Tool Brands

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
Joined
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i am a sears Craftsman tool fan.....i have a deep love for sears tool territory.....i even took a job there a few years ago to get in on an employee discount. My co-workers thought i was up to someting when i kept buying tools and tool chests and everything else. Around my shop is craftsman everything....grinders, drill press, even a craftsman lawn tractor.

i like my tools and i think they are sooo pretty to look at and shiney LOL (i am a strange one) without tools no car worky worky ....so they are very important.

well this thread is to see what brand everyone else out there likes and uses.

this thread is not intended to be battle of the brands...simply which one do YOU like and use.
 

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I am with you on liking Craftsman. My boxes are mostly supplied with Craftsman but I also have a bit of Proto, S-K, Snap-On, Mac, Cornwell and even a tiny bit of Easco, Wright, etc.
 
I got them all. Craftsman, Snap on, Mac, Matco, Cornwell. Even some off
the wall brands. But I worked in the automotive busness for 35 years.
Got a Mac tool box that's about 6 feet long and 5 feet tall.
 
90% of my tools are craftsman. They are good for the money. Can't go wrong with their sockets, they are great but sometimes they split under serious torque.

I like snap on wrenches, and ratchets. the craftsman ratchets are junk. i never pay full retail for snap on. ever. i avoid the trucks like the plague. buy snap on off ebay, baby!
 
grimreaper said:
I am with you on liking Craftsman. My boxes are mostly supplied with Craftsman but I also have a bit of Proto, S-K, Snap-On, Mac, Cornwell and even a tiny bit of Easco, Wright, etc.
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see thats interesting to me bcoz i have never heard of those ...and just as i was suspecting...there are prolly some decent tool brands out there that are lesser known. its seems that the market is conered by a only a few name giants.

my own recent discovey is Great Neck ....have not really tried much yet. :glasses7:
 
Craftsman on most the hand tools in my box, and the tool box is over 7 ft tall.
I really like Mac air tools, but have a few craftsman air tools.
 
Snap-on screwdrivers, S-K for sockets, Craftsman Pro wrenchs I have a ton of snap-on and some of it is great but some is just over priced and would buy other brands if I had to buy over.
 
It is unfortunate that Craftsman has migrated tool manufacturing out of America. They still have a good warranty but I'll be looking to Armstrong, S-K, Proto, Wright for future purchases.
 
grimreaper said:
It is unfortunate that Craftsman has migrated tool manufacturing out of America. They still have a good warranty but I'll be looking to Armstrong, S-K, Proto, Wright for future purchases.
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Xs2 ....they have made sooo many changes over the years.....im one that dont like change when you have something good going. i have bought a lot of older craftsman tools at pawn shops ......i know the older style sockets had the square that goes over the rachet stub as a perfect square....the later they change to the ones with the little notches on the flat part of the square and even later the started etching the socket size on the side in bigger script.

im not sure if these were improvements or ways to cheap out.

one thing i dont like is the rachet gears turning plastic ...even though i have never catastrophically broken one LOL .....prolly bcoz my arm is a broomstick and i dont enough strength to break anything LOL

Sears does irritate me now when you take a ratchet in for gear skipping or just general mal-function and they give you a repair kit.....
i always get around that by raiseing my voice a little and i tell them that when i bought the original rachet i didnt have to assemble it......so far that has worked bcoz they gave me a new one LOL
 
Craftsman here, and what ever tools I find while digging through cars while at salvage yards. :glasses7:
 
Ima snap on craftsman and a bit of Matco kinda guy. Even tho our Matco guy at work is a real dick sometimes lol
 
RaniDart70 said:
i have bought a lot of older craftsman tools at pawn shops ......i know the older style sockets had the square that goes over the rachet stub as a perfect square....the later they change to the ones with the little notches on the flat part of the square and even later they started etching the socket size on the side in bigger script.
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example .....its funny how very small details will show what era its from.
 

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Craftsman tools and som others also but mostly craftsman,when i was working as an aircraft mechanic friends of mine used to give me a hard time about craftsman tools and i said they got the same warrenty and they are cheeper and i don't have to wait for the truck to come by!!!!
I bought this box and all the tools in it in 1989 [have added a few tools since then!
 

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Harbor Freight, baby.

In my experience, the tool that I have in my toolbox works way better than the tool I don't have because it's too expensive.

Sure I break some tools, but the ones that work well are still a bargain even when you factor in the cost of the ones that didn't.

In my opinion Craftsman and other American tool companies were ripping us off for decades by outsourcing production to Asia and charging made in USA prices. Now that there are companies like Harbor Freight making a profit at really low prices, we know what it really costs to make this stuff and how much markup there was.
 
craftsman hand tools are good quality tools some have decreased in quality over the years but I still have more than any other brand
 
65DartGTConv said:
Harbor Freight, baby.

In my experience, the tool that I have in my toolbox works way better than the tool I don't have because it's too expensive.

.
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ah thanks for reminding us about harbor freight ...Harbor Freight has come up leaps and bounds .....Pittsburg and central Pneumatic has some good stuff now.

i am starting to like Harbor Freight bcoz they have tools that no one else has ......thats the only place i have ever found a transmission jack for cheap .....and this christmas they have a spot welder that i want to try ....that would be cool to duplicate factory spot welds on a budget (or at least try LOL)
 

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I am a profesional ASE certified master tech, for the past 38 years....I use nothing but Snap-on or Mac tools.
 
K.O. SWINGER said:
craftsman hand tools ................have decreased in quality over the years
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Understatement of the decade. All you need to do is look at a typical combo wrench from the '70's and then look at one nowadays. Comparitively, they are a "big thick club."

And I have no use for Sears, generally speaking. Their parts dept. is a huge mess, and for something that should be a long--lived item, like a garden tractor/ other power equipment, it changes and becomes obsolete all too often.

And when I was in HVAC, dealing with parts was no fun

Once I wanted the part no. of an item that Sears was out of so I could re-order it. He said "he wouldn't give it to me" "Why?" "Because we think you'll order it cheaper from somewhere else.

Once I waded through the phone system, waited many minutes, to have someone answer and tell me "she couldn't help me because her computer was down." I asked her "Then why did you answer the phone????"

Locally, the relatively small store has tools, appliances, and lawn/ garden depts fairly close together. Once I tried to call, the phone rang, then dumped me off the system!!!! I tried ALL THREE DEPTS with no answer!!!!

I'm about done with Sears.

I pick up a fair amount of "stuff" at garage sales.
 
I have a lot of Craftsman and a fair amount of stuff from Harbor Freight. The only issue I've really had with Pittsburgh brand stuff from Harbor Freight is that the beams on their wrenches are bendy (had same issue with the newer stanley wrenches). Their impact sockets are good and the central pneumatic "Earthquake" 1/2" impact wrench is a serious deal for $69.99 w/coupon. They also sell the good quality Goodyear USA made air hoses there...$17.99 w/coupon for 50ft.
 
Mainly Snap On with some Mac. Matco, Cornwell, Napa and Craftsman thrown in there. I do habve some throwaway Harbor freight stuff also.
 
I am a Matco fan. While I was in college they gave all students like a 70% discount. I pretty much bought a new tool of some sort every week when I got paid because of the discount.
 
I have mostly older craftsman, a few s-k. Lately with funds being low I've been buying harbor freight, they are guaranteed. It just sucks if you need it and it breaks and you have to go get a new one. As 65dartgtconv said "the tool that I have in my toolbox works way better than the tool I don't have because it's too expensive"
 
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