Some good mechanics tool sets?
- Thread starter jareddavidj
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Stick Figure
New member
a good portion of Craftsman line was made by SK. When SK filed bankruptcy a few years back Craftsman switched those lines to Chinese manufacture. I haven't used any of them first hand to tell you how good or bad they actually are, just that they are made in China now. Check the "Pro" wrenches and things like the crowsfoot, those were the first to have it happen, not sure on their standard sockets or the raised panel wrenches.
As for craigslist, the trick is to shop for tool boxes and go in with a couple hundred and buy the whole box. I bought a Snap on stack for $200 that filled out a good portion of my 1/2" sockets for home as well as a good portion of the 1/4 and 3/8 set I sent my dad to replace some of the tools I had lost of the years of being young careless with his stuff. There was plenty left in that box to make some money back as well.
The other thing to watch is the hot deals thread on garage journal, if you can hold out until black friday/x-mas sale time there will be some good buys and they are usually posted in that thread. I've picked up some gearwrench sets at Napa thanks to that for about a 1/4 of retail price.
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LittleCaesar
New member
Thanks Stick Figure. I did not know that SK was making Craftsman; I do know that the Klein ratchets I have are rebadged SK. Good, non flashy tools SK makes. Not a fan of their torque wrenches though. I will check into the GJ site more often now.
Tools can also be found at garage sales, auctions (estate and local), as well as Fleabay. Just know what you are looking for.
Tools can also be found at garage sales, auctions (estate and local), as well as Fleabay. Just know what you are looking for.
Singtoe
New member
Pawn Shops. Buy Snap On, MAC, Matco, SK, Proto and cornwall.
Buy once , cry once.
I have a set of Snap on tools that my Dad got in the 70's. They have outlasted everything in the garage. the only bad thing is that they did not use metric sizes back then. So all my pops sockets don't get used much unless I am working on the lawn mower or buddie's Harley.
Buy once , cry once.
I have a set of Snap on tools that my Dad got in the 70's. They have outlasted everything in the garage. the only bad thing is that they did not use metric sizes back then. So all my pops sockets don't get used much unless I am working on the lawn mower or buddie's Harley.
twitchee2
Member
i got this set, its ALL 6pt. I got it as a starter set and its been great. ive added other tools as needed but its covers most of everything i needed.
Craftsman 207 pc. Easy-to-Read Mechanics Tool Set with Impact Sockets - Tools - Tool Sets - Mechanics Tool Sets
Craftsman 207 pc. Easy-to-Read Mechanics Tool Set with Impact Sockets - Tools - Tool Sets - Mechanics Tool Sets
blue dog
New member
This is not exactly true. Yes Sk did make some stuff for cman, yet it was short lived and in the 80's. Cman wrenches, ratchets and sockets were for the most part made by Danaher. Unfortunately, camn is for the most part a outsourced { china } tool company now. If you can find older cman -v- or =v= stuff, pick it up. Craftsman will never return. Look at armstrong, sk, proto and wright if you want quality USA tools, and just so you know, the internals in the super overpriced overghyped snap on ratchets is completely from C H I N A.
Good places for tools.
Wholesale Industrial American Hand Tool Distributor - Harry J. Epstein Co.
ToolTopia.com
And do not forget Amazon, no tax and free shipping if your a prime member.
Singtoe
New member
Is there something wrong with things made in C H I N A? Every Apple electronic (I-phone, MAC Book, I-pod, ETC) product sold is made is China. Most of the big flat screen TV's are made in China. The Gateway laptop that i am typing this thread is made in China.
Snap On stuff is over priced but buy it used and they are about the same price as new Sears tools.
I don't know of any other ratchet that use 80 teeth. You can loosen a nut in the tightest place and still be able to utilize the ratchet action. Perfect example is the nut that holds the rear shocks in place. I never have any issues pulling removing those with a fine tooth ratchet.
According to Snap on website, their ratchets still come from USA.
I'm sure they make some good stuff. And if people keep buying it they'll have plenty of time to use it since they won't be at work anymore. Either that, or they'll be at work earning $3/hr.
Singtoe
New member
I know that China is manipulating their currency by keeping it low. But if you were owed a trillion dollars, would you want to devalue your money so that you lost half of it?
US consumers want cheap products. We are entirely responsible for the Chinese Economy. If the Iphone was built in the US, it would cost $2000.
We are in a world economy. Eventually, their labor rates will rise and balance out.
For the record, I make $3 an hour and able to keep food on the table, shelter over my head, clothes on my back and Snap on tools in my garage.
So, who needs and iphone anyhow? I've done just fine so far without one in the 38 or so years I've been around. I'll keep my $500 and do without- Sorry steve jobs or whomever is running the show now (I'm sure you're wiping your tears with $100 bills), but I'm spending my money on products made in North America so my friends and neighbours can earn a good living too. I'm fortunate to be in a position to do so. Perhaps my song might change once my job moves to China.
Either way, politics aside I'm sure there are some good products made in China and some of the smartest and hardest working people I've met are from China but I still think if you randomly selected a tool set for example from North America and a random tool set from China odds are the one from North America will be of better quality.
Singtoe
New member
This coming from a guy who owns a vehicle made in Japan.
Stick Figure
New member
For me its not so much about patriotism as it is quality. I won't buy a US built Toyota for the same reason i try to stay away from tools made in China. The quality so far is USUALLY far less than its counter part, be it from Japan in the case of Toyota or the USA in the case of tools. There are still some quality pieces coming out of China, but they are fewer and farther between, so for me it is much easier to tell someone to look for the USA mark, than give a running list of crappy vs good products that I've found over the years.
Atlanta_man
New member
Seems most everything is made by robots these days. That's the complete source of increased quality over the past few years from American made autos.
blue dog
New member
Answers in order.
1 yep
2 . for starters. 3/8" Drive Armstrong Aerospace Ratchet - 88 tooth - Harry J. Epstein Co.
If that was a snap on cool aid drinking ratchet what would it cost ???????
100% made in the USA with USA materials
3. the ratchet itself does come from the USA, not the internals. chincom
I do not buy snap on, or China tools, but you are more then welcome to purchase harbor freight tools all you want.
Nelsonmd
New member
I work with manufacturers in China, Japan, Mexico, Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, Europe, all over the place, and yes there is a difference. That's not say that the Chinese are physically incapable of making quality parts, but you tour equivalent plants in Japan and China, and you will see a couple major differences:
1. The Japanese quality culture permeates down to the every operator working on the line. The Chinese culture of cheap (product is cheap, and people are cheap) also permeates down to every operator on the line. Often times I find that it is difficult to change the mindset of the non-quality culture employees from "cost and output is king" to "quality is king". When you are talking about a high quality product, you NEED the operators actually performing the build to understand how to make quality product, and actually follows through. That means investing training into operators, and establishing and enforcing operating procedures and equipment.
2. Raw materials are better. The over-arching quality culture extends down to the companies I don't directly control, so my suppliers follow the same trend. This is very important for tools.
3. Cheap people means you get more manual processes rather than automated ones. This doesn't just mean making a cheaper process with automation, it means not improving a line because you can just have more people inspect the parts. This is not as good.
4. Many companies in China that make high tech and high quality products are actually Japanese companies, and are run by Japanese engineers. It feels like a class system when they talk about this point...
And on that point, the "high tech" products mentioned (Apple, TV's, etc...) are not really very "high quality" products. The circuits are cheap by circuits world standards. Automotive, military or Nasa are a whole different ball game. That may sound extreme, but those 3 industries often have similar requirements, and they are a whole different level from consumer electronics, etc.
Anyway, for tools, when you are talking about a sensitive process such as heat treatment and raw material quality making the difference between an heirloom tool and bottom of the barrel, I would feel alot better about it being made outside of China.
And SK isn't tied to craftsman at all, and I don't think they ever have been. SK has been owned by FACOM, were independent, and are now owned by Ideal. Craftsman is made overseas, but used to be made by Stanley and Danaher. So basically, they are the same as Husky, Kobalt, or any of the other mid-range brands.
Anyway, these days, any hand tool you buy should have a lifetime warranty, and shouldn't break within 10 uses (so harbor freight is out, thought I do use them occasionally). I say buy whatever is easiest for you to return or get repaired.
But if I could afford it, I would buy all Snap-on, MAC, SK, Cornwall, etc. They really are better, just not necessarily necessary.
1. The Japanese quality culture permeates down to the every operator working on the line. The Chinese culture of cheap (product is cheap, and people are cheap) also permeates down to every operator on the line. Often times I find that it is difficult to change the mindset of the non-quality culture employees from "cost and output is king" to "quality is king". When you are talking about a high quality product, you NEED the operators actually performing the build to understand how to make quality product, and actually follows through. That means investing training into operators, and establishing and enforcing operating procedures and equipment.
2. Raw materials are better. The over-arching quality culture extends down to the companies I don't directly control, so my suppliers follow the same trend. This is very important for tools.
3. Cheap people means you get more manual processes rather than automated ones. This doesn't just mean making a cheaper process with automation, it means not improving a line because you can just have more people inspect the parts. This is not as good.
4. Many companies in China that make high tech and high quality products are actually Japanese companies, and are run by Japanese engineers. It feels like a class system when they talk about this point...
And on that point, the "high tech" products mentioned (Apple, TV's, etc...) are not really very "high quality" products. The circuits are cheap by circuits world standards. Automotive, military or Nasa are a whole different ball game. That may sound extreme, but those 3 industries often have similar requirements, and they are a whole different level from consumer electronics, etc.
Anyway, for tools, when you are talking about a sensitive process such as heat treatment and raw material quality making the difference between an heirloom tool and bottom of the barrel, I would feel alot better about it being made outside of China.
And SK isn't tied to craftsman at all, and I don't think they ever have been. SK has been owned by FACOM, were independent, and are now owned by Ideal. Craftsman is made overseas, but used to be made by Stanley and Danaher. So basically, they are the same as Husky, Kobalt, or any of the other mid-range brands.
Anyway, these days, any hand tool you buy should have a lifetime warranty, and shouldn't break within 10 uses (so harbor freight is out, thought I do use them occasionally). I say buy whatever is easiest for you to return or get repaired.
But if I could afford it, I would buy all Snap-on, MAC, SK, Cornwall, etc. They really are better, just not necessarily necessary.
Stick Figure
New member
I agree with about 90% of what you said. As for the SK and Craftsman the early days it is well know that SK was doing the manufacturing:
Sherman-Klove and S-K Tools
As for the later stuff that is concerned here, all you have to do is compare that Craftsman PRO wrenches of 10 years ago to the SK wrenches of the era. Craftsman has so many manufactures its ridiculous, check some of the Meyhew pry bars against the CM Pro version, and the western forge against a lot of the Craftsman products including the regular pry bars.
Oh and I would cross MAC off of your list of acceptable tools, they have gone to a lot of China manufacture as well.
