"Good Enough" Shop/Auto Hand Tools

[Thundarstick]

I'm having my eyes opened to things I wasn't aware of. Taiwan does seem to be turning out some very good tools. I have learned that sockets, especially the 12 point sockets have gone through a huge redesign that originated with Snap- On, but now nearly everyone uses, or have even improved on this design. When I was young it seemed the better sockets where much thinner than the cheep sockets and this seems to still hold true. Looking into the Wright tools makes so many of my old tools look like they where all an adjustable spanner!

[Lloyd Smale]

one thing about tools is if you do break them even the cheap craftsman have a life time warrantee. But you about need two of everything so you know you will allway have one. Like I said I'm a bit partial lately to kobalt. they seem better then the new craftsman and if I break something I can run over to lowes and get it replaced immediately with no questions asked.

[Omega]

one thing about tools is if you do break them even the cheap craftsman have a life time warrantee. But you about need two of everything so you know you will allway have one. Like I said I'm a bit partial lately to kobalt. they seem better then the new craftsman and if I break something I can run over to lowes and get it replaced immediately with no questions asked.

That has been my litmus test when I get any new tools, the warranty and ease of getting a tool replaced. That was one of the reasons I went Craftsman many years ago for my first set, but now most every tool has a good warranty and many places like Lowes and Harbor Freight give you a replacement on the spot.

[Petrol & Powder]

I knew a guy that had three of each tool. One to use, One in case it breaks and One to loan out.

Now, he had a fair amount of money so he could afford to do that. I can't afford three copies of each tool but I have a lot of duplicates.

[Handloader109]

Got a mix.... I have a 1/2" set that I bought back around '70 that was mixed surplus Still good, only broken a 12pt half inch socket. a couple of two or three sets of fairly cheap 3/8" drive sets, a few craftsman pipe wrenches, and crescents. A bunch of other junk.... But they get the job done. Just never had the money to spend on a big set of nice stuff.

[starmac]

If you use tools much and depend on them, you will find a lot of cheaper tools are a little thicker and will not work at all for a lot of things.
When buying metric tools, which we all have to do now, for some unknown the cheaper sets skip sizes, what is up with that??

[KCSO]

I have and still use tools passed down from my grandfathers. I was taught that you buy the best you cn afford and it will last a life time or more. I have Craftsman when they were still Sears and some snap On and various other speciality tools of good make. I once tried an engine change with Harbor Freight wrenched and threw the whole set away after I broke both the 1/2 and 9/16 box ends off clean at the cost of a few knuckles. I hand forge my inletting tools myself and turn my own punches.

[Lloyd Smale]

yup its why I used to about exclusively by craftsman. But in this rural area sears went away about 10 years ago. Lowes is still right next to the grocery store.

That has been my litmus test when I get any new tools, the warranty and ease of getting a tool replaced. That was one of the reasons I went Craftsman many years ago for my first set, but now most every tool has a good warranty and many places like Lowes and Harbor Freight give you a replacement on the spot.

[alamogunr]

I don't buy many wrenches these days. Most of what I have are either Proto or Craftsman bought over 30 years ago. I have never earned my living turning wrenches but still tried to buy quality(not name ie. Snap-On). My biggest error several years ago was when I started buying cordless electric tools. I went heavy on DeWalt. I found that the batteries didn't last and couldn't be rebuilt. Although the batteries can be rebuilt now, I've decided to slowly change to other brands when the last of the batteries gives up. Not sure what I will go to and may not replace at all. My decision not to buy DeWalt again was reinforced when B&D bought out DeWalt. I will never buy anything B&D.

[mold maker]

I was gifted a three reel Toro Mower from a church when it was returned as too old and in too rough a shape to rebuild. It was in boxes, completely disassembled. I was 8 years old at the time, and within two weeks I had it reassembled.
Dad was so impressed that he bought me (us) a set of 109 Craftsman tools in a toolbox. I still have those and all the tools I added over 50 years of keeping the family vehicles rolling.
I now have a Grandson that is showing interests in what makes things work. The two rolling tool cabinets will someday be his.
Most of both boxes contents are older Craftsman and still as serviceable as new. Some of the rest are cheap loaners that see almost no use but protect the good stuff.
For the person who takes all their auto repairs to a mechanic, and has service personnel to make home repairs, the HF tools will last forever. For the rest of us, get the best you can afford and make an heir happy, after a lifetime of use. Good tools properly used will outlast several generations.

[HangFireW8]

Since Craftsman, nostalgia, and good tool investments all come up a lot, I have to recap a lot of what has been discussed on GJ, and my conclusions.

The 90's era Craftsman (Metric) tools that I bought were not the equal of the older SAE Craftsman that I got from my Dad and GrandDad. Most of them are gone now, the "new thin-wall" sockets all split except the few in sizes I never use. The best are the BF code SAE Craftsman wrench set I got. They still occupy a place in my primary toolbox. Look that up, Craftsman BF code, if you want to be amused.

After 2.5 years (early 90's) of not being able to warrant a split 10mm deep socket because a.) EVERY Sears out of individual stock, and b.) will not split a set and c.) will not order one for me ("come back next week" "been doing that for over 2 years"), I had started to build up a good SK set of wrenches and sockets. The main thing was a single $400 purchase of most every 3/8" socket SK made at the time from a local auto parts store. Of all those sockets I've split exactly one, had it replaced recently on warranty (split it many years ago). That's compared to, oh, um, almost ALL of the Craftsman from the same era.

Then there were the Tri-Wing ratchets discretely NOT marked imported. HUGE backdrag, really unusable. The raised panel ratchets that auto-reversed (that's not a good thing). The loose Metric wrench sets (not a good thing). Pretty much everything Craftsman I bought from Sears was carp. I kept the best, beside that BF set is the 60's era stuff I inherited, and a 1/2" ratchet that has been through hell and high water with me. But the sockets it came with are SAE and all the cars are metric now, so I never use those sockets anymore except for plumbing, but that was the one good set of sockets I got out of them, in the late 80's before the thin-wall debacle.

Western Forge made Craftsman screwdrivers. Does ANYONE make a softer straight tipped screwdriver? Literally the first time I bear down on one I get a curved-edge screwdriver instead of a straight. I've been through so many warranty replacements I can't even count.

So no I'm not real nostalgic about Craftsman. A 25-30% hit rate on my purchases is not a good ratio. Not being able to warrant tools is not a good thing. Now it's all made in China. I moved on 2 decades ago. Not going back. Oh, I've bought a couple "Craftsman" marked tools since then. A quality Florida Pneumatic angle air drill marked Craftsman. A nice OTC slide hammer set marked Craftsman. Some Nupla USA made dead-blow hammers marked Craftsman. Sears is busy driving these best tools out of their catalog. But wrenches and sockets? Screwdrivers? No thank you.

[samari46]

I bought Sears Craftsman many years ago. Mostly wrenches and socket sets. One of my first electric drills was Craftsman, drill chuck was not hardened enough and drill bits would just spin. Took it back and sales person told me no exchange. So went to the manager and he did the exchange. Over the years mostly Craftsman but when my Dad passed got a SK 1/4 socket set nothing like it out there today. Some sockets went missing so last year got tired of running around finding others in my roll around tool box. Went to Lowes bought their big socket set and ratchets and divided all my wrenches up into two complete sets. one in the garage the other in the sun room for the tractors,and truck. Kobalt has a good warrantee and is close to home. Frank

[Bazoo]

I have a hodgepodge of stuff. New usa craftsman, and new china craftsman. Some older craftsman, but not much. Some new kobalt stuff, seems good. I pick up what I can at pawn shops and yardsales. If I needed a wrench set, i'd probably go with kobalt. A couple years ago, after I lost all my tools in a fire, i bought a craftsman china set that was on sale, Its acceptable. But thats it, Kobalt is better for medium quality stuff.

[starmac]

I don't remember buying much craftsman tools since the 70's. The closest store was 100 miles from me, so what good was a warranty.
My knuckles never cared if a wrench had any warranty or not when anything let go, and since I stood a good chance of being a half day out on a service truck, who cares if a tool is warranted or not, I want the one that is least likely to break. I want the one that is not too fat to get on half the bolts it needs too, if you depend on tools, life is too short for junk, period. I still have some craftsman tools from the 70's, none are full sets, so they are delegated for backup use and have been for years.

[nicholst55]

Don't overlook pawn shops when you have some time to kill. They often have top-end tools for sale at pretty reasonable prices. I have sorted through the box-o-tools that some pawn shops have and found Snap-On and Mac tools in there.

[starmac]

I'm having my eyes opened to things I wasn't aware of. Taiwan does seem to be turning out some very good tools. I have learned that sockets, especially the 12 point sockets have gone through a huge redesign that originated with Snap- On, but now nearly everyone uses, or have even improved on this design. When I was young it seemed the better sockets where much thinner than the cheep sockets and this seems to still hold true. Looking into the Wright tools makes so many of my old tools look like they where all an adjustable spanner!

At one time wright had the contract to build the 3/4 and 1 in sockets for craftsmen, at least that was my understanding, but that was 25 years ago, who knows these days. I am pretty sure they were the builders of the blue point line as little as 5 years ago, at least the impact sockets.
I have not boughtany high end tools off a truck, unless it is a specialty tool that I can't get anywhere else in several years, It is not unusual for pawnshops to have full sets of snap on, mac or matco hand tools, not to mention estate sales, garage sales and auctions.

[woodbutcher]

I started my adventures in tools about 55 years ago.With Craftsman.It happened this way.Found a cloth bag of tools laying on the road.Took them home to check them out.They were all broken or well worn.Took them to the local Sears store and swapped them for new ones.Still using them today.Have a bit of a mix of just about all of the above mentioned tools.Have found a bunch and bought many at flea markets and yard sales.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[Thundarstick]

Think I'm done, except for hitting up pawn shops. Bought a 1/2 inch drive Craftsman ratchet , metric sockets from Gearwrench, Wright tools 5/8-1 inch sockets, Kobalt spline wrenches in SAE and metric along with a set of metric spline sockets in 1/4 and 3/8, and Mountain tools long SAE and metric reversible tilt head ratcheting wrenches. BTW, I can hardly remember the last time used a screwdriver that wasn't a bit chucked up in a cordless drill??

I used those spline wrenches to do some work on my tractor tiller, and shop door recently and I'm still in awe at how well they hold onto a bolt/ nut!

Thanks for the great replies! I hope I live long enough to wear some of them out!

ps
Did you know they make open ended wrenches now days that will twist a grade 8 bolt off before it will slip around the flats? Holy Cow what will they come up with next!

[Hannibal]

Think I'm done, except for hitting up pawn shops. Bought a 1/2 inch drive Craftsman ratchet , metric sockets from Gearwrench, Wright tools 5/8-1 inch sockets, Kobalt spline wrenches in SAE and metric along with a set of metric spline sockets in 1/4 and 3/8, and Mountain tools long SAE and metric reversible tilt head ratcheting wrenches. BTW, I can hardly remember the last time used a screwdriver that wasn't a bit chucked up in a cordless drill??

I used those spline wrenches to do some work on my tractor tiller, and shop door recently and I'm still in awe at how well they hold onto a bolt/ nut!

Thanks for the great replies! I hope I live long enough to wear some of them out!

ps
Did you know they make open ended wrenches now days that will twist a grade 8 bolt off before it will slip around the flats? Holy Cow what will they come up with next!

A grade 8 will fail under a shock load before a grade 5 will. It is important to understand what stresses you are applying to the fastener.

[alamogunr]

Sometime in the last year I needed(wanted) a 7/8-14 bolt. Of course there wasn't one to be found at the big box stores so I went to Fastenal. I was prepared to have them order one. The girl managing the store got on her computer and found that they had 2 in stock. a 3 1/2 and a 2 1/2. She told me a price I couldn't believe. I think it was about $3 for the two of them. When they picked them out of stock, they turned out to be grade 9 bolts. Up to that point I had never seen a grade 9 bolt. I needed one to seat a full wadcutter without the button. I think they just wanted them out of their inventory.

I never knew that about a grade 8 vs. a grade 5.

When I was working, I borrowed a fastener manual from another transformer plant. He wouldn't let me keep it so I copied it. It had all the standards and reasons why certain fasteners, bolts & nuts were specified for nuclear plants. Lots of good information but much that has no application in everyday life.