Was working in the shop tonight and needed a 1/2 rachet . Well the tool box nearest to the stall I was in had my long comfort grip Mac in it and I really did not want to walk across the shop to the other boxes to get my standard Snap on and that's when I saw her in the back of the drawer. When I was 16 [I will be 64 in Sept] if I wasn't buying car parts I was buying tools. Did not have a lot of money but I needed a 1/2 inch drive socket set. I bought a true craft set from the then new Tractor supply store in town, I still have it as well as all the tools I have bought over the last 45 plus years. I still use the sockets all the time and the breaker bar every once in awhile. But I cannot remember the last time I used the rachet. Considering I have spent my whole professional life using my Snap on and Mac tools. One Mac rachet cost more than this whole tool kit. lol I could not believe how well she worked tonight! She got moved up to the front of the drawer! lol Do you guys have any old friends you still use? Larry
I have all Snap-On, and Mac. Plus, some Belzer, Hazet, and other German brands of metric specialty tools, Porsche/BMW/Ferrari. No brag, just fact... In the business for 60 years... BUT! My oldest friend is a then-new (1955) Thorsen 3/8" drive speed handle. Use it for most everything, old habits being hard to break. The guys out at the digs used to laugh when I'd grab the 'speeder' with a 'flex socket' ('universal shallow') and trist the socket to its extreme, using the speeder for a mild breaker bar...then straight up, spinning the bolt/nut off, then the next...fast! I have a Snap-On speeder too, but it's a little longer...(shank length on Thorsen is 10", Snap-On is 14"; I have the set of Snap-on speeders, longest shank 50", (for bell housing bolts under car, automatic tranny, etc.) Like the Snap-Ons, but LOVE my Thorsen!
I have an old set of various tools my dad had. I've got newer tools that kinda serve the same purpose, but when I grab one of his old, beaten up wrenches, my mind goes back to very cool memories. His tools and those memories don't get loaned out or sold. Priceless.
Not car related, but 26 oz estwing waffle head framing hammer. Had it out the other day and wondered how the hell I used to swing it all day long.
All my stuff is mismatched. About all I have that I bought new is a set of 3/8" deep wells and a set of 1/2" standards, both Stanley brand. Got some speciality stuff I bought new too, torx inner and outer, allens, a special socket or two. Rest has been acquired over the years, yard sales, flea markets, friends. I've got SK, Snap On, Craftsman, Proto, Blue Point, Husky, Thorsen, Williams, Sears, AC Delco, NAPA, probably missing some of them. Got some imported end wrenches, some good, some bad. Probably use my long Snap On 3/8" ratchet the most, it just feels good and operates smooth. Got it in a mixed box of tools I paid $40 for, it was probably worth that or more.....
Well, most of what I have is now matched Proto, but that's because in the last few years I worked I made an effort to upgrade everything. Careful shopping on eBay got me everything I wanted for about .20 on the dollar. Before that I had a lot of singles purchased as needed, but not too many 'sets' of anything. The Proto pre-Stanley-buyout yellow handle screwdrivers are the best I've ever used, and as an electrician, I've used most of 'em… Klein comes in second... But I still have a few oldies-but-goodies, among them a 'Champion' 3/8" drive flex-head 'spark plug' ratchet with a 'S' shaped handle that I use a LOT, as well as the 'Industro' offset box wrenches that were in the very first tool set I bought (from JC Whitney!). High offset, but not too long like the others I've seen. Also have a Thorsen 1/2-9/16 open end wrench that will fit where most others won't, and my older-than-me T&B crimper which you'll have to pry out of my cold, dead fingers. Tools are a personal thing. Not all hands 'fit' all tools, one that's comfortable in one hand may not be as good in another.
The Jalopy Journal
