Good inexpensive tools, where do you buy them?

[wootwoot]

I am looking into buying a number of tools to work on my maxima and was wondering where I can buy quality tools at good prices. Is harbor freight any good? Ebay seems like a poor place to buy since shipping would be so much. Where do you guys buy your tools?

[kcryan]

Sears..... i have some cheapies that i get on sale here and there, but Craftsman for my good stuff is worth the price, ive broken like 10 breaker bars and each time i go back there they just hand me a new one, no reciept, no paperwork, just give them the broken one and they give u a new one.

Worth the cost, esspescially for heavey duty stuff thats more likely to break

[Machinist]

Have to agree, hard to beat Craftsman because of the replacement policy

[tavarish]

i bought a 30 dollar set of "performance tools" for my manual swap. They did the job, but alot of them broke. I finally splurged and got a Craftsman set for 100 bucks, and I have never looked back since. Great tools for the saturday mechanic.

[D-Bo]

Craftsman!!!

Definitely the best bang for the buck. Not the best mind you (Snap on, Mac etc) but my grandfather has tools from the 50s, 60s, 70s that are still in good use today. And they've seen ALOT of use.

[Pervis Anathema]

I know a guy who buys Craftsman tools from the pawn shops. I think he got a dozen screwdrivers (broken tips), a broken 1/2" drive ratchet, and some sockets for $20. Took it all to Sears and swapped them out for new ones. Cheapness for the win...

[MrGone]

Snap-On's

[Zero Deuce SE]

Craftsman is hard to beat for the price. Snap-On is way overpriced and the warranty isn't any better than Sears.

[BEJAY1]

I started really wrenching only last year. My stuff paid for itself in the first 2 repairs.

$200 for this 263 piece Craftsman set


$65 Craftstman 1/2" torque wrench


$70 Harbor Freight Cordless impact
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/pho...2799/92798.gif

Doing repairs yourself and having only yourself to blame - Priceless

[4x4Max]

Lets say one was looking to invest in some Air Tools to use only on a maxima, thus needing only a few sizes, not a whole 200 peice set. What complete air tool set would be needed? I'm talking about starting from having no air tools at all to having enough to work on most parts on the maxima.

[dmontzsta]

Craftsman, lifetime warranty if you ever break them you bring them back and get a replacement free. My Dad still has Craftsman ratchets, wrenches, sockets, basically all his tools that he has had since the early 80s, they still work like champs.

[Iron Scimitar]

Craftsman FTW.

[nadir_s]

haha, i'm with all the craftsman whores ... just waitin to drop $200-300 on a big set when it comes on sale at sears.

black friday ftw!

[MrGone]

I don't bother with Craftsman, I hate their rachets and have no need to shop there


Sockets- I found a kit made by MasterGrip a few years ago that was too good to pass up. They are basically Snap-On knock offs and came with
1/2" drive:
Metric Shallow 12pt - 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27mm
SAE Shallow 12pt - 5/8" to 1-1/8"
3/8" drive:
Metric Deep 6pt - 10mm to 16mm
SAE Deep 6pt - 3/8" to 3/4"
Metric Shallow 6pt - 7mm to 16mm
SAE Shallow 6pt - 3/8" to 3/4"
Metric Shallow 12pt - 9mm to 19mm
SAE Shallow 12pt - 3/8" to 7/8"
1/4" drive:
Metric Deep 6pt - 4mm to 13mm
SAE Deep 6pt - 6/16" to 1/2"
Metric Shallow 6pt - 4mm to 13mm
SAE Shallow 6pt - 5/32" to 1/2"
SAE Shallow 12pt - 6/16" to 1/2"

plus a 5/8" spark plug, 3" extensions and rachets for each drive, bunch of allen wrenches, open/closed box wrenches, two philips and two standard screw drivers, and some other junk.

The meat and potatoes are Snap-On
1/2"
10-5/16" Quick Release Rachet
17-21/32" Flex-Handle Rachet
18" Breaker Bar
3/8"
7-11/32" Quick Release Rachet (2)
4-7/16" Rachet
11-1/2" Flex-Handle Rachet
9-9/16" Breaker Bar
1/4"
4-7/16" Quick Release Rachet
6-1/8" Flex-Handle Rachet
6" Breaker Bar

and a bunch of Wobble-Plus extensions, U-Joints, and drive adapters.

I'll order Flank Drive Plus racheting wrenches, Tech wrenches, and sockets if I can get find someone with a student discount or something
It's expensive at first but when you think about how long you'll use them + the fact that they don't break when you need them and are very comfortable/feel and precise (not rounding off/breaking bolts and working faster), it's not so bad -and a friend hooked me up

That's just my main chest, not even starting on the specialty tools/non-generic chest

[Iron Scimitar]

Originally Posted by MrGone

I don't bother with Craftsman, I hate their rachets and have no need to shop there


Sockets- I found a kit made by MasterGrip a few years ago that was too good to pass up. They are basically Snap-On knock offs and came with
1/2" drive:
Metric Shallow 12pt - 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 24, 27mm
SAE Shallow 12pt - 5/8" to 1-1/8"
3/8" drive:
Metric Deep 6pt - 10mm to 16mm
SAE Deep 6pt - 3/8" to 3/4"
Metric Shallow 6pt - 7mm to 16mm
SAE Shallow 6pt - 3/8" to 3/4"
Metric Shallow 12pt - 9mm to 19mm
SAE Shallow 12pt - 3/8" to 7/8"
1/4" drive:
Metric Deep 6pt - 4mm to 13mm
SAE Deep 6pt - 6/16" to 1/2"
Metric Shallow 6pt - 4mm to 13mm
SAE Shallow 6pt - 5/32" to 1/2"
SAE Shallow 12pt - 6/16" to 1/2"

plus a 5/8" spark plug, 3" extensions and rachets for each drive, bunch of allen wrenches, open/closed box wrenches, two philips and two standard screw drivers, and some other junk.

The meat and potatoes are Snap-On
1/2"
10-5/16" Quick Release Rachet
17-21/32" Flex-Handle Rachet
18" Breaker Bar
3/8"
7-11/32" Quick Release Rachet (2)
4-7/16" Rachet
11-1/2" Flex-Handle Rachet
9-9/16" Breaker Bar
1/4"
4-7/16" Quick Release Rachet
6-1/8" Flex-Handle Rachet
6" Breaker Bar

and a bunch of Wobble-Plus extensions, U-Joints, and drive adapters.

I'll order Flank Drive Plus racheting wrenches, Tech wrenches, and sockets if I can get find someone with a student discount or something
It's expensive at first but when you think about how long you'll use them + the fact that they don't break when you need them and are very comfortable/feel and precise (not rounding off/breaking bolts and working faster), it's not so bad -and a friend hooked me up

That's just my main chest, not even starting on the specialty tools/non-generic chest

Wow, not even a picture(s) of your vast tool collection? I'm flabbergasted

[SEmy2K2go]

Craftsman tools FTW!!!





<<<<<<<<<<<<<

[MrGone]

Originally Posted by Karim

Wow, not even a picture(s) of your vast tool collection? I'm flabbergasted

garage is a mess right now





besides, while it sounds like a lot, it really isn't

[NCSU_MAX]

I always go Craftsman but as Bejay stated Harbor Freight makes pretty good tools for cheap.

[Zero Deuce SE]

Originally Posted by NCSU_MAX

I always go Craftsman but as Bejay stated Harbor Freight makes pretty good tools for cheap.

I would venture to say that most if not all of the Harbor Freight tools are made in China using inferior steel. They would probably work well for light duty work but I would be very careful if I needed some heavy duty usage.

[Frank Fontaine]

Originally Posted by D-Bo

Craftsman!!!

Definitely the best bang for the buck. Not the best mind you (Snap on, Mac etc) but my grandfather has tools from the 50s, 60s, 70s that are still in good use today. And they've seen ALOT of use.

Totally agree, for the typical DIY Craftsman is darn good. I've only paid full-price for one Snap-on and it was a special drain-plug remover for 6 Cyl. Volvos. The rest of my Snap-on tools are from eBay and 2nd hand, current models for about 1/3 the current price. Some of the stuff were from LV pawn shops, amazing how desparate gamblers get. At 1/3 USED, sometimes they cost more than brand-new Craftsman. So in almost all cases I'd go with USA Craftsman. Someday when they make them in China, I'd go for them too as they'll probably be really tightly controlled for high quality. That's the good thing about China, they're really fanatical about quality.

Just to clarify, China makes what the mfg. is asking of them--so if Sears wanted a Craftsman tool built there, which due to import activities it's probably cheaper to make them in the USA now, China would be able to deliver a spec'd product better than what is made in USA. They will also make inferior products if a mfg. asks them to, but make no mistake, what they're capable of is incredible. That's why come 2030 the USA is no longer the superpower, economically or militarily. We've made some serious mistakes along the way, but I think we should not throw in the towel but pick ourselves back up. I don't see that happening yet...

[Zero Deuce SE]

Originally Posted by Frank Fontaine

That's the good thing about China, they're really fanatical about quality.

Just to clarify, China makes what the mfg. is asking of them--so if Sears wanted a Craftsman tool built there, which due to import activities it's probably cheaper to make them in the USA now, China would be able to deliver a spec'd product better than what is made in USA. They will also make inferior products if a mfg. asks them to, but make no mistake, what they're capable of is incredible. That's why come 2030 the USA is no longer the superpower, economically or militarily. We've made some serious mistakes along the way, but I think we should not throw in the towel but pick ourselves back up. I don't see that happening yet...

It's true that they will make the product to a certain spec. If you see cheap tools at Harbor Freight, most of them that I've seen or used are cheap in quality when compared to a Craftsman American made tool of the same type. Even the made in China impact guns don't perform like the older American made ones. Even the Ingersoll Rand impacts. I have found that http://thetoolwarehouse.net/ sells name brand tools at good prices

[Frank Fontaine]

Originally Posted by Zero Deuce SE

It's true that they will make the product to a certain spec. If you see cheap tools at Harbor Freight, most of them that I've seen or used are cheap in quality when compared to a Craftsman American made tool of the same type. Even the made in China impact guns don't perform like the older American made ones. Even the Ingersoll Rand impacts. I have found that http://thetoolwarehouse.net/ sells name brand tools at good prices

To give a personal example of what you described above, I got a Milwaukee hammer drill 2 years ago. My friend loaned me his for drilling into concrete in the basement, but his was about 15 years old. The one I got has a plastic casing, and made in Germany. So here we have the high price without the high performance--China is the opposite.

But Milwaukee has gone the way of the Troy Bilt--some other co. purchased the name and continue to use the name for marketing purposes. But what the consumer gets is not what they thought, or what their grandparents got.

[Fr33way™]

I started with a MasterGrip set as well. Breaker bars and various accessories from Harbor and Northern. As far as ratchets and wrenches I pretty much have two of everything (Craftsman + Mastergrip sets) plus gear wrenches. Plenty of spare jackstands with two very nice (and HIGH) Craftsman stands as well as an Arcon industrial 3.5ton 21" lift floorjack. Most of my tools are housed in a two piece rolling cabinet by Stanley.

Cliffs:

MasterGrip
Craftsman
Harbor Freight
Northern Tool and Equipment
Stanley

[Greeny]

Nothing but craftsman in teh toolbox here...

[NCSU_MAX]

Originally Posted by Zero Deuce SE

I would venture to say that most if not all of the Harbor Freight tools are made in China using inferior steel. They would probably work well for light duty work but I would be very careful if I needed some heavy duty usage.

Oh I agree, which is why I only buy Craftsman. I do have some wrenches i was given from harbor freight that have worked well for mild torquing. I think the key word i picked up on in the thread was 'inexpensive', heh.

[MrGone]

Originally Posted by Fr33way

I started with a MasterGrip set as well. Breaker bars and various accessories from Harbor and Northern. As far as ratchets and wrenc