WOOHOO!!! I got my first real tool kit. 137 Piece Craftsman. Sure the hell is gonna beat having to borrow everything. Talk about a happy morning. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Justin
I'll warn you... there is no turning back now. Don't be afraid to modify the tools when you need something different to perform a task on a car. I have many wrenches that have been cut and welded to create a tool I needed at the moment
Crosley is right on the money. No turning back now. In fact, try to set some money aside and buy a tool or two every month. You'd be surprised at what you end up with after a few years. For some modified tools, I buy extra Craftsmans and do the heat and bend bit with them. For others, I buy the cheap Chinese 3/8 - 1" combination wrench set (about $12. or so last time I looked.) at Harbor Freight. Saw em in two if necessary with a tungsten carbide hacksaw blade and modify as needed. Swap meets are a good place for used Craftsmans if you're looking for a wrench to modify. I find as well that having duplicates of your favorite/most used wrenches works great. Got a couple sets of the short three piece set box ends cuz I use them a lot. A second set of combinations is handy for both sides of the nut & bolt equation.
Justin, Take a bit of advice from someone who's been into cars and tools for almost 50 years.....trade them in on fishing gear or golf clubs ASAP !!!! SJ
Now you are a mechanic. The right tool for the job makes things so much better. If you ever lend one out, write down the tool and the borrower. You'll keep the tool and the friend. I have fond memories of those days. A big deal for me was getting my Craftsman 10 drawer top box to put them in...$99.00 on sale.
I think I am gonna supplement what I have just got with a set of the racheting open end wrenches. I love those things! See it is already starting. Between the tools and money that i think i am going to spend on pinstriping stuff I am one happy camper today, and it should last a while.
HA ! Now you gotta go buy another full set of cheap tools. Those will be the ones you loan out. Or, DONT tell anybody cause they will ask to borrow them. COOOOOL --Feder
yeah just got my son his first socket set he's is 7 giving him a big head start 40piece. merry christmas teeth now get to work on your car.
Mom and her boyfriend already said "owe" now we have someone to borrow tools from. Put a big Ix-Nay on the Tool -Loan-Ay real quick. Tools and loaning really shouldnt go in the same sentence but I am guilty of using loaner tools in the past. We will see what happens.
Somewhere on here was the big long list that will serve to be the guide forever onward for me in the tool buying arena... Sounds like your about to have fun!
Just remember "Tools before Tattoos". You could've had tools years ago but then you wouldn't be as cool. Merry X-mas.
...And don't let MBL get ahold of them... He likes to use things with fine threaded ends on them as punches, and torque wrenches as prybars!
Congrats on the cool Christmas gift. I'm twice as old as you and I'm still waiting for Santa to bring me a cool tool set. I've got lots of bits and pieces but most of the time I'm down at my Dads "borrowing" his stuff. Happy Holidays to you and yours
always buying more tools here, these days there is so much around and the market is so compe***ive, and the more and varied tools you have, makes jobs so much easier. Just keep in the practise of cleaning them and putting them away after you use tem. Leaving them laying around on the floor during an in progress job really isn't the way to go. well it isn't for me, but I know so many who do work that way, and still get the job done. So the way you work and use those tools is up to you.
Congrats on the tool set. Can I borrow some?!?! My wife got me some racheting box wrenches and they are probably my most favorite tools.
That's a great start. Yes,tools are a deadly habit,buy the best you can afford,and you'll never regret it. Chuck Fish
And many of them! ... Oh... If I were you I would go ahead and grab a 1/2 9/16th sockets and both in box wrench form to slide in the back side of the tool box for when you absolutely cannot remember where you put the others!
Well I got a few years on ya' and was speechless this morning when a good friend showed up with a 170 piece kit for me plus stuff for the whole family! I got the typical ribbing, you know, "you needed these, I'm tired of using your mismatched stuff, etc." I know these things aren't cheap and for a buddy to this, just blew me away. This was the same guy who a week ago dropped close to 9 bills for new Cragars/BFG's for his 57 Chevy, because I needed a set of stealies and tires to get my ride on the road. Yeah, he was going to do it anyway, but he pulled the trigger early to help a fella out. That was enough of a Christmas gift in it self I never expected anything like these and when I told him I didn't know what to say, he told me I already had said enough by may actions. I have been trying to help out while his family get's through a tough time, dropping what I'm doing when he called with a favor, and being around to talk cars (like that is a real inconvenience). I always tell my kid that nice things happen to nice people, gestures like this reinforce that philosophy. Thanks for posting abpout your good fortune Justin, I wanted to share my days excitement, but didn't want to necessarily start a new post just to get all warm and fuzzy. Use your new tools well son, I will try to do the same. G
it gets really bad when the tool truck pulls into your work, it's like bringing the candy TO the kid. that's my pay check.......cars, tools and then house/girlfriend. you still can still get good deals at the swapmeet on old snap-on, mac, matco, craftsman and others.
hey man I,m glad you got your 1st tool set, its a great feelin, I got my 1st set in may 1959 at sears, that 1st set is long gone. I had a lot of tool sets stolen over the years,I lost alot to good friends, I had to sell them sometimes (lawyer fees), I also lost a few friends, you would do best to not lend your tools, even to friends. it seems I always end up havein to go chase them down, the tools and the friends. I buy craftsman tools mostly, I like the repla*****t poliicy and its good in the whole u.s.of a., if you take good care of your tools your tools will keep your belly full, a roof over your head,etc. oh I just bought my second set of rachet wrenches man do I like those things, and watch for sale paper, you can save some $$$. later horty
10mm will run off with them..............sorry we work on those damn overseas cars to!! Congrats Justin...now get that carb and MC on. I wanta see that ride at the new shop this week
Sounds good Justin. I still have the ratchet set my wife won at the bingo 20 years ago.With a little help from my old claw hammer the sockets fit EURO and USA cars.I use the steel carry case to rinse greasy nuts and bolts and the actuall tools have a permanent place on the floor near the side door of the garage. Never let it get that far with your gear. One day i,ll fit a lock on my garage door and then the new tools might come. Man 137 pieces, i could never keep that many items together.
16 is the year of tradition in my family, it seems. my dad got a craftsman set when he was 16 and still has it complete to this day, except for the ratchet which wore out and was replaced with a new one. i got a sort of cheap set when i was 16, would have been enough for a normal person that needed something in a pinch, but after high school i started getting into old cars, and got a couple of them, and my dad got me a pretty nice socket set by allen, folks that make allen wrenches. seems to be pretty good quality and they've lasted well thus far. it is an addiction, fed ever so easily with my new sears credit card, so i gotta watch out! thankfully, i inherited my grandpas tools along with his side of the garage as well for my projects. i've got my good set that my dad got me, and the trusty, well-used ***ortment of sockets and wrenches grandpa used. i even found a super compact set of spring clamps that will probably work on my old pontiac, where the new fangled set i bought for this were too bulky for the job. over the last two years, dad got me an upper craftsman toolbox and then a lower box. they're packed almost full now too.
my mom dropped the 151 piece craftsman bomb on me this christmas....boy was i suprised...apparently hotrodtohell let my mom know that i really could use a FULL set of sockets, etc...which i really did need. up untill now, i've been using a cobbled together set that was built from a socket set that my dad got me when i was around 10 , some sockets that i inherited when my grandfather p***ed, and some i got at various pawn shops, garage sales etc... it really is nice to have the right tools for the job...and now i even have some extra stuff!!! as far as modifying tools goes, try local pawn shops...atleast around here there's usually huge bins of wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, etc... at every pawn shop and the people there don't seem to care about the different brands. there's snapon, matco, craftsman, and hundreds of other no-name brands mixed in and they're all the same price. CHEAP!!! glad to hear that your christmas was as good as mine.
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