[apolinaras]

Sofar I bought whatever I found on sale at PepBoys, but my sockets and wrenches seem to either break or start rounding off my bolts (only a problem with my cheapo wrenches).
What should I get, how big of a set of wrenches and sockets?
I feel it is time I get something better than cheap Chinese s**t I have been buying.
Oh, and I don't think I have budget for Snap-On brand:-(

 

[firespirit]

Craftsman has a lifetime waranty, so I'd go with them

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[Xmann01]

Lol, Yeah, snapon is very expensive. I only buy snapon stuff where durability is a problem on other brands of tools. I have been buying alot of snapon stuff though..... LOL. The biggest buy i've made was the snapon tool box, top and bottom. I've gotta say that I really haven't had too many problems with craftsman sockets and rachets. Their wrenches have been ok too.... but snapon has a really good wrench they designed. It has special cuts in it to allow more torque to be applied on the open end side. Not to mention they have a different angle on the box end wrench side to put more torque on the flat sides of the bolts. I'm prolly gonna buy a set of wrenches eventually.... But I recommend you get a good 250 pc. craftsman set and it should be good for you.

 

[kermitec]

I like the Craftsman also. I inherited some from my Dad he bought in the '60s still in great shape. I actually picked up some of the Sears Companion tools also, you have to really look at them some seem to be duplicates of the Craftsman tools but the sets do seem to be a little cheaper quality so give them a look over before you buy. You can always tell the quality wrences have a really nice finish to them.

 

[5spdsho]

snapon....by far the best.....

 

[Bob Gervais]

Craftsman is a good medium priced alternative. I like Snap On myself, but don't have the need or the means to buy them. They're good for the mechanic who does it for a living. For shadetree hackers like us, Craftsman will do just fine.

I've also used the tools that Autozone sells, the ones that are priced a little higher (Great Neck I think?) and they're not bad either. They have a new line out, Duralast or something like that, I haven't used those yet though.

One word on sockets, which may help with rounding off bolt heads. Try to get and use six point sockets, as opposed to 12 point. They grab the head better, and don't round it off.

 

[godspunk32]

I have 90% Craftsman tools, and they're pretty awesome. I've never had a problem with a Craftsman socket breaking, although I have broken two Snap-on sockets before. Craftsman also has that nice warranty. All you need to do is take the tool back to any Sears, and they will replace it.

I've got a 99 (I think) piece Mechanics socket set, and a 14 piece metric combo wrench set, plus a 14 piece standard combo wrench set. I've never needed anything else, although one good thing to have is an adapter to use a 1/4" drive for 3/8" sockets, especially if you use a bottom attachment filter wrench. If you have a Duratec, it's much easier to get the 1/4" drive and the filter wrench in there than it is to get a 3/8" drive...at least it is for me.

JR

 

[firespirit]

We went to autozone and bought some kind of tool (forgot the name) For a 15mm bolt that was stuck on the Intrepid's wheel (which was supposed to be a lug nut!) and broke it! bought a craftsman, and..... wow! haha, had that puppy off in no time

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[qwertz9586]

Go to a pawn shop and get some used Craftsmen tools and you can trade them in for brand new ones since they got that no-questions-asked policy on the warrenty. Or at least that's what I've heard in auto shop. But yeah, Craftsmen are the best tools ever. They even got the Made in USA stamp on them!

 

[henrysel]

Originally posted by Kermitec@Jun 14 2004, 01:56 AM
I like the Craftsman also. I inherited some from my Dad he bought in the '60s still in great shape. I actually picked up some of the Sears Companion tools also, you have to really look at them some seem to be duplicates of the Craftsman tools but the sets do seem to be a little cheaper quality so give them a look over before you buy. You can always tell the quality wrences have a really nice finish to them.

If you look carefully, all the companion stuff seems to be made in China with cheap chinese slave labor. For automotive stuff, I'd just go with the Craftsman because they're made in the USA. It's not worth getting hurt when the cheap stuff breaks on you.

I did end up getting some cheap companion tools just for some basic electrical work (pliers). The guy at the checkout told me that they don't have the lifetime Craftsman warranty, but then I said "That's ok, I'm not a professional". He just smiled and let it go at that.

 

[detroit_raver]

Craftsman

 

[rudedog]

As a professional tech I use a lot more specialized stuff, which I have to buy from Snap-On, Matco and the like. But when I was starting out and learning (well...always learning) I went and bought a nice set of Craftsman tools. After buying (over the years) around $25,000.00
worth of tools, I will tell you that if you are not going to do this every day go with Craftsman, or Husky or something like that. Lately for stuff around the house since we go to home depot or lowes ANYWAY for supplies if i need something i don't have and it's not something SPECIAL i'll buy it there.

 

[firstgen89sho]

Either Craftsman, for Snap-On

since I'm a starting out mechanic I use mostly Craftsman, but every so often I'll go into the Snap-On truck and buy somthing to add to my collection of tools

 

[mikehawk]

I love my craftsman tools. :thumb:

 

[tflander2003]

i use a craftsman lawnmower thats as old as my 93 taurus and it seems to not wanna die, it even has a dana brand rearend in it, i was like wow never heard of a dana transmission in a riding mower, so yea craftsman is good

 

[NateNBeckie]

Please don't buy Craftsman. Ever since the early 90's, I stopped buying them. My dad has an old ratchet set from the 70's and they never broke. He bought another set in 90' (I think). I broke the ratchet, the 10mm socket 4 times, 13mm once, and something else. Sure they have a lifetime warranty, but what's it worth if I keep having to take them back? Then they don't just swap them, they give you crap like their tools would never break, so I must have been abusing them. They really got pi$$ed when I told them I used a Benchtop on the same bolt and it didn't break. All I was doing was rebulding an 83' VW GTI engine, so it's not that hard on the tools.

Sorry for the story, so anywho...Snap on is the best, but expensive. Newer Craftsman tools suck, unless they had a few bad years and got better. I have never broke a Benchtop tool (from K-Mart). I haven't used the Home Depot tools, so I can't comment on those. I have broken every Allied tool I have (broke a 15mm wrench on an oil drain plug, and it wasn't that tight :blink: ).

 

[madness_spirit]

Craftsman is GOOD. of course snap on is better, but I have always found that even though craftsman is more expensive than part store and walmart brands I figure I am saving money buying them as compared to buying replacements continually for cheap ones that break. Snap on and MAC are better, but mostly I only bought them for use in the shop because of brand recognition. Makes a customer feel better when they bring their car to a mechanic. I also like proto tools, they also have lifetime warranty. and are about the same price as craftsman. You can find them at some tool stores, and they are nice if you feel like you have to stick it to the man at Sears. :lol2:

 

[godspunk32]

Originally posted by NateNBeckie@Jun 15 2004, 12:16 PM
Please don't buy Craftsman. Ever since the early 90's, I stopped buying them. My dad has an old ratchet set from the 70's and they never broke. He bought another set in 90' (I think). I broke the ratchet, the 10mm socket 4 times, 13mm once, and something else. Sure they have a lifetime warranty, but what's it worth if I keep having to take them back? Then they don't just swap them, they give you crap like their tools would never break, so I must have been abusing them. They really got pi$$ed when I told them I used a Benchtop on the same bolt and it didn't break. All I was doing was rebulding an 83' VW GTI engine, so it's not that hard on the tools.

Sorry for the story, so anywho...Snap on is the best, but expensive. Newer Craftsman tools suck, unless they had a few bad years and got better. I have never broke a Benchtop tool (from K-Mart). I haven't used the Home Depot tools, so I can't comment on those. I have broken every Allied tool I have (broke a 15mm wrench on an oil drain plug, and it wasn't that tight :blink: ).

I've broken several Benchtop sockets. In my opinion, they suck the big one!

JR

 

[madness_spirit]

Please don't buy Craftsman. Ever since the early 90's, I stopped buying them. My dad has an old ratchet set from the 70's and they never broke. He bought another set in 90' (I think). I broke the ratchet, the 10mm socket 4 times, 13mm once, and something else. Sure they have a lifetime warranty, but what's it worth if I keep having to take them back? Then they don't just swap them, they give you crap like their tools would never break, so I must have been abusing them. They really got pi$$ed when I told them I used a Benchtop on the same bolt and it didn't break. All I was doing was rebulding an 83' VW GTI engine, so it's not that hard on the tools.

Sorry for the story, so anywho...Snap on is the best, but expensive. Newer Craftsman tools suck, unless they had a few bad years and got better. I have never broke a Benchtop tool (from K-Mart). I haven't used the Home Depot tools, so I can't comment on those. I have broken every Allied tool I have (broke a 15mm wrench on an oil drain plug, and it wasn't that tight  ).

I always found a good rule of thumb is never buy a tool from a discount retail store like k-mart, wal-mart, or target. I bought those types of tools a lot when I was a teenager and was poor, and I did nothing but break them working on even stuff as light as my bicycle

 

[diesel600]

Most of my stuff is Craftsman. The stuff has been pretty good. Only time I've really broken anything is when using a tool for something it's not really meant for. Snap-on, mac, etc are better, but way more expensive. I wouldn't buy their stuff unless I was doing this for a living, but then it would be worth it.

On a side note, one day I needed I needed a 18mm wrench (didn't come in my set) and didn't want to go all the way to Sears, so I went to Lowes and bought a Kobalt brand wrench. It is a great tool. About the same price as Craftsman, same warranty I believe, and the quality seems higher to me. Plus they're better looking, not that that's important.