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Hand Tools
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Gatorman
Snot-nosed college boy!!
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2003
- Posts
- 416
qmaster3 said:
Ditto,
Actually, since I am the cheapest one here, I will admit that I have gotten most of my tools out of harbor freight. That way, if I have to chop, bend, or otherwise modify them I can spend $20 and get a whole set and not just one snap-on.
Before I discovered harbor freight, I had invested in craftsman. Pretty smart move since there is a Sears is in almost every mall and Home Depot will also change out a broken tool for a Husky.(or atleast they use to)
Let's see if the Snap-on, Mac, or Matco dealer will change out a tool @ 6p.m on Sunday night!!!
EagleRJ
Are we there yet?
- Joined
- Nov 27, 2001
- Posts
- 1,490
It seems to me that the only advantage of MAC and Snap On is the on-site replacement of broken tools. That doesn't seem to be enough of a reason to justify the price over guaranteed-for-life tool lines like Craftsman, Husky, and Kobalt. You can save a lot of money if you don't mind driving to the store to replace a tool!
Clutch_Cargo
Well-known member
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2005
- Posts
- 242
I've been a craftsman fan for a long time. I have almost everything that Craftsman makes, or has made. However, there are tools for various applications that Craftsman doesn't make. For those I usually buy MAC, or Snap-on.
My boxes are all craftsman. I've fallen in love with a couple of different boxes from both MAC and Snap-on, but after watching shopmates over the years overextend themselves beyond belief just for their box, no thanks. Plus I feel guilty putting stickers and junk all over a twenty five thousand dollar box...when I can have a Craftsman professional for far, far less.
I have a set of MAC open ended angle wrenches that I use mostly for hydraulic, that have been invalueable. The set ran about eight hundred dollars. When I got it, I bought one wrench each time the truck came around, paid it off, then got another. But that one set has seen just about as much use as most of the other tools put together. I have a few different quarter inch drive items, both Craftsman and Snap-on, that are in the same boat, and my Craftsman stubby combo wrenches have been practically worn out.
I fell victim to the need to have reversible ratchet box end wrenches, and found that the craftsman work as well as what I could get off the trucks. I bought some off ebay, bought some in the stores. The reversible kind with a lever to reverse are wonderful, as are the flexhead ratcheting box ends. I use them timing someone's car yesterday, and they stay with me most of the time. They see a lot of use. That particular set is Blackhawk, which gets sold at NAPA and other places, but I bought them from the MAC truck.
One thing I have learned is that you can buy quality tools now, or later...but you'll eventually need them. Craftsman makes great products, really good, functional products, and I like them a lot. But I've been places where only a snap-on socket would work, because it was thinner, and was the only thing that would fit. For a lot of turbine applications, I have used quarter inch flex sockets, and one needs a twelve point for that...six point from craftsman, and my twelve points are snap on. I think the little set of eight or ten was over two hundred dollars, and it was worth it.
Look for bargains...I got a full set of Snapon metric stubby combos last year in a gun shop...for a hundred bucks. Brand new, sold on commission. A little more expensive than Craftsman for the same wrenches, but let's face it...they were snap-on.
A lot of my screwdrivers are Craftsman, but my better ratcheting screwdrivers, long ratcheting screwdrivers, etc, are Snap-on. A few are MAC. Some of the speciality items are both. I have three or four different Dzus screwdrivers that have been picked up of the trucks when I didn't have one handy right then, about thirty bucks or so each.
I jump on the trucks and see what's on special. Some great torque wrench deals have been had that way, especially on repo equipment. I bought an infrared temp sensor of the Snapon truck once, with a laser. At the time I thought it might be useful, but I found it invalueable in doing cold cylinder checks...worked even better than a traditional cold cylinder tester (squirter bottle) when all the cylinders were close with just one bad plug...paid for itself in no time at all. Never thought I'd see that much use for it, and was wrong.
I did find that when calibrating Snap-on torque wrenches, we had a high failure rate...two of them broke our machines when they failed during the test. The best wrenches, most consistent, with the highest tolerances of any we were using were ADT, from a small autoparts store. They always tested better than the expensive Snap-on. I have the ADT, Craftsman, Snap-on, and MAC in my box, and use them all. So far, so good.
As far as Harbor freight...the engine timing I did yesterday was done where I didn't have my own timing light. I ran by harbor freight and picked one up. Nine bucks, cheap, and it worked. But for hand tools, or most tools, I'm very cautious. I had a set of large combo wrenches from there that I carried for a long time without every needing them. One day I had to remove the fittings from an engine driven hydraulic pump in the field, and they were tough to get off. Using the open end, I put some pressure, leaning into the wrench, and the fork snapped off, I went flying, got a nasty cut, and was stuck unable to finish the job. I threw the rest the set away, and vowed never to buy or own a cheap hand tool again. False economy if it doesn't get the job done. But for beater tools and stuff that's going to be cut up and welded into something else anyway...why not?
After all, show me a mechanic that doesn't have a box full of home made specialty tools. It can't be done.
My boxes are all craftsman. I've fallen in love with a couple of different boxes from both MAC and Snap-on, but after watching shopmates over the years overextend themselves beyond belief just for their box, no thanks. Plus I feel guilty putting stickers and junk all over a twenty five thousand dollar box...when I can have a Craftsman professional for far, far less.
I have a set of MAC open ended angle wrenches that I use mostly for hydraulic, that have been invalueable. The set ran about eight hundred dollars. When I got it, I bought one wrench each time the truck came around, paid it off, then got another. But that one set has seen just about as much use as most of the other tools put together. I have a few different quarter inch drive items, both Craftsman and Snap-on, that are in the same boat, and my Craftsman stubby combo wrenches have been practically worn out.
I fell victim to the need to have reversible ratchet box end wrenches, and found that the craftsman work as well as what I could get off the trucks. I bought some off ebay, bought some in the stores. The reversible kind with a lever to reverse are wonderful, as are the flexhead ratcheting box ends. I use them timing someone's car yesterday, and they stay with me most of the time. They see a lot of use. That particular set is Blackhawk, which gets sold at NAPA and other places, but I bought them from the MAC truck.
One thing I have learned is that you can buy quality tools now, or later...but you'll eventually need them. Craftsman makes great products, really good, functional products, and I like them a lot. But I've been places where only a snap-on socket would work, because it was thinner, and was the only thing that would fit. For a lot of turbine applications, I have used quarter inch flex sockets, and one needs a twelve point for that...six point from craftsman, and my twelve points are snap on. I think the little set of eight or ten was over two hundred dollars, and it was worth it.
Look for bargains...I got a full set of Snapon metric stubby combos last year in a gun shop...for a hundred bucks. Brand new, sold on commission. A little more expensive than Craftsman for the same wrenches, but let's face it...they were snap-on.
A lot of my screwdrivers are Craftsman, but my better ratcheting screwdrivers, long ratcheting screwdrivers, etc, are Snap-on. A few are MAC. Some of the speciality items are both. I have three or four different Dzus screwdrivers that have been picked up of the trucks when I didn't have one handy right then, about thirty bucks or so each.
I jump on the trucks and see what's on special. Some great torque wrench deals have been had that way, especially on repo equipment. I bought an infrared temp sensor of the Snapon truck once, with a laser. At the time I thought it might be useful, but I found it invalueable in doing cold cylinder checks...worked even better than a traditional cold cylinder tester (squirter bottle) when all the cylinders were close with just one bad plug...paid for itself in no time at all. Never thought I'd see that much use for it, and was wrong.
I did find that when calibrating Snap-on torque wrenches, we had a high failure rate...two of them broke our machines when they failed during the test. The best wrenches, most consistent, with the highest tolerances of any we were using were ADT, from a small autoparts store. They always tested better than the expensive Snap-on. I have the ADT, Craftsman, Snap-on, and MAC in my box, and use them all. So far, so good.
As far as Harbor freight...the engine timing I did yesterday was done where I didn't have my own timing light. I ran by harbor freight and picked one up. Nine bucks, cheap, and it worked. But for hand tools, or most tools, I'm very cautious. I had a set of large combo wrenches from there that I carried for a long time without every needing them. One day I had to remove the fittings from an engine driven hydraulic pump in the field, and they were tough to get off. Using the open end, I put some pressure, leaning into the wrench, and the fork snapped off, I went flying, got a nasty cut, and was stuck unable to finish the job. I threw the rest the set away, and vowed never to buy or own a cheap hand tool again. False economy if it doesn't get the job done. But for beater tools and stuff that's going to be cut up and welded into something else anyway...why not?
After all, show me a mechanic that doesn't have a box full of home made specialty tools. It can't be done.
Gatorman said:
It was a torque wrench, 30+ years old, and the Snap-on fellow changed it out with a functional version as a loaner 'til Snap-on repaired ours about 7:30 one rainy Sunday evening. We happened to see his truck parked at the local greasy spoon.
Snap-on came back and said we could keep the brand-new loaner as they no longer could make or repair the torque wrench.
I have a pair of needlenose Craftsman pliers that do not leave my flight case. I consider it an essential item. Ten years later they are still working just fine.
Fly SAFE!
Jedi Nein
I agree with avbug in regards to Harbor freight, very cautious on what I buy there. Although, one can never go into that store enough. A couple weeks ago I bought a texture sprayer for $29 and it works great. Also you can't beat the value pack paint brushes for your crappy applications that would otherwise hash out $10 brushes.
I'm not an aircraft tech, but we auto techs use the same brand tools that you guys do. I'm not brand-loyal, because I've found that each manufacture makes a certain tool better than the other. There's also the issue of price. For instance, I've found that Craftsman sockets hold up just as well as Snap-on, MAC, etc..The difference is that for $25 you can buy a complete Craftsman socket set, where Snap-on will just about charge that price for one socket!!!
My issue with Craftsman is that ALL of their ratchets are absolute junk! Even the polished professional units will snap the mechanism way too easily. The lifetime warranty simply means I'll be spending my lifetime running back to Sears for a new ratchet. For ratchets, I prefer Snap-on hands-down.
For screwdrivers, I've found that they all hold up about the same, but I prefer Snap-on because they seem to be the most comfortable.
For extensions I have a Matco set. They are knurled, so you can easily turn them with greasy hands in a tight spot. Craftsman does not knurled their extensions...
For regular wrenches I have also fallen victim to Snap-on. The Crapsman open-ends seems to flex open way too easily. Plus Crapsman does not even make special wrenches like my Snap-on 12-point, high-leverage, 0-degree offset box-ends. Those wrenches are well worth the cost as they are highly convenient.
For air-tools, I use Ingersol-Rand exclusively. Most of the "Snap-on" or "MAC" air-tools are nothing more than redecorated IR's. They also charge about TWICE as much for the SAME tool. For some it's worth it because most suppliers will in fact offer a 2-year warranty, whereas IR is only one. However, I have kept the tools well-oiled and use an inline water separator, and the IR's are still going well after 2 years.
My tool-box is a Crapsman. Strap-on charges WAY TOO MUCH for their boxes. I can get a pretty good sized Craftsman box for under 2K. Strap-on will charge 7K for a box with even less space. I simply cannot justify the cost, as the box really doesn't make you any money...
My issue with Craftsman is that ALL of their ratchets are absolute junk! Even the polished professional units will snap the mechanism way too easily. The lifetime warranty simply means I'll be spending my lifetime running back to Sears for a new ratchet. For ratchets, I prefer Snap-on hands-down.
For screwdrivers, I've found that they all hold up about the same, but I prefer Snap-on because they seem to be the most comfortable.
For extensions I have a Matco set. They are knurled, so you can easily turn them with greasy hands in a tight spot. Craftsman does not knurled their extensions...
For regular wrenches I have also fallen victim to Snap-on. The Crapsman open-ends seems to flex open way too easily. Plus Crapsman does not even make special wrenches like my Snap-on 12-point, high-leverage, 0-degree offset box-ends. Those wrenches are well worth the cost as they are highly convenient.
For air-tools, I use Ingersol-Rand exclusively. Most of the "Snap-on" or "MAC" air-tools are nothing more than redecorated IR's. They also charge about TWICE as much for the SAME tool. For some it's worth it because most suppliers will in fact offer a 2-year warranty, whereas IR is only one. However, I have kept the tools well-oiled and use an inline water separator, and the IR's are still going well after 2 years.
My tool-box is a Crapsman. Strap-on charges WAY TOO MUCH for their boxes. I can get a pretty good sized Craftsman box for under 2K. Strap-on will charge 7K for a box with even less space. I simply cannot justify the cost, as the box really doesn't make you any money...
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I've got a set of wobble snap-on extentions that are nicely knurled, but not as agressively as some. However, my craftsman extentions are knurled for spinning by fingertip, and they lock, which is nice. Nothing like hunting or a socket that dropped off the end of an extention when trying to do cylinder base studs at night off a ladder.
I have a couple of ratchets in box that are over 20 years old, craftsman both, never overhauled, still as strong as ever. I've never broken a Craftsman ratched, nor wrench. If it needs that much torque, then I'll go with a handle instead of a ratchet.
I have a couple of ratchets in box that are over 20 years old, craftsman both, never overhauled, still as strong as ever. I've never broken a Craftsman ratched, nor wrench. If it needs that much torque, then I'll go with a handle instead of a ratchet.
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