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  1. #1
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    Need basic hand tools for home auto work, what brand(s) should I look at?

    So I want to pick up some basic hand tools to work on the datsun. Nothing too crazy, some sockets and some wrenches to cover the basics. I know Snap On stuff is supposed to be some of the best but it's not really in my budget to spend that kind of money right now. What brands should I be looking at? I've got a couple ratchets from proto but I'm a fish out of water when it comes to selecting tools.

  2. #2
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    I bought Craftsman for yars, it used to be good but Sears is gone, I think its Lowe now sells them ?

    Places like Harbour freight or Princess auto in canada for cheap stuff from china?
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  3. #3
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    Snap-on is not for the home wrencher really. Harbor(not "Harbour") Freight or Husky(Home Depot) will work fine enough.







  4. #4
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    Snap on is stupidly priced but is nice. Look CL for used snapon… sometimes you can get a guys entire career collection for pennies on the dollar.

    I've been really digging gearwrench tools lately. Have a full collection of craftsman, they are pretty nice too.

    Nothing wrong with harbor freight if you can't afford anything else, some of it is pretty nice.

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    Craftsman stuff is fine. Husky is OK. Harbor Freight is garbage for most hand tools (I've broken a ton of them).
    Granted, I break Craftsman stuff too, but they replace them for free.

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    Very specific to a certain tool type, but after trashing brand after brand of screwdrivers I've finally settled on Klein. I don't bother buying anything else. Usually sold in the electrical section.

    So that carries over for me to other tools. If I'm barely going to use them I'll get cheaper stuff (like woodworking clamps - I don't use that often and my cheapos have been fine) but if I'm going to be really using them, I'll get nicer stuff. Like snap-on.

    Over the years I could have saved a lot of money buying nicer tools instead of trashing stuff.

    This does not apply if you lose tools, or if you are willing to use the lifetime warranty of certain brands.

  7. #7
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    I have known a couple of snap-on dealers it was REALLY nice stuff, some wrenches would just fit in places other brands would not, the snap on guy showed up on the jobsite with a truck full of product and the really big thing

    they gave credit
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  8. #8
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    I don't mind paying money for good stuff as I'd like to hold onto them for a bit, I just don't want to pay snap on money. Most of the mechanic sets i see on craigslist are way more tools than what I need right now.

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    Quote Originally Posted by XXX-er View Post
    I bought Craftsman for yars, it used to be good but Sears is gone, I think its Lowe now sells them ?

    Places like Harbour freight or Princess auto in canada for cheap stuff from china?
    Sears is still around, just smaller. Craftsman is good stuff for the money and can be found at Sears, Lowes, Ace(?) or online. Shop it online and see who's got the best offer for what you want.

    https://www.sears.com/tools-craftsma...s/b-1324447302

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    Old Craftsman (made in USA) was decent, and was my go-to for home use. Current Craftsman is made in China, and the quality may be slightly worse than Harbor Freight.

    I suggest watching the Black Friday ads for a big DIY tool kit from Lowe's or Home Depot. They are always on sale every year. Get something with an assortment of sockets in both standard and metric, and ratchets in every size (1/4, 3/8, and 1/2"). Get an additional kit for screwdrivers (philips and slotted).

    Get torque wrenches from Harbor Freight. Cheap and surprisingly pretty accurate. Don't store them tensioned.

    If you use air tools, get impact sockets from Harbor Freight. Cheap and burly. HF hand tools are lifetime warranty too. HF is a good source for large crude tools, like a hand sledge hammer or jack stands. HF floor jacks are great.
    Quote Originally Posted by powder11 View Post
    if you have to resort to taking advice from the nitwits on this forum, then you're doomed.

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  12. #12
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    maybe in a far off country but not up here eh

    the closest big Sears store was an anchor for the mall, its been completely ripped up inside to be repurposed into other shops and the local small town mailorder sears out let is now Bob's furniture or sft
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

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    Quote Originally Posted by XXX-er View Post
    maybe in a far off country but not up here eh

    the closest big Sears store was an anchor for the mall, its been completely ripped up inside to be repurposed into other shops and the local small town mailorder sears out let is now Bob's furniture or sft
    Yeah, Sears Canada went separate in 2012 and out in 2018(?). Sears in the far off land of the United States is still around but greatly reduced in number of storefronts.

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    Harbor Freight's always been fine for tools you need for like ONE job, so if it breaks then oh well. And most that junk WILL break, but somehow my floor jacks from them have been solid for many years. Not that I trust them. ALWAYS use proper jack stands before going under (obviously). Also a great source for smaller misc. tools that don't have to be burly, like o-ring picks and stuff.

    I've been well served for decades from my older Craftsman stuff, but that was USA built stuff. I wouldn't trust the current gen as much but maybe it's just fine in all reality? Also had great luck with Crescent and Klein stuff too.

    Don't bother with Snap-On IMO unless you can score a used set for cheap. Even most mechanics I've known have said they ended up being kind of a waste of money compared to vastly cheaper alternatives. Don't get me wrong. They're GREAT tools, but if you're not a professional mechanic, you likely won't get your money's worth. Again, unless you score a great deal somehow which I have seen on occasion.

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    TGnar advice: only use Facom or some other fancy euro brand, pleb

    real advice: follow el chup's advice to look for good sales coming up.

    I'm a clumsy ham handed drunken fuck but I rarely break handtools. mmv.

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    Quote Originally Posted by The Artist Formerly Known as Leavenworth Skier View Post
    Snap on is stupidly priced but is nice. Look CL for used snapon… sometimes you can get a guys entire career collection for pennies on the dollar.

    I've been really digging gearwrench tools lately. Have a full collection of craftsman, they are pretty nice too.

    Nothing wrong with harbor freight if you can't afford anything else, some of it is pretty nice.

    To expand on this, Pawn Shops often have killer deals, but you gotta know roughly what something costs new to know if you got a deal.


    My advice to OP would be to get the best often-used tools you can get - go for black metal metric sockets [for impact tools - much stronger steel and heavier than chromed] and good ratchets. Used is fine. Quality is what you want.
    Tools you use infrequently - go cheap-but-good-enough. You can run across high quality screwdriver sets, on sale. They'll last you the rest of your days. I can't seem to keep a battery screwdriver & bit set from scattering around...

    I would suggest a Milwaukee M12 battery ratchet in 1/4 or 3/8. Not cheap, but worth every penny because they're quality, and they fit in enough places that you can use them enough to really speed up a job.

    I picked up an "Evergreen" 24v drill & impact driver set with charger & 2 batteries for, like, $70-$80 @ Costco a couple years ago, the things are great. The driver has enough impact mojo to wallow out the adapter end of a chromed socket in about 10 seconds. The drill's a little heavy, but can drill and back out screws to keep up with a drywall hanger. I've seen the same set with yellow plastic for about twice as much at Home Depot etc, where it still offers value in getting a job done quicker, and customer support if you need it.

    OP you'll need a toolbox. High end socket sets don't come with plastic boxes, but cheap ones that you can keep in a car trunk do. Roll-up tool carriers are great for emergency kits, and for keeping yourself organized under the hood or underneath the vehicle. Not being smooth about putting your tools back in the same spot is one of the biggest time-wasters in wrenching. Dealer techs usually have expensive wheeled carts with rubberized tops to keep from having to hunt for that dang wrench they heckin' just had in their hand 5 minutes ago...

    Metal 'plumber' toolboxes last and they usually have trays, but they get heavy fast and aren't very organized. Plastic is shit. Point is, build up enough tools and you'll want a decent wheeled toolbox.
    Again HF, CL, and pawn shops can be gems.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by highangle View Post
    To expand on this, Pawn Shops often have killer deals, but you gotta know roughly what something costs new to know if you got a deal.


    My advice to OP would be to get the best often-used tools you can get - go for black metal metric sockets [for impact tools - much stronger steel and heavier than chromed] and good ratchets.
    Tools you use infrequently - go cheap-but-good-enough. You can run across high quality screwdriver sets, on sale. They'll last you the rest of your days. I can't seem to keep a battery screwdriver & bit set from scattering around...

    I would suggest a Milwaukee M12 battery ratchet in 1/4 or 3/8. Not cheap, but worth every penny because they're quality, and they fit in enough places that you can use them enough to really speed up a job.

    I picked up an "Evergreen" 24v drill & impact driver set with charger & 2 batteries for, like, $70-$80 @ Costco a couple years ago, the things are great. The driver has enough impact mojo to wallow out the adapter end of a chromed socket in about 10 seconds. The drill's a little heavy, but can drill and back out screws to keep up with a drywall hanger. I've seen the same set with yellow plastic for about twice as much at Home Depot etc, where it still offers value in getting a job done quicker, and customer support if you need it.

    OP you'll need a toolbox. High end socket sets don't come with plastic boxes, but cheap ones that you can keep in a car trunk do. Roll-up tool carriers are great for emergency kits, and for keeping yourself organized under the hood or underneath the vehicle. Not being smooth about putting your tools back in the same spot is one of the biggest time-wasters in wrenching. Dealer techs usually have expensive wheeled carts with rubberized tops to keep from having to hunt for that dang wrench they heckin' just had in their hand 5 minutes ago...
    I bought a 6 or 7 (can't remember) tray snap on tool box for a couple hundred bucks a while ago. I've got the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" ratchets from proto. I also have a set of metric impact sockets from tektron that I got off amazon that seem to work okay for now. I've got a Milwaukee impact gun for the wheels and it uses the same battery at my leaf blower which is nice.

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    Quote Originally Posted by highangle View Post
    To expand on this, Pawn Shops often have killer deals, but you gotta know roughly what something costs new to know if you got a deal.
    in the lower 48 pawn shops have ime beat to shit equipment that's overpriced and worthless.

    used tool shops can have ok deals if you have one around

  19. #19
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    used tool shops
    That's a thing? Dam.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by El Chupacabra View Post
    Don't store them tensioned.
    This just saved my ass — fuck I love TGR.


    Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gman View Post
    I bought a 6 or 7 (can't remember) tray snap on tool box for a couple hundred bucks a while ago. I've got the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" ratchets from proto. I also have a set of metric impact sockets from tektron that I got off amazon that seem to work okay for now. I've got a Milwaukee impact gun for the wheels and it uses the same battery at my leaf blower which is nice.
    Sounds like you already got a decent set of tools? Mac and SuperKrome make hella good ratchets, among other things. You can rebuild them if you find one all beat to shit in a pawn shop, for ex. But really, someone who can mangle a Mac or SK 3/8 ratchet has got to be a fucking beast. You can lose one on the freeway and find it a couple days later, it'll still be fine.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gman View Post
    I bought a 6 or 7 (can't remember) tray snap on tool box for a couple hundred bucks a while ago. I've got the 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2" ratchets from proto. I also have a set of metric impact sockets from tektron that I got off amazon that seem to work okay for now. I've got a Milwaukee impact gun for the wheels and it uses the same battery at my leaf blower which is nice.
    +1 on Tektron stuff. Their torque wrenches are imo much better > than Harbor Freight. Also someone mentioned Harbor Freight warrants broken sockets and wrenches with no receipt and no questions asked - they just tell you to go grab a new one and ring you out for free.

  23. #23
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    back in the day tools never broke and never failed, I could use a big extention bar on the end no probelm

    I found a 3/8ths ratchet which had slipped under the rad on a 63 GMC pu, it was compeletly rusted up so took it into sears and complained, they gave me a rebuild kit, I hit the ratchet with some naval jelly put the kit in and i still got it
    Lee Lau - xxx-er is the laziest Asian canuck I know

  24. #24
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    Ah, the rabbit hole of tool ownership. Before you end up like me with a 6' high tool chest and a wall of tools, many of which have been used once or twice for a specific car I no longer own, evaluate if it makes sense to do the job yourself or pay someone to do it. I think 50% of the tools I bought would have been money better spent on just paying a pro to do the job.

    Stuff need for oil changes, plug changes and brake jobs is probably all you'll ever need unless you plan on doing this as a more serious hobby. And I've found an average set of tools works ok for this stuff. A multimeter comes in handy every now and then too.

    Anyone want to buy a special clutch centering tool for a M3 Lightweight
    "timberridge is terminally vapid" -- a fortune cookie in Yueyang

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by XXX-er View Post
    I have known a couple of snap-on dealers it was REALLY nice stuff, some wrenches would just fit in places other brands would not, the snap on guy showed up on the jobsite with a truck full of product and the really big thing

    they gave credit
    for pro's yes, for weekend warriors, hell no

    unless you're a rich boomer hogging all the money and can't spend it fast enough, then yea, buy mac, snap-on...

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