I'm really enjoying wrenching and I would like to have the right tools for the jobs instead of using costco and piecemeal tools all the time. I am definitely not a professional so I really doubt I could afford Snap On tools, as cool as they are. I was thinking more along the lines of a Craftsman Mechanic's toolkit. I went to the website and there are a lot of different kits. Some come with toolboxes, others are stamped with "easy to read," size markings, I would appreciate any advice on which kit to invest in and when to buy (best deal or $ per tool).
Thanks in advance! I would rather buy a kit I will keep for years. So far I have bought cheap kits and they have not lasted. Ideally I'd like something that comes with a really solid case I could keep in the rig all the time.

 

Huskey makes great tools, You could probabaly get a nice set with a full socket set, hammer several screwdrivers.. tapemeasure, linesman pliers, needle nose pliers.. all for $30 or $40

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...401+503101+985

 

Hey I work at the Home Depot!!!

I've actually been itching to get a large tool set (I'll be needing it for school in a few months). Last weekend for father's day, Sears was having a 50% off on tools, plus my roommate works tools there so I could have gotten another 10% off...buuuuut I didnt want to spend my "get another Yota" fund on tools for a Yota I dont have yet.. I've had good luck with my previous craftsman tools (sockets, crescent wrenches, drill, etc) but im sure there are better out there.

 

I found a coolio little kit at Sears last winter, it's a solid little case the size of a smallish textbook. it stays in the runner.
they're craftsman tools, a pretty excellent assortment of sockets, a screwdriver and bits, and a couple wrenches...
It was meant to be a gift for the boy... but I decided to keep it instead





*Go Home Depot*

 

Most of my tools are Craftsman (because I work there) and they have not let me down, the only thing I really have to complain about is my impact, I bought the cheapest one they have and I've gone through 3 of them ( but they were under warranty). Also the Craftsman exchange program is great!

 

be patient and selective. first stop: Harbor Freight.......don't hose me, yet. check out this thread on pirate: http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=434877

basice tools:

10-19mm wrench--Gearwrench or Blackhawk flex head ratcheting wrench, ~$90 ebay, if you wanna work on front and rear shocks, you gotta have these.

Screwdriver: Klein, Homedepot has it, THE best, better than Snap On.

Ratchet: Craftsman 3/8 and 1/2 drive

Socket: 3/8" Craftsman standard and deep 6 point metric. HF 1/2 deep impact 6 point metric

BFH: what ever you feel comfortable, get 2 if possible.

 

"be patient and selective. first stop: Harbor Freight.......don't hose me, yet. check out this thread on pirate: http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=434877"

X2 on Harbor Freight.

" would like to have the right tools for the jobs instead of using Costco and piecemeal tools all the time"

I have a kit from Costco. I use it more than any other. It comes in a flat plastic case that I lug around with me when I go out on location. I take it, a lantern, a sleeping bag and a first aid kit with me, always. The Costco kit has a notch for each tool and I can just glance at the kit to see what is missing. I have another small plastic box for my piecemeal tools that I use, all the time. These tools are disposable. I bought them for a one time deal. I still have them. I'll get rid of them someday and when I do I will know exactly what to replace them with since I have heard all about other peoples killer tool sets, back home, as they wrench away with my disposable set on the side of the highway, the beach, the fire roads and so on and so forth.

 

Should we have our own "Harbor Freight tools that don't suck" thread, which everybody pitch in based on ones "absolutely, possitively" first hand experience. I have a whole bucket of to list.

also, google what in that quote turned out bunch good info.

 

going to jump back in here and add that there's absolutely nothing wrong with adding to your tool collection piece by piece. I sure as hell can't afford to go out and buy a 200+ piece set and box...

I've been accumulating bits and bobs for years now. there's no shame in having a few "throw away" tools mixed in with your nicer stuff...
and if you want the nicer stuff, don't be shy about hinting around to it come Christmas...
well... unless you've got a girlfriend like me... (see my first post)

 

Me 2! and my dad is a dept head at 1763

 

I buy whatever I need from SEARS, mostly Craftsman cause if I bust something I don't have to wait on a guy in a truck to bring me a replacement. If I wrenched everyday I'd have Snap On stuff.

Get a nice 150+ piece set and you should be good. Craftsman stuff is usually on sale all the time, so check around. I think Kmart sells Craftsman too now.

 

don't forget ebay and craigslist. bought my $60 snap on ratchet for $30, $300 snap on torq wrench for $80 shipped and a ball bearing drawer tool cart for $10, you never know.

 

I still use the Craftsman mechanics tool set my dad got me for my 16th B-Day. I'll be 30 in a couple months. I don't remember exactly how many pieces it was originally, but it has 1/2", 3/8", 1/4" drive wratchets, a few deep well sockets, a sparkplug socket, an assortment of wrenches and sockets in metric and standard sizes, and a screwdriver with multiple tips. Laugh if you want, but I also have a few Stanley tools from Walmart that I really like.

 

thats how i always felt when i had my own shop, and the tool truck didn't come by since i was the only one and wasn't buying on a regular basis. I can say the snap on stuff doesn't wear out near as quick as the craftsman stuff does though. Guess it just depends on how often you actually wrench, doing it every day all day, my craftsman stuff is mostly at home now for weekend projects.

as far as harbor freight ..... for home use, the tool boxes and carts are pretty nice, and reasonably priced compared to even sears, and far cheaper than the tool trucks, but not quite as nice of quality. most of the hand tools, will wear out pretty quick. i have a couple of the long needle nose pliers from them, but will probably be replaced shortly because the teeth are going or gone. The good thing about harbor is that if you buy it and break it right away, or open it and find out it won't work like you thought, you can take it back, usually no questions really asked.

Home depot, only thing i buy there is the channel lock stuff, i have almost all channel lock pliers at home, and these last forever, and are just as good and usually better than any of the other stuff i have used.

only thing i would stay away from at sears is the ratchets, universal joints, and the wrenches if i could help it. these are worth spending the big dollars on to me.

3 things w/ the ratchet: one is comfort, and the bottom of the line craftsman sucks in that dept. 2 is ratchet ability, feel the amount of movement it takes for a snap on, matco, S&K etc to "click" now imagine being in a tight spot in the engine bay ... the 3 clicks you'll get w/ that snap on vs the maybe 1 on the craftsman is worth the extra money.

finally is quality, i've just had too many craftsman just plain let go. sure i have a few craftsman as back ups, but i have matco at work, and S&K at home right now.

pretty much ditto on the universal joints... the snap on are smoother, stronger, and won't end up w/ electrical tape on them after a week to keep it from flopping all over.

wrench wise the craftsman aren't bad, the "pro" series are pretty nice, but other brands are stronger (meaning the open end won't flex as easy on a stuck bolt), more comfortable, and finally check out the snap on "flank" wrenches, they grab the nut/bolt head much better than a regular wrench will.

to the original poster, you will probably end up w/ a misc collection no matter what..... i have a few odd sockets from 24 hour autozones, or roadside repairs where i didn't have any tools w/ me, and had to stop by a walmart, and there are always going to be specialty tools that you have to buy from other sources, and if you really start to wrench a lot, then the stuff you are using the most will probably get replaced w/ higher quality.

oh and yeah craigslist is awesome right now, w/ the "bad" economy, lots of techs are getting out of things, so there are some amazing deals out there.

 

I mostly use Craftsman and am satisfied 99% of the time. They currently have their $100 kit for $50 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...6106000P?mv=rr
Last week they had their $200 kit for $100, so don't pay full price.

 

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_101...nics+tool+sets

It's a Toy in a box. Cheap and a good way to start building you collection up. Once you buy this, then move onto some wrenches and go from there.

 

Craftsman.

I started with something pretty much like this:

http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_101...4260000P?mv=rr

I've been adding to it for the last 16 years, but the original set is still the core of my tool box. Even made a living with it for quite a while. It kept me out of debt with the Snap-On man (who never missed a pay day to collect from the other mechanics).

Add on little by little. One day you'll realize you have a 6 foot tall box stuffed full of tools. Which is cool.

 

Oh, and if you keep your tools in your truck, they'll get stolen.

Might be worth checking a pawn shop. You could find someone else's tools that were stolen out of their truck and pawned to buy some crack.

 

I'd go with Craftsman too. All of the parts (hundreds) that I own have their warranty and they were bought through Sears, so if I bust something they'll replace it in shop right away. I think I've gone in there twice with bent breaker bars and they just gave me new ones free of charge. If I had more money I'd go with snap on, but Craftsman is just as good and pretty solid equipment.

 

X2

I grew up in Los Angeles and have never underestimated the power of desperate people and street crime. I never park anywhere with out already accepting that the car/truck is going to get stolen. If it only has a broken window from a smash and grab then that is better than finding no vehicle at all. I took a tip from an old merchant who cleared out the till to the cash register every night and then left the cash register drawer open with the till placed in plain view on the counter. He said he used to get broken in all the time and had to pay not only for a new window but for the repair or replacement of the register. He never got broken in after leaving the till on the counter. So I left my windows down once in a bad area overnight. In the morning 10 cars in the parking lot had there windows smashed and some had their radios ripped out. My door was left open and nothing was missing. I really think that if I had left my windows up one of them would have been smashed.

I do not know any tradesman/women who live in the inner city AND leave their tools outside. Most either drag their tools in at night or park the entire rig in the garage and lock it, even the ones that live in suburbia.

Thats why I never leave anything in the 2runner that I have not signed off as disposable and thats why I love Harbor Freight and Costco tools kits. Not because of inner city crime but because I can drive up to a base of a mountain range and go rock climbing with out having to worry about losing a set of snap on screw drivers to who ever wants to help themselves to my gear while I'm up on the rock. If I come back and some one has cleaned me out, then I am disappointed but not as much as if it had been brand name gear that got pinched. So far so good. Nothing has been stolen yet but it is only a matter of time.

Expect the worst and hope for the best.