Technical The best brand of tools for someone who just works on his own cars?

Bob has a nice tool box.

 

I have snap-on, Mac, and some 35-40 yr old Craftsman, I really like Snap-on wrenches, they are thinner around the ends than the Crapsman which can really help with access. I have also broken the open ends on some Crapsmen, never broken a snap-on wrench. I dont bother returning broken Crapsmen, will save them, usually end up heating and bending the left-over box end to suit some particular job.
My favorite ratchet is a Mac, but they don't make that model anymore. My valve spring compressor is Snap-on, I used to work on a lot of race stuff, I had a cheaper one and the handle would fold over on me, I straightened it a couple times, then chucked it and got the Snap-on. I have even used a cheater on the handle on race BB stuff, and it has never let me down.

 

Invest more in tools if you make a living from them. For the hobbyist - buy what you can afford. Swap meets, garage sales and estate sales are great resources for old Craftsman tools, etc. You'll find a lot of crap tools there, too. I'll buy HF for the occasional oddball tool that I don't plan to use a whole lot. Generally I buy old Craftsman hand tools, and for power tools DeWalt and Milwaukee. Try not to buy used electric or pneumatic tools unless you can test them out first. Sometimes I'll pop for one if the price is right. Sometimes it has worked out, sometimes not.

 

I still have my first socket set, a 1/2" drive SK (they were SK Wayne back then) from 1966 when I was 15. I inherited a 14" and 3/8" set from my grandfather a few years later an bought a bunch of Craftsman and Monkey Wards Powercraft over the next few years, most of which is still in service.

I've broken a few Craftsman sockets over the years, all cheerfully replaced.

In later years I've added Matco and a lot of Snapon, as well as Wright, some Gearwrench, Crescent , and a little bit of HF and Kobalt.

The Snapon and Masco tools are top notch, but not worth the price of entry unless you are a pro, and buying used is hit and miss. I've picked up a lot of worn out Snapon that is worse than my fifty year old Craftsman, and warranting it is a hassle as you have to send it in and wait for a return, unless you have access to a tool truck. I'm not comfortable returning tools I didn't buy new, anyway.
I wouldn't be adverse to starting with something like Gearwrench, or a small Crescent or Stanley set, and upgrading later. Keep your starter tools for household use. They are always on sale somewhere.

SK would be my first recommendations, though.

 

Same here. The CTC stuff is good enough for me and when I have broken a rachcet it was because of abuse. They fixed it no charge.
If I had to swing wrenches all day I would use Snap-On just for the the hand fatigue problems, and better fitting sockets. Only downside to Snap's is the price. If I had to buy only them i have a skinny tool box!

 

I have collected used basic sockets and wrenches over the years. I am not a mechanic and do not give a damn about tool box fashion. BUT for your ratchets buy new or used SnapOn. They last and you can get parts. I pick up only 12 point sockets and wrenches. For 6 point I bought impact sockets from Harbor Freight. They are damn good for the price.

 

I have mostly Snap On, (replaced the ORIGINAL sets of Mac & Snap On after Grandma's garage was broken into in '62.) I had been in the trade since '57, so there was a sizeable set of tools stolen, rollaway boxes and all.
Always Snap On, also others: Herbrand, Proto, Craftsman, SK Wayne, Plumb...
4 years ago, I noticed some of my classic black plastic handles on my Snap On screwdrivers, hose forks & shorthorns, cotter key removers, etc. were 'wet'. Others had graduated to a 'melted' state, and some had crumbled!

There was a new 'Snap On Man' in town, I boarded his truck to show him, and get them replaced...per 'Lifetime Warranty'. He looks me up and down, says, "I don't remember selling these to you, and I'm not riding around to replaced tools free of charge."
I asked him, "Tell me, friend...When did you buy the company?" I grabbed one of his cards, and stepped out.
"Your boss'll be callin'..." I said, and gave him some tire smoke on the way by.
I called the warranty division in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Talked to the warr. & claims officer, explained about the handles, he said any Snap On tool dealer should be able to help.
I unloaded on him about the jerk on the truck. He wanted it all. I read from the card, name, address, telephone#, everything.
When I finished, he directed me to wrap all the tools in a cloth rag (towel) and box them up, with "Attn.: Warranty Dep't". I thanked him, and he thanked ME. Told me that he was going to call this flute snoot immediately, and I could watch for a new dealer! LOL I was glad at that point I didn't fist the guy. Came close.
A week later, I dropped by the old Safety Center I used to manage. The Snap On truck was parked there, so I went in to see if I could rub it in after the jawing the dealer had gotten.
New Snap On dealer! Same truck! LOL I said, "There IS a God!"
I was so stoked I bought a new set of extra long metric combination wrenches! New guy's nice. Better days...

 

If you want to save money, try eBay. Shortly before I retired, I decided to 'tool up' and replace the usual mish-mash of tools that I accumulated over the years with all 'matching' Proto stuff (as I like their strength/design the best). By doing a bit of shopping and not being in a big hurry, I got the majority of my Proto tools for about .20 on the dollar, and many were brand new or very close to new. Proto is still very popular in industry, and many times tools bought for a specific contract are 'surplused' at the end of the contract and sold; you'll find a lot of Proto torque wrenches like this. I used Proto tools at home and work for 35 years and can count the number of them that I broke on the fingers of one hand (and in every case, it was during extreme abuse). And Proto has the same free replacement guarantee as the others if you do manage to break one. Williams is another 'industrial' brand that's very good (made by Snap-on until they quit trying to compete with Proto and discontinued it) that's worth buying.

A few other lesser-known name-brands worth looking at; Plumb and P&C (both early Proto before they settled on the Proto name), Challenger (Proto's discontinued lower-line, pretty much the same as Proto, just not quite as nice a finish, although their ratchets aren't that great), Blackhawk (Proto's lower-line 'automotive' tools; basically the current replacement for Challenger with better rachets), New Britain (sold by NAPA at one time, nice stuff), Penncraft (sold by JC Penny way back when, basically a re-branded Proto copy), Industro (long out of business, but very good tools in their time; I still have a set of their offset box wrenches as I've never seen another set like them), and Klein (known for their pliers and screwdrivers, but they make other stuff and it's all good). A few 'specialty' brands are Excelite (nutdrivers and holding screwdrivers among other things), T&B (aka Thomas & Betts, wire crimpers), and Channelock (aka water pump or adjustable slip-joint pliers; if you're buying any other brand of this type pliers, you're wasting your money) who make a limited amount of other tools. These are all US-made tools.

I know lots of guys who are in love with Snap-on (Oooo, they're so pretty...) but after using them for a while during my mechanic stage in the early 70s, I grew to hate them. That full-polish is super-slippery when your hand/tool was coated with anti-freeze/grease/oil. Between busted knuckles when my hand slipped off and looking for them under the car when I dropped them, I swore no more of these....

 

If you're in Europe rather than the USA, then it has to be Facom. They do a tool called Pipe a Cles which is like a cross between a spanner and a socket. They're really useful. They also do a socket wrench called a Rotator Ratchet that can be used conventionally or by twisting the wrench handle when there's limited space,


Teng are pretty good too.

 

I have all kinds ,garage sale ,auctions, and in the winter when we are bored we hit the hock shops in Omaha. I think they give us a good price just to get rid of us.I carry a card in my wallet all the time with sizes and stuff I need ,just in case.

 

I'll add Gray and Truecraft to the good used tool list. Got them over fifty years ago and only had a 3\16" socket fail out of a full 1\2" drive set. Have Proto as well with no failures.

 

I NEVER close my hand around a wrench and push, I cup my hand loosely and push with my palm. I will pull towards me with a closed hand, but I NEVER push away from my body with a closed hand. Was taught that way a long long time ago, your mileage may vary.

 

Quality used tools when and where you can find them. I have a lot of Snap-On simply because like most other pro wrenches I bought them when the tool truck came around and I needed them to make money with. Over the years since I quit working in shops I have bought a bit of everything but search every tool collection at every yard sale, flea market and other places I go to.
In the 70's I worked down the street from a pawn shop that tossed all the wrenches in bins by size and priced them accordingly. You could get a Half inch Snap On Combination wrench for about 2 bucks and one that was broken for about .75 that I traded back to the tool truck for new ones when I found them . Metrics were cheaper no matter what the brand but somewhere along there they got wise and started sorting and pricing them better.
For the guy with few or no tools just starting out sets when Sears has their big tool sales is still the best bang for the buck. 100 or so pieces for 99 bucks in a card board box gives you the basics to fill a tool box and then you go from there as you find that you have a need for certain tools or different size or designs of the same tool because they work better for what you are doing at certain times. I've got a set of HF wrenches in my ot truck that will change a belt, or do other side of the road jobs. I don't use them much but they sure are handy when I do need them.
I've got a 1/4 inch Kobalt ratchet set from Lowes that gets used on almost every project I do and it cost like 11 bucks on sale.

On punches though don't waste money on Cheap ones buy Mayhew or another quality brand.

 

Those Pipe a Cles things are cool looking. I don't know what I'd use them for, but I'd buy a set if I saw them.

I have a "sidewinder" ratchet, similar to that Facom one, but the turning part is a T handle. Got it 20+ years ago. I've probably used it five or six times, but it's good when you don't have side to side clearance to swing a wrench.

I also like the Gearwrench combo wrenches. Those are handy too.



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Used good quality tools are an excellent way to go.

 

After 30+ years in the business, all I can say is buy what you can afford.



Although I'm partial to Snap-On, Mac, Matco, Cornwell, Hazett and Assenmacher.



I could never afford all this crap if I had to start all over again.



Posted with an IBM Selectric

 

My grandson started a mechanics program at a jr college didn't have a big budjet for tools. He got a lot of Titan tools from Northern Tool Better tools than Harbor Freight for the same money.

 

hit the swaps. you can find some great used or old tools for bargain prices. I have a buddy who goes to auto swaps strictly to find tools.

 

I bought 5 Snap On hand wrenches at a swap meet last year for $5, grabbed a Husky 1/2" breaker bar for $10. Guys were there with tables of used tools. Garage sales are worth a look, I grabbed 3 new Snap On gasket scrapers for $1 each and 2 engine stands for $10 each. Sold one for $40 and kept the other one.

Husky actually makes some nice tools. I have a mix of Proto, Crapsman, SK, Snap On, Williams and so on. I got a deal on a lot of tools maybe 10 years. Most are a crap brand like Great Neck and a lot of made in India specials, but they work and go out on the road in my traveling tool box.

 

When flea marketing, Powr-Craft is also a good one to look for. Wards had the same policy as Sears.
It's like a time trip to go through my tools. Still have some of the Powr-craft screwdrivers Dad gave me as a teen.
"Williams'' is also an old USA made brand that seems ok.

 

Being a retired line mechanic and having one set of tools stolen when my shop got broke into and then having to sell all of the tools I replaced those with to help pay for a divorce.
Look at swap meet tools for broken brand name stuff and walk on a tool truck and trade them for brand new. I like Kobalt tools, haven't broken any yet. I have a bunch of harbor freight stuff.
Was a slave to the snap on man early in my career until I realized that a nut and bolt doesn't know
what's turning them. As far as Harbor Freight electrical tools my sawzall that I paid $ 15.00 for 5 years ago is still being used regularly. I bought a replacement and it sits on the shelf in the original box waiting it's turn. Same with my 4 in. angle grinder. Changed the brushes once in 5 years.

 

I have Craftsman, and some Snap-on, and some odd. I have had good luck on not breaking any, but I have broke a couple of both, mostly cheap Torx sockets and some ratchets that others have gave me over the years. Craftsman don't cost as much as snap-on. But! I'm no dog, and I don't chase trucks! I walk into the store where it's always at, Sear's, and now K-mart.

Pat

 

My neighbor has a box like that. He works on lawnmowers for a living.

 

Summit has a nice line of hand tools. I get their tool catalog since I spend around the GNP of a 3rd-world nation with them I suppose. I got some nice allen wrenches and a set that fits a 3/8" drive ratchet. The prices are competitive with anything I see in the stores. Kobalt at Lowes are nice tools and even better when they have a sale.

 

Love these threads.. all the collected wisdom, busted knuckle memories, and pride. Like a Steve Earle show with some bootleg squeezin's to savor. Tip I've found useful: take cash to the Tool Truck. Prices get a LOT better! You know, like that 1/2" 6pt shallow wobble socket I needed in 3/8 drive. $62.something on a bankcard.. "oh, cash? How about $40 even?" My favorite is the Estwing I watched my grandad flip over and over as a kid. When he passed on, my uncle said "you better grab that before one of your asshole cousins takes it home". I about came undone when I found my nephew trying to use it a few years later... It's a tool for inspiration, you know, it inspires me to use my other tools with skill and care.

 

While we're on the subject, these Harbor Freight tool boxes are a screaming deal with the right coupon combination.....






Posted with an IBM Selectric

 

I grew up using my dad's snap on tools and I would leave them out in the dirt were I worked on my bike. He would always get pissed and say they were worth more than me. I didn't care untill he started throwing my Nintendo games out in the dirt. And then he made me save money when I was 13 and made me go up in the snap on truck and buy my first set of wrenches. They were 320 bucks and I only had 120 so from there on I had to pay weekly payments. From that time on I had a hole new respect for my dad's tools. He always told me if I take care of them they will last longer than me and him. From that time on I only buy snap on. I have a few sets of Mac and Matco stuff. I believe only in buying good tools. They last... Just my 3 cents.

 

I have a set of kobalt ratcheting box end combo wrenches and broke a 9/16 ratchet end. Now free wheeling,lol end. Anyway I bought a replacement not thinking about a warranty and the I noticed that it was stamped on the tool life time warranty, the sales fellow said that was correct and to bring in the damaged one for replacement I did and no problem and got a replacement wrench. And yes I was abusing the wrench when pop she went.

 

I got the same set up with a second cabinet ontop of the middle section. It was about a grand and has roller bearings on the glides. I love it and Im not a fulltime mechanic but works well for me and the price was great I thought.