GOOD enough tool set???

[scitzz]

I NEVER buy tools from wally world, cheap tools ruin good cars
I have enough tools to fill 2 sheds, a van, and 3 cars, and I still want more

Not a one are from wally world, except for a 1/2 inch breaker I needed at 3 am one time, I broke mine, and needed one BAD.

Buy a craftsman metric set with deep wells, short wells, and wrenches from 8mm to 18mm, plers, screwdrivers, and vice grips, should get ya by......

[festivaWES]

wal-mart stanley tools are a part of matco name.....same makers.

[scitzz]

Really? They can't possibly be made to the same standards though, right?

[FB71]

wal-mart stanley tools are a part of matco name.....same makers.

no, Matco has no affiliation with Stanley.

However, MAC is a subsidiary of Stanley, as is Proto.

MAC, Proto and Stanley hand tools come from the same foundy, but from different dies and from different ore and alloys.

[jglutz]

.......from different ore and alloys.

....and heat treating. Great point.

My tool advice...as always.
Good box wrenches before sockets.
Deep wall sockets before regular.
Always/only 6 point sockets.
And only buy what you need...don't buy crap now that you will be sorry about later. A good tool collection takes years.

[collegeboi]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Stanley-145-Piece-Mechanics-Tool-Set-94-376_W0QQitemZ250216914644QQcmdZViewItem

this is what i got ...

got it for 60$ at walmart, pretty good because the same set from craftsman at sears was 189$

i know you get what you pay for but at 1/3 the price, its *decent* for a 1st tool set

lmk what you guys think.

[collegeboi]

opening right now:p

[collegeboi]

i got 4mm- 17mm metric, hopefully thats good enough

[festivaWES]

only 5 metric wrenches...tisk tisk tisk

[collegeboi]

yah i know, its a strt.

[scitzz]

Well, It is a start. Remember this when working on your car with these, use a wrench if you can to break a bolt loose. A wrench because you can watch what is happening. If you notice the wrench is moving, but the bolt isn't, STOP TURNING, you are about to strip the head, and be in for a lot of misery! THEN, you will need to buy or borrow a good wrench.....

I have turned a lot of wrenches for a lot of years, not as many as some of the guys on here, but ALOT! The tendonitis in my elbow, and the flaring carpal tunnel pains in my wrists give silent, but painful, testimony to this fact. As soon as you round off a few bolt heads, you will spring for the craftsman. They are not as costly as, say, matco, or snapon, and they don't have a guy in a truck to bring you a tool when you need it, but still are of good quality. Jglutz hit the nail on the head, buy only what you need, and be willing to spend years getting your tool collection together. I built mine by saying to myself, " I want an engine hoist.,hmm I will find someone to buy me an engine hoist as the price of putting a new engine in their car", or "I need a strut spring compressor, and strut vice, I am gonna find some one and do their struts for the price of these tools". The person gets a great price for the job, and you get the tool you need. Just don't screw up, or take on more than you know how to do!

That said, I own no stanley tools that will work on a car, not even screw drivers, but I own some other stanley products, and they are not bad. I used a friends Stanley tool set to change his trans when I went to visit him in another state, and did not have too many probs, the trans to motor bolts, we had to borrow a craftsman socket for, his tried to strip em out.

Also, years ago, I bought a metwrinch 62 piece set at sears for $49.99(now $149 on their website), just to remove one stripped bolt. I absolutely LOVE this set, and it has paid for itself over and over, and over! If someone rounds of a bolt, then comes to me to remove it, I can charge em $20-$30 just to take it off, 10 seconds with a metrinch, DONE! anybody else use 'em?

[gdawgs]

Allen and Craftsman come from the same factory as well. I bought a set of Allen ignition wrenches a few years ago, and one of the wrenches was Craftsman, not Allen. So I figure they must come from the same place. I have since bought an Allen socket set(not that I needed it, it was just a really good deal) and I like the Allen ratchets better than my Craftsman ones.

I was just looking around on the internet, and it looks like Matco, Allen and Armstrong(among others) are all owned by the same parent company Danaher.

http://www.danaher.com/business/strategic_detail.asp?key=12

Scitzz - I have never heard of or seen Metrinch before. I checked out there website as well. Looks interesting. Honestly, If I just saw that commercial on TV I would say it was a joke(just because its kind of a Cheesy comercial). But if you say they work great, I'll believe you. I'll have to check them out if I ever see them in a tool store.

http://www.mitools.com/

[scitzz]

Back in about 2001, they sold metrinch, the 48 piece set, btw, the 62 piece has allen bits, at sears, for $49. I had seen them on a tv commercial, and laughed. When I saw them at sears, I wondered if they just might be on to something. Then, one afternoon, I rounded off the head of a bolt on my festy. I remembered seein the set, went and bought it, and it worked! I do not like to use the set on everyday jobs, it sometimes puts a small gouge in the wall of the head, making it difficult to fit regular sockets onto, but it certainly works wonders for a rounded off bolt!

[SimonTuffGuy]

Ive used Stanley tools that I've purchased from WalMart for years and never had a problem... I busted my 3/8" ratchet after standing on it at the junkyad with a 3" cheater pipe trying to get off a rusted Aspire brake. I'd say it help up pretty good before that too.

The only problem is that the warranty is a little harder. I've seen most of the newer tool boxes from Stanley offering a lifetime support. I think it involves sending it in though. I like Craftsman because I can walk into any Sears store and get a new one on the spot.

[festivaWES]

I've busted 5 18" 3/8" craftsman breaker bars in a days period trying to remove one stake axel nut....so you never know how the quality factor goes. I know by how tight that bolt was put on i could of snapped a mac, matco, snap-on 3/8" break bar of the same length easy....

If you give me your addy i have a bunch of craftsman socks lying around that are extras that I'll never use. I found them over the years in cars in junkyards and semi i have worked on. I never loose my tools, well i should say hardly. Anyways PM me