The price of tools is killin me!
 

Simple manufacturing project sucks when a 9/16" drill bit is nearly $20.

I thought I'd make my shock extenders on the cheap. Nearly all day on a simple chore and I'm missing my 9/16" bit. I could have bought some for the time and money :waah:

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

harbor freight my friend..

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

Try being an apprentice. I dropped 750 CDN on an air hammer and a short/long set of impact sockets. I have spent almost 3k on tools this year, and my tool box is still half empty...

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

Yeah, when you use your tools to make a living, you buy the good stuff. You'd get tired of going to HF every other day buying another of whatever you just had break on you. I believe I have my tech's tools and box insured for roughly $30,000. If we were broken in to and his toolboxes stolen, we would be in immediate jeopardy, so insurance is a must.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

I shop at Harbor Freight a lot. Great for small hand tools, especially things like C clamps, bar clamps, latex gloves, etc. However, the drill bits I bought were not very good, even though they were supposed to be titanium. OK for soft wood but not for metal. For bits and blades, I try to shop online.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

yup just saying if you want cheap go to hf. but you get what you pay for. also being in school where you need tools. half off from snap on ;) still alot of money tho lol


ol sayn..
craftsman has a warranty when it breaks. snap on has a warranty if it breaks

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

I've been a tool fool all my life. I have had many of my tools for 40 years. It's just the cost of a common tool like a drill bit that shouldn't be that much. I needed it for four holes, that's $5 a hole! I gues I'll just take it as part of my hobby of I'd rather do it myself.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

I sold my snapon box to get a engagement ring and only got half what I origionally payed for it. and I threw in like 1000 dollars worth of specialty tools to make the deal. after that I stick to sears tools now, so I can still get the lifetime warrenty.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

Snap on aint near what they used be in quality. I have a box full of Snan On crap here thats broke'n. for my personal tools I'll stick with Craftsman so I can get replaced that day when it brakes, rather wait'n to see "IF" the Snap On guy is gonna stop by.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

Agreed! I have a whole drawer full of broken snap-on stuff. I get husky tools from home depot for sockets and such..my powertools and bigger stuff I usually go to Matco...The snap on guy hardly ever comes around anymore..once in the past 3 months
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Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

I've been at the shop im currently working at 7 months. Last monday the snap on guy asked me if it was my first day here. He was serious. That is why i dont buy from him, the mac lady comes every week, no fail.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

snapon has a warrenty but many many snapon trucks if you can find one when you need to make it near impossible to take advantage of it unless you are in to him for a few thousand dollars in future payments// a very common complaint from serious hobbiests
sears walk in with broken tool walk out with replacement

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

Same here..he showed up a few times never asked us..just our boss..then we got onto the truck to look around and literally said "you gonna buy something cause I have other stops.." Matco always shows and is very friendly..
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Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

and if you oil it when in use and wipe it down with a oil soaked rag they last a long time, cheap drills are junk.. been there done that..

h/f all junk china dolls, good for a use it once tool, take one of there c clamps and put it on a brake calp piston. then hit the brakes and watch it bend

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

Cheap stuff is fine if you want to use it once or twice, and aren't in a hurry to get a job done. Sometimes I can't afford good tools that I don't think I'm ever using again, but it always seems like I do need them some other time, and it always seems like they break when it's least convenient. I always tell myself I'll spend the money next time and do it right, then next time comes around and the budget seems tight, and I'm off at china freight replacing the same thing for the 3rd time with another crappy product that I know is going to break again but "as long as it gets me through this job".... Don't be a cheap-ass like me.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

sounds to me you got to go to a swap meet youd be supprised iv seen great tools for half price.But only wrenches screw drivers small crap etc no drills and such but i doubt you have any over there.I actually got a huge set of tools from my gramps who aint here no more and the tools where the old kind the best quality i had all the can imagine but due to family issues i had to give it all back sigh...

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

chevymadness, you are correct. A savvy buyer can find great quality
tools, not worn out, for pennies on the dollar.
I'm still looking for those perfect ratcheting wrenches I so want.
And I'm sure I will find them.

Some times it just doesn't pay to shop new.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

yup you just got to know where to look ratcheting wrenches lol omg i see those all the time theres a guy here that has sets thats all they have preety much.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

i've bought a number of busted craftsman tools at garage sales less than a dollar and walked out of sears with brand new toos//yard sales flea markets estate auctions and somtimes thrift stores you can find good stuff normally cheaper than auto or bike swapmeets or pawn shops

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

For drill bits up to half inch I only get quality. For 9/16 up to 1", I get Silver and Deming from harbor freight. They hold up well. I have used them for years. If you use a good cutting oil and proper drill speed they will last a long time.

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece...t-set-527.html

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

i have been buying tools since i was 13, and no end in sight. i could have bought another house for what i have spent on tools. which brings another subject, compensation. ever notice that in a particular region that all crafts people earn about the same wage? but what do, let's say the equipment operator have invested in his vocation? a lunch box & a thermos. the welder at the machine shop can carry most of his tools in a 5 gal bucket. the construction workers can carry most of their tools in a toolbox on the back of their pickup. if you embark on a wrench pulling profession then just be prepared. oh yeah, try telling your wife that you need to make a tool payment when the kid is to see the orthodontist the next day. i have tools to work on diesel engines that people don't use anymore, so the tools won't get used either. anybody want to buy a cam setting tool for a 1693 caterpillar?:waah:
andy

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

i need to stop lending mine out because i forget whom i loan em too and then im SOL. No one seems to have my new 4 ton jacks =(

i also always lose my tools because i forget to put them back. lately its been raining and i left my socket set outside and they are rusty now.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

Snap On must be a little different from where you guys that aren't too keen on buying from them are from. My Snap On dealer comes once a week to my shop, unless he has been held up at the bigger shops(there are only three of us at my shop, and I am the only one really buying stuff). The deals he shows me actually gets me to buy tools, he has tons of giveaways(Snap On BBQ this month!) and he is more than legit about warranty. I bought a used 1/2" ratchet from him and he pretty much told me how to break it and that he would have to give me a brand new 80 tooth if it did "just happen to break". I tried to break that ratchet last week, backed out the bolt on the head of the ratchet(it was a swivel ratchet) and threw it in the vise, put a 5 foot snipe on it and it broke the vise before i broke the ratchet. So in my amazement and frustration I took the ratchet apart and smacked the teeth on the gear with a hammer, mushrooming two on the teeth. Ratchet still didn't skip a beat. I ended up screwing up the threads on it too, showed it to him this Friday, his response? "Looks like you need a new racthet"...


TL;DR: I like Snap On, I purposely broke a $180 ratchet and he is giving me a new one.

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

hey heeroyue2002, when you loan a tool, write it down on the proper day on your shop calendar & make the loan-e sign it. only way i can keep up with them.
andy

Re: The price of tools is killin me!
 

i was thinking about that.but i dont really have a shop or a shop calender.
gotta get me one.