What Tools do You Use?
 

Just a simple general question - what brand or brands of mechanics tools do you own and use or have used?

If you switched from say Craftsman or Husky (Home Depot's house brand) to Snap-on or MacTools, (or vice versa) why?

Are you using all hand tools or have you gotten a compressor and gone to air powered impact tools? (this is for the home mechanics as I imagine all of the professionals in our midsts use air)

I ask this mostly out of curiosity as I have most of the tools I need at the moment (muscle powered Craftsman).

jlc

The only Snap-ons I have are from my Porsche days. I use Sears but the old ones seem much better than the newer ones. If I were in the business of car repair, I'd use a better quality tool than Sears.

One tool I wouldn't be without is a torque wrench. I hate impact wrenches but I wouldn't mind having one so long as I used it only for REMOVING things.

I have some Snap On that I bought about 25 years ago while mortal man could afford them. Mostly combination wrenches and a few ratchets.

The rest of my hand tools are a mix of Craftsmen and others. My air tools started with an Ingersoll 1/2" that I got about 25 years ago followed by cheap versions of 3/8 butterfly, 3/8 air ratchet. The cheap ones have held up okay because I keep them lubed and don't use them every day to make my living.

I use air wrenches during disassembly, but very rarely for assembly. Except for the air ratchet that I can run a bolt with, then tighten it by hand so I can feel how tight I'm getting it. My tool box is a large Craftsman that I put quality casters on before I put any tools in it.

If I were a young pro tech, I would buy nothing but Snap On tools. They are clearly the best. If I started as a pro at my age, it would be difficult to justify $45,000 or so in tools for only the ten or so years I have left to work.

My $0.02,

Over the years (since high school), I have collected a lot of Craftsman tools. Sears was a staple back then for those of us who did light wrenching on our cars but couldn't afford Snap-On tools with a McDonald's salary.

I even have a couple of nice Craftsman screwdrivers left by some thieves attempting to rip off the stereo in my VW...I guess they got spooked in the process and left the tools behind! :p

I just started doing work on my MBs for over a year now, so my set has increased to accomodate metrics and metric allen socket sets. I even bought a few MB specialty tools.

My wife has been nice about all of this, as she got me a Craftsman rolling tool cabinet to keep it all organized.

Then for our 10th wedding anniversary, I was greeted at the garage door by a Husky 125psi air compressor!!! :eek:

When I find the time to bolt it down and hook up the connections, I plan on checking the local tool center and getting a few air impact tools!

If cost were no object (I would have a 2003 SL in the garage, hee hee) I would probably have a huge Facom tool kit in my garage, and the best air tools money could buy!

But I don't do 15 head gasket jobs in a week, and most of my repairs involve tightening a bolt on a child's bike, replacing a leaky faucet seal or removing a light fixture cover to get at a burned-out bulb...therefore, there is no reason for me to have an E-class investment's worth of tools!

G-Benz ,

FYI, I just bought an air impact driver. The best deal I found was actually at Home Depot. It's sold as a Husky, but Sears has the exact same one as a Craftsman. It was $20 cheaper at HD, and the real selling point for me -- it's guaranteed for life. (at Sears, it was only guaranteed for 1-2 years)

To answer the original question: most of my tools are Craftsman, but I've also been very happy with price and quality of Husky. I too would love to have a chest full of Snap-on tools. But as a weekend warrior, I just can't justify the cost.

Jeff Pierce

G-Benz,
 

Does your wife has a sister?:D ...Oopps, never mind I am married.:D ;) :p :eek:
To answer the question. I am a DIY'er so I have mostly Craftsman and a few NO name brand for a one time use tools. Since I got the Benz, I bought a few MB specific tools. Not necessarily from MB.
I do not have a compressor but, I do have access to one and a lift for a minima hourly fee.:cool: A life saver sometimes... ;)

Tools tools tools, love tools
 

Hi guys,

I am a hardy DIY, plenty of blood stains on the gararge floor to prove it.

I have mostly Craftsman tools, lifetime warranty has proven valuable. I do not consider their quality on par with snap-on, never really used them, but they do look nice.

Using the correct tool for the job is really the key. My most valuable tool is a 1/2 drive breaker bar, nothing compares when getting off big stuck bolts.

No air tools, I want to wait and get a quality compressor, looking for a used one from a gararge or factory, I think the wiring at the house will be an issue too.

I do want to get some new open end box wrenches though, can never seem to have enough of those. Bigger tool chest would be great too. Finaly, I really really want to install a lift, but would need to build a second gararge for that. Got a backhoe two months ago to dig the foundation with (wife bought the rationalle) but instead I just have a bunch of big holes (experimental digging, wife bought that one too) around the yard.

Can never have enough tools.
Joel

i've got your standard craftsman as well.also...
 

...i was in the market for torque wrenches and looked long and hard at snap-on,but when push came to shove i bought sears again reasoning that i could get two wrenches for less than half of what a snap-on would cost.i know people out there will say there's a reason thta the snap-on's are expensive and i'm sure they are right(let's be serious-isn't that how we justify our cars?).anyway for what it's worth sears will do me fine with some specialty tools thrown in from time to time.do i wish i had snap-on's?duh!! great question,it's nice to see what others are using !
by the way there is a snap-on store in toronto but i haven't been able to get to it----YET!!!but you can bet i'm thinking about it more and more!

This thread reminded me of an interview with Chocolate Myers. He was one of Dale Earnharts crew members for many years and his Dad, a NASCAR driver was killed while he was a young boy. He is a very well known individual around NASCAR.

He said that one time he was talking to Dale on the radio during a caution. Dale said "hey there's a 9/16 Snap On wrench on the track in the back stretch!" Chocolate said he just couldn't believe that Dale could see that there was a wrench on the track, even while slowed down for the caution, much less able to tell what kind of wrench and what size.

As soon as the race was over he and another crew member drove to the back stretch where Dale said it was, and sure enough there was a 9/16 Snap On combination wrench.

To appreciate this you have to understand that Dale Earnharts Dad was a racer in the days when there was very little money in it. Dale grew up wrenching on cars and for the most part, built his first race cars himself.

Now to be clear, someone might get the idea that I was an Earnhart fan. I was not and am still not a Dale Earnhart fan, but there are many things about him that I have found intriguing over the years.

Have a great day,

I use mostly Craftsman - can't beat the warranty and availability, plus I used to work @ Sears while in college.

I have a Makita cordless drill/driver with a 10" flexible extension that I use to speed fasteners on & off with (a trick I learned from a professional mechanic friend) and I can't imagine working on a car without it. The flex extension is like a thick piece of wire rope with 3/8" drive on both ends. It is Armstrong brand; I bought one from Sears in 1/4" drive size and it is much too stiff and cannot handle much torque without wrapping up on itself.

My latest tool quest is for a cantilever tool box to carry around my most used tools. I saw this one at Griot's Garage but I think a bigger box would be better.

-Tom

aTOMic,

The cantilever tool box you show is as common as dirt in Europe and quite inexpensive. I bought one in Germany before I got out of the army, but it was stolen from my personal goods in shipment. They are a very good tool box.

Have a great day,

When you make your living from your tools, you want the BEST! Snap-on is the only way to go, Mac, Matco & others are good but fall short in most cases. Air tools are good BUT most line techs use battery powered tools for dis-assembly & assembly. I have a battery powered 1/2" impact that can remove lug bolts.

tool box
 

Hi all,

I have had great luck with my Walmart special plastic (some kind of polymer or something) toolbox. Is just the right size to carry all the necessary tools to the junk yard. Long enough for my breaker bar and deep enough for my mini-sledge hammer.

Fits all my 1/2 drive sockets and wrenches.

Does not rust and has not cracked even during the coldest winter days.

It's yellow so I won't get shot by hunters.

Joel

You mean you won't get shot BY ACCIDENT by hunters. One could argue that the yellow box just makes you an easier target.
(he he)

Jeff Pierce

After breaking several sockets at the most inopportune moments, I got fed up, and bought a Snap-On set. 13 years later, I would rate them as one of my best investments.
Once, I even broke my big breaker bar by adding a pipe to it, but the socket was fine!
It would be tough to justify the added expense in general for the shadetree mechanic, but you use sockets for everything.

Sears just replaced a 1/2 " drive rachet that I bought in 1974. Snap On replaced a 3/8" rachet that my Dad bought in 1952 when he bought his tool chest and tools on the famous Snap On weekly pay plan. If I live long enough, those tools will be mine someday, but I hope that's a long time away.:)

mb doc, what battery impact gun do you have? I looked at a hitachi, but it couldnt loosen my lug bolts, so I didnt want it.

Those fold out boxes are copies of the really old hazet boxes. My uncle has like 3 of the old blue hazet ones. You can buy red ones from Snapon UT22, they are like 75 dollars I think. They are the same as griots garage.

One of my friends loves mac ratches, and I can see why, it takes a lot longer for them to give way, but I like how the snapon ones feel and perform. I have all snapon ratchets, and I have quite a bit of snapon extentions. I have noticed that craftsman quality has gone down the drain reciently...I brake craftsman sockets everytime I work on a benz, usually I break them loosening the nuts and bolts. I just use my dads snapon sockets usually because they have tighter tolerances and they dont round off bolts as easy as craftsman and other ones.

Right now I am thinking about getting a snapon impact gun, but I hear that those are made crappy like CP tools, and my friend said to get an IR gun because those are the best. Maybe someone has some advise?

I have mercedes specialty tools including some hazet tools. I am going to get a Klann spring compressor pretty soon.

I think that snapon has the best screwdrivers and wrenches because they fit my hands the best, and I like their extentions because you can put so much force on them before they even deflect, I love my snapon 3/8 breaker bar, its so strong.

Snap on and Mac are very close in their tools, I think that mac ratchets and air tools are slightly better than snapon, but the Mac guy is a jerk, and the snapon guy is really nice to me, so I buy snapon tools because its more convienent. The mac guy lives about 10 blocks from my house, and the snapon guy lives two blocks, and he says I can come over on the weekends if I need to get something immediately.

My dad just got a Facom ratchet, its really nice, it has super fine teeth. I think its a must for every tool box.

I have a full line of gear wrenches. I really like them especially for working on the belt drive systems on the 617 diesel motor, they get into a lot of places that most things cant get to. Anyway, I have been collecting tools since I was 3 so that is why I have so many of them in the 16 years of collection.

http://www.samstagsales.com/
http://www.baumtools.com
http://www.technictool.com/mercedes.htm

I just got a 166C hazet box from samstagsales

Craftsman quality
 

I agree with the statement regarding craftsman quality slipping. I've personally purchased and used craftsman for over 20 years and can tell the difference. I am not a mechanic by trade, but if I was I probably would not be able to use craftsman, first because of the lack of specialty mechanics tools and second because of quality issues and breakage.

If I had the money and need I would love to get my hands on some snapon and mac tools. they definately look like good tools. I heard that snapon is going to start having stores. That would probably make it a little easier for me to find the tools.

There is a guy with a truck near my house maybe I'll stop in one day and take a look at his stuff.

My Craftsman open ended box wrenches are junk, spread real easy.

Joel
PS> I am accepting any tool donations, I'll give them a good home.

I have mostly Craftsman tools due to the price and guarantee. If I used tools everyday I would invest in better quality tools. My 1/4" socket set is S-K that my dad gave me 20 years ago. I almost never use my Craftsman 1/4" socket set after using the S-K - its like the difference between driving a Chevy vs. a Mercedes.

My breaker bar is an S-K and my 1/2" torque wrench is a Sears digitorque.

I was trying to justify purchasing air tools but after borrowing a 1/2" air impact wrench that couldn't break my crankshaft bolt loose, I could no longer justify it.

At homedepot when I was a kid and their husky line just came out, they had this coffin that said RIP on it, and their deal was, bring in your snapon, mac, pretty much any good tool brand, and they would give you a husky one. I asked, hey can I buy all those tools off of you.. They said no, I was just going to trade them into the snapon man and get all new ones =). Too bad people are so stupid, they throw away their old man's tools.

I think that SK tools are better than craftsman. My dad has had SK tools for like 30 years, and they still work. I think in order it goes like this snapon, mac, blackhawk, SK, Craftsman, husky, then checker brand....lol. Hazet, Stahlwhille, and all those specialty brands are about the same.

edit- stahlwhille

omegabenz,

My jaw is absolutely lying on the floor! I can't imagine ANYONE giving up a snap on tool of any description in any condition for a Husky! I wonder if they really just found some old tools and put in the bucket as a ploy.

Everyone,

My Dad has bought a number of Mac tools beginning right after WWII. They are okay, but I can't imagine anyone preferring a MAC ratchet over a Snap On. I suppose it's a personal preference thing, but to me the MAC is a big, bulky piece of junk compared to a Snap On. The difference to me is like the difference between a Ferrari and a dump truck, the Snap On being the Ferrari.

If they do open a Snap On store in Dallas I will definitely roam around that place like Tim the Toolman Taylor. In fact, I think it would be a good decision to put a bank next door and offer tool loans, most people would need them if they do any business in the store.

Have a great day,

I knew this thread would be an active one and the general concensus that Snap-on is one of the leaders and that for the shade-tree type, Craftsman is okay but declining in quality is also what I expected.

In thinking back I realized I did have one experience with Snap-on tools. Back in the early '90s my first car, a '73 Plymouth, was damaged in an accident when another driver "followed the vehicle in front of him through the intersection" (his quote to the police) and through a stop sign. Fortunately I was able to find a complete front clip in a salvage yard near home and brought this over to the body shop doing the repairs. A month or so later when the work was done and I picked up the car I quickly discovered that the horn didn't work. Remembering that the old horns had worked and figuring that they were still on the damaged pieces at the shop, I went back. "Sure, take what you need out of the junk pile in back. If you need tools, you can use mine." I was told by the owner. Grabbed a Snap-on combo wrench to remove the horn. WOW!! If a Craftsman feels like a good tool in your hand, the Snap-on felt like it WAS part of my hand and I was in direct contact with the bolt.

Since that day I've continued to buy Craftsman due to budget but there is little question, I'll buy all Snap-on the day I win the lottery (of course it helps to buy lottery tickets :D )

jlc

Think about this.....
 

Professional techs buy their tools.... but their customers pay for them. If I was a pro, people would owe Snap On a LOT of money!!:p :p

My roll around has a mixed bag. You can save money on general items like extensions, etc by buying Crapsman. They work just fine. Some of the more specialized like vacuum hose puller offers you can only get from the tool trucks. My sockets are Mac, Snap-on, and Crapsman. I'm only fussy about my wrenches.I have some S/K wrenches which I rate highly considering the price. I have 3 standard length 13mm combo wrenches. The last one I would reach for is the Mac. I think Mac wrenches are clubs. I have no problem with the rest of the Mac line;I just don't like their wrenches.I would reach for my second best wrench next. That would be my snap-on. Snap-on wrenches are very good,but they are thicker than they need to be if the steel were better,and they are too slick to hold onto at times. The first 13mm I would reach for would be my STAHLWILLE. It is very strong and super thin. It also has alot of raised lettering on it for improved grip. Mr. Wille started making tools back around 1850 so he's gotten it right in my opinion. Now here is a question for the professional mechanics. Why is it so easy to leave a Snap-on ratchet in one of the last cars that left the shop,but you never lose a Craftsman ratchet? Trivia question. How did Snap-on get the name?

Peter

Trivia answer:

The first Snap On tools were sockets that snapped onto the tool. I don't know if the handle was ratcheted at that point, but I know that the idea was interchangable snap on sockets.


I thought that I had, at one time or another, had my hands on about every brand of combination wrench made, but Stahlewille is not on my list. You now have my curiosity peaked. If they feel any better than a Snap On wrench in your hand I don't think I would be able to stand it.

I agree about the Mac end wrenches, but as I said, I think their ratchets are REALLY crude. I think my Dad must have started buying Mac because of the tool man. When I first got out of the army I worked at a truck shop for a short while before the next college semester started. My Dad was there one day when the Mac man came around. They started talking and my Dad had been buying tools from him since right after WWII, this was 25 years after that. The guy really was an impressive fellow, that probably had a lot to do with why my Dad started buying Mac tools. To him "a wrench is a wrench."

I have no Snap On metric tools, except for a very few hex sockets and such that I got off the Snap On truck for a particular job. Of course I still get to use my Snap On ratchets on anything. If I pick up any other kind of ratchet it feels very awkward in my hand.

Have a great day,

PS, what is the prize for winning the trivia contest?

Larry,
You got it right. I'm sorry,but there is no prize other than the satisfaction. According to a famous commentator,here is the rest of the story. A young man was working at a foundry that made mechanic's tools. At the time each socket was attached to the handle. You had to have a breaker,a speed handle, and tee handle in each of the socket sizes. This young man went to management and suggested they make the sockets removable so the mechanic would only have to buy 3 wrenches and change the sockets. Needless to say he got the same horse laugh as the guy that asked a bunch of banks to loan him the money to start a business to put bras on cars. Why would they want to sell less tools? The young man wasn't deterred,and he started making sets on his own. He then went around selling them to mechanics. He couldn't keep up with orders. Interestingly sales at the foundry started to drop off and the rest is history.Many stories like that. Mighty Wurlitzer made a board room decision that there was no need for a couple of extra tunes on their juke boxes.Seeburg disagreed and put them on theirs. Soon after Wurlitzer was gone. Who would ever pay for a rock and try to make a pet out of it?

Peter

After destroying 2 Craftsman breaker bars in the same day, I promptly spent $80 bucks on a Snap On. My time has indeed become money.

Snap On tools are fantastic, but I like many others cant always afford them. Special applications require them, like Porsche flywheel

I have had good results with some SK Tools, but they are not cheap either.

I have mostly Craftsman but as I break em I replace em with something better and affordable like Husky. Some of the Husky stuff is identical to the top end professional Craftsman.

The snapon man by my house has a snapon rachet from the early 1900s, around 1910 I think, where it ratchets only one way, but you have to push the 1/2 square through the ratchet to make it go the other way. That is why I think it was called snapon which is similar to the explination above. 1/2 is standard, that is why snapons part numbers for 1/2 start with S, 3/8 is Ferrel Drive, like FK831, and then 1/4 it TM, tiny midget. No question that snapon is superior, how do you like breaking a breaker bar than smashing your hands up against something sharp, it hurts, thats how I got my 3/8 snapon breaker bar. I think that my snapon torque wrench is far superior to anything i have ever used. I would agree that STAHLWILLE and HAZET are both extremely good, sometimes they are better than snapon especially in their hex drive, and spine drive because they are more compact letting you get to what you are trying to get at, like mercedes starter bolts...

snapon has an online store now, go to www.snapon.com I wonder if you have to pay taxes on the orders because they do have presence in every state. Does anyone know?

Austin,

A tip on MB starter bolts. You get the two feet some odd inches extension from Snap-On that is 1/2 inch drive on the breaker bar end and 3/8 inch on the socket end. Use a wobbly 19mm or 10mm allen depending on model car and enter near the tranny tailshaft. It makes the job fairly easy. This extension gives you the muscle on the breaker bar end with minumum flex and nimbleness on the socket end.

Peter

tools
 

I have mostly sears,but some snapon. wouldn't be without my air tools,(drill,1/2&3/8"impacts) Doesn't take a big air compresser.
Hint: Snapon&Mac tools sell on credit to mechanics.That means you can get agood buy on some reposessed tools.

yeah thats right, my dad got a snapon box not on repo, but on a trade in, its a 5k box, he got it for 2k, its awesome. We got a 5k car lift for 3k because the company that ordered it paid the deposit, then they didnt want it. but that wasnt a repo either, but I have seen some really nice snapon stuff that was repoed.