splurge on a good welder and a good grinder. If you’re fabricating you’ll be using them a lot. The difference of $150 for the welder, or $50 on the grinder and good consumables can change a frustrating experience into you being another superman. Get to know your friendly local welding supply (only one of the dozen around me is friendly to hobbyist) and rely on him for advice. Drag your junk to him for evaluation and recommendations.

Safety gear. I still recommend a full face shield and ear protection. Sometimes I look like I’m ready for deep space exploration when I’m in the shop, but my hearing, eyes, fingers, and face are still intact. I’ll be glad to show anyone my “branding” on my forearm from not wearing a jacket when welding.

 

I was in the same shape several years ago and just gave my old Craftsman set to my son-in-law. I then bought a complete set of German made HAZET tools (metric & SAE). They cost a little less than Snap-On (still expensive), but they are the best tools money can buy. I've had my tools for over five years and I am very happy with them. I also have some Snap-On, Stahlwille (Made in Germany), Channellock & Visegrip tools in my chest, but my HAZETs are the ones I charish. Those German Black Forest Elves make some nice stuff!