What brand of tools do you recommend?

Tob

Tob

Paint-Matched Bezels Club
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So right now I have a decent-sized socket set from Stanley that I bought for working on my Jeep. Being a college student at home in between semesters, I mostly use my own tools and borrow what I need from my dad when I don't have it. I'd like to grow my own collection and not have to borrow quite as much.

The problem is, I'm really fed up with the lack of quality in the Stanley set, but I don't know which brand I should go with. It seems like more and more trusted brands have outsourced production to China and seen a big drop in quality. Where can I find reasonable quality?

Keep in mind, I'm on a budget, so I'm not looking for professional grade stuff like Snap-on, but I'd like to build my collection with tools that I can rely on, and tools that will last. What's your recommendation?
 
I have several Williams ratchet handles that I like quite a bit. They are SnapOn without the warranty.
 
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CL, Offerup and garage sales. If your on a budget theres no place else to find US and EU tools in the first place. And there way cheaper than the expensive snap on type stuff. My father had a garage full of tools. That were all US or German steel. And he bought every tool at a yard sale. I plan to inherit it once i move home this year.
 
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jjvw said:
I have several Williams ratchet handles that I like quite a bit. They are SnapOn without the warranty.
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My Snapon F80 ratchet is my favorite and most used tool.

Which deep well sockets do you have? Are you ready to have Craftsman and other "cheap" brands ruined for you?
 
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toximus said:
My Snapon F80 ratchet is my favorite and most used tool.

Which deep well sockets do you have? Are you ready to have Craftsman and other "cheap" brands ruined for you?
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I'm using the same early 90s era Craftsmen sockets my dad bought me when I was 10-11 years old. Ruin my sentimentality! :)
 
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I still have my Craftsman set purchased in the early 80’s, and have been adding to it ever since! Now that Sears is gone from this area, and they sold the Craftsman brand to Stanley Tool Works (who also owns DeWalt), I will usually try the local ReTool shop since when I need something, it is usually a single item so don’t need full set of stuff. ReTool has the older Craftsman, Wright, or even Snap-On at reasonable price (not cheap, but usually worth it).

I also agree with the above comments about garage sales, Craig’s list and such. If you can get a set or full tool box, you can sell the ones you don’t need to ReTool.
 
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I learned something about Craftsman yesterday. When I took a Craftsman wrench to be replaced, instead you get a phone number to call for customer service.
When you need a wrench what good is a phone number?
I would consider Craftsman, Kobalt,and Stanley about the same quality and anyones guess on warranty.
 
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Most of my tools are Craftsman from my Grandfather, Father and when I was old enough to work on my own car. The rest are Thorsen tools with a few HF lifetime warrantied sockets I loan out on the trail. Also a set of Giller wrenches from 13/16 all up to 1 1/2" set.
 
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Honestly I would say what ever might be the easiest to warranty. I myself have so many different brands of tools I will not list, (probably like most of us) some bought just last week, some from my grand father and dad. When I was working in shops I did buy most Snap-On and Matco. Now I have to mail it in or chase down a truck to warranty and that just sucks. Stuff from a local part store or hardware store that will back there stuff to me is awesome.
There was an Ace hardware down the road from the first shop I worked in. Bought a lot of tools from them. Couldn’t afford to buy off the truck and I still made some good money with those tools. Now my kids use them.
Again like everyone did say offer-up, Craigslist or even garage sales are great places to look if you are patient.

Ps it’s really hard to beat a snap on ratchet, just pony up and get it, nothing worse then a shitty ratchet!
 
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SecondChanceTJ said:
What do you guys think of brands like DeWalt, Craftsman, Milwaukee, etc.? Quality or cheap junk?
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I have several Milwaukee tools and really like them, been building up my Milwaukee brushless battery collection. I like having the same make tool, only need one charger that can charge two different type of batteries. You can just by the tool if you like and don't have to pay for another charger.
 
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Most of my hand tools are vintage Craftsman and Indestro, and my power tools are Milwaukee. I can't complain about any of them. If I had to buy new right now, I'd probably try Kobalt. The few tools of theirs that I have now seem to be pretty decent.
 
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I used to be a when made in USA craftsman and Snapon kind of guy. But I changed jobs and wound up needing all of my tools in my work truck. And needed to buy more tools for my garage/Jeep. So I tried Harbor freight icon series tools. They are as good as any other brand of tools if tried at a fraction of the price. Tool snobs will say they are no good but trust me you can do anything with them you can do with a over priced Snapon tool. As for power tools Dewalt and Milwaukee are both good. The Dewalt 20 volt stuff is made in USA for the same price so that I went with. They’ve been very tough so far and I use them a lot.
 
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Most my tools are Snap-on, MAC and older craftsman. I do have a couple of SK ratchets that are fine tooth and outstanding tools. They are now owned by a French company. I don’t buy many tools anymore, been doing it long enough I’ve got what I need. If I do buy something, it’s almost always for the “modified” need and I buy from HF. My experience has been, the snap-on, Sk, craftsmen ratchets are what I prefer and in that order. I don’t not own any new craftsman stuff.
 
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Personally, I think unless you’re going with Snap On which isn’t practical for most of us, most other brands are about the same quality. I was on a Kobalt kick for a while because you could just bring it back to Lowe’s when it broke but they break often. I’ve busted ratchets, extensions and sockets. They are garbage at a not so garbage price point...but Lowe’s swaps them out no questions asked.
 
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I have mostly old, seventies old, Craftsmen, with a bunch of SK, Snap-On, Proto, and Williams thrown in. I got some really old farm equipment wrenches from both my grandfathers. And it looks like I’ll end up with my Dads’ boxes of the fifties version of the above.
For the last two decades, I have wrenched on European railroad equipment and have acquired a lot Beta and Facom tools. Those aren’t to be sneezed at.
But garage sales are my choice for tools nowadays, unless I need something I don’t have right away, which isn’t often.
 
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