The Great Tool Debate

Mr.Forks

AnotherFoolJoe
Jun 8, 2009
70
0
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nyc
www.hoonperformance.com
Seems to be on the same level as Chevy vs Ford, with everyone having their favorite despite everythign seeming equal.

This topic came up this weekend when I was discussing with some friends why I have such a mish mashed put together tool set

Until fairly recently in my life I was a Craftsman tool supporter, They had never let me down ( until the torque wrench incident, still have not been back to that sears ) they had the lifetime warranty, and the tools were of good quality.

One of my friends is a religious Husky tool suporter, said their quality to price ratio was insane, and you dont have to jump through hoops to ger a replacement tool and your replacement tool is always an off the shelf item, not a rebuilt one ( most of his tools are older then 10 years or so )

Yet another one of my friends says the only brand of tool he will buy is Kobalt, saying the prices are unbeatable and the warranty is the same as craftsman, and the quality is on par with professional grade tools ( snap on, mac, sk etc. ) His tools are all from 2002 when he got his first 'toy' car.

The only thing we can seem to agree on is that tool quality by these brands has gone drastically down in the last 10 years or so, as has the ability of the stores to replace without hassel the tools that have a "lifetime warranty"

So what kind of tools do you have? Do you sufffer from the same brand loyalty that me and my cohorts do?

This is meant to be about consumer priced tools, which I'd wager the majority of the community uses. Yes I have some professional tools, SK, Snap-on, Matco, but when it comes down to it, they get used far less then my 'cheaper' craftsman sets.
 

Poodles

I play with fire
Jul 22, 2006
16,757
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Fort Worth, TX
Tools are tools. Hell, I use a LOT of Stanley stuff because it's cheap and made in the same factory as many of the tools that cost much more. There really aren't that many factories that make them, but they're all different brands and some have different features. For example, Snap-On open ended wrenches have teeth on them so they grip better.

Stanley is lifetime warranty as well, and all of their stuff is six point which I prefure (unless I'm dealing with ARP fasteners, but that's not common outside of the headstuds on my car).
 

Moy

It's broken...
Aug 6, 2008
2,432
0
36
Beach Park, IL
My dad's had a set of Craftsman tools for over 20 years and they still work great. I've used Craftsman for most of my tool sets and they do make a good product. For precision tools (i.e. torque wrench), however, I am using a Mac product. Helps that I get Mac and Matco discounts through my school program I'm in.

Mac and Snap On DO make excellent products that I would not hesitate to buy if only the prices weren't so high. But quality is worth every penny.
 

IBoughtASupra

New Member
Mar 10, 2009
4,455
0
0
Queens, NY
Precision tools I will get from Snap-On but for any other tools, craftsman is good. You get a lifetime warranty and sears uses a no receipt policy on any craftsman tools.
 

Keros

Canadian Bacon
Mar 16, 2007
825
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Calgary
My toolbox is a mis-match bag of Craftsman and Mastercraft... it's handy, and I got a smokin' deal on my big craftsman kit to start out.

Anyway, a friend of mine qualified buying expensive, top-quality tools when he explained: "a tool should perfectly match a fastener. Most automakers use top quality fasteners that are very accurately machined. A 14mm bolt has an exact dimension 14mm... so if your socket is 14.1mm because of some slop in the machine making it, the chances of stripping off that bolt multiplies. And stripping the wrong bolt can be a disaster for a shop on a schedule."

Since my Craftsman set came with a 12mm socket that literally measured 11.8mm, I knew what he meant. That socket was a shiny paperweight; yes they replaced it for me, but that goes to show the amount of error in their production. The bastard wouldn't fit on anything at all.
 

bioskyline

New Member
Oct 21, 2010
1,236
0
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powell river bc
i use mastercraft mostly, but i also have some jet tools. i also own a few snap on ones for the hardcore jobs where you cant afford to dick around, but i can break a snap on tool just as well as mastercraft.

---------- Post added at 12:26 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:25 PM ----------

Keros;1688908 said:
Since my Craftsman set came with a 12mm socket that literally measured 11.8mm, I knew what he meant. That socket was a shiny paperweight; yes they replaced it for me, but that goes to show the amount of error in their production. The bastard wouldn't fit on anything at all.

a 4lb sledge will make it fit a 12mm bolt lol
 

NashMan

WTF did he just wright ?
Aug 5, 2005
4,940
17
38
42
Victoria BC
haha craftsmen and master carft and husky are all the same and own by stanley

but they used to be nice when snap on made mastercraft not sure who used to make crasftmen i herd mac tools made them

but no fully sure but now there just plain shit and are allt eh same and come from the same stanly factory




i own snap on and mac i find snap on to be better then mac but mac does do a fine job and are priced lower then snap on
 
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supra90turbo

shaeff is FTMFW!
Mar 30, 2005
6,152
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MA, 01440
I use some of everything, mostly Craftsman, but I have a few Mac, SK, and also quite a bit of Snap-On.
I've always had luck with whatever I buy... I'm not exactly brand-loyal, I just go with what works
 

Moy

It's broken...
Aug 6, 2008
2,432
0
36
Beach Park, IL
eh. only harbor freight stuff I have is a low pro jack (works great) and a couple of breaker bars. The bars are ftw. I took off my crank pulley bolt with it. stood on the bar, jumped a few times. that didn't work so I took a sledge hammer and beat the shit out of the bar until the bolt broke free lol

(this was on my spun bearing 7m-ge)
 

Cz.

CAR > FAMILY
Mar 31, 2005
324
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Seattle, WA
A friend of mine raves about Toptul, cheap and high quality. I've been thinking about getting some myself.

I have a Snap-on ratchet and torque wrench (both purchased used) since they're important, but the sockets and wrenches I have are just the cheapest thing I could find at the time when I needed it. I can't justify the retarded prices that Snap-on and other high end brands charge to purchase anything new from them.
 

mkiiichip

New Member
Sep 10, 2007
1,434
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WI
Anyone in the service industry will agree, if you are going to be using your tools to the limit, top dollar tools are the only way to go.
Sub-standard tools with a lifetime warranty have nothing on Snap-On tools, and a personal relationship with the dealer. Then again I spend over $100 a week on tools (id take care of me too).
It all depends on what you plan on doing with them. But once you get used to using a Snap-On ratchet, those craftsman ones just piss you off when you use them. They're worlds apart.
 

IBoughtASupra

New Member
Mar 10, 2009
4,455
0
0
Queens, NY
mkiiichip;1689643 said:
Anyone in the service industry will agree, if you are going to be using your tools to the limit, top dollar tools are the only way to go.
Sub-standard tools with a lifetime warranty have nothing on Snap-On tools, and a personal relationship with the dealer. Then again I spend over $100 a week on tools (id take care of me too).
It all depends on what you plan on doing with them. But once you get used to using a Snap-On ratchet, those craftsman ones just piss you off when you use them. They're worlds apart.

I know what you mean. Snap-On rackets are super easy to use and comfortable.
 

MKIIINA

Destroyer of Turbos
Mar 30, 2005
1,825
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36
40
Plano, TX
for sockets and wrenches - I have nothing but good things to say about Craftsman tools. I broke a socket wrench in college and had no problem walking into the local podunk Sears in deep east texas and getting a replacement swapped off the shelf. This was several years ago and haven't broken anything since so I don't know if this has changed. That said I will be measuring my sockets after seeing this to see how far off they are.

Screwdriver - I used a couple Stanley items due to not bringing my tools on a few jobs and found them lacking. The shanks always seem to start to twist in the grip and become useless. I have even bent a few philips screwdrivers (once was from improper use I will grant you...) but still left me with a bad taste. In MY toolbox again its craftsman.

Powertools - this I'm a little out of my element. I have a Milwaukee corded hammer driver and a porter cable lithium ion impact driver and drill - cheap and works great! charges quick, lasts forever, and have had zero problems with anything ive asked it to do. i see dewalt as more expensive than it should be.

I have a feeling the reason I like craftsman is because its what my dad had and what I used growing up and never had a problem...
 

max-89supra(t)

New Member
Dec 12, 2008
153
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0
vancouver, wa
I have tools from a lot of manufacturers, and yes the cheaper ones like craftsman the quality is going down. I prefer buying Snap-On and Cornwell tools for my job, Cornwell has better prices and same quality as Snap-On IMO (i did research on this), the only thing sucks about Cornwell is that the dealers are hard to come buy in some areas, Ive always had one or two in my area though.
 

Justin

Speakers?
Mar 31, 2005
1,699
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Spokane, Wa
sockets and wrenches are Craftsman. Ratchets and screwdrivers are snap on. the rest is a cluster fuck between any manufacturer you can list. Any form of cutting plier is also snap on.
 

Kevin

7mgte -> 7mgte swap done.
Apr 20, 2009
865
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Windsor Ontario Canada
i have a mix and match of everything that i've acquired over time.. and i even have some random no name china made stuff that does the job pretty well