So my 23 year old son has started working on cars. Most of my tools are older American made tools of decent quality. I do not have a lot of extra decent stuff to give him. Where should we buy basic sockets, wrenches and the like?
So my 23 year old son has started working on cars. Most of my tools are older American made tools of decent quality. I do not have a lot of extra decent stuff to give him. Where should we buy basic sockets, wrenches and the like?
Craigslist.
American made or is Asian manufactured ok?
I've got a set of Kobalt that are kept in the wife's garage and set of Husky ones that are kept in her car. Both have been alright to me and Lowes and Home Depot are generally close by for warranty items. I have had basic wrench sets from Kobalt fit a little iffy on metric stuff.
My tools, that I've had since I was sixteen, are a set of Channellock branded tools my parents gave me so I'd stop using my father's SK set.
If you want to go with American made I'd probably look into SK or Proto but they're $$$$.
this set has been good to me so far as a complete set. Small enough to fit in any car, and unless you close it wrong, everything stays where it is supposed to.
Use of cheater bars, hammers, and fire hasn't done anything more than leave a scuff mark, I'm very surprised for harbor freight.
129 but there is always a 20% off coupon available.
If Kobalt will hold up okay that may well be an option.
I may just end up seeing what comes up on Craigslist as I really want American.
Will price the proto and SK.
Thanks!
RevRico wrote:
Given his ability to lose things... starting cheaper might be better.
I have a set like this. survived multiple years of working as an A&P day in day out.
Probably rebranded and from Taiwan but the set I have has been really good to me. I have a bunch of Channellock pliers too though that are US made and not terribly expensive.
I used Kobalt stuff for sockets and wrenches. I've never broken one. Even using them on impact guns, they hold up very well.
I use all Kobalt. Stuff just works.. They also seem to stock more and different tools than the HD variety. I love the shorty wrenches and get a lot of use out of them
I built a more or less complete set of Craftsman tools 6-7 years ago and they are great. When I have needed to buy small "fringe" tools Kobalt have been a go to; I've been very impressed with their quality.
1966stang wrote:RevRico wrote: this set has been good to me so far as a complete set. Small enough to fit in any car, and unless you close it wrong, everything stays where it is supposed to.Given his ability to lose things... starting cheaper might be better.
And with a set like that where each piece has a place it would be easier to keep track of everything.
Another vote for Kobalt and Pittsburgh. The stuff is really durable, especially considering the price. I've been using Pittsburgh sockets at my work at a dealership for 5 years and have yet to break one.
Harbor freight has been surprisingly good with warranties. On stuff I don’t use a lot or I'm just considering, I go there. Otherwise, sears. I have 30 year old craftsman tool that are still working fine.
Older craftsman and kobalt for me.
Except a couple of old ampro ratchets that refuse to die.
Never had much luck with the harbor freight hand tools. But that's been years ago now, and the cheapest stuff they had.
The higher end Harbor Freight stuff is pretty good, in my experience. New Craftsman, I'm not so impressed with. Oh, it's OK, but not like 30 year old Craftsman. And I'd prefer a warranty. Who will last longer, HF or Sears (K-Mart)? I bet on HF. The Kobalt stuff is good too, in my limited experience there. And I think Kobalt and current Craftsman is made by the same company, which used to be 3 miles from my house. They are now about 15 miles away.
RevRico wrote:
Seconded. This is the set I keep in my trailer. The quality of the tools is far beyond what you'd expect for the money, and even as nice as some higher-end stuff I have in my shop.
Christmas is around the corner. Watch for deep discounts on Craftsman sets.
They are not what they used to be, but it's hard to beat a free replacement guarantee for the life of the tool (and/or the company)
I get all my tools from lowes. The kobalt stuff is very good.
Around this time of year up until Christmas you can get awesome deals!
I have found it better to get a bunch of small self contained sets so I can carry the set right where I'm working. No going back to the toolbox for the nect size up... it's right there. Then, it's easier to clean up too!
I've found crazy deals on new stuff on craigslist. I've gotten some pretty good deals on brand new Wera and SK stuff.
Another vote for Kobalt. I'd also add Stanley, their stuff seems to be a very good value. I have a couple sets of Stanley sockets and they work well. Easy to find at your convenient Walmart which could be a downside for some. Not much of a warranty but I haven't had a failure of one yet. If you go new Craftsmen, watch the type of sockets. Kids got me a couple sets that aren't hex inside, some kind of teeth or knurls inside. May work on 12 point but not so well on common 6-sided,slip and round off easy. The ratchets that came with the set are nice though. Old Craftsmen last forever, have my dad's set he got around 1960 and still work great. Older Sears brand stuff are good too. Have a set I got around 1980 and still my go-to 1/2" sockets. Longer than standard but shorter than deep well, perfect for some applications. Sometimes there is a need for something longer than standard but shorter than deep well, hard to find niche.
I haven't had this experience recently, but I've been told Craftsman no longer has lifetime warranty. A friend took a broken tool back and the person there told him that, so you might check on that. I have a mix of Craftsman and SK, both have been great.
In reply to wlkelley3:
The newer Craftsmen stuff I have has been disappointing. Chrome peeling off new sockets leaving very sharp edges and ratchets that started skipping almost from new. I broke down and got some nice new Matco ratchets from a wife's coworker and have been hordeing old sockets from flea markets and yard sales.
I have seriously depleted my tools having lost them over the years without restocking. I had an entire set of craftsman stuff, what's left of it is twenty years old and I have had no complaints with any of it. Not sure how I'm going to approach restocking now. Buying a complete set seems to be easier than trying to piecemeal what's missing.
Gear Wrench sockets are nice, and I like my HF impact sockets. HF ratchets are solid and the plastic handle ones are really comfortable. You can check out Cripe Distributing on eBay for good deals on stuff including made in America sockets etc. I really like the Armstrong ratchets for a relatively affordable American option. Hm, I've heard the HF wrenches are pretty bad, I have a set of the craftsman cheaper raised panel style that have been fine. I like ratcheting wrenches but just had another reversible Gear Wrench fail so maybe avoid those in reversible form.
Hal wrote:1966stang wrote:And with a set like that where each piece has a place it would be easier to keep track of everything.RevRico wrote: this set has been good to me so far as a complete set. Small enough to fit in any car, and unless you close it wrong, everything stays where it is supposed to.Given his ability to lose things... starting cheaper might be better.
Agreed.
You'll need to log in to post.
