Socket wrenches

[Oklacarcollecto]

I sell Proto a lot. We have most all of the product line available to us simply because Proto is owned by Stanley and so is MAC. We have been part of Stanley for 24 years now. tmm

Thanks, that is great to know.

 

[krazykuda]

I think its a trend now that American companies are bringing manufacturing back ......so I have faith that Sears will wake up before its too late.

its has to end good for Sears .....we cant lose them like Montgomery Wards......I wasn't here when M. Wards was here but my adoptive family has so much stuff from M.wards around the house .....good stuff and a shame a good store went down. The same cant happen to Sears and if my support helps any, then I will stick with Sears.

I would love to see Sears stay, but i think that they are on the way out.

The craftsman tools from the 70's and earlier are great, but in the 80's they started trying to reduce the cost and sacrificed quality.

I have used an broken many craftsman hand tools. I stopped using their taps after breaking 3-4 of them in oil pan bolt holes and had to Heli-coil them. The reason that I learned how to Heli-coil is to repair the f*cked up threads from breaking off the cheap taps that wouldn't shatter out (Like properly hardened ones would do) with an air chisel, and messed up the threads.

I switched to Hanson, now Irwin/Hanson taps and dies and haven't broken any of their taps in over 25 years, like with the Crapsman.

As I mentioned in my other post, now when you buy a new tool kit from Sears, you have to inventory every tool, to catch which ones they gave you doubles and which ones that you have missing.... No excuse for that. I could fix that problem for them easily, they don't seem interested in it.


When I was going to college, I did work at Sears in the garage as a mechanic. They were very busy back then. Now I go to the same store that I used to work at back then, and the auto center is almost empty. Barely 2 or 3 cars in the garage if they are lucky.... Not to mention that they close the auto repair center an hour or two before the rest of the store here....



and they own K-mart. K-mart sucks now. They have a "Super K" here that opened up about 20 years ago and was the place to go back then. Now, I barely see any cars in their parking lot. The stores are not well kept, and seem messy and cluttered. They opened up a Super Wal-Mart a mile and a half from there, and they are always busy.


If they don't wake up and change their ways, they will not be here much longer. They need to bench mark Wal-Mart and surpass them to get ahead and survive this economy.

I love Sears and still call it the Sears Tower, not "Willis Tower". Willis Tower reminds me of Todd Bridges.... "Whachu talking about Willis?"

[ame]http://youtu.be/sXbI5WWqKkA[/ame]

 

[Oklacarcollecto]

I agree with you Karl. Our Sears is locally owned and called "Hometown Store". Business is so slow the owner had to take a real job with benefits.

 

[MOPARMITCH]

I do have a set of Bonney tools, too. Far superior, made in America, and I've never broken one since I purchased them back in the late 1960's. Most people haven't heard of them, today, but they were one of the "superior brands" back in the day, along with Snap-on.

Since I was an owner of a small chain of Parts Stores for years, I have several different brands that we used to sell to installers and the public. My box has Bonney/Utica , Blackhawk , S-K , KD Tool, Easco, and some others. All high quality brands , but not as expensive as Snap On. I always felt like Snap On was higher because of the personal truck to site service , and the fact that they extend a lot of credit to their customer base. I even have some Penncraft tools from JC Penny back in the 70's!!!. I still remember the Christmas that my Mom and Dad gave them to me. I was 15yrs old. Don't use them any more, just take em out and look at em once in a while.

 

[Frankie]

Since I was an owner of a small chain of Parts Stores for years, I have several different brands that we used to sell to installers and the public. My box has Bonney/Utica , Blackhawk , S-K , KD Tool, Easco, and some others. All high quality brands , but not as expensive as Snap On. I always felt like Snap On was higher because of the personal truck to site service , and the fact that they extend a lot of credit to their customer base. I even have some Penncraft tools from JC Penny back in the 70's!!!. I still remember the Christmas that my Mom and Dad gave them to me. I was 15yrs old. Don't use them any more, just take em out and look at em once in a while.

I do have a number of SK Wayne open end wrenches. I also have a set of JC Penny combination wrenches, and a JC Penny tool Box. I really liked their tools, to. Same warranty as Snap-on (in fact, JC Penny tools looked like snap-on tools), and Craftsman, and all the other "Lifetimers". Good quality, too.

Proto was another good quality tool back then, mostly sold for industrial use, as I recall. "Husky" was another good tool maker, when they were made in American, and long before Home Depot bought the name, and started importing.

KD tools, as I recall had a lot of specialty tools.

Re: Bonny, these tools are probably irreplaceable, but then, I've never had one fail.

 

['73red-duster]

I have a variety of tools that I have purchased over the years. My favorite, was S-K Wayne, and I still have a few. I have a S-K flex head ratchet, I bought back in the 70's, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I purchased a set of Craftsman, right before they went to China made, and they appear to be good quality. Years ago, I bought a set of Craftsman tools, and the ratchets were junk. I had to have all 3 replaced. Never had a problem with the sockets, or wrenches that came with it.

 

[Dartnut]

I found that Snap-On tools were very well made but they were too slippery when working on a greasy engine.....
Gray, S/K Wayne, and Williams are good tools if you can find them.
I always found that the best quality ratchets have a very fine head where you have to hardly turn it and it clicks to the next tooth.
I find that the heads on the new Craftsman tools are too thick, but i haven't broken any of them yet......
I think that Snap On makes the best air tools, even better than C.P. (Chicago Pneumatics).
As for cordless, DeWalt makes a good product.
And screwdrivers, buy the best you can afford with a magnetic tip.
I still have some Fuller screwdrivers that got passed down to me from my dad that he bought in the '60s and they're still good.

 

[Frankie]

I found that Snap-On tools were very well made but they were too slippery when working on a greasy engine.....
Gray, S/K Wayne, and Williams are good tools if you can find them.
I always found that the best quality ratchets have a very fine head where you have to hardly turn it and it clicks to the next tooth.
I find that the heads on the new Craftsman tools are too thick, but i haven't broken any of them yet......
I think that Snap On makes the best air tools, even better than C.P. (Chicago Pneumatics).
As for cordless, DeWalt makes a good product.
And screwdrivers, buy the best you can afford with a magnetic tip.
I still have some Fuller screwdrivers that got passed down to me from my dad that he bought in the '60s and they're still good.

"Williams" tools were big in the industrial market, tools for working on heavy machinery and such. Excellent tools.

 

[roadrunnerh]

I've got lots of old Craftsman tools and when I want accuracy (like a torque wrench), I buy American. Otherwise, Since most stuff is made in China these days anyway I just buy Harbor Freight Tools and usually have no problem. Their impact sockets are great and waaaay cheaper than Snap-on. Also, The HF "US General" red tool boxes are BETTER than my Craftsman. Remember, you are also paying for a name......

 

[cjh]

We used to have a homegrown tool company here called Sidchrome.....was oned by a company called Siddon's Tool & Lock Company.
They got bought out by Proto, then they got bought out by Stanley....so I'm lead to believe.
You can still buy Sidchrome tools, but I think they are made in China these days....and they aren't too bad a quality really.
Do you guys get " Blue Point " tools.....sold out of a Snap-On truck ????......they are usally made elsewhere other than the USA from what I can see.
I noticed that nobody has mentioned them......they are cheaper than Snap-On branded tools.

 

[67Dart273]

ok, I think this is mega cool.......I wondered how it was done......dang, they have a video for everything.

anyone who knows me, already knows that I find this kind of thing entertaining.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtcYB-mW6i0

Wow, there's actually quite a bit of "hands on" work there. Now I'm depressed, 'cause I can't afford Snap on, LOL

 

[Thumpower]

I have always used Craftsman tools, as long as I could afford them. Back in the day, my first set was made by Fingerhut industries out of a catalog - I think the whole set was like 29.99 - and they looked like it. Likely made in Taiwan or wherever - this was back in the 60's before their stuff got as good as it is now - they're even making engines for Harley and BMW now!

The only Craftsman stuff I have ever broken was through vicious abuse, such as hammering on a ratchet head to jolt a drain plug loose. I have gone to the Craftsman Professional wrenches, which try hard to look like Snap-on. They work well and look real purty in my drawer. And I wouldn't be without my GearWrenches. My ratchets are all Craftsman, mostly with fine tooth gears for that short throw. I have 1/2, 3/8, and 3/8 flexy - they all work great.

I also have to admit that I have a few odd tools from Harbor Freight. When it is an item that I am not going to use but once in a while, you can't beat the price. I often pit for my son's m/c races and made up a pit box with a bunch of their stuff. So far, so good, but I always have Craftsman backups for the critical stuff. I wouldn't touch their hand tools, though. While they have gotten better, they are still pretty much butter.

I have used Snap-On and the premium tools and have to agree that the quality is defiinitely there, and if I was making my living, I would probably go with their stuff or Cornwell, Mac, etc. But for what most of us do, a good set of Craftsman will do the job just fine.

 

[krazykuda]

Funny that this thread has come up.


Walter P. Chrysler used to make his own tools when he started out because he couldn't afford to buy them, and because he made them to his high standards....

 

[Princess Valiant]

Funny that this thread has come up.


Walter P. Chrysler used to make his own tools when he started out because he couldn't afford to buy them, and because he made them to his high standards....

Holy moly....your right. I googled Walter P. Chrysler tools and found something....I bet those are worth a fortune.

 

[krazykuda]

Holy moly....your right. I googled Walter P. Chrysler tools and found something....I bet those are worth a fortune.

They used to have that box on display at the Chrysler Tech Center (CTC) for a while.


And yeah, I've read some of the history of Walter P. Chrysler. He was an amazing businessman. Built his company to be the largest in the world by 1934 from saving a company that was one million dollars in the hole in 1926.


He started out sweeping floors at a local train station. He was facinated by mechanical things and used to watch the mechanics set the valves on the locomotives. He learned how to do it himself and got the reputation of being the fastest at setting the valves. If a train needed an "adjustment" that was behind schedule, they called Walter to get them back running ASAP. He was "the man".... :cheers:


Then saw a car at the New York auto show and took a $3 k loan out to buy it and took it apart and reassembled it over 1000 times. He also paid back the loan early.


Then many years later the bankers asked him to save Allis Chalmers Motors which was about 1 million in debt back in 1924. He had them making profit in a couple of years.

They then asked him to save Maxwell Motors in 1926 as it was also about 1 million in debt. He redesigned the new model and had them in production in 1928 which he then turned into Chrysler Motors.

A true American hero... rayer:

 

[Princess Valiant]

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_GUDMVWVss"]How Its Made 05 Ratchets - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Denvermike]

The very first set of tools I had were Powercraft, that's right, Wards. Had the same warranty as Sears and were cheaper. Also there was a Wards store two blocks from where I lived. Still have a few of those and several from Sears I got in the mid and late 60s. Also still have a S-K comb. wrench set. From 3/8 to 1 1/4 as I remember. Am still using two top and one bottom Craftsman boxes. Have a smaller Waterloo bottom unit. Clean and lube the sliders very few years and they are going strong.

 

[nothingbutdarts]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_GUDMVWVss

Man, again the hands on needed to make one of the ratchets is amazing! Thanks for posting!

 

[GTG3]

Snap-On cost more for a few reasons. Quality, it is a good tool. Service , Sears doesn't come to you door and think what it must cost to drive that big truck (that wasn't free either) around. Credit. You buy a ratchet for $125 and pay $20 a week. You don't see an interest charge BUT !

Cool vid's Rani. Must be why Snap On costs so much more than others?? LOL

 

[SoulSurvivor]

Craftsman, MacTools, Snap-On. All crapola. You should be using Harbor Freight hand tools. Builds up scar tissue on your hands like Fire Marshall Bill's whole body. Free replacements too. Every week even if need be.

 

[grassy]

Sears is going under fast...at least in Canada..so much for their warranty...