tools ???

[cxpcman]

well i want to buy some tools. a torque wrench metric sockets .. but don't know what to get .. i want the best for my money, i was thinking about craftsman they are not too much expensive but if somebody can recommend me some other brand or a place to get them for a better price will be great .. thnks !

[cdog91]

i like my craftsman tools. great price and awesome warranty. ratchets are kind of crappy but other then that not bad. for a torque wrench i would look into s&k clicker style they can be had for under $200.

[05Quadrasteer]

Go with the Craftsman. Just becareful that you buy the actual Craftsman brand. The other day when I was at Sears looking for some of those ratch type box end wrenches saw they are also now carrying a different brand name. Asked the sales guy about it and his comment was only the Craftsman is covered with the lifetime not the other brand. The other brand of course was cheaper but bought the Craftsman as I wanted that lifetime warrenty.

Craftsman does make a good clicker type torque wrench as well. Can't say what the price is as my wife gave me one years ago as a Christmas present.

Have a great day.

Bill

[1996Silverado]

For basic hand tools, you can't beat Craftsman or Snap-on.

[CKTA]

Craftsman for nothing more then the ease of walking into the store and trading in when broke. A lifetime warranty don't mean d*(K if you have to wait for a truck to show up.

Also Craftsman's Digi-torque wrench rules. :wink:

[Bullwinkle]

Just realize Craftsman's lifetime warranty doesn't apply to torque wrenches.

[97Silverado]

Craftsman.

[Toolman]

Craftsman for nothing more then the ease of walking into the store and trading in when broke. A lifetime warranty don't mean d*(K if you have to wait for a truck to show up.


:word:

Just bought a screwdriver set for my grandfather yesterday. He was so happy to find out that you can get free replacements.

[BobMs89shorty]

Absolutely Craftsman. Good quality, reasonable price.

[ninjalogan]

Craftsman is good stuff. There are four different brands in my tool box. Craftsman, Snap-On, MAC, and Matco. (I don't count the Taiwan crap as that's the stuff I'm slowly replacing.)

[Mezikedz71]

I was walking a railroad bed about 5 years ago. I found a rusty set of 1/2 snapon impact sockets still in there metal case. They were bad rusty. Just for kicks I took them to sears.......AND THEY REPLACED THEM!!!

Bought craftsman tools ever since...

[Kruznlow69]

Craftsman is good stuff. There are four different brands in my tool box. Craftsman, Snap-On, MAC, and Matco. (I don't count the Taiwan crap as that's the stuff I'm slowly replacing.)



DITO... thats the only way to run.

this thread has me considering a craftsman torque wrench. need one yet and never let the tool trucks rape me for one.. whats a good price for one? where?

[Lone_Star]

Go with mac, snap-on or craftsman. Like previously stated, all get the job done and last forever (lifetime warranties)

[firestorm]

IMHO, Craftsman tool quality has gone down some in the last 10-20 years and are far from "best", but between the cost and warranty, they are a very good option, especially for DIY work. I've had several sockets and ratchets fail, and if my job depended on tools, there is no way I would use the consumer grade Craftsman tools. Snap-on and Mac are considerably better AFAIK, and I've heard good things about Husky tools at Home Depot. Also, consider how far away Sears is... most of my broken sockets have been replaced with other brands, simply because a 40 minute trip to Sears so I can finish brake work is out of the question.

For torque wrenches, I wouldn't buy a Craftsman again, if for no other reason, because they only have a 90 day warranty and I just don't have that much confidence in their models. After using my break away (click style) torque wrench for a couple years, it just feels cheap... plastic dials and such. Also, I swear the thing is already way out of calibration, and the range is not as good as other brands I could (should) have bought for $30-$40 more. i.e. Not rated high enough for most lug nuts. A Snapon or Mac wrench may not have a lifetime warranty either, but they'd be a better gamble IMO.

[thekl0wn]

Craftsman quality has gone down, but the warranty kicks @ss. One of my roommates is a mason, and they buy their wire brushes from Sears, and replace 10-12 every other week ( for free )! I've even replaced tools that were dirty. But as far as quality, I prefer Snap-On ( just not the price ).

I almost always keep a set of tools in my truck, but have problems with getting them stolen, so I started buying the Harbour Freight Chinese junk. Not the greatest tools, but if you break 1 socket out of a set, you just return that socket, and they give you a whole new set. They also will return anything. (e.g. last month I saw a guy return a sewer snake :repuke: )

[bretsk2500]

:word: to everyone has said.

if you're starting out, get Craftsman... it's good stuff. Personally I've got Craftsman, Snap-On, S-K, MAC,Husky, Matco, Stanley, Proto, Williams, and Powr-Kraft. I've had no complaints about my Craftsman clicker.

My favorites are unfortunately what you can't get anymore, JH Williams, and Powr-Kraft (Montgomery Ward's brand).. those were great brands.. my 3/4" drive ratchet is a 40+ year old Williams piece and is tighter than the brand new Wright (USA made) 3/4 drive work just bought.

[97Silverado]

Also, I swear the thing is already way out of calibration, and the range is not as good as other brands I could (should) have bought for $30-$40 more. i.e. Not rated high enough for most lug nuts. You do know that you have to have torque wrenches periodically calibrated, right? Also, every time you drop one or bang it around you are throwing off the calibration.

[cxpcman]

thnks for the suggestion guys .. i kind of like craftsman (i have wrenches and rachets)and they handle all the abuse . so i going to stay with those . maybe i going to try snap-on or mac if the price is right .. i just want to wait for the craftsman day at sears to receive my 10% off . i will post reviews as soon as i use the wrench

[bretsk2500]

get their fully polished ratchets.. they're MUCH better than the standard craftsman ratchets. they're almost as good as my S-K ones. I've got the standard craftsman ratchets in 1/4 and 3/8, I never use them.. they're too sloppy for me.

[glmatt715]

I know their tools suck, but if you're not going to use them that much check out Harbor Freight. It's all a bunch of junk from China but they are unbelievably cheap. For some serious tools that will see a lot of heavy use, Craftsman is the way to go.