Good cheap tool vs. pricey tool discussion

[Cooter]

I use Craftsman stuff almost exclusively. I have some Snap On tools but most of them were given to me.

My company owns a lot of warehouses from coast to coast. We have Snap On in several buildings. If you go in and talk to the Snap On employees they will laugh their asses off at the attitudes people have about the superiority of their tools. You know it is bad when the people selling the stuff will make jokes about the extremism of their customers.

their box wrenches and sockets are pretty damn nice...

but a ton of their stuff is just relabeled... I'm all about quality. blind brand loyalty is just silly. I can get a Snap-On torque wrench with a different color label on it for half price.

[Your Name Here]

Buy HF if you don't use it everyday but stay away from the Impact sockets they will exploded and hurt you. If You are a pro you gotta buy quality to stand up to the abuse. I'm having to buy tools just about every week just to stay with the times. Heck I'm paying on a Snap-on Verus right now. I think I will have a tool bill till I retire. Now if only someone can teach me how to use them.

[EW]

Craftsman is about as cheap a tool as I will buy. The tool truck is steep so I don't get much from them but I have in the past.

[black50]

i love HF, the only thing i have found there thats not to good are the ratchets

[Sleeper]

Just like most professional wrenchers its worth buying the big tool names.

I broke more craftsman shit when i first started. Now that its mostly snap on/mac I have never had any problems. The snap on stuff has better tolerances and can get into places that the thicker, but cheaper made sockets cant. Rust is a big factor up north and snap on open end wrenches with the little grip things on them kick ass. Well worth the 300-400 bucks.


Now that i dont use them everyday for work. Craftsman stuff will last you a lifetime. If something does break just run down to sears. Try catching the snap on man if your not on his regular route.

[Broncojohnny]

Oh I also forgot to mention that there is a place over off of Kingsley road that makes the Craftsman stuff for this area. They are called Danaher tool group. They also make Kobalt, Matco and Armstrong stuff under the same roof, side by side.

[Dawkins]

When I was in a shop everyday I bought stuff from matco I knew would break sooner or later. I have been through more flip sockets than I care to think about. But now that I am just in my garage on the weekend I don't think I need anything I can't get at sears. I like having nice tools but I don't do anything that would break them anymore.

[94mstng94]

Just a couple drawers... I prefer Snap-on

[Thehead]

Most of my stuff is Snap-on or Matco with some random craftsman and HF stuff. I have broken quite a lot of tools. I will not use anything but a snap-on ratchet. The new 80tooth stuff is the bomb diggity. I have only stripped one ratchet and had it fixed on the truck in a couple of days. As for wrenches, I like the snap-on and cornwell(cheaper then snap-on and decent) but most of what I use is a set of gearwrenches. They are super strong and have never broke one in the last 10 years using them every day. I have only broken one snap-on impact socket in the last 10+years and that was my 17mm that i use EVERY DAY for lug bolts. Tools are going to break if you use them enough but the lower end tools just break quicker then some of the more expensive ones. Convience of a tool man every week also has some value to it when wrenching for a living. I do have some HF tools including a set of standard wrenches that I keep in a tool bag and a few air tools that don't get much use. Over all I think that you get what you pay for either in quality, service, longevity,or convience, BUT just because it costs more doesn't necessarily make it a better tool. You may be paying for the service.

[scootro]

i do like how organized his tools are! he does need some better quality ratchets





my new favorite ratchet! works great in those tight spots

[sdun]

My Snap-On box is 10ft long and full of 90% Snap-On tools. All wrenches,sockets,ratchets(including a Snap-On ratchet like the Gearwrench above),pry bars, gasket scrapers, etc.... I worked on heavy equipment from when I was 14 till I was 40. I've broke a lot of tools from abuse and prefer Snap-On to any other. If you are loyal to a tool truck guy he will replace/fix damn near anything you screw up. Now that I am restoring/painting cars full time I don't need all of the 1inch sockets,ratchets,impacts, or breakovers but it's nice to know they are there if you need it.

My tools are the one thing that I will always have. You can't have too many of them and you can't buy one that's to good. When I die my son will get them (and hopefully appreciate them the way I do).

[94mstng94]

i do like how organized his tools are! he does need some better quality ratchets





my new favorite ratchet! works great in those tight spots

I have the snap on version... Love that thing.

[stevo]

75% of my chrome sockets are name-brand, but probably 75% of my black sockets are HF brand. Most of my ratchets are name brand, but some are HF.

Only a novice here.

Stevo

[ceyko]

Most of my stuff is Snap-on or Matco with some random craftsman and HF stuff. I have broken quite a lot of tools. I will not use anything but a snap-on ratchet. The new 80tooth stuff is the bomb diggity.

I've heard that about their ratchets. Have a buddy who has all the sizes in duplicate/triplicate and he went and bought a set of these on top of that cause he liked them so much.

How does the average Joe get tools swapped from Snap-on? No truck comes by my house. Are there local stores or something too?

[Mysticcobrakilla]

Top three drawers of my box