Cascade Crew

[IROC-stangs]

yep what do you like craftsman,snap on, cheap walmart crap, what?
i prefere craftsman thats where i try to buy all my tools even though its tempting to buy a bigger cheaper tool set for less then a craftsman set. btw anyone got extra sockets to spare?

[QwkTrip]

Most my wrenches and sockets are Craftsman. I can't justify spending a lot of money on those, but I don't want them too cheap either. However, I've not had good luck with Craftsman screw drivers, allan wrenches, and torx drivers. The metal isn't tough enough and it just doesn't hold up. I've been replacing those with better stuff as I need.

All my power tools are higher end stuff. I avoid battery powered tools for the most part because the batteries wear out and become obsolete. The only battery powered tools I have are a drill and impact wrench.

[aaron_sK]

Craftsman has been riding solely on their name for about twenty years now. I have some old school Craftsman sockets that were my Grandpa's that are champs, but their new stuff is garbage.

ChannelLock makes good dikes, pliers, ect.
Mac makes good sockets/general purpose crap
SnapOn = $$$
I've had good luck with Kobalt hand tools (Lowes brand) but they are Chinese
I have bought exactly one good tool at Harbor Freight, and it was my 1/2" ratchet; basically a SnapOn knockoff.

For power tools, DeWalt and Milwaukee.

[izcain]

When you open your box every single day and grab tools to use you want some of the best you can get.

Tools for me are my life line since without them a paycheck does not come in.

Snap-On box and tools only for me here. Costs a TON but is worth it in the long run if you plan on using them all the time for your job.

only my .02 though. I will admit that Snap-On at times can be a bit harsh with pricing but luckily we have an excellent tool man that works our route.

[IROC-stangs]

[IROC-stangs]

[IROC-stangs]

[Dewey316]

Snap-on is good, I have a few tools from them, but they are stuff that I picked up second hand, or really needed a really high quality peice.

That said, I have craftsman sockets and ratchets. I break stuff pretty regularly, I am on my my 5th or 6th 3/8" ratchet in about 10 years. I have had pretty good luck, with the exception of a shattered 27mm socket and 1/2 drive extension, the only thing they have ever said no to replacing was screwdrivers.

If I was doing this for a living, Snap-On would make up a majority of my tools, but for a hobbiest, I cannot justify the price on most of their stuff.

[fiveoformula]

The best thing to do is try a bit of everything, I have mostly craftsman basic stuff, but specialty tools were you need the quality, spend some extra cash for sure.

[IROC-stangs]

[chevymad]

My workbox has a little of everything. Started with alot of secondhand stuff of various brands. Bought some cheap tools like impact sockets just to get started. Then as they broke i've replaced them with better quality stuff. Amazingly my metric impacts i've only broken a couple cheapies in 16 years. I've basically broken every fractionaly impact though LOL. Most of my stuff is craftsman or napa. Working at a napa store makes this real handy. I break it.. i walk in and replace immediatly. Craftsman is the next easiest for me to get warrantied. My snapon guy only shows up every month or whenever.. I can't wait that long usually. I do have quite a few snapon specialty pieces and a set of bluepoint end wrenches. The bluepoints replaced a set of $12 cheapies that I bought when I first started work. They lasted 15 years. Hard to justify the $180 I spent to replace them really. When I upgrade like that I just bring the old tools home for my home box.

Walking through lowes I was pretty impressed with the looks of their tools. I may try them at some point.

One big thing going for snapon that a craftsman set won't have. Resale. I know someone who retired. His tool box (2 of them) was appraised at $165k. He recently sold them for over $100k. You won't do that with your snapon set.

Oh.. the one tool that is fairly new and a must have.. GEARWRENCHES!!! Make sure they're gearwrench brand or rebranded.. and you're set.

[Dewey316]

If you can come up with $250, the AF&F 200T seem's to be a really nice low-profile jack for the price.

http://www.asedeals.com/automotive_floor_jacks.html
(Scroll down a little to find it)

[IROC-stangs]

[IROC-stangs]

[aaron_sK]

Craftsman jacks = seal leaks = junk.

I've bought better jacks from Schmucks than from Sears.

[IROC-stangs]

[DBL_TKE]

I have mostly Craftsman tools. I do have some cheap Taiwanese or Korean stuff and let my tell you, that stuff is complete junk. the sizes aren't exactly well fitting. The only thing from Craftsman that I don't like is their ratchets. I've broken several and they're just too sloppy.

Awhile ago I was researching low profile jacks. I only found 1 that had a height of 2' or 2 1/2". Does anybody know of one that is that low? Right now I'm having to drive up onto 2 pairs of 1x4's in order to barely scrape my jack under my car.

[blue89]

I buy the ratchets and sockets from the parts store. I've had a few snap-on things. Hate the price, not impressed with the quality. I've had my 3/8th 8" ratchet rebuilt 3 times and it's sitting in my toolbox broken as we speak. My ProBuilt tools are lifetime and I can go down the parts store to get them replaced. Only thing I've ever broken is a 1/2" breaker bar. So my choice is based on price, warranty redemption ease, and acceptable quality.

[Alphius]

As I'm wrenching on things with my Craftsman tools and come to a difficult bolt, I always have to think "Am I going to break this tool?".

I have broken ratchets and cracked sockets and stripped screwdrivers before. The problem is, you can break any tool. I've broken tons of cheap chinese crap, but the Craftsman does seem more durable, only if you use your brain and use the right tool for the job. Most of my broken Craftsman tools were broken from improper use.

As far as bigger tools, like jacks and things, Harbor Freight is my friend. I have a Central Machinery (Harbor Freight brand) jack and it's loads better than my Craftsman. With more expensive things at HF though, it's a really smart idea to buy the (cheap) protection plan in case the tool breaks. I've had good luck so far though, and the price can't be beat.

[Quasi-Traction]