What brand hand tools do you recommend?

[jcueckert13]

i make my living with my tools too and i have a ton of craftsman tools because thats all i could afford when i started but now that i have been wrenching for a while i am starting to replace alot of stuff. cornwell makes some dam good tools and they dont cost an arm and a leg, which is why out of 2500 bucks i spent on tools last year 1900 of that was with cornwell, 300 was with matco and the other 300 was with snapon. personally i dont trust mac tools, it seems like 90% of the tools tha break in the shop are mac.

[Shane]

Originally Posted by Crank

SHANE>>> Well in my shop, we use Snap On tools and my aircraft program is about as brand new as they get, I work on the V-22 Osprey Tiltrotor and some of the tools in our boxes are off the wall, but I see the "Snap On Government" truck drive around the flight line all the time... Possibly Motor Transport uses some other brand, but we use Snap On as well as any other Aviation squadron i know of.

Brandon

Thanks for the "heads up." This may be a "base by base" type thing, but I do know some installations are selling off their SnapOn stuff (cheap too) and replacing with Proto. I know this is because I have purchased some SnapOn odd-n-ends from said installation's auctions.

[j hannah]

I have all kinds and brands of tools. I like craftsman tools because of price and warranty. I worked for K-sears till just a few months ago. They will trade out a ratchet with a rebuilt if you let them. Insist on a new replacement. They will try to b.s. you into taking it, but they cant refuse to replace with new if you insist on it. Snap on has good quality tools and crappy warranty,gauranteed against breakage, not wear. most napa hand tools are made by the same company that makes craftsman,same warranty/quality. I dont know about mac, or matco since their reps dont come out here to podunk(about 50 miles south of the sticks) lowes and home depot are too far away to consider, so I guess ill stay with craftsman.

[rwgregory]

For those that mentioned SK, here is a good place to buy them: www.sjdiscounttools.com

[Rollie396]

I own a craftsman set as well and I agree that the ratchets are kinda sloppy,but the warranty makes it worth it imo.
When my 1/2" ratchet cratered,I took it in and the fella hardly said a word,just took it from me and came back with a new one off the shelf and said "there ya go".
The wrenches are bulky but the thicker handles I find are easier on the hands.
Me Pa has a set of Ultra Pro (napa brand) wrenches as a back up set and I hate them with a passion.They are nice and thin,but the edges of the handles are like knives!
I also have some Westward stuff that isn't too bad (found at Acklands Grainger).
For the price,I'll be staying with Craftsman for my weekend warrior type mechanics.

[kenm78]

Im a Cornwell, and Craftsman-Man

[bobthecop]

I have snap-on and craftsman professional, some old stuff as well, I bought a metwrench set about 10 years ago and for rounded bolts they are great. I had to step up for good air tools, snap-on are great, in that area you get what you pay for. I had to buy a good air gun, matco would not bust frozen bolts loose. I've seen sears warranty a long screwdriver that was bent, and obviously not used to loosen screws. The sears warranty is hard to beat. Since I am not in car business any more, no snap-on truck comes to my door.

[ed455]

Ingersol Rand makes the best impact wrenches hands down. They'll either lossen the fasten or break it off.

[chevybill]

The cornwell I have looked at online have been pretty expensive.
It seems that all the brand name tools mentioned have been priced similar, with the exception of craftsman-it's just hard to beat the craftsman price.

I have learned about cornwell tools thought this thread, I had never heard of them before.

[79Silv4x4]

Originally Posted by Shane

Proto - some of the nicest ratchets I have ever owned.

I bought Snap-On ratchets and screwdrivers, Proto fullsize wrenches & sockets (awesome quality) and S-K stubby wrenches (all I could find at the time). No complaints about any of them. Air tools are Snap-On or Ingersol.

[Igotachevyor2]

when i worked at the dealerships a new tech would wander in and see your tool box with 30-40,000 in snap-on and mac tools and want to rush out and do the same. i would tell them go to the pawn shops and discount stores and buy all the stuff they need in cheaper brands. then as they broke or bent the cheap ones replace them with a snap-on or similar brand cause thats the tools they will use the most their is no sense in spending 15.00 on a 7/32 socket when a cheaper one will do the job just as well. but the tools you use every day should be of good quality.

[piecesparts]

For every quality dollar tool that I have in my box, I have or have had a Taiwanese special to heat or bend into the special one-time/dozen-time only jobs. I have my air tools, handwrenches, screwdrivers, and sockets that I would kill to keep, then there is those that are in the metal box (on the side)that are the YEP, they are bent, ground-on, and rebuilt to the specialty need tools that are there for that need again, tools.

[Chris4x4Gill2]

yep, Always have a place for the Harbor freight specials that I'm not afraid to bend or grind on to make it do what I want to do at the time. They are cheap enough it doesnt matter

[Shane]

I grind and bend on my Craftsman tools ... their return policy is tits!