Hand tools

[dmuramoto]

I'm probably like most racers and a lot of DIYer's. My toolbox is mostly filled with a lot of hand tools that accomplish what I need to get done. Over the years, I've built up my collection of metric and SAE wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, hammers, picks, etc. in the garage. Last year I decided to try putting a separate set in my enclosed race trailer rolling box to keep from having to always swap them back-and-forth with my garage box.

Craftsmen is always a popular brand since you can break a tool and get it readily replaced at the local Sears. And I have my share of cheap pot metal hand tools that can be readily abused and tossed if need be. But I also have a few Snap-On, Mac and Facom pieces that make me smile whenever I use them (and I use 'em whenever I can). The fit and finish of these premium brands, along with some very real technical advantages built into the tools themselves, almost make them worth the price.

Many people think of what cars they'd buy if they became fabulously wealthy. I think of what tools I'd buy FIRST!

[Outkast]

I try to stick with craftsman due to the unbeatable price plus quality. I just can't get my money by why Snapon wants to sell you a set, lets say deep offset wrenches, for $227 for a 5 piece metric set. Now Craftsman has the same set, which I bought, for only $56 after tax and if they break I don't have to wait a week to just tell the guy to order one to get replaced. Sears is just 10 minutes away.

Another example is my Snap On box started to rust in the corners from bad electro painting. Now they did offer me something. One was either they could take it back and repaint it which would leave me without a box for 3 to 6 weeks or a $500 tool credit. Well obviously I couldn't let them take the box cause where would I work out of . So I just took the credit. Needless to say if that's the quality I would have to deal with than it's just not worth the price. I wish Craftsman would give techs some credit like the trucks do cause I would have bought a CraftsmanPro box in a heartbeat and for a third of what I paid for mine.

But, I say, if your that hardcore for a name then go for it.

[dmuramoto]

Interesting points. I would have thought Snap On would have ordered you a new box and traded out your damaged one when it came in. It's understandable why you'd be reluctant to part with any more of your hard earned money with policies like THAT. Not that I've ever had the money to buy a Snap On box in the first place...

[Outkast]

Well I work on cars for a living so I thought I was getting a reliable box.

[SteveTheTech]

Snap-Ons' boxes have an impressive repututation from their loyal fan base as all tool trucks do in the world of professional techs. IMHO the sales rep has allot to do with the buyers perception. I have worked with several techs who have one owner Snap On boxes that are over 30 years old and in better than new MAC quality. The plastic locking slides in all of the krl and under models has been inferior to Craftsmans tilting lock mechanism, but the snap on is deeper and taller so therefor better than Craftsman,right?Snap on has introduced this type of lock on the new Epiq series box. The build quality of their boxes is solid still and will indeed last forever but the initial cost really offsets the cost benefit ratio imo.

When it comes to hand and power tools Snap on has been selling for decades has started to slip since the majority of their tools are not made abroad and they are primarily resellers for third party products now. While still selling $40/ea ratchet wrenches to guys like me has cost someone 4 new wrenches in a month and everything else I have broken recently they do stand by their products if you are in good standings with them. Their products are just seriously over priced and no longer have the quality you should set them apart from the pack.

The new Macto 6 Series is what I was thinking of upgrading too. Unlike many of my colleagues I never bought the bigger box and have been adding small addons to the original Craftsman stack and other pieces I have added over the years. Instead of going into debt for tools I have been slowly piecing together tools from all over the place to meet the changing needs of a tech.

The days are gone for the most part where the dealer tech needs a runout gauge or verier caliper. Instead of buying the whole set of Snap on sockets buy the cheapo set from amazon or ebay and when you loose or break them replace them with superior alternatives but realistically if you are only working on a few cars there is only a need to sockets and wrenches in metric and of those only 10,12,14,17,19, and maybe a 22 for the front tie rods. I have one small drawer with all of my original standard tool, they sit and get dusty. I am on a personal mission to be a shop foreman and as such I need to be the one with every possible tool. It'll be a cold day in ohio when I buy a tool box for 15 grand. Many techs judge their colleagues on the size of their box (it really is that egocentric and cliche). I love my job but I am not going into debt for it that seems like a profit failure, there is a difference between wise investment and buying the salesmans pitch.

[audtatious]

I have a couple of Craftsman tool racks. I have a mixture of Craftsman tools and some Husky tools (Home Depot) that do what I need with no issue at all. I don't know how many "pot metal" style tools I have snapped over the years. From a power tool perspective I generally buy B&D drills as they are cheap and function quite well. For other tools I have Dewalt, Craftsman and Makita. Cheap crap tends to not last long.

[AZhitman]

I have a pretty eclectic combination of hand-me-downs, cheap Harbor Freight tools, and nice stuff from Craftsman / Husky / Matco / Snap-on.

I'll typically use a cheap tool for non-essential tasks (I can't see spending $25 per box-end wrench when I have never once broken one). If it's a critical component, I'll buy the good stuff (impact sockets, good screwdrivers, ratchets, and ratcheting wrenches).

Occasionally, someone will enter my garage and make a wise crack about my $30 garage sale tool chest (Craftsman knockoff) or my Harbor Freight wrenches... I remind them how many cars have been built / maintained / modded with those tools.

My favorite purchases are my DeWalt 1/2" drive cordless impact wrench and my GearWrench metric set.

I'll be buying a set of the Matco adjustable pry bars as well - I used someone elses for a project and loved them - Look 'em up, they're a must-have!

[gwoods]

At about 16 years old Craftsman tools were what I asked for as presents anytime someone wanted to know what to get me. I received a double stack Craftsman ball bearing drawer tool box for high school graduation.

When harbor freight came to AZ I started buying some of my tools from them. Some of the things they sell are on par with Craftsman but the price is too. With tools most of the time you get what you paid for. I snapped a harbor freight 1/2 inch drive extension using a Craftsman breaker bar on a Honda Odyssey auto transmission fill plug. I was not able to open it or break the tool with a Craftsman extension and the same breaker bar and a pipe over it for more leverage.

[AZhitman]

That would have been a perfect spot for a cordless impact.

[Hijacker]

Perfect spot for some air tools...

I'm a bit weird and eclectic when it comes to my hand tools. For sockets, I tend to stay with Craftsman (so long as it's six point. seriously, screw 12 point) for my chrome set. For what I do in my home shop, they're plenty fine. If I were doing it professionally, Snap-On or Mac would populate the work box. It's more of a long term abuse reason. Craftsman will hold up to moderate abuse for years, but the higher grade stuff will last longer than Craftsman under daily abuse. Same goes for ratchets. I've gotten by with Craftsman ratchets for years, but there are at times that I do miss using some of my friend's snap-on ratchets like his swivel head. I do tend to buy Craftsman Pro when it comes to ratchets. I prefer the smooth finish. Easier to clean and looks better overall.

As for wrenches, I really prefer Snap-On. Their open end sides have grooves cut in them to grip better, and they have better bending resistance (which is mucho necessary at times). If I'm using a wrench, chances are I'll be hitting it with a hammer to break a nut loose at some point. Craftsman just has never held up IMO. I have used the Craftsman Pro wrenches and their close the quality I expect from Snap-On.

I also stick with GearWrench ratcheting wrenches. Freaking life savers. Just never use them to break tight nuts.

A little off topic, I use exclusively Snap-On impact sockets. I'm pretty abusive to them, and out of the high end stuff, Snap-On just seems to hold up better. Aside from hooking them to my 700 lb-ft impact, I use them as press drifts, hammer drifts, etc.

About the only time I pick up Harbor Freight stuff is if I need cheap tools like for the junk yard or just hard to find (or outragiously priced) tools like my ball joint popper.

Also, holy dead thread batman!

[flohtingPoint]

A fellow national autocrosser from DC is a Matco dealer, so I usually just pay him a visit in his tool truck to acquire the specialized tools I need. I know he was a lifesaver for the Vette when I had to change the plugs, as the final plug on the left hand side is a beast to get to with a regular socket. He sold me a swiveling spark socket that made it a 1 minute job to extract it.

[gwoods]

That would have been a perfect spot for a cordless impact.

I think a cordless impact would have been sufficent to rip the top off the bolt it wasn't going to be coming out.

1999 van with 178,000 miles on it and never had the fluid changed. I did the drain/fill 3x and replace the 3rd clutch solenoid (which is on the outside of the transmission on Honda's!!%$#^@^!). It worked for another 500 miles and then 2nd gears clutches finished coming apart. Drove it in 1st gear to a place called West Motors 5035 n 55th ave ste #7 glendale az 623-435-6404. They rebuild the transmission for $1250 did the timing belt & waterpump for $425 and did the transmission and motor mounts for $60.

[flohtingPoint]

Cordlesses are "rated" at like 300 ft lbs or whatever, but have trouble breaking tq on 100 ft lbs. I normally loosen the lug nuts on the FRC before hitting them with the impact.

[AZhitman]

Cordlesses are "rated" at like 300 ft lbs or whatever, but have trouble breaking tq on 100 ft lbs. I normally loosen the lug nuts on the FRC before hitting them with the impact.

Uh, no.

My DeWalt will loosen 500 ft lbs easily.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rbdm-ZLAl2M

[Kompresshun]

I have a mixture of hand tools thanks to what my dad left me. He had quite a bit of Matco and Snap-op tools from the 90's which have held up very very well over the years. Honestly though, I never have done anything serious enough to need anything that high of quality. I buy 80% of my tools from Lowe's and the rest from Harbor Freight. None of them have let me down and I haven't broken anything in years aside from maybe one socket.

Air tools are pretty much all from Harbor Freight aside from a couple of my impacts. They do the job and never have given any fuss. I run them with an upright 30gal Craftsman air compressor and have been using it all for over 10 years.

I used to buy really nice power tools, but then I bought a Black & Decker 18V drill one year for $30 on clearance. My $300 Ryobi set quit holding a charge later that year and my $30 Black & Decker is still going strong. I just picked up another Black & Decker Lithium drill a few months ago to serve shop duty. The Ryobi is still around, but i've been too cheap to buy a new battery because when you can buy a new drill for $80 and a battery for the Ryobi costs $80, which one would you buy?

[gwoods]

The harbor freight air compressors have been garbage in my experience the air tools are okay. The problem with the air impacts is they are CFM monsters and you need a bigger compressor to really get the rated lb feet out of them.

Greg can I borrow your DeWalt? Dana 30 pinion gear bolt need removing and I bought the axle alone so didn't have the opportunity to break it loose inside the truck.

[AZhitman]

Absolutely.

[gwoods]

Cool thanks to my work schedule its going to be 2 weeks or so I'll PM you. I have tried everything including oxy/ace torch and this bolt is NOT moving

[Hijacker]

I've broken a few harbor freight tools. The most recent was my ball joint popper. It's the compression style where it applies force to the top of the ball joint stud to separate the knuckle and ball joint. I ended up pulling the threads out of it trying to get the ball joint loose on one of my control arms. Didn't surprise me one bit knowing the pot metal most of the HF stuff is made from.

[AZhitman]

Yeah, I wouldn't use a HF tool for suspension components.

[Hijacker]

The only problem is I have yet to find that tool from a better quality manufacturer. It's so much better than a pickle fork and has been a life saver at the salvage yard.

[Dattebayo]

I compared the one from Sears the other day and it's identical to the Harbor Freight one. So now I'm actually making my own version using some black pipe and an 8" c-clamp. This could either be awesome or sad depending on how things go...

[AZhitman]

The only problem is I have yet to find that tool from a better quality manufacturer. It's so much better than a pickle fork and has been a life saver at the salvage yard.

http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/vehic ... ice-tools/

Yeah. a pickle fork is actually a waste of time on modern ball joints. It's the wrong tool for the job.

[Dattebayo]

$223 for a ball joint press?

This is why I can't take Matco seriously. There is no way that isn't an artificially inflated price.

[Hijacker]

The only problem is I have yet to find that tool from a better quality manufacturer. It's so much better than a pickle fork and has been a life saver at the salvage yard.

http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/vehic ... ice-tools/

Yeah. a pickle fork is actually a waste of time on modern ball joints. It's the wrong tool for the job.

I don't need a press. I have a 12 ton in my garage for that kind of work.



This style of separator is what I'm getting at. When it works, it works like a charm. It's just when you try to over tighten the pressure screw and it ends up stripping the pot metal threads of the housing.