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- Thread starter jkeyes
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Dl5Treez, very good suggestion. My own personal taste, i use Snap-on, Mac, and Matco and a daily basis. But these 3 are about quadruple the price of a very competitive set from Stanley (very, very good tools for the $) For my speed purposes i choose Ingersol Rand ONLY. In my eyes they make the best air tools in the industry. Snap-on can't even touch them in the air tool department.
I have spent close to 30,000$ in my tools and box in the last 4 to 5 years.
It's now you're choice, save a little cash, and a get a not-so-name-brand tool and be happy. Or spend alotta cash and get great tools, that you don't have to worry about slipping and breaking your hand.
S&K mean Slip & Kill for a reason, stay away from these.
Just my opinion
Curtis
I have spent close to 30,000$ in my tools and box in the last 4 to 5 years.
It's now you're choice, save a little cash, and a get a not-so-name-brand tool and be happy. Or spend alotta cash and get great tools, that you don't have to worry about slipping and breaking your hand.
S&K mean Slip & Kill for a reason, stay away from these.
Just my opinion
Curtis
I would buy.................
The best I could afford. That being said,I loan VERY few people my tools. They last a hell of a lot longer that way. Several years ago, one of the young whippersnappers I work with broke the handle on my 4# cross peen hammer. He apologized, replaced the handle immediately, but was baffled that I was annoyed. I then informed him that the handle was older than he was. Good stuff lasts. I now have some of Dad`s old Craftsman wrenches from his J. I. Case dealership days. Big stuff is horrible expensive, from anybody. Want to save money? Hit the auction circuit, watch hock shops, and yard sales. You`d be amazed what you can find CHEAP! I finally replaced my Mac boxes after 25 + years. Bought a 6 foot tall stainless set from Costco, of all places. Gas struts on the top box lid, double roller tracks on ALL drawers. 400 #s of sexual beast! Tim Taylor, the REAL one, would love it! DK.
The best I could afford. That being said,I loan VERY few people my tools. They last a hell of a lot longer that way. Several years ago, one of the young whippersnappers I work with broke the handle on my 4# cross peen hammer. He apologized, replaced the handle immediately, but was baffled that I was annoyed. I then informed him that the handle was older than he was. Good stuff lasts. I now have some of Dad`s old Craftsman wrenches from his J. I. Case dealership days. Big stuff is horrible expensive, from anybody. Want to save money? Hit the auction circuit, watch hock shops, and yard sales. You`d be amazed what you can find CHEAP! I finally replaced my Mac boxes after 25 + years. Bought a 6 foot tall stainless set from Costco, of all places. Gas struts on the top box lid, double roller tracks on ALL drawers. 400 #s of sexual beast! Tim Taylor, the REAL one, would love it! DK.
jkeyes said:
Standard to start with, but you will "need" long, short, stubby, ratcheting, straight, deep offset and midget also. I have 99% snap-on and sitting here trying to add them up I think I have about 13 variations of each size wrench from 1/4"-1 1/4", and 8 from 1 5/16"-2". With over 100K invested I still spend about 5K a year on new tools. Jake
S&K mean Slip & Kill for a reason, stay away from these.
Thats funny, I have a set of SK wrenches that I bought way back in 1979 or 1980 and they still look and work just as good today as the day I bought them. I also own Snap-on and Mac.
I just ordered a set of SAE and Metric SK SuperKrome wrench sets from Northern Tool.
I would not think twice about buying SK, a very good hand tool.
Thats funny, I have a set of SK wrenches that I bought way back in 1979 or 1980 and they still look and work just as good today as the day I bought them. I also own Snap-on and Mac.
I just ordered a set of SAE and Metric SK SuperKrome wrench sets from Northern Tool.
I would not think twice about buying SK, a very good hand tool.
BK
TDR MEMBER
I've used a lot of both SnapOn at a garages I worked in and I own Craftsman and have used them for ~30 years.
Except for the price, both are fine.
I can't afford Snap On, and a truck isn't going to come by my house and I don't need a truck full of tools stopping by either.
So I buy at Sears and know if I break something a replacement for free is a short ride away. BTW I've broke one breaker bar and one socket ( regular socket on an 1/2 air impact gun - a no - no, but got lazy). Both replaces on the spot no Q's asked.
With that said, for the 6 months I worked in the last garage, the only complaint (besides) price I had with SnapOn is their socket drive wrenches are knuckle busters.
Push the too hard and the mechanism lets go, goes into the opposite drive mod and you crash your knuckles into the nice hard metal/frame/chassis/motor.
There were brand new ones and older Snap On ones, they all did it.
None of my Craftsman do this. I got to a point I finally brought in my own.
Frankly from living with both and using both. Save your money and get Craftsman.
The SnapOn air impact guns and and air wrenches (new ones they had bought) were relabeled from the likes of IR and so on. You could open up a tool catalog and spot them from the original manufacturer at 60% of the price.
Your paying a lot more for the franchised route owner coming by. Very convenient if your working at a shop, so you don't have to leave during the day to get replacements and new tools.
I have both, different uses for both.
You'll find , the right tool for the right job, also means having some different versions of the same tool.
After working in the garage for 6 months, they had sets of semi deep sockets. I've always just had standard and deep lengths. These from semi deep /medium depth were great all around sockets to use. I bought a range from 1/4drive - 1/2 both standard and metric.
I also found the Gear Wrenches to be a big problem solver in tight spots.
I have standard, flex, standard stubby and flex stubby. Made many tight spots a lot easier. Their not meant to be really leaning into, but I have , and haven't broken one yet. I've had them for about 6 years now, I think.
Except for the price, both are fine.
I can't afford Snap On, and a truck isn't going to come by my house and I don't need a truck full of tools stopping by either.
So I buy at Sears and know if I break something a replacement for free is a short ride away. BTW I've broke one breaker bar and one socket ( regular socket on an 1/2 air impact gun - a no - no, but got lazy). Both replaces on the spot no Q's asked.
With that said, for the 6 months I worked in the last garage, the only complaint (besides) price I had with SnapOn is their socket drive wrenches are knuckle busters.
Push the too hard and the mechanism lets go, goes into the opposite drive mod and you crash your knuckles into the nice hard metal/frame/chassis/motor.
There were brand new ones and older Snap On ones, they all did it.
None of my Craftsman do this. I got to a point I finally brought in my own.
Frankly from living with both and using both. Save your money and get Craftsman.
The SnapOn air impact guns and and air wrenches (new ones they had bought) were relabeled from the likes of IR and so on. You could open up a tool catalog and spot them from the original manufacturer at 60% of the price.
Your paying a lot more for the franchised route owner coming by. Very convenient if your working at a shop, so you don't have to leave during the day to get replacements and new tools.
I have both, different uses for both.
You'll find , the right tool for the right job, also means having some different versions of the same tool.
After working in the garage for 6 months, they had sets of semi deep sockets. I've always just had standard and deep lengths. These from semi deep /medium depth were great all around sockets to use. I bought a range from 1/4drive - 1/2 both standard and metric.
I also found the Gear Wrenches to be a big problem solver in tight spots.
I have standard, flex, standard stubby and flex stubby. Made many tight spots a lot easier. Their not meant to be really leaning into, but I have , and haven't broken one yet. I've had them for about 6 years now, I think.
Ditto the IR air tools, they're best for the money.
I go all snap on myself. The crapsman stuff just won't hold up in the long run, and you will wear yourself out trying to get a replacement if your Sears is like mine. When I started at a Cat dealership right out of school I bought a full set of Crapsman with the intent of replacing whatever broke with Snap on so I could eventually have a set at home. It didn't take very long to have a set at home :{
I shop every where for the snap on though, pawn shops and Steam Engine shows are a gold mine for me. The truck does get high after a while.
I go all snap on myself. The crapsman stuff just won't hold up in the long run, and you will wear yourself out trying to get a replacement if your Sears is like mine. When I started at a Cat dealership right out of school I bought a full set of Crapsman with the intent of replacing whatever broke with Snap on so I could eventually have a set at home. It didn't take very long to have a set at home :{
I shop every where for the snap on though, pawn shops and Steam Engine shows are a gold mine for me. The truck does get high after a while.
I like Snap-On but not just because of the quality, its the great service my Dealer gives that puts the icing on the cake. Having nice tools is great but with no dealer to service them sends them to the back of my box when they break.
I think Craftsman is a pretty good tool for DIY stuff as long as there is a place to take them when they break. For production work I rate Snap-On first and Mac second.
I think Craftsman is a pretty good tool for DIY stuff as long as there is a place to take them when they break. For production work I rate Snap-On first and Mac second.
I would rate Snap-On the best. I only own a few of them as the cost is prohibitive. Probably would feel different on that if I were a professional mechanic but I am not.
I would recommend Craftsman since you inquired about personal use tools. Most of the hand tools I have are Craftsman and I am happy with the quality and the cost is reasonable. I've never had anyone at Sears ask me any question whatsoever when I've brought them in for replacement. They just hand me a new one and off I go. New tools, for personal use, I would go with Craftsman.
Definitely do check out used sources though. You can get some really good stuff for bargain prices.
Happy shopping!
-Deon
I would recommend Craftsman since you inquired about personal use tools. Most of the hand tools I have are Craftsman and I am happy with the quality and the cost is reasonable. I've never had anyone at Sears ask me any question whatsoever when I've brought them in for replacement. They just hand me a new one and off I go. New tools, for personal use, I would go with Craftsman.
Definitely do check out used sources though. You can get some really good stuff for bargain prices.
Happy shopping!
-Deon
i also use mostly craftsman i would say 95% of my tools are craftsman there great but not perfect so when they brake i return them no questions asked which is nice, my others are snap ons, and a few kobalts no problems from either one of them there not ratchets though they are wrenches and extensions
BK
TDR MEMBER
Has mentioned above, I've used Snap On (at one garage for 6 months) and my own Craftsman (over 30 years) hard. . except for the socket wrenchs (Snap On knuckle buster, Craftsman not). . I haven't seen a difference.
I have read many things about who makes what and knew there were only a few knocking them out. .
In searching the web I found this posting, it's quote a tool nut pulled from a tool forum he's part on. . worth reading.
I knocked out his name and contact info since I dont know the guy, but if someone wants the orignal link I'll PM it to you.
==============================================================
" John Xxxxx (WxxxxZ)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The following excerpts were posted on one of the mailing list I subscribe to. I though the information was worth sharing.
I've tried to contact the original authors to get their permission, but did not get any replies to my emails. Since this information is available via one of several archives, I feel that I can present it here. However, the authors names have been removed from the discussions. (If they would like credit - please contact me. )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone wrote [in part]:
... but I never could figure out who makes the [Craftsman] hand tools.
To which someone else replied:
I'm not the final word on tools by any means, but since I work in the business, I've learned a little bit about it. Okay, here's more than you ever wanted to know.
Lowes now (as of earlier this year) is selling a line of Mechanics Tools called Kobalt which is made by Snap-On. They are good tools.
Home Depot's Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works. Husky are also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll even replace your broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky).
Until 1994 or so, Stanley also made Sears Craftsman tools. Sears Craftsman is now made by Danaher Tools. They beat out Stanley on the contract over price. Danaher also manufactures MatCo Tools, the third largest player in the Mobile Automotive industry (behind MAC and Snap-On). Odds are, if you own any Craftsman tools that are older than about five years ago, they were made by Stanley in plants in Dallas, Texas, Witchita Falls, Texas, and Sabina, Ohio.
Stanley also owns MAC Tools and manufactures MAC tools in the same plants. Now here's the kicker: MAC Tools, Proto Tools (a very expensive industrial brand), Husky Tools, and, (prior to five or so years ago) Craftsman Tools are all made from the same forgings in the same plants. Proto is unique because it goes through addtional testing and certification because it is used by NASA, the military, and industrial customers (including General Motors).
There are three MAJOR players in the USA mechanics tool business: Stanley, Danaher, and Snap-On. Stanley and Danaher (almost identical in sales revenue at about $28 billion each) are the biggest followed by Snap-On. Each of these three manufacture and sell tools under a variety of brands (there are many other brands that Stanley makes that I haven't even named). The quality between these three manufacturers is roughly the same. I know its a bit of a let-down to hear that, but its a simple fact.
There are a hand full of other minor players (Vermont American, etc) and an endless list of Taiwanese import tool companies (some of which Stanley own as well as Danaher to serve the lower end consumer import brands at WalMart, etc). How do I know all of this? I work for Stanley Mechanics Tools, specifically with the Proto Industrial brand. I personally do not think that MAC, MatCo, or Snap-On branded tools are worth the extra markup since they use the same forgings and manufacturing processes that make Husky and Kobalt and pre-1994 Craftsman. Where you need to pay attention are things like ratchets and torque wrenches. There are different specifications of ratchets and you do pay for the difference. Some mechanics require a finer, more precise ratcheting mechanism than guys like me who just bang around in the garage on the weekends.
By the way, Metwrench is basically considered a "gimick" infomercial tool brand that is not considered as a serious competitor to Danaher, Snap-On, or Stanley. Then again, IBM once didn't see Microsoft as a serious force in the personal computer business. Hmmmm "
I have read many things about who makes what and knew there were only a few knocking them out. .
In searching the web I found this posting, it's quote a tool nut pulled from a tool forum he's part on. . worth reading.
I knocked out his name and contact info since I dont know the guy, but if someone wants the orignal link I'll PM it to you.
==============================================================
" John Xxxxx (WxxxxZ)
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The following excerpts were posted on one of the mailing list I subscribe to. I though the information was worth sharing.
I've tried to contact the original authors to get their permission, but did not get any replies to my emails. Since this information is available via one of several archives, I feel that I can present it here. However, the authors names have been removed from the discussions. (If they would like credit - please contact me. )
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Someone wrote [in part]:
... but I never could figure out who makes the [Craftsman] hand tools.
To which someone else replied:
I'm not the final word on tools by any means, but since I work in the business, I've learned a little bit about it. Okay, here's more than you ever wanted to know.
Lowes now (as of earlier this year) is selling a line of Mechanics Tools called Kobalt which is made by Snap-On. They are good tools.
Home Depot's Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works. Husky are also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll even replace your broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky).
Until 1994 or so, Stanley also made Sears Craftsman tools. Sears Craftsman is now made by Danaher Tools. They beat out Stanley on the contract over price. Danaher also manufactures MatCo Tools, the third largest player in the Mobile Automotive industry (behind MAC and Snap-On). Odds are, if you own any Craftsman tools that are older than about five years ago, they were made by Stanley in plants in Dallas, Texas, Witchita Falls, Texas, and Sabina, Ohio.
Stanley also owns MAC Tools and manufactures MAC tools in the same plants. Now here's the kicker: MAC Tools, Proto Tools (a very expensive industrial brand), Husky Tools, and, (prior to five or so years ago) Craftsman Tools are all made from the same forgings in the same plants. Proto is unique because it goes through addtional testing and certification because it is used by NASA, the military, and industrial customers (including General Motors).
There are three MAJOR players in the USA mechanics tool business: Stanley, Danaher, and Snap-On. Stanley and Danaher (almost identical in sales revenue at about $28 billion each) are the biggest followed by Snap-On. Each of these three manufacture and sell tools under a variety of brands (there are many other brands that Stanley makes that I haven't even named). The quality between these three manufacturers is roughly the same. I know its a bit of a let-down to hear that, but its a simple fact.
There are a hand full of other minor players (Vermont American, etc) and an endless list of Taiwanese import tool companies (some of which Stanley own as well as Danaher to serve the lower end consumer import brands at WalMart, etc). How do I know all of this? I work for Stanley Mechanics Tools, specifically with the Proto Industrial brand. I personally do not think that MAC, MatCo, or Snap-On branded tools are worth the extra markup since they use the same forgings and manufacturing processes that make Husky and Kobalt and pre-1994 Craftsman. Where you need to pay attention are things like ratchets and torque wrenches. There are different specifications of ratchets and you do pay for the difference. Some mechanics require a finer, more precise ratcheting mechanism than guys like me who just bang around in the garage on the weekends.
By the way, Metwrench is basically considered a "gimick" infomercial tool brand that is not considered as a serious competitor to Danaher, Snap-On, or Stanley. Then again, IBM once didn't see Microsoft as a serious force in the personal computer business. Hmmmm "
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Issue 128 – Digital Version
Digital Magazines
FREE!
TDR Test Drive - Digital Edition
Renew
Subscribe
Gift Subscriptions
Back Issues
Subscription Status
Address Change Form
Buyer's Guides
Ram Diagnostic Trouble Codes
The Perfect Collection
The Perfect Collection Vol. II
TSB Updates
Dodge/Cummins Historical Overview
Cameron Collection
What Makes Us Tick?
Product Showcase
Advertising
