Lets talk mechanics tools

[DeerHunter]

I am a 4x4 truck nut and always wrenching in my driveway
my mechanics tools consist of strictly craftsman with some Kobalt
mixed in, All the "real" mechanics use snap-on or mac that cost
4 or 5 times as much as craftsman i compared the two and see
very little differnce in quality,Whey do they all use them (around here anyway) now people say S-K tools are right up there with snap on,Whats your opinon?:confused:

[Punk]

I don't use my tools to make a living but I've got Craftsman and they work fine for me. If you're using your tools all day long everyday I would guess you would want the best tools money can buy, and having the tool truck come to you would be a bonus, and I'm guessing you could call the cost of your tools a business expense and deduct them:confused:

[Twisted Cross]

I have absolutely every kind of tool brand except Snap-on.

What I have found is that none of them have ever broken expect 3/8 ratchets that I used a pipe on to break something loose:(
I wrench more than most people with the project car and other things. IMHO even Craftsman is too much money for tools. I look at this way. Any tool maker that has a life time replacement policy like Craftsman is probably just as good. Many of the tool makers have that same return policy. The other little secret that many guys don't know is that all Craftsman tools are made buy contractors that make other tools. Many of the tools in the Crafsman line are made by Stanley and Oakey.

Spend your money the way you want, but remember the saying about paying for a name. And Snap-on is one of the biggest ripoff schemes I think I have ever seen. They are good tools, but the prices are outrageous.

[payback308]

Craftsman they`re decent,replaced free,and Sears is close.

[r95rdstr]

Craftsman does me fine for the occasional bike and car wrenching that I need to do. Don't buy anything made overseas. My dad owed me $3 once so he figured he'd buy me a socket set from one of the dollar stores. The first time I used it on a car, the 3/8" socket wrench stripped out inside. Ok, so I still have the sockets that I can use with a decent wrench? WRONG! First time I used one of the sockets with a good wrench, the socket split in half.

[Pogo]

Craftsman used to be as good as any other brand of mechanics tools. I have lots of older Craftsman wrenches and some newer ones. The new ones have the same lifetime guarantee as the old ones, but the quality of the newer Craftsman wrenches suck. The newer sockets and wrenches are made out of a softer metal, and the sockets will actually stretch. I've got several new ones to replace the older ones that got broke over the years. In addition, to make up for the weaker metal, Craftsman made the walls of their sockets thicker, making it impossible to get in some recessed areas when working on a car.

I was removing the bolt from the end of a crankshaft a couple of years ago, but couldn't put the Craftsman socket over the bolt because the wall was too thick (the bolt was in a recessed area on the flywheel, and the socket wouldn't fit in the hole). Doesn't make much difference because the socket would have probably broke or stretched anyway. So, I borrowed a Snap On socket from a friend to remove the bolt.

Craftsman wrenches are "so so" for puttering around in a home garage, but just aren't the same quality they used to be.

I bought an inexpensive set of Cresent brand wrenches at Sams Club a month or two ago.

http://home.insightbb.com/~johndanley/wrenches.jpg

They aren't intended to be a set of tools for a mechanic, but they are a great set of tools to keep in your vehicle. I put it behind the seat of my pick up and keep it there with all of my other emergency gear and stuff. Only cost $58. :p

[73cj5]

you get what you pay for. when i started buying tools @ the age of 18 i bought all craftsman. if i could do it over again i would by sk or snap on. they cost more because they are better. i use hand tools all day @ work and all weekend. what good is a lifetime guarantee if you have to return it once a week? spend the extra money and you wont regret it. a good place is yard sales and flea mrkts. tons of good tools, just need to clean them up. most of the crapsman stuff is made in china now. all my snap on and sk screwdrivers are from france and germany. way better steel. you cant put a price on quality. good luck!

[AKMac]

My grandpa used Craftsman in his body shop day in and day out. Almost all are still in good working condition. My dad also uses Craftsman, and has never had any real big problems. Needless to say, I also use Craftsman. My real name is "Mac" so I've been thinking about buying some Mac tools just so my friends know the Mac tools belong to Mac when we get them mixed up. :D

[biere]

I consider craftsman fine for home useage, I personally don't like them if the job I have means I use them 8 hours a day 5 days a week.

The shiny finishes common on the higher end stuff wipes clean, the craftsman dimpled finish keeps grease when you just wipe it really fast.

The higher end ratchets have less slop between the teeth, and usually they need less movement till the next tooth is engaged, so they work better in tight spots.

Someone mentioned the thick sockets not fitting in places, craftsman has a major annoyance with their impact sockets.

I bought a metric and standard set when I started out and noticed real fast some sockets had the same outer diameter. Cheaper to make I guess, but that meant the larger sizes for a given diameter had the thinest walls. A deepwell 13mm impact socket with 1/2 inch drive was something I replaced dozens of times. I used it on fords ttb front ends and it was good for maybe 2 trucks before it split, and yes I was using acceptable impact guns and air pressure.

I have also helped friends get their cars apart after lower end wrenches rounded off the bolt. As long as they don't do too much damage the snap-on or other wrenches generally can grab enough metal to get the thing loose, this is also true of craftsman allen and torx designs vs snappy designs.

Most any tool can get the job done. I just prefer to buy something I don't have to replace. And now that I live 20+ miles from a sears I am happy to know I just kept my high end stuff when I stopped turning wrenches.

For someone who just does tuneups, oil changes, and brakes on their cars now and then craftsman is perfect.

But I think there is more than just advertising that keeps the tool trucks coming to the repair shops.

[wwwtimmcp]

I buy snap on because they hold up better. when I started out 25 years ago my dad bought me a complete set of craftsman tools. as I got involved in truck and auto mechanics I replaced them with snap on. as they got replaced I gave my dad the complete set to replace all the tools we had lost when we were kids.

[KansasFal]

I also use craftsman tools and I have also purchased some of there house brand (made by craftsman) I know they are not the best quality available but if I take care of them and clean them they seem to last, When my son was a small boy I did catch him a few times using the socket wrenches as hammers. :D

[HDR]

IMO, its how you will be using them. If you will be using them often, buy good ones. If you need a 15mm wrench and plan on using it a few times, buy average ones.

I own mostly craftsmen, SK, etc.. Snap On is good, if you work where the truck stops.. ;)

[63DH8]

I have spread the jaws on Craftsman combination wrenches. However, this was when I was working proffesionally as a mech. IMHO, if you're working around the house, Craftsman tools are good enough. If you are working professionally, Snap-On or Mac tools are the way to go. Once upon a time, I had some cheap Taiwan made tools. They didn't last working on my Tonka truck! :rolleyes:

[RogerLee]

I spend anywhere from 5K to 15K in handtools a year. The snap-on IMHO is better than craftsman but not by much. I agree that "taiwan" brand tools are shit!
Roger

[r95rdstr]

Originally posted by KansasFal
When my son was a small boy I did catch him a few times using the socket wrenches as hammers. :D

Shit, I'm 35 and I still do that!! :D

My 3/8" ratchet set goes under the name of "Action". They're at least 40 years old and I couldn't hurt them if I tried. My dad wrenched on cars with them when he was a kid and I've wrenched on my cars with them since I was 16. Old faithful, they are.

[63DH8]

Originally posted by RogerLee
I spend anywhere from 5K to 15K in handtools a year. The snap-on IMHO is better than craftsman but not by much. I agree that "taiwan" brand tools are shit!
Roger


What's worse are the "Made in India" tools. :eek:

[Gremlin]

Snap-On is nice but to thin in the handle. Kinda hurts when you bear down on them. Just replaced my 1/2 Snap-On wrench with a retail of over 25 bucks. That is for 1 tool. The only Craftsman wrench I have broken is 15mm. Good tools for the price are Husky and Ace Hardware brand tools. But if you try hard enough you can break any brand out their.

[Original-SSR]

Quote from 63DH8:
"What's worse are the "Made in India" tools."

Oh boy do I agree:) It's amazing how similar the quality of the products coming from India and Pakistan are to each other. They make some of the crudest stuff that I'd ever seen!

You want to know whats really scary?.........They both have nuclear weapons! Just imagine having to be one of the guys that are hired to be around them! Just after being around them for a couple of days, you would probably glow like a night light:) LOL!

Worst yet, just imagine if or when they actually push the button! Who knows where the thing will land! LOL! (SHIT....I just noticed something, that ain't even funny):rolleyes:

As far as tools, I use mine quite a bit, but not enough to have to spend the bigger dollars. Since this is the case for me, I have a mixture of tools such as: Sears Craftsmen, Sears, Master Mechanic (from True Value), Dremel, Ryobi, Makita, and my share of (I hate to admit this) Mickey Mouse dollar/bargain basement store stuff:) The really cheap stuff is purchased for those "just in case" things that I may need once or twice in my life. The brand name stuff is usually for the tools I know will be used on a regular basis. I don't remember having any of my brand name stuff break or fail to function for me, but boy do I hate when I lose or misplace one (rare, but has happened).

[BRM308]

I'm like you. I've got a mixture of everything, but mostly crsftsman and ace hardwear. I've had a lot of them for years and they held up just fine.

As a side note. My brother is an aircraft mechanic on 747s and my brother in law is a diesel mechanic for ComEd. for years they swore up and down for Snap-on or Mac. But when the started loosing stuff or got it stolen the7 would replace it with craftsman or proto or S_K, whatever was on sale;)

[drj77830]

I have been in the mechanical field for over 25 years and have used all brands and types of hand and power tools. Snap On and others who make tools for the pros understand that the durablity of the tools are a must. I have used Craftsman in every day mechanical repairs and they are good, but if you use them as a back up on a bolt or nut that you are using a impact on they will eventualy get beat out. I have never broken a Snap On wrench I have bent them. I have broken several craftsman and yes they do replace them but if live in a small town they have to order the replacment and that means no wrench to work with for a week or so. In turn that also means a reduction in tool in which might slow down your work and when you get paid by the job that means a loss in time and money. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Pogo]

My main bitch about Craftsman is when I break one of the old sockets which are made out of high grade metal, they replace it with the new Craftsman sockets which aren't much better than the crap made in Taiwan or India.

The new Craftsman sockets are easy to stretch. After using them several times you will notice they will round off the heads of the bolts and nuts if you have to apply a lot of torque. I sometimes wonder where Craftsman tools are made now. :p