Foo - Gear heads..Advice needed....

So, in the near future I shall FINALLY have a garage of my own, and what does said garage need in it??? TOOLS.


So, I need a mechanics tool set. I have the belief of spending the good money on the right tools that will last a lifetime, rather than saving a little now and paying for it later, that being said

1) Craftsman ( ehh)
2) Mac ( never worked with them)
3) Snap-on ( the obvious choice)

The thing thats holding me up, is that even though Snap on is my first choice, when things do break, you have to call them up, send it in ( if there's no truck in your area) and wait. With the crapsman, at least there is a sears close to me...whatcha all think?? Which would you choose?

Park.

Wait. What?

Don't be a dumbass. Buy Craftsman tools.

This advice is coming from a former professional mechanic with somewhere between 15 and 20 thousand dollars worth of Snap-On tools. Here's the deal. I buy Snap-On because of their warranty, because I didn't have to drive to Sears, and because their tools are strong enough to last when you use them 50 or 60 hours a week.

There is absolutely no reason for an ameteur (I use that term, not as a derogatory term, but as for someone who doesn't spend full time working on things.) to buy anything better than Craftsman. They are great tools with a great warranty. They don't have the cool look of Snap-On, but they're half the price. You get more tools for your money.

Buy Craftsman. Dad was in the hand tool business for years, on the manufacturing end, and as an executive. He swore that cheapie tools and Kleins came from the same source and the name made the difference in cost.

Same with things marketed by MAC and Snap On.

I have a garage full of Craftsman. Never had a wrench break on me. They are more than quality enough for a weekend warrior.

Don't be a dumbass. Buy Craftsman tools.

This advice is coming from a former professional mechanic with somewhere between 15 and 20 thousand dollars worth of Snap-On tools. Here's the deal. I buy Snap-On because of their warranty, because I didn't have to drive to Sears, and because their tools are strong enough to last when you use them 50 or 60 hours a week.

There is absolutely no reason for an ameteur (I use that term, not as a derogatory term, but as for someone who doesn't spend full time working on things.) to buy anything better than Craftsman. They are great tools with a great warranty. They don't have the cool look of Snap-On, but they're half the price. You get more tools for your money.That's pretty much the impression that I've gotten. With Mac and (especially) Snap-On, you're paying a lot more for a) the name, and b) getting new **** when you break the old ****, when it's absolutely imperative that you're never, ever without the tools that you need to do your job on a daily basis. They may or may not be better quality tools than you can get from Craftsman, but that's not what you're paying for.

Personally, I've never had a problem with Craftsman tools, and wouldn't have any qualms about stocking a garage with one of those eleventy-billion-piece sets of tools.

Milwaukee.

Unless I was a professional mechanic, I would stick with Craftsman. Cheaper, and decent quality. If you do a lot of heavier mechanic type work then a higher quality set of tools may be worth while.

SK when they make the tool needed. Best tools for the money. Craftsman is okay, only when we're talking about simple hand tools with no moving parts. The era where Sears made good power tools and good ratchets and things is gone and dead. For anything more specialized, a lot of stuff will work, what brand you should get depends on what type of tool, and on how much you'll be using the tool in question.

http://www.mactools.com/Mac/

What will you be working on and how often? If your doing light mechanical work...or restoring a project car then craftsman is probably fine... I work on cars every day...snap on truck comes to me so its convenient. If I was buying tools for home I would probably go craftsman just because sears is everywhere.

I have mostly Crapsman in my garage simply because I think snapon is over priced.


What am I saying I even have a crapman riding mower...LOL how sad is that.

I have mostly Crapsman in my garage simply because I think snapon is over priced.


What am I saying I even have a crapman riding mower...LOL how sad is that.

Snap on is not "overpriced" for the quality... but craftsman is "good enough" for most jobs.

they make good rider mowers ...I mean its not a John Deer or anything :p

Snap on is a PITA to get replaced unless you are a pro mechanic that'll be in the shop when the truck stops by. Craftsman for me.

Snap on is not "overpriced" for the quality.

Given the fact that they are eager to give students a big discount, I'd say that they are overpriced, and most of it is paying for their ads.

Given the fact that they are eager to give students a big discount, I'd say that they are overpriced, and most of it is paying for their ads.

I have never seen a snap on ad in my life....and just because they like to help out beginning mechanics...or the school has a deal with them doesn't mean they are over priced in the first place. Like anything else you pay for good quality. Proof is in the pudding man...in my 20 year stretch I have had to replace about 10 sears ratchets...and only one snap on and the guy fixed it on the truck in about 5 minutes...the craftsmans were not repairable...they just broke... one of them cracked the case around the gears. just cheaper. end result is always the same...You get what you pay for..there is no way around it. I did still suggest that the poster get craftsman though because hes not using them full time in a shop ;)

Don't be a dumbass. Buy Craftsman tools.

This advice is coming from a former professional mechanic with somewhere between 15 and 20 thousand dollars worth of Snap-On tools. Here's the deal. I buy Snap-On because of their warranty, because I didn't have to drive to Sears, and because their tools are strong enough to last when you use them 50 or 60 hours a week.

There is absolutely no reason for an ameteur (I use that term, not as a derogatory term, but as for someone who doesn't spend full time working on things.) to buy anything better than Craftsman. They are great tools with a great warranty. They don't have the cool look of Snap-On, but they're half the price. You get more tools for your money.

What he said.

Also note Craftsman have different "level" tools. Some are much higher in quality than others.

Craftsman's warranty is good enough that you probably never should have a problem. I've never had a tool break. I had a rusted wrench once that the fine people at Sears replaced though.

I like the Snap-on calendar, beer-mugs, thermos, and posters. I can tell you that modeling shoots aren't cheap. What that has to do with the quality of their tools, I have no idea. But it certainly makes me like them... Almost as much as the Pirelli calendars... ;)

Craftsman's warranty is good enough that you probably never should have a problem. I've never had a tool break. I had a rusted wrench once that the fine people at Sears replaced though.

I have seen about 8 or 10 craftsman power tools break, or not even work out of the box. The older stuff was great, the newer stuff, trash that I rarely encounter in the field. Compare their ratchets and gear wrenches to damn near anything else of a comparable price. Newer Craftsman hand tools with moving parts tend to move about as smoothly as a mountain bike with no tires. If you don't believe me, check them out yourself and compare them to other brands. It's junk. I'll use their sockets themselves and a different ratchet, those are alright, but I prefer the well sorted SK sockets instead. The only thing I use that's made by Craftsman is their wrenches.

For power tools, you get more for about the same or a little more money with names like Milwalkee, Delta, Dewalt, Porter Cable, Makita and yes, even Ryobi makes better tools in my experience. Like Nike shoes, I think Craftsman is now a joke.

SK also makes some unique sockets with built-in universal-joints. Much shorter than a socket + U-joint combo. Really handy for getting into tight spots. :) Craftsman has gone downhill in the past 5-years, to the point where generic Harbour Freight tools are a better value.

Craftsman has gone downhill in the past 5-years, to the point where generic Harbour Freight tools are a better value.

Just today, I witnessed that first hand.

Obviously I'm not up on the latest in tools, so forgive the potentially dumb question, but where does Husky fit in?

And, since I have a rolling chest on my wish list, any comments on those? I've looked at SK, Snap-on, MAC, Husky and Sears sites and tried to find a size I think will fit and compare, as best as possible, apples to apples in terms of size and capacity.

I think they make some crap, some decent stuff, and some great stuff which amounts to real bargains for the money. It all depends on the exact tool in question.

Obviously I'm not up on the latest in tools, so forgive the potentially dumb question, but where does Husky fit in?

Husky is OK. Their tools are of decent quality, about as good as Craftsman, although the Craftsman name means you can bring broken tools and have them replaced at any Sears.

Craftsman tools have gone downhill though. Either its the merger with K-Mart, or just the fact that expectations have gone down for how well made a wrench should be.

Just compare socket wrenches and other tools made 10-20 years ago to the ones sold today, and you can tell that Craftsman has gone downhill.

For the best, Snap-on is what you want, but consider price per use. Why pay $500 for a set of tools when a $100 set will do the job and for most people, won't notice the difference. For example, if I was using a torque wrench for a single job, I'd stop by Harbor Freight and find a decent one. However, if I used it in my home shop often, I'd go Craftsman. If I used it daily for work, I'd go Snap-on.

I can tell you from experience that Husky works just as well on a robot as Snap On or any brand in between. The frequency in which tools are used should dictate how much you spend and what quality to buy.

I agree that Husky is just as good as Craftsman but Husky has a far more limited assortment of tools. I've broken two Husky sockets and Home Depot replaced them no questions asked. (umm, uh, no, uh, I didn't use those sockets with an impact. :) ) I've also got top and bottom rolling chest sets from both Craftsman and Husky with ball bearing drawers and I would consider them to be about equal in terms of quality. I picked up the Husky tool chests on a whim as they were a scratch and dent special I couldn't pass up. You can spend a bit more on Craftsman and get higher quality chests though.
I've got some Mac, Snapon and Cornwell (which I really like) hand tools also that I've picked up at garage sales for pretty cheap. My local Snapon truck guy replaced a broken 1/2" breaker bar I got from a yard sale, no questions asked.
I would echo others here though and say if your livelihood doesn't depend on your tools, go Craftsman.

This is just for my private use. I'm no pro mech, but i do hope to one day get my hands on a super bee or challenger to work on. I will probably end up going to craftsman for the wrenches, but i'm still up in the air about their socket wrenches. I was telling unsafealpine that I had broken 3 of the wrenches in an hour once working on my jeep. I'm pretty hesitant about those, but their other wrenches should be fine. As for power tools, I have always had good luck with DeWalt. This question I posted was really for a mech tool set, not the power side of things...

Power tools are completely different, I'd not buy craftsman for them.

For the record, the difference between Snap-On and all the rest of the brands out there is that Snap-On is able to make almost all their tools to a higher tolerance than the rest of the companies. I've used many different brands of tools and have far less slippage and have been able to get into smaller places with Snap-On than any other brand I've tried.

That said, there are a few tools that I won't buy from Snap-On. I've never been impressed with their snap ring plyers, their ratcheting wrenches don't impress me, and a hammer is a freakin' hammer. Again, though, this is coming from a former professional mechanic. Craftsman tools are fine for 99% of amateur mechanics.

Power tools are completely different, I'd not buy craftsman for them.

agreed.

I'd think more DeWalt for that, and Milwaukee

Park.

Wait. What?

Yeah, ditto that.

Don't be a dumbass. Buy Craftsman tools.

This advice is coming from a former professional mechanic with somewhere between 15 and 20 thousand dollars worth of Snap-On tools. Here's the deal. I buy Snap-On because of their warranty, because I didn't have to drive to Sears, and because their tools are strong enough to last when you use them 50 or 60 hours a week.

There is absolutely no reason for an ameteur (I use that term, not as a derogatory term, but as for someone who doesn't spend full time working on things.) to buy anything better than Craftsman. They are great tools with a great warranty. They don't have the cool look of Snap-On, but they're half the price. You get more tools for your money.

Agree. I can't recall having ever actually broken any of my craftsman tools anyway.

Agree. I can't recall having ever actually broken any of my craftsman tools anyway.

I have. But it was total misuse.

agreed.

I'd think more DeWalt for that, and Milwaukee

Depends, the shop my boyfriend manages has a bunch of makita angle grinders that get abused excessively (stainless welding shop, they get used for all sorts of stuff) and they just keep on going. I'd definitely add them to the list of good power tools.

I personally have never used any Makita. But I have never heard anything negative about them either.

I've broken two Husky sockets and Home Depot replaced them no questions asked. (umm, uh, no, uh, I didn't use those sockets with an impact. :)

One thing I like about husky is they make some of the SK style mid length sockets. Plus, speaking of SK, I've used my SK sockets with impact guns numerous times. The finish may flake off some times, but I have yet to break one. I'm sure if I used them like that daily they would break, but for my use and abuse, they hold up very well.

Depends, the shop my boyfriend manages has a bunch of makita angle grinders that get abused excessively (stainless welding shop, they get used for all sorts of stuff) and they just keep on going. I'd definitely add them to the list of good power tools.

I think their drills leave something to be desired. They are pretty weak in my experience. But for everything else, I love the things. Great performance for the money. I've had a Makita belt sander for about 8 years now.

Oh, I want to just plug the new Craftsman Cross Force wrenches. Most comforable wrenches I've ever used under high torque. My daughters got me a metric set last Christmas.

http://images.minitruckinweb.com/tech/0704mt_19_z+sema_aftermarket_products+craftsman_wrench_set.jpg

The craftsman ratchets suck. Buy a few snap on ratchets and get craftsman sockets. Nothing like a snap-on ratchet.

Where's the Harbor Freight option?

I voted Snap-On, because for a cost-no-object tool set, why wouldn't you?

My (quite extensive) tool set is Craftsman, mainly because either I or my roommates worked at Sears all through college, so I was able to build my collection for 50% or more off of retail prices.

Mac

I think their drills leave something to be desired. They are pretty weak in my experience. But for everything else, I love the things. Great performance for the money. I've had a Makita belt sander for about 8 years now.

I've never had the opportunity to play with a makita drill, so that's good to know. I need to work at Sears for long enough to get an employee discount and then go a little crazy, then work some place with all the nice power tools. ;)

I think their drills leave something to be desired. They are pretty weak in my experience. But for everything else, I love the things. Great performance for the money. I've had a Makita belt sander for about 8 years now.

Depends on the drill.

I had their 3/8 high-speed corded drill. One Winter it got frozen in a block of ice. I thawed it out, let it dry and it worked. That drill is still in use today, albeit a little noisier 20 years later in my buddy's shop. I replaced it with a DeWalt that rocks. ;)

No love for Ace brand wrenches? Lifetime warranty, nice feel and there's an Ace in every town. We use them extensively at the bike shop, never broken one.

I was accumulating SKs for a while but took an opportunity to trade them for a friend's craftsman gift certificate. All the high end tool companies have the same warranty as Sears (I think I cashed in one item's warranty for SK, the same w/ Craftsman), and I have not found the machining in Craftsman to be the slightest bit deficient relative to SKs or Snapons or Allens. And hey I'm not a pro, maybe a 50 hr a week mechanic really would see the difference, but I just don't. Just get 6 pt sockets, don't bother w/ 12 pt-ers

I was accumulating SKs for a while but took an opportunity to trade them for a friend's craftsman gift certificate. All the high end tool companies have the same warranty as Sears (I think I cashed in one item's warranty for SK, the same w/ Craftsman), and I have not found the machining in Craftsman to be the slightest bit deficient relative to SKs or Snapons or Allens. And hey I'm not a pro, maybe a 50 hr a week mechanic really would see the difference, but I just don't. Just get 6 pt sockets, don't bother w/ 12 pt-ers

I've broken at least 4 craftsman ratchets already. And I only have 3 tranny swaps, one subframe swap, 2 engine swaps, 2 clutch swaps, countless shocks and struts swaps and a body repair from a 40mph frontal crash under my belt from the last 10 years. So I'm no pro by any means, but I know that the craftsman ratchets are definitively garbage.

Ratchets are only made to hold a certain amount of torque. Generally, they're designed for much less than most people think. If you're breaking ratchets, try getting some breaker bars of whatever size drive you need. I've broken one ratchet because of overtorquing it.

Advice I got was to buy Craftsman, and if you break it buy the Snap-on version. (Unless you live right next to a Sears.)