Nuke

There are some tools you'll use often and others you'll rarely use. Then there are those that, when you use them, you'll use HARD. Based on that, you can likely get by with a few inexpensive items. Since I don't do a lot of heavy duty wrenching, I have a fairly good mix of Craftsman, Proto, Ridgid with odds and ends from various places. Harbor Freight often has decent prices on some tools that are mid-quality but they also have some sub-par things. If you can afford it, buy quality name brands and those items will last a lifetime.

wcgman

Another thing about tools in general is don't be an early adopter of a new take or spin on a tool unless you have money to burn. There's some tools that they claim make your job 3 or 4 times easier, so you buy them and they are crap. Craftsman has some new widget every holiday season and they are usually junk. I know it's off topic, but OP is talking about all the new tools he's buying. Stick with tried and true.

BlackShelbyGt500

got it! but is craftsman a good brand? do you guys normally stick with one brand? or do you mix everything?

wcgman

It depends on the work. Some tools I trust Craftsman for. Run of the mill hand tools for example like wrenches, screwdrivers, etc... But I mix brands up too.

For example, I had to pull axles from an old F150 and that needed a tool called a slide hammer. I just looked on the Sears website and didnt see a Craftsman one, but the ones they have that match what I needed ran 200 to 500 for the kit. Instead, I knew this was a tool I'd rarely need, so I bought the cheap Harbor Freight. It's $60. The first one broke on the second axle. So I took it back, got a replacement for free and the second broke it loose. It's laughable because if you've ever had to use a slide hammer, you know it's a bitch tool and will kick your butt. When you break that out, it's usually not fun work.

Then there are tools like my precision screwdrivers, electrical tools, network crimpers where Craftsman sucks so you buy specialty high end tools.

Any tool will fail if you treat it wrong. That means using it as it's not intended to be used. I've broken breaker bars before putting too much stress on them and those were NAPA breakers. They broke because I was using them outside of their capacity. Even a breaker bar can only tolerate so much when you put a cheater bar on it (put a pipe over it to increase leverage).

If you treat any tool right, it will last for decades, but if you misuse and abuse your tools, they will fail. Always clean your tools after use and put them away. Keep them dry and as needed, lubricated.

For the average shade tree mechanic like you're becoming, yeah Craftsman are fine for almost every situation. Sometimes, save your money and buy the cheap tool that you're only going to ever use once. Other times, Craftsman wont be good enough or you will need a specialty tool.

Then sometimes you just have to buy that fun new widget to try it. I just bought this yesterday because I had a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, it was on sale and frankly I hate digging out my air tools. http://www.craftsman.com/shc/s/p_101...id=00939558000

I think it's going to be a blast using it. Max Axess from Craftsman is surprisingly not been too bad. They feel cheap though, so I don't expect they'd last well under any kind of load, but for just doing some light work, it fits the bill pretty well.

Just know that when you walk into Harbor Freight, that unique smell permeating the air is the scent of tools about to break.

PNYXPRESS

I'll chime in. All my tools are craftsman, simple because if/when I break them they don't ask questions and just simply replace it at no charge.

wcgman

Its too bad they dont honor that for anything but hand tools. Power tools it doesnt apply

BlackShelbyGt500

thanks for taking the time to teach me the way brother! yesterday i replaced my stock panhard bar with the steeda adjustable pan hardbar to re center my axel. i posted a picture on this thread when i got my hands on the craftsmans clicker torque wrench. so finally yesterday i had a chance to use it on the panhard bar, set the torque to 129 as recommended and waited for the click to indicate that i have reach the correct foot pound of torque. well the click never came i tried both 1/2 and 3/8 drive and no lock. i know that i have put more than 129 but still no click. i still remember the amount of pressure i used to unbolt it. going to home depot now and picking up a husky.

wcgman

Do you have a neighbor who has a torque wrench? Doesn't seem right that you have a bad torque right out of the box.

Derf00

I found Lowes brand of Kobalt tools to be pretty decent these days. I like the fact that their sockets are both color coded (blue band is metric, red is SAE) and have large stencile like numbers on the side for easy reading even when greasy. Lifetime warranty on their hand tools (like craftsman).
Craftsman still has some good stuff but to me, they just don't stand out like they used to. Harbor Freight is good for some one off tools you might only use a couple times and they have some unique ratchets and specialty tools to make certain jobs easier without costing like snap-on, matco or Kd. They have great prices on jack stands and decent jacks.

Most craftsman are China or Taiwan made so don't let the name fool you. Most of their specialty wrenches are foreign made.

BlackShelbyGt500

too bad my lowes here doesn't have a single torque wrench, i know its strange. and i hate that everything is made in china!