Who makes decent tools anymore ?

[Dan_69GTX]

I have those and really like them!

 

[brods]

Good info guys. I've passed it along.

I didn't know SK was still around. I miss the 3/8 flex head ratchet bought in the 1980s that I finally over-abused a couple years back. Very handy tool.

Can you tell that we’re on one of my fav topics?
One way to get some neat tools is at a swap meet or flea market.
I fished this ‘60’s SK 1/2 ratchet out of a $5 bucket at the Englishtown swap meet over 10 years ago. I gave it some TLC, and it’s performed for me big time.
View attachment 111393
One day, the guts blew up. I had a huge pipe on it.
It sat in the drawer and I ALMOST tossed it, until the SK truck happen by and introduced himself. Well I whip this out, and I gave it to him. I agreed to purchase a current kit if it would fit.
Sure enough he found a kit, and it’s a new style extra fine tooth deal.

 

[mwilson]

He carries other brands like gearwrench and lisle too. I went on looking for pliers to release the push lock fuel lines, the type with the blue buttons. He didn’t have anything specific, but I saw these and so far it’s a home run.
View attachment 111420

I’ve got those, use them to pull the center pin on plastic push fasteners. Hoopty and the Can Am are covered with those things..

 

[Wayne M.]

Good info guys. I've passed it along.

I didn't know SK was still around. I miss the 3/8 flex head ratchet bought in the 1980s that I finally over-abused a couple years back. Very handy tool.

SK is indeed still around and resurging. Does that ratchet pivot in the middle of the head, or below where the handle is? If you still have it, it may be repairable.

 

[brods]

Below on the handle. It broke an ear on the handle and was discarded.

 

[BIGNASTY]

My Dads OLD Craftsman sockets, breaker-bars are unbeatable & over the years they have been seriously beat
I don't like the Snap on wrenches they are to thin (for me) although I have a few sets of their specialty stubby open end box
Older SK, Proto, Matco, Cornwell are among the mix I don't usally buy a brand I buy what I need and what looks the best made.
As for tool boxes Ive had several and just couldn't find one that would last. When I lived in Montana I quickly became the the resident "CAN YOU FIX THIS" Guy. My FIL & BIL were in my shop more than I was my box just couldn't hold up. When I was erecting buildings for the FIL's cattle business and wouldn't take payment he decided to change the way he paid me.

 

[moparguy]

Big, don't know who makes that tool appliance but I LIKE It!

 

[BIGNASTY]

Sorry for stepping into MAN-CENTRAL!!

I heard the notification chime on this and being a woman which makes me the BIGGEST BUSYBODY creature on earth I couldn't resist temptation.

Gail's been having so much fun teaching his Grandsons the value of what he calls "Wrenching" He takes them to tractor shows / auctions. They ALL have their Liberty Bib overalls and favorite brand ball cap on when they attend. They've come home with what looks to me like a rusted pile of junk but twice the boys under the tutelage of Grandpa BIG turned out very nice garden tractors that they each turned EVERY!! NUT & BOLT to restore a Wheel Horse & Case, I think? It works great they want!! to mow the yard or plow snow and complain when one does more than his share, Gail laughs and told our son that there is a method to his madness.

They've been working on Gail's tractor (Larger Scale) he's bought them tool boxes from Harbor Freight and is in the process of filling them with tools as needed.


BYE Penny

 

[Matt42]

So I was fabbing a new wedge mount for the snow broom For our Shuttlewagon and got to thinking about this topic a little more. More precisely I started looking at what tools i really use and abuse that would pertain to this thread (budget). I've got a couple of sets of larger (1-1/4" and up) Wright combo wrenches that I just love. The ergonomics of them is great. I've also got a 4425 ratchet (15" long - 1/2" drive) that I have not been able to break. I've got 3/4" and 1" drive community tools for the big/stubborn stuff but anything in 1/2" trim I tend to skip the breaker bar and grab this guy. If I can't bust it loose i have a 14" long piece of schedule 40 1" pipe that slides over the end nicely. I've yet to break it. It isnt a fine tooth engagement like my Proto stuff but for the price it's hard to beat. If I remember correctly i had less than $100 into the ratchet and a spare rebuild kit, which I always buy with my ratchets. You could probably have this ratchet by itself for $60-70. That's a bargain given the abuse they take.

And being forged in the same factory since the 1920's in Barberton, OH doesn't hurt either

View attachment 111403 View attachment 111404

I sold tools at Montgomery Ward some 45 years ago beginning in 1970, ending in 1974 to pay for college. When I started there, the mechanic's tools were made by Wright Forging and they were excellent. In mid 1973, Ward's changed their vendor to a new outfit that I think was Hydrometals. The wrenches and sockets were OK, but the ratchets were junk. I could go into the short life expectancy of the Hydrometals ratchets but thete's no point.

The Wright Forgings ratchets sold by Montgomery Ward had cushioned plastic over the steel handles. My first thought was that the plastic was pretty cheesy and would come off. But the plastic felt good in rough use and we never got one returned. I am still using mine now, but I lost my 3/8 drive ratchet years ago.

The tools sold by Wards went under the PowrKraft name. They tend to be underpriced in the used market. I buy them when I see one I need. The way to tell the Wright from the Hydrometals is simple. All of the tools will have an article number forged into the steel. It'll look like this: 84 W 3890, or 84 H 3890. It'll be the same tool, but the W means it was sourced from Wright and the H means sourced from Hydrometals.

Edited to fix an article number typo. BTW, "84" was the tool department.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

Excellent information. Thanks

 

[Wayne M.]

Montgomery Ward must have been a great store to work in at that time. I have some Wright sockets. Good stuff.

 

[DavidC]

I still have the Pioneer stereo system I bought there, it's in my daughters hands now, record player and dual cassette player/recorder. I donated all my original albums and 45's. The grandson will be thoroughly amazed when old enough to realize what it is.

 

[Matt42]

Wards was a job like any job. There were good days and bad days, but more good ones. The department managers were able to schedule me around my class schedule. I started at $2 per hour which was five cents over minimum. There were so many income tax brackets back then that when I got a five cent per hour raise, my take-home pay went down. But I learned a lot about tools and electrical work, and that was a lifetime positive.

 

[jgillott]

If I remember correctly, my parents ordered a couple of shotguns over the years from Montgomery Wards. I can remember going to the store to pick them up.

 

[Shiner]

If I remember correctly, my parents ordered a couple of shotguns over the years from Montgomery Wards. I can remember going to the store to pick them up.

God forbid you even look twice at a gun these days. I remember buying a shotgun at the coast to coast store myself. I was 16. Not a second look or question.

 

[Wayne M.]

I can recall a few stores here inside the city selling firearms and ammo, most notably, Kmart. And that I distinctly remember that counter/ showcase being very unguarded and unattended.

 

[Shiner]

I can recall a few stores here inside the city selling firearms and ammo, most notably, Kmart. And that I distinctly remember that counter/ showcase being very unguarded and unattended.

Yes, cause you didn't want the wrath of dad/or store manager, if you stole anything.
Today's youth are being "raised" by the "community".

 

[jgillott]

I can recall a few stores here inside the city selling firearms and ammo, most notably, Kmart. And that I distinctly remember that counter/ showcase being very unguarded and unattended.

Our local Kmart closed about a year ago. I miss that store.

 

[Dan_69GTX]

I don’t look twice at guns. It’s more like a constant stare. But I prefer the ones for competition use. Such as those “evil” guns. You know, the ones that kill people when the gun is sitting on the counter.

 

[GrantP]

God forbid you even look twice at a gun these days. I remember buying a shotgun at the coast to coast store myself. I was 16. Not a second look or question.

There was a coast to coast in Flagstaff AZ where I grew up, they had stacks of 22 shells on the checkout counter. 99 cents per 50. They had them set up like any modern store would sell candy or gum at the checkout. We always bought a couple boxes.