Ditto on the Craftsman line!

 

craftsman is okay but where iworked I tended to have a grave yard of there tool (box of like 30+ broken wrenches) so i switched to a combination of stanley, allied, and in a hurry i go buy autozone stuff. If you want lots of it go with autozone havent broke a wrench yet but there sockets on the other hand suck.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by dnz28
craftsman is okay but where iworked I tended to have a grave yard of there tool (box of like 30+ broken wrenches) so i switched to a combination of stanley, allied, and in a hurry i go buy autozone stuff. If you want lots of it go with autozone havent broke a wrench yet but there sockets on the other hand suck. [/QUOTE


Yeah, Autozone tools Rock

Rather spend money on mods than on tools to install them.

 

Exactly... snap-on I think personaly is the best... but thats what you pay for. So personaly, go with one of the cheaper sets of tools as long as it has a lifetime warranty. As long as you don't abuse tools they aren't verry likely to break even if they are the cheapest brand. Use them for what they are designed for. Because, I'm not sure about other compainies.. but snap-on will have someone inspect the tool and if their is any obvious misuse of it.. the warranty is voided. One guy I know tried to return a chrome socket he used with an impact gun.. snap on guy look at the socket, saw the damage from the gun and said can't he couldn't help him.

Trevor

 

Another vote for Craftsman. MAC/Snap-On are too much $$$. I don't trust the Auto Zone Great Neck ****. I bought a set of their flare nut wrenches, and the opening friggen EXPANDED. Borrowed some "real" tools and it popped it right off.

I did everything I needed to do to pull my LT1 out the top using craftsman.

 

cool what size tool set did you guys get?

 

I have a mishmash of tools I have accumulated over the years - Craftsman, S-K, and other miscellaneous brands. The truth is unless they are obviously junk they are probably good enough. I never break tools, it's more likely that you will lose one occasionally than break one unless you are using them wrong.
I like Craftsman ratchets with the little lever for changing directions. Other than that, I'd say get as much socket wrench stuff as you can afford - shallow and deep sockets, extensions, adapters, speed handles, breaker bars, etc. Those big tool sets from sears are nice but they kind of pad them out with stuff like allen wrenches so they aren't quite as much stuff as it sounds like. But they are a good start.
A torque wrench is good to have too. I have the beam type because the're inexpensive and never need to be recalibrated.
I always watch for tool sales at Sears. I just got a new electric angle grinder for $25 last week.
Also get a good size rolling chest. Your set will outgrow a tool box.

 

Craftsman! If you can go for a bigger set, do it. A 250 set sounds like a lot of tool but is not. Or look for some add on set to complent it.

 

Some people just prefer to cut steak with a plastic fork.

 

I went the craftsman route.. Good quality and low cost and the life time warranty. Bought a 400 piece set for 399 dollars. After Ive been buying the specialty tools at bargain prices when i found them, like flex sockets, crows feet etc.

When i lived with my dad i'd always use his Snap on Wrenchs over the Craftsman. But they are soo expensive.

The only Snap on tools that I would buy that would be practical for a person like me/weekend mechanic... would be Any ratchet or wrench set.. anything I could hold in my hand. Sockets, flex sockets, crows feet and things like that would have no point. Others make just as good pieces..
But things that i hold in my hand and have to apply a lot of force to then yeah.

Having good tools and the ones you need really make working on the car more enjoyable.

 

I have mostly Craftsman and have never had a problem. I also have a few Autozone tools, no problems with them either.

If I did this stuff for a living, I might lean towards something like Snap-On or MAC. As it is, I work on my car maybe once a month as I get new stuff or a repair needs to be done. My tools just don't see the kind of use an actual mechanic's would, so I don't necessarily need the most bullet proof top of the line there is. However, I don't want total junk either. Craftsman seemed to be the answer in my case. Pretty happy with them.

 

That's what you think. My AutoZone tools have helped me do everything from installing Hoods to Headers..haven't broken or stressed out once. Even when I purposely tried to. I bang on them with mallets and hammers sometimes to get bolts loose....still they hold up. I spent 10 bucks on an AUtoZone Ratchet and it's been kicking azz all over my Craftsman stuff. I even used my $10.00 Autozone Ratchet to get that Rusty F body Y pipe off..and you know just how stuck on those things are. The only tools I've ever brough that really sucked came from NAPA. They have the worst tools on earth..which is annoying at times becasue they usually carry specialty tools.

If you've got money to burn go Craftsman--"Last Forever" I mean "Forever"....I'm using Craftsman tools from like 1970 and they still hold thier own. If your on a budget go with Autozone. They're the Creme' de La Creme' of El Cheapo's but they get the job done just as well.

 

Hehe here is a brand you never heard of before "Mastercraft" its what we Canadians use, they are awesome tools & really cheap, you can get a full tool set with good stuff for $69 Canadian & they are all very good, I never broke one yet & I abuse those things, their ratchets are good too. THe nice thing about Mastercraft is they have 3 lines, regular mastercraft, professional series, & Maximum series, the maximum series are better then snap-on tools IMO, I have their ratcheting wrenches & I like them better then snap-on stuff, I have yet to try the wrachets in the Maximum line, I bet they are awesome, you can't even see your hand move & the wracheting wrench already makes a nice sound click! & They are beautiful tools, just gorgeous! They aren't too cheap but you get an awesome tools set for $300 Canadian in the Maximum brand, the wratcheting wrenches I paid $99 Candian for 7 different sizes with swivel heads & the heads are really thin, almost like a regular wrench.

 

craftsmen is good to get, but in my honest opinion, using a snap on or mac tool is more confortable than usin a crapmen tool, but then again i wrench for a livin. its an expensive route to go with the good stuff, ive got about 5k invested in tools and im still missin a lot of tools i need.

 

I agree with the Craftsman ratchets. I have typically broken a 3/8" ratchet once a year. I have this cheap Pro Mark 3/8" ratchet I bought when I was 15 years old as a backup and have beat the hell out of it and it's still good. But then when I think about it, any time I've broken a 3/8" ratchet was when I should have been using a 1/2".