Tools!

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Tools!

Postby ahale2772 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 7:03 am

Ive been mooching off my dads tools for...well forever.

time to build up my own set, and time to stop heraring him bitch about how he had 5 10mm sockets a year ago and how now he only has one... blah blah blah.

anayways... ive started collecting craftsman stuff. I'm not a huge fan of their tools but over the years, we have had lots of craftsman stuff sneek up beside my dads snap-on stuff and, honestly its not bad stuff.

I started by buying some wrenches, I head about the "professional" lahh-dee-dahh fancy craftsman wrenches so i bought their complete sets.

metric goes from 7mm-19mm, SAE goes from 1/4-1 ...99$ for either set

they are decent wrenches, long handles, and polished nicely. the 12pt box ends are much better quality then the regular wrenches and the open ends seems beafier and better made

also got one of these...
http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_ ... ockType=L6

and one of these...

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_10155_ ... ckType=L10

I've always had good things to say about their warranty... pretty much no questions asked. seems like snap-on has always been hesitant to replace any tools that are semi broken, like the big end of a wrench that wont hold a nut well. either that or if you have not dropped $$ with snap-on in a while they seem very hard to find...

edit: just saw this in one of the reviews of that 3/8 wratchet...exactly what I mean...
"I purchased this as a replacement for my SnapOn 3/8 locking flex head ratchet. Although the SnapOn ratchet has a much nicer finish and is more than likely stronger, the tool is only as good as the representative. My Sears store is almost right across the street. Where's the SnapOn guy? I haven't seen him for months, so I go with convenience."

your opinions???

im going back to sears tomorro to get one of their electric impacks (friend has one that we beat the tar out of) and they have a killer deal going for 12piece deep impact socket set (metric or SAE) for 45$.

I know this is a feircly debated subject, brand loyalty is pretty strong. ive tried most every brand out there and liked them all, $ is the big divider
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Re: Tools!

Postby cmann250 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:38 am

Just my $.02 here, but a local mechanic and a good friend of my dad's (i go to him when i get over my head lol) put it this way: if you're making your living with tools, get the best. He uses snap-on. For the average weekend wrencher, you don't really need the best, good enough will work. I'm 18, i don't need snap-on stuff, i work on old trucks and tractors. I have almost all craftsman stuff. I don't think the difference in quality matters at my level
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Re: Tools!

Postby ellis93 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:58 am

Alex those tools well work fine and as long as you don't encounter a "by the book" sears employee they'll warranty them without question.
I watched my dad and grandpaw use them and break them for years. There was a sprinkling of snap-on,mac and cornwell( :yuck: ) and they were used but were usually a found or pawn shop bought tool, never bought.
Me I got caught up in the snap-on tool B.S. and I wish I'd never had, except one thing, my tool box. Craftsman can't get with my snap-on box. There is absolutely no telling how much money I've spent on a name that while is an awesome tool, can be replaced by a cheaper tool that will do the same job.
I won't waste time or money on newer craftsman hand power tools. Used old ones yes otherwise I buy makita,dewalt and (my absolute favorite) Milwaukee.
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Re: Tools!

Postby ahale2772 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:12 am

Ellis, I agree the "by the book" salesmen sometimes hassle you, but usually i get some 17 year old kid thats waiting to get off shift.

and yeah...snapon boxes are 100,000,000 nicer than other boxes, no question about that, im not ragging on snapon at all, I think they have the best tools out there for sure, but their prices are kind of crazy sometimes.

ive used snapon all my life, 99% of the time, if you round off a bolt with a wrench, your using the wrong tool, or your doing it wrong. its like using a 3/8 socket with an adaptor to an impack and it breaks.... its not the tools fault.

we have about the same amount of snap on stuff as we have bluepoint/mac/craftsman. they all hold up if you use them correct.

if i was to put a bar on a craftsman wrench, and break then end off because the bolt was stuck on.... then I should have been using another tool, if the snapon wrench dosnt break... well thats nice, but for 3x the price. its not worth my time.

i'm by no means a shade tree mechanic, and i value a good tool, but there is a point where a set of craftsman wrenches for 99$ beats the same set of snapon wrenches for 368$...every day of the week

good exaple is some random tool that you may only need to use once, the snapon guy charges you 3x as much and you either need to bite the bullet and file it under the "well its nice to know i have it" section, or try and factor it into the customers bill.
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Re: Tools!

Postby ahale2772 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:19 am

and on the subject of milwakee... i must agree, and disagree.

they used to be the best, but not so much anymore. even a carpener neer me agrees. we have one of those bandsaw style portable saws that is nice, but we have replaced the trigger switch twice.

we have a dewalt cordless drill that is kickass, but we wore out the clutch in a year and now its all but completly useless

that Impact I am going to buy, surprised even me. its got balls. and again, its got a no questions asked 1year warantee for like 7$.

ive seen it shear lug studs right off a 1ton ford (thats fords issue) and the battery life is outstanding.

plus its 110$ and the dewalt is 3hundred something...
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Re: Tools!

Postby ellis93 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:34 am

Let me guess on the dewalt drill, 18volt XRP hammer/drill/driver. Oh ya,strong as hell and like toting a cinder block around after one full day of use :lol: We bought to of them when we biult our shop fine tool.
Hey, I had another thought, if you want another awesome tool line,from back in the day, B&D(black&decker). Now don't roll those eyes yet, the old metal cased stuff was strong. I've got an old 7" grinder that I've used for years and IF you can hang on to it, it'll eat anything :lol: yes even you :shock:
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Re: Tools!

Postby ahale2772 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:44 am

lol YUP that drill, seems like everyone bought one of those when they came out, its nice for stuff like the fluid pan on an auto, or the 750,000 10mm bolts on a 6bt oil pan... I wonder why the clutch is dead.... :roll:

I'm with you there, we probably have the same grinder, heavy as hell, about 2feet long with a seperate hand hold coming out of the head, that baby likes to eat! 2 minutes in and your arms are burning but you have reduced 1/2 plate to dust :grin:

or the wormdrive skillsaw thats older than me and is our primary tool to cut 1/2 aluminum dimond plate for deck plates

some stuff you cannot beat... 99% of the time anything electric and craftsman is a no-no, thats why that impact surprised me
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Re: Tools!

Postby ellis93 » Thu Nov 03, 2011 9:56 am

Ya I've killed my share :lol: they're saws are the worst followed closely by they're cordless drills.
The paw in law has one of those dewalt electric impacts, its nice but has one problem, it will not loosen what it tightens :lol: figure that out
93 D250 ,5 speed,4.11s,k&n autometer tach pyro trans boost guages,GDS 60mm h1c 14cm,honed 5x10,hplp/reg,1/8 timing,M+H M2 fuel pin, tims cooler tubz
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Re: Tools!

Postby Subliminal » Thu Nov 03, 2011 11:41 am

I really like gear wrenches. The 'real' name brand kind have great action, are really strong, and have a lifetime warranty. I've been slowly phasing out the others.

A good impact is a good thing to have, too. not a cheapo with 175 ft lbs...but a good one.

A nice piece of pipe about 4 foot long goes a long way, too. ;)
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Re: Tools!

Postby collegekid » Thu Nov 03, 2011 8:05 pm

Ive got a hitachi impact driver and I LOVE that thing, its lightweight and something like 1120 ft/lbs of tq.....freaking sweet little tool
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Re: Tools!

Postby ahale2772 » Fri Nov 04, 2011 3:58 am

well I bought the impact last night, really really nice. charged it for about an hour then busted off the headbolts of 1 side of a SBC like it didnt know they were there.

im thuinking 1120 ftlbs is a bit much :lol:

looks like crafstsman is playing it trickey with some of their new tools. last night I went into the store and they are having a huge sale. they have this new "evolve" set of tools that is I guess aimed at savings.

anyways... they had a 10piece impact set that was 24$, 10mm-24mm with some missing. Regular brand kit (12 piece was)45$. thing is... the "evolve" sockets arn't carried in the store, as are none of the other evolve tools. hence if you break one you need to mail it in to get a replacement. im guessing they are making money off of that some how. the quality of the tools looked the same, but if i break a socket and need a replacement, im not waiting a week.

BTW gearwrenches are on sale for 45$ a set for the nuckle busting 0 angle ones and 75$ for the 15 degree ones
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Re: Tools!

Postby dazedandconfused » Fri Nov 04, 2011 5:21 am

I don't buy craftsman tools anymore since our local sears refuses to replace them or fix them anymore. No matter what you take back they claim it's abuse related. I get half off snap-on at work and still haven't bought any. I plan to buy some nice ratchets but I use all pittsburg steel from harbor freight. I've yet to break a socket from them and I'm hard on tools. I've busted allot of 1/2" drive breaker bars using a cheater pipe and the cheap ones hold up just as well as the craftsman stuff. I stoped using Dewalt as well after eating batteries up. I've switched to Milwaulkee and can't be happier.
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Re: Tools!

Postby ahale2772 » Fri Nov 04, 2011 5:31 am

thats BS on the local sears deal, I would complain if i were you.

they could not be any better for me, even silly stuff like that ratchet that hickups everyonce in a while and reverses direction.
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Re: Tools!

Postby dazedandconfused » Fri Nov 04, 2011 5:35 am

It started they wouldn't replace them they would just give you a rebuild kit for them. Then they started sending them out to get rebuilt and you would have to wait a month and if they couldn't rebuild it they sent you a new one. Now all o get is the tool sent back btoke with a note claiming abuse. The price of there stuff has went crazy and I can usually get snap-on about the same price.
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Re: Tools!

Postby ahale2772 » Fri Nov 04, 2011 6:09 am

yikes, if i could get snapon at the same price we would not be having this conversation

thing is you know that even at 1/2 price, snapon is still making profit... sucks that they have to try and stiff us working bums with huge markup :mad:
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