Thread: Tools?

Tweet

Not sure if I posted something like this yet or not but am pretty sure I haven't. I was wondering what your guys' oppinions on Craftsman tools are? I am only 16 years old with no money and no job but wan't some new tools and stop having to use my pops tools and I was looking at Craftsman (which we have at the moment) or Snap On and I really like the comfort that Snap On has but not really in my price range at all. What do you guy's think about the quality of Craftsman tools because I haven't used a ton of their tools for automotive (only Snap On) and the Craftsman tools I have at the moment are only things such as sockets, screw drivers, combination wrenches, etc so I don't know if all around of the tools are good.
Any help would be greatly appreciated and also if you know of any sets that are good quality but not the most pricey then let me know as well. I have a craftsman cataloge but it doesn't have everything in it and right now I am trying to find something with a good and big tool box (even if it's bigger than what I need for starting out). I do not wan't to go with a cheap tool box and tools because I don't have the money to buy cheap stuff then later get better tools.
Thanks for any help.

Most all my tools are Craftsman.....there are better ones out there, but for the price they are great and have good guarantee......go with the Sears stuff

Yeah and I like how they have the garantee. Some of the Craftsman is more comfortable feeling to me than the Snap On but all depends. I do not like those new wrenches like the combination ones where it has a wratcheting type of thing where you do not have to take it off the bolt and keep turning (hard to explain), they are crappy.

Snap on makes the best tools, but they charge accordingly. If you use the tool all day every day, then perhaps the extra cost is worth something.

Most of my tools are craftsman. they have some 'higher level' tools these days that are approaching Snap On for comfort. The guarantee is the same for both - if it breaks they will replace it. However - as a non-working pro I see no snap on guy every week. So when snap on (or mac, matco, cornwell, etc) tool breaks, I have a hell of a time getting it replaced. Even as a pro, the Snap On man only came by one a week, and often didn';t have the tool on his truck - so you'd wait 2 to 3 weeks to get it replaced.

Sears is open every day, long hours. No probs getting one replaced!

If you have to wait 3 weeks to get a 9/16 socket or a ratchet, then you end up at sears buying one anyway!

I have Craftsman tools that are 30 years old. Through my own abuse of it, I broke a socket the other day. I took it to the local Sears store at 7 in the evening, the "tool man" there looked at it and handed me a replacement, no questions asked. That's hard to beat. Like Chris said, you just can't beat the convenience and the quality is at least a 7 on a 10 scale. I am speaking if Craftsman hand tools now, some of their power Tools are pretty cheaply made. Don't ovelook Stanley tools either. Their quality and gaurantee is also good for the home mechanic.

For some of the specialty tools that you only need once every couple years, be sure to check at AutoZone. They have tools like ball joint seperators and presses and wheel pullers that they loan out for free to customers. They run your credit card slip when you take them and tear it up when you bring them back in working order. Beats the heck out of hourly charges at the local rental place. They are a great resource.

Pat

Pat

Alright thanks guy's. The issue I was thinking about with the Snap On is the truck taking so long to bring me a replacement and that's one reason I do not like Snap On. I am thinking about going to Wyotech next year in West Sacramento and they say that there is a store there where they give students 50% off on tools but even with 50% off their tools are still expensive and I most likely won't have the money then, I will be poor and trying to pay off for the school.

You only buy tools once (hopefully!). As Stu Cool said, he has 30 year old tools - you will use these tools for the rest of your life - 50 or more years. If it is your profession, you will use them A LOT.

I spent about 15 years wrenching for a living, cars and motorcycles. I have a variety of brands of tools and some stuff you buy Snap On because no one else makes it or makes the quality of that particualr tool.

I'd go to sears and buy the biggest tool set they sell - you won't need taps and dies or hacksaws very often, but metric and sae sockets, ratchets, torx, etc.

Some of what you buy later will depend on what your wrenching style is...i use air tools alot, so all my 6pt sockets are the black impact ones (some generic that are fantastic and some mac). Some guys never or rarely use air tools. I never had a 3/8 inpact or a 1//4 air ratchet - I used 1/2 air ratchet and 1/2 inch gun. I now have a 3/8 butterlfy (used craftsman) and love it.

Buy snap on hammers. Their screwdrivers are impressive too ( i have only 2, but a small straight blade of mine was used to try and steal my car - the screwdrive survived - the hardened ignition did not!).

Buy used tool boxes. You need a big one, one you can move without a fork truck!!!! Snap on are again the best (have seen them take a direct hit from a wrecker - the concrete wall behind the box moved 6", the box was fine!). A box will not make you money, but being able to access and inventory your tools quickly WILL make you money.

chris

Thank's for the info. I do not need a tool box that needs to be moved by a fork lift though, lol. I was looking at the black Craftsman boxes with the ball bearing drawers and they seem pretty nice. Right now I have a Husky tool box and I don't have a problem with it but like I said, it's not mine, it's my pops but I use all his tool way more than he does, he just used the tools needed for construction since he is a contractor.

My 'main' box is a 3 piece unit - the bottom and mid boxes are OLD snap on, a bonus/christmas gift from my first employer. My top box ia a 86 or vintage snap on, one of the first with ball bearing drawers. THEN it was about $700, but I got it used after it fell form a truck when a tech was moving from job to job - it was full of tools and literally rolled down teh street at 30 mph! A few scratches, but it works just fine. $200 i paid. So i got off cheap. I also got tired moving this beastly arrangement, so my last job was as a motocycle tech and i got a cheap craftman set (2 boxes for $169). You can definitely tell the difference in quality - lighter metal, drawers harder to move (loaded and empty).

Last job was at a Nissan dealer. The techs there were slowly moving to the BIG long boxes (6' long) with the suspension on the tires, etc. These boxes cost 5 or 6 grand and more! An empty box weighs 650 pounds! Ugh! Load that with tools and even if you have a fork truck you'll have to make two trips in a 1/2 to truck!

Haha that's damn big man. Yeah I just need something a bit bigger than I need. Right now I got the 2 piece stacked Husky one that is find, it's not the best but it isn't like others where the drawers are hard to open. Right now I am just talking about the stuff that I would like to have, basically talking out my ass like most teens and people with no money wishing they had stuff.... people can wish can't they? lol But yeah I found a few set's from Craftsman that are about 1,200 that come with ton's of stuff. I also saw the Craftsman Professional tools that are really nice but ton's of money as well but well worth the extra buck. I am going to see what I can do about a tool box because I am thinking about going on Ebay and looking for a cheap priced but good box. Would it be alright to go on ebay and buy a tool box because I know some stuff you shouldn't buy on ebay and just making sure?

Concept: One good adjustable wrench is worth a lot!

I am not a "pro" but I did use tools in my lab work before retirement and I had to get small sets of metric wrenches for VW work and internals of a Pinto 2000. I have had more bad adventures on the road with MGs than you want to hear, so I always carry 12" and a 6" Craftsman ADJUSTABLE wrenches with pliers, two screwdrivers and a battery terminal cleaner in a "emergency bag" in the trunk. I like the Craftsman since I have never broken one except for a 3/8" ratchet set (when I put a 6' pipe on the handle to tighten the single flywheel bolt on a VW!) and It was promptly replaced. I bought a new Craftsman 3/8" drive torque wrench for assembly of my roadster which is totally from scratch, so as a "poor boy" myself I would think you could do a lot with just an open end set of Craftsman SAE and metric wrenches. Throw in a set of box wrenches (Craftsman) and I think you could do a lot with about 10 SAE, 10 metric open ends, a 3/8 ratchet and both SAE and metric sockets along with one Craftsman torque wrench. Then just add tools as you need them and probably Sears has what you need. I speak from the "lower economic range" and a "make it work" philosophy. In an economic pinch you should realize that one or two adjustable wrenches can take the place of a lot of open end wrenches and adjustables work on metric as well as SAE! Just for the sake of trivia, note that the only interchangeable box/open end wrench between SAE and metric is that a 13 mm metric wrench will work on 1/2" SAE in a pinch ( 1 inch =25.4 mm) but that is not much use usually while a large adjustable will work on a lot of fasteners AND can be used as a hammer (sideways) to "tap" things. I guess I am telling you bad habits, but the next time you wander into a junk yard it will help to have a single 12" adjustable Craftsman in your back pocket. You can do a lot with a single adjustable wrench. Maybe you can learn what NOT to do from my semi-humorous remarks.

Best Wishes,
Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Haha yeah those are all the things I was taught NOT to do, lol but I still do it anyways. Yeah well I can't stand adjustable (cresent wrenches), I was taught in auto tech class that an adjustable is the last tool a tech will grab or the worst tool a tech will wan't. I can;t stand them.

OK, in my experiance, almost anything with a lifetime Warentee is in good shape. Then again, im still young. However, i have had to just replace a Craftesman 3/8, 1/2 rachet and a snapon 3/8. However, i have a SK 3/8 that will not break. I Blew Up a Craftsman 3/8 Trying to remove my O2 sensor on the Cutlass. My SK got it right out, no problems. Now Craftsman and Snap on may be easier to replace, but when you dont have to replace them, why worry?

"Just for the sake of trivia, note that the only interchangeable box/open end wrench between SAE and metric is that a 13 mm metric wrench will work on 1/2" SAE in a pinch ( 1 inch =25.4 mm) "

19mm = 3/4" as well.

If you are stranded, anything is better than nothing.
If you have no money or all the time in teh world, then open end wrenches are fine.

If you are making your living at wrenching, then the right tool will save you time (make you money) and in many instances save your knuckles. You may skin you knuckles when you work 6 hours on a saturday on your rod, but when you work 40 or more you can't afford to cut yourself up 6 or 7 times a week!

Broken tools don't work. Tools that don't work don't make you money. To spend $50 to $100 a WEEK on tools is about NORMAL for a working mechanic. Tax deductible too!

Hell, I spend at least $500 a year as it now, and it is just a hobby. Recently bought a 20 ton press, air nibblers, halogen work lights, and an assortment of odds and ends (scroll lock 3M pads, drill bits, etc)

That's very interesting about the 19 mm wrench working on the 3/4" SAE nut. I must have tried it with a new wrench on a new nut but it is only about 0.002" undersize so if the 19 mm wrench is a little worn I guess it will work too. I'll have to try it just for the sake of trivia.

13/25.4 = 0.512 " (approx. for a loose fit to 0.500")

19/25.4 = 0.748" (approx. for a tight fit to 0.750")

Don Shillady

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Life is hard. Life is harder when you are stupid!"

Well using the nice edit feature of this site maybe I can get beyond stupidity. Thinking back I guess I worked on 6 VW engines before getting back to "SAE-land" so I was thinking from the metric point of view. Allow me to correct the trivia above.

A 13 mm wrench will work on a 1/2" SAE nut (loosely), BUT
a 1/2"SAE wrench will NOT fit a 13 mm nut.

A 3/4" SAE wrench will certainly fit a 19 mm nut nicely (which is what you said), BUT a 19 mm wrench will be a tight fit (if at all) on a 3/4" SAE nut.

It also seems that the (19 mm / 3/4") interchange is closer to going both ways if the wrench is worn or the nuts are cold.

This is certainly of little practical value and one still needs both sets of wrenches, but I want to set the matter straight.

Don Shillady