It does take forever to buy up good tools. fortunately for me my uncle just brought his box to the shop, I haven't had to get anything.

Snap-On, Proto, Mac, Matco, Cornwell. Good tools. Proto I like, they are suppsoed to be what they use in aerospace industry. they can be purchased at stores rather than waiting for the truck. you can find many things used in classifieds and on e-bay. watch your local craigslist, sometimes you see fantastic deals. I bought a drop front proto chest brand new off of ebay for like 200 bucks plus the shipping. guy learned his lesson and raised price to close to wholesale after that. big box, cheaper than you can get the craftsman version for.

make a list of what you will need and keep it by the computer, start doing regular searches and as you find things check them off. the big outfits, snap-on specifically, do loans and credit as well. they know you need the stuff to work, and need work to give them money, so they work with you. the deals are out there. my mechanic for years moved out of state, before moving he was selling his home set (did shadetree work) which was mostly snapon, all tools, rolling chest and top box with the air tools for under 2k. If I had the money I would have jumped on it like a frat boy on a beer.

I am sure the pros will weigh in with their more qualified thoughts now. good luck with the new work

Red